Almond Butter Blondies with Raspberry - Melt & Mix

What if I said blondies? How about almond butter blondies? Why don't we add raspberries? Maybe melt & mix? See where I'm going with this?

I have a real soft spot for combining almond flavours with raspberries. Actually I like combining things with raspberries full stop.

These Almond Butter Blondies with Raspberry are soft and moist, just like a blondie should be in my book. They are also not overly sweet. AND they are melt & mix - so cool. They also use my special trick for getting blondies (and brownies - see my recipe for No-Crust Fig Brownies) that are soft all the way to the edge - cooking them in a water bath - not nearly as complicated as it sounds!

When these blondies got taste-tested here at home, I gave one to my husband Peter to try just before we sat down to lunch. One bite, then two, then gone! His words were "I decided I was only going to have one bite, but that was before I tasted them!" Resolve broken! I win again! He started off not wanting to spoil his lunch (aaawww) but couldn't resist. Winner.

If you like the simplicity of melt & mix recipes, I have included in this post a link to my most popular recipe to date, my Easy Date Slice - another super simple melt & mix recipe. If you love the flavours of sticky-date, then this is the slice for you, and as the title suggests...really EASY to make.

The only problem is now that the genie is out of the bottle and these blondies are such an easy possibility...serious diet issues here at home...maybe we could just have one square each...sure...

Lee-Ann ♥

Almond Butter Blondies with Raspberry - Melt & Mix

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Soft, super simple melt & mix blondies - using my special trick for blondies that are moist right to the edge

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Total Time: 50 minutes

Serving: 16 squares

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

• 1 cup 120 g frozen raspberries
• 80 g salted butter chopped
• ½ cup 120 g dark brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• ⅔ cup 170 g raw almond butter
• 1 cup 150 g plain/all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 ½ tablespoon raspberry jam

Instructions

• Pre heat oven to 180c / 350f.
• Grease & line an 18 cm x 18 cm (7 inch x 7 inch) baking pan.
• Place raspberries in a bowl on the kitchen bench to thaw (see notes).
• In a large heatproof bowl, melt butter in microwave for 1 ½ - 2 minutes or until melted (cover the bowl with a piece of kitchen paper/kitchen towel to keep your microwave clean).
• Add dark brown sugar and vanilla to melted butter, mixing to combine and melt sugar.
• Add almond butter and milk, mixing to combine.
• Add beaten egg and mix to combine.
• Sift in flour and baking powder, mixing until combined.
• Add mixture to prepared pan in an even layer.
• In a small heatproof bowl heat raspberry jam in microwave for about 20 - 30 seconds, then pass through a fine sieve to remove seeds (see notes).
• Back to the frozen raspberries sitting on your bench, break up any whole raspberries gently with your fingers, then add raspberry jam and mix to combine.
• Place raspberry mixture in an even layer on top of blondie mixture, swirling the jam slightly into the surface of the blondie mixture (see notes).
• Place blondie pan into a larger baking dish, and fill the larger dish with boiling water to come about halfway up the side of the blondie pan - for a picture of a bain-marie/water bath see my No-Crust Fig Brownies post.
• Cover combined pans loosely with a layer of baking paper then aluminium foil, leaving the sides open and bake for 10 mins.
• Remove the foil and baking paper, bake uncovered for 10 - 15 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in pan for 20 mins before cutting into 16 squares.

Notes

You don't need to thaw the raspberries on the bench for any longer than it takes to make the recipe. I find that when I buy frozen raspberries there are whole berries and also a lot of raspberry pieces. When I first put them in the bowl on the bench I break up any large clumps with my fingers - don't squash them too much. Just before you mix the jam and raspberries, break any whole raspberries up by lightly squashing them between two fingers.

Sieving out the seeds in the raspberry jam is a personal preference for me - it's not an absolute must. (There are seeds in the frozen raspberries anyway) I just find the seeds from the jam have already been heated to make the jam, and cooking them again tends to make them quite hard - harder than the fresh seeds end up. Again, personal preference. The jam also gets runnier the hotter it is, which makes it easier to mix with the raspberries without ending up with a total puree!

I like to give a little bit of texture to the top of the blondie mixture after the raspberry mixture goes on top, just to add a bit of interest.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*