Lately I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged. Despondent. Down in the mouth.

Shall I count the reasons? Well, I’ve yet to receive a single call from my call-in agency, which means no coin for me. Neither am I meeting any of my exercise and fitness goals — in fact, I’ve barely seen any improvement at all in the month+ since I’ve started running. In short, it would seem that all my lofty ambitions have simultaneously stalled out this week, leaving me at once penniless and muscle-less.

I also have a hangnail.

But let’s look on the bright side for a bit. Some of my considerably less lofty pursuits have been met with qualified success. In the past week I’ve mailed and received packages, gotten an unexpected surge of personal writing done, tidied up the apartment somewhat, and made a pan of kickass blondies to share with y’ins.

Yes, y’ins.

I’ve been obsessing over butterscotch chips lately, and with good reason. See, it has recently become apparent to me that even the trace amounts of cocoa solids in white chocolate are enough to give me a slight allergic reaction. This has been disheartening on many levels — one, because up until now, I’ve been blatantly advertising to my friends and family that I can still safely consume white chocolate, and two, because it limits my baking chip options even further. I mean, know I’ll never again eat a chocolate chip cookie, but there are times I still just need some sort of chips in my cookie, for textural reasons, you know?

This is the part where butterscotch chips swoop in and save the day.

I always loved butterscotch as a child (except in pudding form… why, Hunt’s, why?) so rediscovering it has been something of a nostalgic experience. I’ve been kind of putting it in… everything… mostly straight in my mouth, but who’s keeping track?

These blondies are the butteriest butterscotch flavor you could ask for, thanks to a little trick I picked up from Joy the Baker (whom, it goes without saying, I greatly admire), that is, browned butter. Never having browned butter before, it was pretty exciting to do for the first time, and the flavor it adds is WOAHHHH and worth every buttery calorie.

Andy also informed me that these blondies are by far the closest to a brownie texture I’ve achieved so far — right down to the crispy, flaky top!

Wait… down to the top? … whatever.

So the next time your lofty ambitions bite the proverbial dust, just whip yourself up some buttery, scotchy (what?) crispy-topped blondies. What better way to remind yourself that there are still plenty of good things in the world?

ingredients

1/2 c (1 stick) butter
1/2 c butterscotch chips
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

directions

1. In a small saucepan or skillet, brown your butter over medium heat (check out this article for tips on how to brown butter). Pour the browned butter into a heatproof bowl and stir in your butterscotch chips until completely melted and incorporated. This may take a few minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together your eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the cooled butterscotch mixture and stir to incorporate (make sure it’s completely cool or it will start cooking your eggs!)
3. Add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda) and stir to form a thick batter.
4. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before serving.