BAKLAVA BLONDIES

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Roughly chop the 1/2 cup walnuts & 1/2 cup pistachios and set aside (pro-tip: save 1 tbsp. of the chopped nuts for topping later). Melt 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter in a medium sauce pan. Once the butter starts to bubble, add the chopped nuts and whisk constantly until butter is a caramel color & fragrant. Strain butter into a heat-proof mixing bowl, and set buttered nuts aside.

To the mixing bowl with butter, add 1 cup dark brown & 1 cup light brown sugar and mix together until the sugar is coated evenly with the butter. Add 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla extract & 1 tsp. orange blossom water and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. baking powder & 1/2 tsp. salt until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, trying to avoid over mixing the batter. Fold in buttered nuts.

Add blondie batter to a greased 9x9 baking pan, flattening batter to ensure it is one even layer. Top with saved nuts, and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until blondies are golden brown. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before digging in.