My beautiful, hilariously comedic, baby sister has always loved toasted marshmallows. I'd been thinking all week, leading up to her 2 year survivor anniversary celebration (July 2020), what sort of dessert would best honor her at our small, Covid-19 aware, family celebration. This is what I came up with, and while it seems to have been deemed an all around success, it falls tremendously short communicating how cherished our Sweet-Pea is. Among many things, she is a Breast Cancer survivor. Survivor dates are calculated from the day a survivor learns they have Cancer. In her case, that discovery date came on the heels of being listed in our beloved brother's obituary, as one he was 'survived by'. The list of extenuating circumstances and slim percentages that she has had to navigate through her life is exhausting. She is amazing, she is strong, she is outrageously generous, she is tenacious, she is loved, she is celebrated.
Ingredients
1 cup Unsalted Butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Sea Salt
1 ½ cups packed Dark Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Disks
Flake Finishing Salt, Optional
8 large Marshmallows cut into 16 halves
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350.
Butter a and line with parchment a 9" x 12" sheet pan
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook butter, stirring with a rubber spatula until it turns deep golden brown and smells nutty. Pull butter from burner and set aside to cool in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
When the butter has cooled, still melted but not hot enough to cook the eggs, add sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Add the eggs and beat until fluffy and combined.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well combined.
Stir in the chocolate disks.
Smooth batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the flake finishing salt.
Bake for 24-27 minutes. Edges of blondies with be well browned.
Remove to a cutting board and allow to cook for 10-20 minutes before cutting.
When cooled, cut blondies into 16-32 rectangles (depending on your marshmallows).
Top each with half of a marshmallow, cut side down to adhere to the surface of the cookie.
To toast the marshmallows, either use a kitchen torch or transfer to a large cookie sheet, allowing room between each cookie and toaster under the broiler.
Watch blondies closely under the broiler, they will go quickly from toasted to burned.
Allow the toasted marshmallows to cool slightly, then press down gently with a rubber spatula to fully attach to the cookies.
Recipe makes 16-32 bar cookies.