bailey's butterscotch blondies

This recipe? I'd been dreaming about it for weeks. I can't always make brownies, even though they really are my go to baking project. Especially when I'm so unwilling to use any other brownie recipe, and I'm making the same old same old. Last time I made brownies I started dreaming of these. Deep butterscotch flavour, laced with just enough Bailey's to give it an edge. Not quite a brownie, but the same lovely crinkle crust on the top, and a similar gooeyness in the centre.

The process for making these is the same as brownies, nearly. Add in a few minutes to brown the butter, take out the chocolate and it's the same. I ventured out with the recipe here, trying one I found online just tinkering with the instructions and ingredients a wee bit as the amount of brown sugar seemed a touch excessive.

These were a hands down hit. I took family votes and at least half of them prefer these to the brownies and I've already been begged to repeat the recipe.

Bailey's Butterscotch Blondies
adapted from SugarDuchess.com

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 shots (2 ounces) Bailey's liquer
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (not packed) all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F. Grease a 9x11 baking pan.
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, continue to leave it over the heat, as we're going for browned butter here. Stirring occasionally, you're going to let the butter simmer lightly until it browns which will take about 5 to 10 minutes. The top of the butter is going to bubble and froth and will appear white. You'll need to stir things up to keep an eye on the liquid below, as it goes from a bright yellow to a deep caramel brown. In my experience just before the butter starts to properly brown you'll also notice a textural change in the foam at the top - it will become more dense with smaller bubbles. When you have a medium to deep brown colour of the melted butter underneath you're good to go.
3. Add the brown sugar to the butter, stirring until the sugar fully melts into the butter. After about 2 minutes, remove the butter and sugar mixture from the heat.
4. Let cool 5 minutes.
5. Add vanilla and eggs, beating vigourously to combine. The longer you beat at this point, the better crust you'll get.
6. Mix in the Bailey's!
7. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until just combined.
8. Transfer your blondie batter to your baking pan. The batter will be fairly thick here, but you should be able to push everything out to the edges and smooth down the top.
9. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
10. Enjoy!