Almond Paste Blondies

Blondies are such an easy and quick dessert to make! These delicious almond blondies have a delicious homemade almond paste in the middle for a sweet surprise.

Almond paste is a nutty filling made out of blanched almonds, powdered sugar, and an egg white. Almond extract can be added for an additional almond flavor punch. It’s different from marzipan—marzipan is used for confections and candy, and almond paste is usually used as a filling. You can buy almond paste at the grocery store, but it can be expensive. It’s much cheaper and tastes fresher to make it at home, and it’s so easy and delicious!

If you love almond paste as much as I do, you may have to avoid the temptation to eat it all while adding it to the blondie batter in this recipe!

The blondie batter has a slightly reduced amount of sugar to accommodate the powdered sugar that’s in the almond paste. This way, each bite isn’t overloaded with sugar.

These blondies feel like an “adult” dessert—dressed up with sliced almonds on top, and filled with a rich almond paste! The almond paste makes the blondies so incredibly soft and chewy.

ALMOND BLONDES

Makes eight square blondies unless cut into smaller pieces/bars

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BLONDIES

• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (114 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (reserved from the almond paste) room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup (28 g) sliced almonds

FOR THE ALMOND PASTE

• 2/3 cup (77 g) blanched almonds, slivered or whole
• 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons (76 g) powdered sugar
• 1 egg white from a large egg* (reserve the yolk for the blondies)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon rose water (optional)
• pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with a greased parchment sling. Melt the unsalted butter and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small food processor, grind the blanched almonds until fine. Add the powdered sugar, egg white, salt, almond extract, and rose water; process until a paste forms.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt in a bowl and set aside.

Measure the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir well until combined. Mix in the egg, reserved egg yolk, and vanilla extract; then add the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

Spoon half of the blondie batter into the 8×8 pan, and then sprinkle chunks of almond paste across the top. Pour in the remaining batter over the paste and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with the slivered almonds.

Bake for 25-27 minutes. Let the blondies cool before cutting. Enjoy!

NOTES

You may not need the entire egg white to make a paste. Add half of the egg white first and add more if the paste is still powdery. If the paste ends up being a bit runny instead of firm, that’s okay—it doesn’t matter too much since it’s being baked in the middle of the blondies.