[Photograph: Carrie Vasios Mullins]

These rich blondies are flavored with honey, studded with dried cherries, and topped with salty, crunchy Marcona almonds. They’ll satisfy fruit and nut lovers alike.

Why this recipe works

  • Using honey in place of some sugar adds extra flavor. We like to use a strongly flavored honey such as tupelo or orange blossom.
  • Stirring the dried cherries into the batter ensures a chew while sprinkling the nuts over the top makes a crunchy, almost-crust. It’s more interesting texturally than if you were to stir everything together

Special equipment: 8- by 8-inch pan, mixing bowl, whisk, spatula

Ingredients

serves makes 12 blondies, active time 15 minutes, total time 45 minutes

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 1/2 cup Marcona almonds

Procedures

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour baking dish.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, and honey until creamy, about 2 minutes. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to bowl and stir together until combined. Stir in dried cherries.

  3. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula. Sprinkle Marcona almonds evenly over the top. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.


Serious Eats: Recipes