Coconut White Chocolate Chip Blondies

It has just been one of those days. Receiving a less than pleasant mark from uni was upsetting, sometimes you can see the positive in the situation, you can reason and understand and twist it around in your head, but it still can upset you. That on top of technology deciding to not work for me led to a frustrating experience. Isn’t that the unfortunate case that we have become so dependent on technology that when it doesn’t work for us, it is just well frustrating.

So to sum it up it was just ‘one of those days’. Then I suddenly had a thought which would turn my day around, I decided I wanted to bake a recipe at 8:30 at night. I found this little beauty here last week and was desperate to give it a try, but was already making my raw chocolate recipe. So I knew exactly what I wanted to make, I knew we had all the ingredients so there was nothing stopping in my way.

I had a lovely time cooking this recipe and it worked out beautifully. See my last couple of cooking experiments haven’t worked out the best, I know this is fine, it means I can still improve on these recipes and try them again in a new different way, yet there is one issue with this, it can still leave you with your confidence a bit low. So it felt great to have a ‘win’ under my belt among the cooking world.

It definitely shifted my not so good day, I was very happy I got to make these beauties. Not to mention they lasted less than 24 hours in my household, people were gobbling them up because they were so yummy. I also decided to make mine without the chocolate drizzled on top, I know this recipe may beg to differ, but I am not a huge fan of chocolate so decided to skip that step, but it is completely up to you. Enjoy.

Coconut White Chocolate Chip Blondies

Makes:  9 generous squares

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup plain flour

• 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes, loosely packed

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 to 1 cup white chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted for drizzling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminium foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 60 seconds. To the melted butter, add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Add the egg, vanilla, and stir to combine. Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix or the blondies will be tough. Fold in the coconut. Fold in white chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula or offset knife if necessary.
3. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes, or until edges begin to slightly pull away from sides of pan, centre is set and golden, and a toothpick comes out clean; do not over bake. Note: if blondies appear to be browning too fast on top, you may wish to lower your oven temperature to 325F midway through cooking; both coconut and white chocolate have a tendency to cook quickly and burn easily. Allow blondies to cool for at least 45 minutes before drizzling with melted chocolate.
4. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips on high powder, about 1 minute, or until they can be stirred smooth. Drizzle blondies with melted chocolate using a spoon. Allow chocolate to set before slicing and serving, at least 15 minutes. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
5. The blondies are ripe for substitutions and variations. Add or Try: Other baking chips; butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, milk chocolate chips; toffee bits, fresh or frozen fruit including cherries, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries; macadamia nuts or slivered almonds; diced candy such as Snickers, Butterfingers, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces or whatever strikes your fancy.