Tahiti Blondies

If you are a regular FoodNetwork watcher of the show Throwdown you might have heard of this Blondie by another name. In this particular Blondie episode, the challenger made Tahiti Blonde Sweeties. Ring a bell? I had wanted to make this dessert for a long time but never took time to find the recipe. I found this copycat recipe on cookiemadness.net a few weeks ago and just had to make it for Mr. Man’s family birthday party. Can you believe he is one? I know, me either. Anyhoo, these were really wonderful right out of the oven. Made me feel like I was sitting on a beach in a sunny destination. If you put one up to your ear you can hear the ocean.:)
Things to note. The description in the recipe for the toothpick test was brilliant. Very accurate. Next time I will not press so much juice out of the pineapple. I got a little over zealous and I guess I thought I was dealing with frozen spinach instead of canned pineapple and it was a little too dehydrated and got lost in the flavors. Finally, now you might want to brace yourself for this one, it had too much coconut. I know, such a shocker coming from the coconut queen but it was leaning too much towards macaroon for me. So I suggest loosely packing it in the measuring cup. Other than that I give it two thumbs up!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tahiti Blondies
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup macadamia nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup Hershey’s white chips
8 oz can of unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained, and pressed dry
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment or non-stick foil.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture, then the coconut, nuts, pineapple, and chips. Do not over mix or the blondies will be more like chocolate chip bars.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick test gives a moist crumb. Do not over bake. Let cool, lift from pan, cut into bars.