There’s been a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon in our freezer for some time now. Aside from the odd old fashioned, I’ve been looking for ways to incorporate it into cooking. I came across this recipe on Serious Eats and decided to adapt it based on the age old premise of emptying the pantry.

The process of making blondies is very straightforward. It’s equal parts brown sugar to flour, a stick of butter, pinch of salt and vanilla. From there, you can add just about anything that you fancy. The bourbon in this recipe is subtle (I’m not sure if Isabel even noticed it). But it did add elemental interest to the works, making  what’s usually a one-note baked good a bit more multi-dimensional.

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Ingredients:

• 1 stick of room temperature butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• chocolate chips (optional)
• quick oats (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. I decided to apply the Milk Bar cookie technique of  taking the creaming process well beyond what typical recipes call for. This involves adding the egg once the sugar has been incorporated and whipping the works on high for about 8 – 10 minutes. Christina Tosi credits this process for Milk Bar cookies crisp exterior and fudgy, under-cooked interior. And if that doesn’t sound like what a good blondie should taste like, I don’t know what does.

3. The egg-sugar-butter batter should have lightened in colour and doubled in size. At this point add the vanilla, the salt and the bourbon.

4. Pour in the flour and mix until a batter forms. Fold in the optional elements.

5. Grease a baking pan and pour the works into it. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, checking in at about the 18 minute mark.