Basil Blondies

I have a coworker who lives on a farm and brings a mini farmer's market to the office every couple weeks. It's a great way to get some produce and try new things! A while back, she brought in several varieties of basil, lemon and cinnamon being some of them. Instantly my mind started spinning with ideas of how to incorporate these unique flavors into sweet treats. This is how the basil blondie came to life.

I used lemon basil which, if you've never encountered it, has a very strong lemon perfume especially after rubbing the leaves together. The flavor though is distinctly basil, however. Interestingly enough, these blondies taste like lemon and basil which is unique yet irresistible, however, I leave the recipe open ended for you to use whatever basil you have on hand and/or add lemon zest to get the lemon flavor. I also added optional white chocolate chips to this recipe, as I think it would be a great addition for some extra texture.

Basil Blondies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 C AP flour
• 1/4 C basil, finely chopped
• 1 tsp lemon zest, optional
• 1/2 C white chocolate chips, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, spray a 9"x9" glass pan with oil.
2. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar. Add in the egg, vanilla, and salt, stirring until combined.
3. Add the flour, then fold in the basil and white chocolate, if using.
4. Pour the batter into the pan, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the center is set.
5. Cool on a wire rack and cut when cool.

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