Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Super rich and sweet! Almond like a cross between caramel fudge and blondies.
Texture: My favorite part. Chewy yet gooey, crunchy yet soft, everything you could want in a single bite!
Ease: Quite simple and easy. The hardest part is how long these thick bars take to bake and cool…
Pros: Fun twist on a blondie, and perfect for fall.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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Many of my most popular Instagram images feature the most ooey, gooey, and sinful treats I’ve managed to create.
You know the photos. Where you can basically see what taking a bite would feel like. That’s not easy to accomplish, but I think we’ve managed to do it here with these Caramel Pecan Blondies.
Can’t you just imagine yourself taking a bite out of one of these? The chewy blondies, the gooey caramel, and the crunchy pecans?
It’s a trifecta of textures that can’t be matched. Plus I just love that there’s a small fall twist on these blondies that makes them perfect now that the weather is cooling off.
Although I cut these into big squares in these photos, these blondies are ultra rich and definitely on the sweet side. If you’re serving a crowd cutting smaller pieces will absolutely suffice.
This recipe is actually super simple, too. The caramel in the middle is “short cut” caramel using melted down caramel squares from the store. I used the Kraft brand. I would also recommend using a metal pan to bake these, at they’ll cook much quicker. Glass or ceramic will cook much slower.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, be sure to snap a photo to share, tagging me and #handletheheat on Instagram!
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Ingredients
For the blondies:
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups (400 grams) dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon molasses, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
For the caramel pecan filling:
- 25 soft caramel candies, unwrapped (200 grams)
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch pan with foil or parchment. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Don’t skip this, the caramel filling gets sticky!
Make the blondies:
- In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla and stir until combined. Stir in the salt and flour.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top begins to set. Keep oven at 350°F.
Make the filling:
- Meanwhile, combine the unwrapped candies with the cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between bursts, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in the pecans.
- Pour the caramel over the middle of the bottom baked blondie layer. Pour the remaining batter over the caramel layer is completely covered.
- Return to the 350°F oven and bake for another 30 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Let cool completely before chopping into bars with a big sharp knife. Wipe the blade with hot water for cleaner slices.
- Serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Photos by Lauren J. Photography.
I am planning on making this recipe this week, but I wanted to ask what type of pecans you used. Raw? Candied? Salted? Unsalted? Roasted?
Hi Kristel! You can find halved or chopped pecans in the baking aisle of your grocery store, which are typically raw and always unsalted. Roasted and unsalted will also work. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of these blondies once you have given them a try 🙂
I made these for Thanksgiving and they make the BEST Blondie Sundaes warm with ice cream and caramel sauce. So stinking good.
These were very popular at our Thanksgiving. This was my first time making them, I would recommend letting the bottom layer cool out of the oven before pouring the caramel on because I felt like the layers did melt together a bit. I read this from other reviewers but they mostly tried with their own caramel recipe. I followed her recipe to a T except I did sprinkle some sea salt over the caramel pecan layer which I recommend! Also, I froze the bars and they were just as good as fresh!
I’d like to make this in a 9×13” pan instead of 8×8”. Can I double the recipe? How will it affect the cook time/oven temperature?
Hi Carolyn! We haven’t tried that with this recipe, but that should work just fine! Use a metal 9×13 pan, and bake at the same temperature. You may need to add a few minutes to the bake time – it will just depend on your oven. Happy baking 🙂
This recipe is amazing. So easy and comes together quickly…no mixer needed. The taste is smooth, buttery, and just sweet enough.
I am not usually a Blondies person, but after this recipe I am now!!! I made these using Werther’s soft caramels (easier to open than kraft) and they were perfect. I brought them to work and EVERYONE was raving about them
Hi Shannon! Yay, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed these blondies so much! Tessa has a bunch more delicious blondie recipes on our site, so I hope you will continue to experiment 🙂 Happy baking!
Wow! So so delicious! I used bonne maman caramel and regular milk instead of cream because that’s what I had, and wow I’m obsessed! So so good!
So happy to hear that!
As a baker, I should know better than to deviate from the recipe especially when other comments said not to do what I did. I made the mistake of using Tessa’s delicious homemade caramel sauce instead of using the caramel candy required in the recipe. The blondies just mushed into themselves. The baked part on the edges were delish. Will make again following recipe.
I understand the need to pour that homemade caramel sauce on literally everything haha, it’s amazing!! But you are correct, it’s too thin of a sauce to use with this blondie recipe. Excited for you to try them again 🙂
Hi, I am having trouble finding the soft caramels in the uk, can I use a thick caramel sauce? Or even soft toffee, really want to make these as they look delicious
Sharon
I haven’t tried that, but you’re welcome to experiment with it! It definitely needs to be a thick caramel sauce. Good luck!
I used weathers soft caramel and followed your recipe, it came out great, lovely and gooey and sweet and delicious
Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes
I made 2 batches of this. The 1st batch was made with Tessa’s caramel sauce and the caramel dissolved into the blondie. The 2nd batch was made with Kraft caramels and it didn’t dissolve into the blondie. Some reviewers said to let the 1st layer cool first but if you make it with Kraft caramels you don’t need to let it cool first. It’s best to make this recipe with Kraft caramels. In the 2nd batch, I also reduced the butter and dark brown sugar by 2 tbsp each and it was still delicious, gooey & yummy.
Oops! I didn’t mean to review this 2x. I didn’t see my review yesterday so I thought it didn’t go through.
I made these and they were delicious! I made the 1st batch using Tessa’s homemade caramel sauce and it dissolved into the blondie. So I made a 2nd batch with the Kraft caramels and they didn’t dissolve. I noticed some reviewers say to let the 1st layer cool first but you don’t need to do that if you use Kraft caramels. With the 2nd batch I also reduced the butter and dark brown sugar by 2 tbsp each and they were still chewy, gooey & yummy.
Happy you loved these! Unfortunately, my homemade caramel sauce isn’t meant to be used in a recipe like this, as delicious as it is 🙂 It could definitely be used as a swirl in brownies though!
Very tasty. Definitely let the bottom layer cool completely before you add the next two layers. Also, use less of the caramels, maybe 20 instead of 25. The amount of caramel gets very loose even refrigerating the brownies and overtakes they taste of the brownie.