Chai Spice Blondies

Our book club meets once a month where we discuss our book, drink far too much beer, and usually have a themed dessert to go along with everything. This month, we read "Erotic Stories for Punjabi Women"- I recommend by the way. Anyway, Chai was a prominent flavor in the book, so that's how these blondies came to be! This makes about 12 larger blondies or 16 smaller squares. 

For the Chai Spice: 

This was taken from Dessert for Two. I used ALL of it in the blondies- it is a bit potent, but I wasn't mad about it. Mix the following spices in a bowl and set aside:

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

For the Blondies:

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 c brown sugar

3 eggs 

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 c chopped pistachios *I would do more than this next time; I only did this much because I accidentally bought the shell-on pistachios and started hating my life after shelling 1/4 c of them. Patience isn't my strong suit. 

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare an 8x8 inch pan with some nonstick spray and parchment paper. I leave a little parchment hanging off the sides so I can easily lift out of the pan. 

2. Melt butter in the microwave. Stir in the brown sugar. 

3. Once it's a little cooled off, stir in eggs one at a time, mixing between each to fully combine. Add vanilla. 

4. Add flour, chai spice, and salt to the wet mixture and mix well to combine. 

5. Add in pistachios. *I also think a little white chocolate might be nice in here. You do you, boo. 

6. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Again, I feel like this is a case where underdone is better than overdone. Think about brownies- you want some chew and goo in a blondie. 

Here's the book, by the way: