Sohla’s Olive Oil Salted Caramel Blondies
I made a baked good for the first time in weeks (see previous post re: cooking rut), because Noah asked for something to take to work. It took me a while to find something easy yet interesting enough to pique my interest. But eventually I remembered this from a Food52 video.
This was actually my first time ever trying a Sohla recipe. Kind of hard to believe, because I love her content and she is definitely one of the only true professionals on social media these days. A “real” chef, if you will. One who’s been in the trenches and backs everything she says with actual experience instead of just repeating misleading old wives tales. If I hear “if you get a single drop of egg yolk into your meringue, you have to throw it out and start over” one more fucking time…
Sohla would not make you waste your egg whites or your time like that. And so you can also trust her when she says good olive oil is the key to this recipe. Good oil gives these otherwise simple blondies a gorgeous aromatic overtone.
Basically I just wanted an excuse to buy very nice olive oil I saw at the Italian market last time, OKAY?
And yes it was worth it. I underbaked it a little too much and people apparently still freaking loved it. Noah got to tell several people about Sohla, so overall I consider this a success.
Sohla’s Olive Oil Salted Caramel Blondies
Order of operations for maximum efficiency:
Make caramel, so it can cool.
Toast nuts.
While nuts are in oven, mix together the wet ingredients for their 20-minute soak.
Make batter, bake, etc.
Make Caramel (wet or dry method ok):
Caramelize into a deep amber:
75g sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Wet Method:
Add a small amount of water to the pot with the sugar, enough to make a wet sand texture.
Brush sugar down from the sides of the pot, and cook without touching it until mixture begins to take on color.
Stir (yes, it is ok to stir at this point!) or gently swirl to evenly caramelize the sugar until desired color.
Dry Method:
Just add sugar and salt to the pot in an even layer, and heat without touching until sugar begins to melt, then take on color.
Once caramelization starts, stir constantly to evenly distribute heat until entire mixture achieves the desired color.
Remove from heat, and immediately deglaze with:
3 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp very nice extra virgin olive oil
Let cool until room temperature.
Make Blondies
Whisk together in a medium mixing bowl:
180g very nice extra virgin olive oil
300g light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Let mixture sit together for about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. This sitting time allows some of the sugar to dissolve, and dissolved sugar = crackly top.
Fold in dries:
187g AP flour
100g nuts, toasted and roughly chopped (I used cashews this time and they were perfect)
Put about 2/3 of the batter into a 9”x9” (or 8” cheesecake pan!) pan that’s been greased and lined with parchment.
Dollop the caramel and the remaining 1/3 of the batter on top, and use a knife to swirl the two together. Try not to disturb the bottom layer of batter and only swirl the top.
Hit the top with flaky sea salt.
Bake at 350F until the blondies puff slightly and the center feels slightly set, about 35 minutes for the 9x9 pan.
Cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting.
Notes
It doesn’t matter which method you use make the caramel. For me, I choose based on a) desired control over doneness (wet), b) ability to multitask (wet), and c) speed (dry).
I used a 8” cheesecake pan lol. I like having thicker brownies usually, and I thought little blondie wedges would be cute.
Trust yourself, not the timer - I was right about cute thick blondie wedges, but I forgot mine was much thicker since I used a smaller pan. I baked it for 45 minutes, freaked out, and took it out early.
The olive oil I used was very grassy and almost a little spicy, and I almost thought it was too strong. But eaten together it’s very balanced and nuanced. Next time I want to try a floral and sweeter oil. Definitely would make this one again!