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Forget the January ‘no naughty food’ rule, if you have one, because I’ve come up with a much better idea. Or rather, been reminded of one. Still eat that yummy little treat but make it a little healthier in some way if you can and … now here’s the super smart part … simply have a smaller portion!
When I found the recipe that I adapted for these very-yummy-although-I-say-it-myself blondies in a very early post of Deb’s from Smitten Kitchen, she very wisely suggested that the best way to serve them is in smallish cubes so that you don’t end up feeling bad about over-indulging. You have to admit it’s an obvious way to be a good girl or boy!
So what else did I do to make these blondies a little more virtuous, if a brownie can/should ever be so? Apart from being stingy with those little cubes! Well, I decided to replace the butter with olive oil. After a quick online search it seems that it is perfectly possible to do this and … handy little fact coming up … as a rough guide you should use 3 units of oil for every 4 units of butter.
Most recipes I found that replace butter with olive oil do suggest using light olive oil instead of your Italian grandma’s best first press extra-virgin, however, so that the taste of the oil doesn’t come through in the recipe. As I only had the posh stuff, though, I did actually risk using that and, honestly, it really didn’t taste at all olive-oily. I was extremely happy about this as I was making these little sweet nibbles to go with coffee after our BBQ this past Saturday and would have been very disappointed if they’d been spoilt by the oil. But they weren’t – phew!
And just for the record, don’t worry, we’re not a crazy family having BBQs in the winter. I’m in Australia and it’s SUMMER here, of course! [P.S. Making the most of it as I’m off to the chilly UK in a week. And, incidently, will have to borrow my mum’s clothes as all I will have with me is summer stuff. Long story and yes I feel cold just thinking about it! ;-)]
Anyhow, back to the blondies. The only slightly off-putting aspect of this olive oil substitution was that the cake batter didn’t look particularly appetizing before going into the oven. Yes, it was vaguely the colour of extra virgin olive oil and smelt like it, too. Yuck. At that point I have to admit I was doubting! But I promise you that the colour magically came right when the blondies came out of the oven. There was no bad taste and no yucky colour. Certainly none of our BBQ guests noticed anything fishy – or rather olive oily! Opting for oil instead of butter just reduces the saturated fat and cholesterol content of the cakes, makes for a lovely moist texture, and apparently makes them last longer, too. Thanks to Aimee at Wallflowergirl for that information!
So … in summary, these cute little blondies did not end up tasting of olive oil, thankfully. But a luscious deep caramel flavour they very happily DID have, thanks to the copious amounts of brown sugar in them. There you go – there’s the less virtuous part and the reason for the smaller portion. I used light brown sugar, as again that’s what I had to hand, but I would suggest that dark brown sugar would give them a richer flavour. Next time I will definitely be plumping for the darker sugar.
And that, along with the subtle fruity-ness of the blueberries and the large creamy chunks of white chocolate and sweet semi-soft macadamia nuts I strirred through the basic mixture made for one very satisfactory blondie indeed!
If you like the idea of the cutting-into-small-chunks-to-help-people-out-with-their-possible-diets route, something else that really helps here is the fact that the recipe is just for a small batch made in a roughly 8×8 inch pan. And don’t forget to make them when you have plenty of people to share them with!
These blondies are SUPER quick and easy and very adaptable. I loved them with the blueberries, white chocolate and macadamia nuts, but you could add about ½ to ¾ of a cup of literally anything you think would go well – different chocolates and nuts, raspberries or blackberries, citrus peel, glace cherries … like my mango and pistachio chocolate bark of a couple of posts ago, the possibilities really are endless!
Please do let me know if you have a go at these blondies and what you decide to put into them … that would really make my day!
Serves: Enough to share between a small crowd
- ⅓ of a cup (70ml) olive oil (any kind)
- 1 cup (220 grams or 7 and ¾ ounces) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup (140 grams) flour
- ½ a teaspoon baking powder
- about ⅔ of a cup/100 grams blueberries (or other berry such as raspberries)
- ½ to 1 cup (about 100g) of chopped white chocolate
- ½ to 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
- Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Pour the olive oil into a large bowl and add the sugar. Whisk well.
- Add the egg and vanilla and whisk again.
- Mix in the salt, flour and baking powder. Don't over-mix.
- Gently fold through the blueberries, chopped white chocolate & macadamia nuts.
- Pour into the baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer plunged into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool on a cooling rack before cutting it into smallish cubes.
Use light or dark brown sugar.
Replace the blueberries, white chocolate and macadamias with ½ to 1 cup each of any of the following: chocolate chips or chunks of your choice, your choice of nuts, mashed banana, dried fruit e.g. cherries, peanut butter. coconut etc.
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These look so yummy!! Love the idea of replacing butter with olive oil! Such a good idea for reducing calories without reducing flavour. How well do you think these would work with dried blueberries? I find when I use fresh fruit the cakes don’t keep long enough for just the two of us!
Good point, Claire. I think they’d be absolutely fine with dried blueberries – or with any other fruit fresh or dried for that matter. I think you could experiment with adding pretty much anything you like. I didn’t have the problem with them needing to keep longer though as my BBQ guests polished them off pretty fast!
I love the blueberry / white chocolate / macadamia combination you have going on here! I haven’t made blondies in probably over a year – I clearly need to change that! And gorgeous photos!
Thanks, Ashley! The photos were fun to take for this one. You got a mention in the post – did you see? 😉
These look so good! I have a pint of blueberries in my fridge that I bought without a plan for them. This may be what I use them for! Thanks for the recipe. Pinning! 🙂
Thanks for pinning, Mel! These really were good, and with very little effort. I’ll definitely be making them again and I really do hope you try them,too!
These blondies are calling my name and I’m calling back to them “please come here”. Major yum!
Thanks Pamela … unfortunately we ate them all over here so you’ll have to make some of your own – luckily they’re super easy!
I’ve never made blondies or brownies with olive oil but I should give it a go! Sounds like it can’t hurt at all, only enhance 🙂
Maybe some would disagree, but I honestly couldn’t taste the oil. I hope you do give it a go some time, Lorraine, and thanks for stopping by. Love you blog, by the way!
What a great combination, will have to try. Thanks!
Thank you, Cheri, and you’re welcome! Do try these – they were indeed a good combination and not too unhealthy if you just have a small piece!
You are so right about smaller portions. I’m trying to eat healthier nowadays, but can’t completely swear off some indulgences here and there… but I have a strict rule of a 3-bite max on all indulgences. That way I get to taste and enjoy, but not have it ruin my eating goals. And love this idea of using olive oil instead of butter! I could definitely go for one of these blondies right about now!
I know it’s a cliche, but I really do think it’s all about moderation. I used to eat far too much sugar (mostly in the form of chococlate!) but actually have got used to eating less. I don’t get so many cravings any more, which I’m very happy about, but like you I don’t want to cut out ‘the bad stuff’ altogether. That would make for a very very boring life! Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Yum, these look amazing! I’m definitely going to try the recipe- love all the different flavour combinations too 🙂
Thanks, Jessica! They turned out better than I was expecting, actually. Sort of like a cross between cookies and brownies 🙂
I love the caramel richness of blondies – these look gorgeous. I think I would struggle to stick to only eating one cube…they’re too good!
Well … I have to admit, Lucy, I didn’t just have one cube, despite my best intentions 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
Any Blondie likes olive oil as much as I do is a friend of mine. This look ta die fer.
Thank you, friend!! 🙂
These sound wildly delicious, and your photos are absolutely gorgeous! And you’re so right – you can’t feel too bad if you just have a small piece, though it would be hard to resist these 🙂 pinned!
Thanks so much for the compliments, Rachel. I’m still learning on the photography front, but so enjoying experimenting. Love your blog by the way, and thanks for pinning!!
I love blondies, so much more than Brownies…and these look amazing!
Me too. I love the rich caramel flavour. Actually, this was only the second time I’ve made them as they’re not really very common in the UK. So easy to make though!
Yay! The olive oil worked beautifully. I am definitely going to have to share these, they sound SO good. And sweet of you to mention me too! 🙂
Thanks so much, Aimee … and you’re welcome! It was your lemon drizzle cakes that inspired me to try olive oil in the blondies 😉
Oh my these look amazing. White chocolate and blueberries 🙂
Thank you, Zainab! I hadn’t really made blondies before, believe it or not, but now I’m a true believer!
It is impossible for me to get blueberries here, SIGH! But his looks so amazing I must make it and substitute the blueberries with something like strawberries…
I tried making them with raspberries, Sofia, but I have to admit that the raspberries were a bit too wet. You might have the same problem with strawberries 🙁 How about some dried fruit? Any you can find!
Helen, how have I been missing this recipe my whole life?? I adore blondies and love that this has blueberries in it! Gotta appreciate the tip about eating smaller pieces! But I think I may still end up eating the whole pan! 🙂
Haha … as I remember I actually didn’t just eat one piece in the end, Gretchen! This was sort of my ‘introduction’ to blondies if you can believe it. Glad you like them!
Oh! This looks amazing! I love fruit and blondies, why didn’t I think of this!
Love the blog!
~Kloé ♥
Hello, Kloe, and thanks so much for passing by the blog … and for your sweet comment! These blondies went down very well with my family … the blueberries work really well because they stay so intact. I hope you give them a go!