Biscoff Blondie Brownies

Biscoff Blondie Brownies - made November 8, 2014 from Yummy Crumble

It's been over a week since I've uttered the words "cookie butter" on my blog. Allow me to rectify that dry spell. Biscoff, Speculoos, cookie butter - a rose by any other name has the same amount of calories and is equally addicting. "Little jar of crack" as one of my friends called it. Very observant of her.

I drooled over the pics of these on Yummy Crumble's blog which is usually my signal that I need to make the recipe myself. And they are quite drool-worthy even though I don't usually like to pair cookie butter with chocolate. They complement each other well enough but I like recipes where the cookie butter is the diva and not part of an ensemble cast; chocolate does not yield the spotlight easily, the little attention-getter. Still, these are nothing to sneeze at. They're wonderfully moist and have good flavor(s).

The only thing I would change for next time is I wouldn't use all Pernigotti cocoa for the brownie. A cup of high quality dark cocoa in a brownie makes for a very dark chocolate brownie. I should have "cut" the Pernigotti with the blandness of Hershey's so it's less of a dark chocolate and more of a semisweet. Then the cookie butter would've paired better with it.

One note: if you freeze these after baking like I did, the cookie butter drizzled on top will turn a lighter funny color like it's got freezer burn. Don't worry; if you let it come to room temperature before you serve it or give it away, it'll regain its normal color and be just fine. The taste won't be affected either way. It's still cookie butter in all its glory.

Brownie layer
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour

Blondie layer
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Biscoff spread or Speculoos cookie butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate, melted, for drizzling
1/4 cup Biscoff or Speculoos, melted, for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. For the brownie batter cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and salt. Mix in eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Mix in flour until fully incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Spread on bottom of pan.
3. For the blondie batter: in a small saucepan over medium-high heat melt the coconut oil, brown sugar and biscoff and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 
4. In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour biscoff mixture in another bowl and mix in egg and vanilla extract until just blended. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be very thick. Spread on top of brownie batter.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
6. Once baked and cooled, drizzle melted chocolate then melted biscoff on top.