Dulce de Leche Blondies are an easy way to impress when you don’t have access to a mixer or other fancy equipment or ingredients; just pack the jar of dulce de leche and you are ready to go! Keep reading to check out what everyone else made for Creative Cookie Exchange this month.
I was going to skip this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange but then I realized that the theme–Beach House Cookies–was perfect. If I can make it my current completely discombobulated kitchen, then I promise you can make it at the beach house. The kitchen is discombobulated both because of the move and because we are going to do a partial remodel–a few (but not all) large appliances and the cupboards– later this summer. So of course in addition to the standard moving and unpacking hoopla, there is also the fact that I still do not want to unpack the entire kitchen, since it will all have to be moved again in a few months.
Whew!
Things are also kind of crazy because I am still trying to figure out my “photo shoot” spot. The best spot is in the living room, and in addition to avoiding dogs and boxes, I cannot decide if the carpet looks weird in the background. And I also cannot decide where to keep all of the photography equipment, since I want the living room to look nice. The kitchen and breakfast (soon to be coffee-I am having a coffee center made!) room would be great, except the previous owners put a very low hanging awning on that side–I suspect because they got tired of the west sun in their faces in the evening. The end result however is that very little light comes in those windows. Alas. So everything is still a work in progress. Big shock, right?
About these Dulce de Leche Blondies. They are perfect for the beach house because any blondies are perfect for the beach house really. They do not require a mixer and can be done entirely by hand. But if you want to really impress people? Pack a jar of dulce de leche (in my family we always pack a lot of food–it costs too much at the beach anyway and the selection is much poorer there) and you have the means to wow people at the beach! Don’t be intimidated by the caffe sport extract. It is optional–I threw it in on a whim because I had just picked some up in the Strip District and thought it would go well (it has a coffee flavor). At the beach or in the heat I might be tempted to refrigerate these Dulce de Leche Blondies to help firm up the lush, caramel filling.
- 346 g (2 3/4 cups) AP flour
- 2 t baking power
- 1 t fine sea salt
- 12 T (165 g, 1 1/2 sticks) melted unsalted butter
- 6 T vegetable oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 T espresso powder
- 2 t vanilla paste (can also sub 1 T vanilla extract)
- 1/8 t caffe sport extract, optional
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup dulce de leche
- Flaky or coarse sea salt for sprinkling
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Layer a 9x13 pan with parchment paper (if you cannot get parchment paper because you are at the beach, used lightly buttered foil). Set aside.
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Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
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Melt the butter in the microwave on medium-low power bursts. When it is melted, whisk in the oil. Whisk in the espresso powder.
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Add the sugars and extracts and whisk in. Whisk quite briskly to emulsify the sugars into the fat.
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Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
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Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in 2/3 of the flour mixture. Stir the remaining third in, but before it is completely incorporated, add the chocolate chips. Mix the chips in evenly, until all flour is incorporated.
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Scrape 2/3 of the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the dough evenly into pan.
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If your dulce de leche is in a glass jar, you can briefly heat it to make spreading it easier. Dollop it in blobs over the cookie dough and spread it evenly over the dough. Scrape the remaining cookie dough over the dulce de leche and spread it out. Do not worry if some dulce de leche seeps through.
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Sprinkle the top evenly with a good quality coarse or flaky sea salt--or just use kosher salt if that is all you can get!
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Place in the oven and reduce the heat to 330 F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set and beginning to crack.
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Let cool completely before slicing.
Summer means long lazy days, vacations, and if you are lucky, somewhere relaxing where you can put your feet up and and tune out for a while. Cookies can be the perfect snack any time of the day – yes, cookies for breakfast are a thing. Whether you bake up a quick batch whilst on vacation or decide to bring the dough with you ready-made, we’ve got a great list for you to choose from!
You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.
Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:
- Chocolate Coconut Oysters with Pineapple Buttercream by Cream and Butter Blog
- Dulce de Leche Blondies by The Spiced Life
- Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Chippers by What Smells So Good?
- Sand Dollar Snickerdoodles by All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Seagull Cookies by A Baker’s House
- Slice & Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies 2 Cookin Mamas
- Starfish Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Looking for a collage to pin?
I need these in my life. I think they look great to share at a beach vacation– they would disappear quickly!
Oh the problems of food bloggers chasing the light!! These bas sound amazing. So glad you joined us this month!
I feel your pain about packing and unpacking. I am so glad that you joined in and I would be very happy to have some of these blondies to munch on right now. Hope you can find the perfect spot for taking your photos.