This is a deliciously moist and chewy little blondie packed with pecan halves, rather than pieces, and flavored with cinnamon.
–Linda CollisterWhat can I use for a “brownie pan”?
We love a lot of things about this blondie recipe. We love the fact that the batter comes together in a single saucepan with a wooden spoon. We love the subtle and lovely taste that results. And we looooove that the original recipe referred to a 9-inch square baking dish as a “brownie pan.”
Think about it. Although most home bakers have a designated brownie pan, they don’t think to refer to it as such. And that’s a shame. Because don’t you think the world might be a smidge better place if we did?
Kindly note that if you use a smaller size pan than 9-inch square, your blondies will be taller and less likely to bake evenly and thus we can’t take responsibility for any disappointment. However, when made in the proper size pan, these sweets are nothing but toffee-flavored happiness.
Cinnamon Pecan Blondie
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- 2 cups light brown sugar, (soft, please, not rock hard)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup pecan halves or pieces
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176° C). Butter a 9-inch (23-cm) square baking dish and line it with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend beyond the edge of the pan.
- In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir until the mixture is really quite smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes or so, until the mixture is cool to the touch.
- Using a wooden spoon, beat the eggs into the cooled butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Dump the flour on top of the buttery goo mixture, sprinkle with the baking powder, and stir together just the dry ingredients on top of the buttery goo. (This evenly disperses the baking powder throughout the flour without messing up another bowl.) Then gently stir the dry ingredients into the buttery goo. Stir in the pecans, mixing just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake the blondies until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. (You may wish to start checking them at 25 minutes, especially if using one of those brownie pan contraptions mentioned in the LC Note above.)
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Using the excess parchment as handles, carefully remove the blondies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Now’s the hard part—you have to wait until the blondies are completely cooled. Then dust liberally with confectioners’ sugar and cut into 30 (or so) squares. (Stash any leftovers—hah!—in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for no more than 4 days.) Originally published March 10, 2011.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This cinnamon pecan blondies recipe is a nice twist on the bar cookie—it has all sorts of brown sugary, chewy goodness, all topped with a hint of cinnamon. The batter also is quick to mix together—the longest step was waiting for them to cool completely! I’m not sure whether using pecan halves is entirely necessary since they’re buried in the blondies, so if you only have pecan pieces, those would be fine as well.
This cinnamon pecan blondies recipe was a chewy, moist little bite of heaven! We loved the chunky pieces of pecan halves and the hint of cinnamon. Though they were a little flat, the blondies easily came out of the pan with the use of parchment. They were still moist after three days, but we didn’t have any left over to see how they were on day four! This recipe was a perfect one-pan, easy-clean-up dessert.
These cinnamon pecan blondies are wonderful. The addition of cinnamon to an already delicious blondie recipe is great, while the pecan halves add a pleasant crunch. I did have to bake them for 8 minutes longer than the recipe stated, however. I also made a second batch and gave them to our new neighbors—apparently, they were devoured immediately. This recipe is a keeper.
A very close friend of mine is learning to cook and bake, and I’d recommend this cinnamon pecan blondies recipe to her since it’s easy enough for the beginning/budding baker to accomplish. The recipe came together almost exactly as written, and yields great results. The blondies were simply fantastic with my morning espresso.
A few thoughts: There are many varieties of pecans in which to purchase, including raw, roasted unsalted, roasted salted, candied, etc. I bought raw pecan halves, though I wish I would have used roasted and salted—the inherent crunch from the roasted pecans would have added another dimension to the blondies’ tender, moist texture. The salted variety also would have cut through some of the sweetness, much like salt does with caramel, creating a slightly more balanced treat.
This cinnamon pecan blondies recipe offers delicious results, and is easy to make. Next time, I’ll add a few more pecans, just so they’re distributed more evenly throughout the pan. Overall, these blondies are great. TIP: Don’t skip the parchment step; it’s a really helpful way to get the blondies out of the pan after baking.
I loved the cinnamon in these pecan blondies as well as their chewiness. The blondies baked up nice and moist in the amount of time specified in the recipe. They were a cinch to make, and I’ll definitely make them again. I can’t vouch for the storage time, since they didn’t last that long—they were gone the evening I made them!
The “one-pot” method of preparing these cinnamon pecan blondies is priceless. You can whip them up on a whim, with little fuss and few dishes to wash. They’re moist, sweet, and buttery, due to the whole pecans. They taste even better the second day!
I sure liked these—they were gone in two days. These cinnamon pecan blondies were a nice change from the standard rich, chocolate brownies. Cinnamon junkies will be happy with the amount called for in this recipe, though I could have done without it. TIP: Add a glaze or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar to dress them up.
These cinnamon pecan blondie bars are great when you don’t have a lot of time, but want a sweet treat. They came out exactly as promised: moist and chewy. I loved the addition of cinnamon which, in my book, elevated them above the standard blondie status. I’d not bother dusting them with confectioners’ sugar next time, though—they’re plenty sweet without it.
I don’t know how many times I’ve made these blondies. They have reliably won me quite a few praises! The nice chew, together with the light tender pecans is addictive. I typically write a lot of notes on recipes, but my copy of this recipe has only two things annotated: “comes together in a single saucepan with a wooden spoon” is underlined with a star at the end of the line, and that the blondies bake in 30 minutes in my oven. Nothing else to add. It’s simply perfect.
That’s high praise, Chiyo! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to hear what you try next.
This recipe is probably one of the simplest, yet most effective baking recipes I’ve come across in the past few months. It’s absolutely perfect if you don’t have much time on your hands, and also if you don’t have a kitchen brimming with all kinds of gizmos designed to fool your friends into thinking you’re an undiscovered Michelin-starred chef. The recipe was very easy to follow, and I particularly liked that it left a lot of room for personal tweaking. For example, if pecans are difficult to find (or just downright expensive), you could substitute with walnuts. And it would be delicious to throw in some white chocolate chips, to stay true to the blondie theme—or even some dark chocolate chips, for the rule-breakers and risk-takers. Overall, these blondies are simple, tasty, comforting, delightful, and guaranteed to win you friends—that is, if you don’t gobble them up before releasing them to a wider audience.
Yes, we consider these akin to Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies, Megan. A little something to sweeten someone’s world.
I’m in the middle of making these and I’ve noticed the butter-sugar mixture is more crumbly than smooth. Hope they still come out good, definitely got the measurements right, perhaps I used the wrong type of sugar? Anyone else have this issue?
Hi Britney, what type of sugar did you use?