WHITE CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY BLONDIES
9-12 oz. pkg white chocolate chips..........……..1 tsp. vanilla
6 TB Unsalted Butter….......................………….3 eggs
1/2 cup white Sugar……………………………….1-3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
6-8 fresh strawberries ……………………………1/4 tsp. salt
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Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8” square pan with foil or parchment paper (extending over both sides about an inch) ~ then spray the whole inside of pan with non-stick baking spray (containing flour). Set aside.
Cut the stems off the strawberries and rinse. Cut them into quarters (or smaller if they’re large) and set on paper towels ~ pat dry & leave on the paper towels to finish drying until you need them. (Important step so they don’t “bleed” into your batter later)
Melt butter in microwave (about 45 sec) and set aside. Put white chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave for45 seconds. Press them down with the back of a small spoon ~ if they press down smoothly ~ then slowly whisk the melted butter in until it’s all smooth. (If necessary, you can microwave the butter & white chocolate another 10-20 seconds & whisk until smooth) Let cool.
(TIP: I put the pyrex measure that I melted the butter in & my whisk in the sink and fill with hot water. When I use the white chocolate from that glass bowl, I'll also fill it with hot water. Easier to clean everything off later.)
While the chocolate cools, whisk the 3 eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then whisk in the salt & vanilla. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine.
When chocolate-butter mixture has mostly cooled, slowly add egg-sugar mixture, stirring unti lit's incorporated. (I use a wooden spoon) Then add the flour and stir until flour is completely blended in. **
Add the rinsed and dried fresh strawberries and very gently use a rubber scraper to fold them in. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. (The back of a dampened small spoon is perfect to smooth the batter). Tap the pan down sharply on the counter 1-2x, to break any air bubbles.
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Bake for 25-35 minutes, the top is a light golden color and the middle has a slight give but doesn't jiggle ~ check after 25 minutes ~ then every 3 minutes. A toothpick stuck into the middle should come out mostly clean, without clumps of wet dough. (These firm up as they cool ~ so if you bake until the center is firm, the outside pieces will be hard and dry.) Let the pan cool on a rack. You can pull them out by the “tabs” on the sides and then cut into 16 squares (I use a long serrated knife ~ 4 cuts each direction). I always dust them with powdered sugar