Brownies are amazing, but sometimes you need to take a break from chocolate and have a bit of variety in your treats. (I know, it seems strange, but trust me on this one.)

These blondies deliver warm and rich spices, fudgy cake and crisp almonds. Your kitchen will smell amazing. They are a great little snack to serve a guest with a cup of tea and, just like brownies, are also brilliant eaten straight out of the baking tray. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you for that.

Makes 1 8×8 pan (about 16 blondies)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sliced almonds (divided)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f
2. Butter a baking dish (about 8″ x 8″) or line it with parchment
3. Stir together butter (1/2 cup) and brown sugar (1 cup) and set aside to cool
4. In a medium bowl, stir together flour (1 cup), baking soda (1/2 tsp), baking powder (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1/2 tsp), cloves (1/4 tsp), nutmeg (1/4 tsp), cardamom (1/4 tsp) and salt (1/2 tsp)
5. Add 1/4 cup sliced almonds to try ingredients and stir together
6. Add egg (1) and vanilla (1 tsp) to brown sugar mixture and stir together
7. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, a little at a time and stir just until combined, do not overmix
8. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining sliced almonds (2 tbsp)
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until edges are slightly darker and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out reasonably clean – these are better underbaked than overbaked
10. Let cool completely before slicing (or at least try to give these 5-10 minutes, this is the hardest part of of the recipe)