Speculoos Blondies

   Firstly, if you haven't tried Speculoos biscuit spread then you must do so now. Made from caramelised Lotus biscuits and blended to the consistency of peanut butter, Speculoos is ideal spread on toast, in a buttercream for a coffee cake, or just straight from the spoon.

 I'm not overly confident in making brownies after failing miserably in a Leith's baking class but decided to give white chocolate ones a go. I will not let them defeat me! The white chocolate pairs well with the golden goodness of Speculoos making these soft and gooey. Luck was on my side this time and these fellas turned out good!

   I thought by using what was left of my Speculoos jar for these it would stop me taking sneaky spoons straight from the jar...instead I just ate at least half the batch to myself!

Speculoos Blondies
(Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction, makes 16)
     1 cup plain flour
     1/2 tsp baking powder
     1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
     1 cupe light brown sugar, packed
     1 large egg
     1 egg yolk
     1 tsp vanilla extract
     1/2 cups Speculoos spread
     1 and 1/4 cups white chocolate chunks

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Line and grease an 8x8 baking tray.
• In a medium sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of sofa and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir the melted butter and brown sugar together until well combined. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk, then add the vanilla. Stir in the Speculoos spread. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix, which will result in crumbly, hard blondies. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the white chocolate chunks.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. The blondies may appear very soft, but they will set as they cool. Allow them to cool completely - about 3 hours - before cutting into squares.

Usually I'll convert American cups into metric, but as I always find so many good recipes from across the waters I invested in some cup measures to make things a little easier.