Salted Chocolate Chip & Rosemary Blondies

Salty, Sweet and a savory twist, these blondies are Ah-maz-ing! I have just a hint of rosemary in these bars to make it interesting, and when you add the ooey chocolate, they are downright decadent. Leave out the rosemary and they are still quite tasty and kid-approved. I made these blondies just for me = ).

A few notes on "baking" with plant-based ingredients: a) depending on the butter type, you may need to let it come up to room temperature. I use Melt brand, and find that for baking, I don't want it at room temperature because it melts quickly (as the name would suggest). I have tried Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and those need more "warm up" time. That said, if you swap the plant-based butter sticks for refined coconut oil, the oil should be also at room temperature for the "creaming" step. Any baking works best with your plant-based milk at room temperature vs. chilled.

Sustainability Spotlight: This recipe meets sustainability goals with a pantry line-up of ingredients and that the fresh ingredient (rosemary) is a great way to incorporate herbs into more recipes. Fresh herbs are my favorite way to elevate a dish; and they make it look so pretty with a nice pop of green! That said, I don't want to waste my herbs (this recipe just takes a scant amount) and so I try and incorporate them across several recipes and use them up. Sustainability can simply mean, you tried for less waste.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter or refined coconut oil

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp finely diced fresh rosemary (or more to taste if you want more than a hint / scent)

• 1/4 cup oat milk (or almond milk)

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

• 1/2 tbsp vanilla paste

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup wheat flour

• 1/4 tsp salt (if you want extra "salted" flavor increase up to 1/2 tsp)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 cup mini vegan chips - Enjoy Life can be purchased in bulk on Amazon.com

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Spray with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper cut to width) an 8x8 pan

3. Beat butter & sugar in mixer (or with handheld mixer) on Medium-High till creamed (creamed will have a pale color and look "fluffy" - if you still see glitters of sugar crystals, keep beating). Scrap down sides of bowl

4. Add vanilla, rosemary, flax and milk - beat until smooth; scrap down sides of bowl.

5. In a small bowl, mix all remaining dry ingredients (except chips); add to mixer. Turn on mixer to low and gradually accelerate to Medium-High until incorporated.

6. With your spatula, fold (pull from bottom and drop to the top) in the chips.

7. Spread dough evenly in the 8x8 prepared pan and smooth the top.

8. Slide into pre-heated oven and bake for ~25-28 minutes or until lightly browned and crisped top and done inside. These blondies will be ooey-gooey in the center more likely slightly under baked chocolate chip cookies (just the way I like them). Add more time to cooking if you would like a more chewy center and crisp exterior.

Technically these can be scooped out as cookies, but you should lower the cook time to 12-14 minutes and I recommend (if you like crispy cookies) to add 1/2 to 1 tbsp arrowroot powder to your dry ingredients for before mixing into the batter.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! If you loved it, please let me know!

With love & hope for a better future for us all - Jamie