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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHAT YOU GET: My butterscotchy and nutty Maple Pecan Blondies are flavored with pure maple syrup. Pecans are added and lend their own sweetness and aroma that goes perfectly with the syrup! Huge thank you to Wayfair for sponsoring this perfect-for-Autumn post!
When the Fall-season starts to approach, I get a huge urge to get cozy! I’m sure you’re the same way. A cozy home should also be a functional home! I recently teamed up with Wayfair for their new show, Interior Motives, and their host Kiva Brent. What a gem! She tackled some difficult design problems while I helped plan the ideal kitchen for a home baker.
During our episode, I started daydreaming about these Maple Pecan Blondies. Buttery pecans and warm maple syrup just scream, “get the fluffiest blanket you can, get comfy, and turn on some good shows!”
I replaced some of the brown sugar in a classic blondie recipe with caramelly maple syrup for these homemade maple blondies. Typically, I put some white chocolate chips in my blondies, but I added toasted pecans for this recipe. The sweet, buttery pecans and their toasty aroma go perfectly with these butterscotchy blondies!
Whip up a batch of these chewy blondies, get comfy, and head over to Wayfair’s YouTube channel for a lot of fun DIY content!
Best Maple Syrup For Baking: Light Vs. Dark Maple Syrup
Maple trees are tapped in the early spring when the weather gets warm during the day but still cold at night. The earlier in the season, the lighter the maple syrup. Dark maple syrup is harvested more toward the end of the season, which means its flavor has more time to mature. Dark maple syrup has a much more pronounced caramelly maple flavor than light.
If you’re making candy, light maple syrup is the way to go for easy crystalization. If you want to top your pancakes, amber syrup is a natural choice for most eaters because it’s nicely in the middle. But for cooling and baking, opt for dark maple syrup because the maple flavor can stand up to the other ingredients in the recipe.
You want your maple pecan blondies to taste of actual maple and not just sweet sugar!
Do not use “pancake syrup” for this recipe. There’s a major difference between pancake syrup and maple syrup! Maple syrup is made by boiling down the sap of a maple tree until it’s thick, sticky, and delicious. Pancake syrup is made with corn syrup and artificial flavors.
Other Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Maple Pecan Blondies
Besides pure maple syrup, preferably the dark type, you’ll need these ingredients to make this homemade blondie recipe:
- Butter: I like to use high-fat, good-quality butter in my recipes. You can really taste the difference. Good Irish butter is hard to replace!
- Dark Brown Sugar: Blondies require brown sugar rather than white sugar, but I like to use dark brown sugar to make these blondies taste like butterscotch. It also helps keep your blondies moist!
- Egg: You need one egg to help keep the structure of the blondies.
- Vanilla Extract: I like to use homemade vanilla extract!
- Salt: Every good dessert should have the perfect balance of flavors, and salt is essential in bringing out the butterscotch, vanilla, and maple notes!
- All-Purpose Flour: Along with the egg, flour is what gives your blondies their iconic structure.
- Baking Soda: You need baking soda in your blondie recipe to ensure that they rise properly while baking. It prevents them from being way too dense.
- Chopped Pecans: I love buttery, nutty pecans in these maple blondies! They bring a great texture to the table. Be sure you toast your pecans before adding them to your batter. To toast, place the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant.
Tools You Need To Make These Cozy Blondies
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- 8×8-inch (20x20cm) baking pan
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Maple Pecan Blondies
- Make sure to use dark brown sugar and dark maple syrup for the best flavor.
- Many recipes call for packed brown sugar, but I don’t pack mine when measuring. To get the most accurate amount, use a kitchen scale and go by weight.
- Toasting pecans brings out their flavor! To toast, place the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant.
- Serve these with Vanilla Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce for maple blondie sundaes!
- In place of pecans (or in addition to them), you can stir in 1 cup (6 oz/170 g) chopped bittersweet or white chocolate, or butterscotch chips!
Want More Delicious Fall Desserts?
- Festive Maple Pecan Bars
- Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes
- The Incredible Pumpkin Slab Pie
- Delectable Caramel Apple Pie
- Classic Irish Apple Tart
And don’t miss my episode of Interior Motives on the Wayfair YouTube channel!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Maple Pecan Blondies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (6 oz/170 g) butter, melted
- 1¼ cups (7½ oz/213 g) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (5 oz/142 g) dark maple syrup
- 1 large egg , at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (10 oz/284 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- I ¼ cups (6¼ oz/177 g) pecans, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and butter and line an 8x8-inch (20x20cm) baking pan with parchment, allowing some of the paper to come up the sides on two sides. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda, then fold into the wet ingredients until just combined. Finally, fold in the pecans.
- Pour into your prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until just set but still a bit jiggly in the center.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. For longer storage, freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature for about an hour.
I really want to make these but need them in a bigger pan. What size pan do you use if you double the recipe?
I made these over the weekend and they were incredible! Very ooey-gooey inside with a really strong maple and vanilla flavor. The pecans made it taste like pecan pie! I might even make these for Thanksgiving. Thank you!
I know these are going to be amazing but I am a wee bit confused because in the written recipe you say to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before you transfer to a wire rack. But in the video you say let sit for 30 minutes in the pan. Which do you prefer? And when you say transfer it to a wire rack I’m assuming you keep them in the pan?
I’ve made this recipe many times. It’s so delicious. I have some in the oven right now.
My pecans were burnt at 8 minutes. Oven was at 350. Substituted walnuts as no more pecans. Turned out alright.
These are ridiculously delicious. Made them dairy free for family issues. They couldn’t get enough!
Gemma
For the brown sugar is it 7 1/2 oz or 113g? If 7 1/2 oz shouldn’t it be 212g?
oh well anyway used 7 1/2 so once cooled down the first bite should tell me if I assumed correctly!🤣🤣👍
Just made it and had one piece 🙂 Turned out very nice-even though not so fudgie as on your pictures 🙂 but still turned out really nice – for today’s rainy day. I added only about handful of chopped pecans and added some white chocolate chips ( to please everyone in my household) and for this reason added only about 1/2 cup of sugar as I felt it would be too sweet otherwise (perhaps it is why did not turn out to be so fudgie inside) Overall this is a very good recipe and will make it again – Thanks… Read more »
Can I double this recipe and use a 9×13 baking pan?