It’s baking season! So many delicious treats to enjoy. Here’s an invitation to pause your cookie baking for this fantastic treat. We love brownies, chocolatey-rich and delicious, and their counterpart, blondies, more cookie-like but a fusion of brownie and cookie. One of my new favorite blondies is this recipe for Smoked Maple Blondies. Made with browned butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup Smoked Maple Blondies are already off to a good start. Let’s continue on this adventure!

Brown butter is absolute gold when it comes to both cooking and baking. Browned butter adds a luxurious nuttiness to these blondies, and it’s so simple to do that you may find yourself browning butter for your next batch of cookies, too! Layers of flavor occur in these three ingredients, from the molasses-infused sugar that is brown sugar to the richness of maple syrup, and of course, the browned butter.

Not to be forgotten, the “smoke.” The next layer of flavor comes in the form of smoked paprika. Rich and earthy smoked paprika, sugar, more butter (wink), and pecans are tossed together and toasted. These candied pecans will be folded into the batter, adding smoky sweetness and crunch.

The kitchen will smell downright irresistible a these Smoked Maple Blondies bake in the oven. And then comes the time for patience, as it is necessary to let the blondies cool slightly before slicing into squares and serving. Golden Smoked Maple Blondies are delightful treats for a holiday cookie exchange or maybe even left on a plate for Santa to enjoy!