Macadamia Nut Blondies With Caramel-Maple Topping

These are far from health food, but ohmygosh they are good! This recipe comes from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moscowitz.

Ingredients

FOR THE BLONDIES:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 ounces firm silken tofu ( half a package of the vacuum-packed kind)

1/4 cup rice or 1/4 cup soymilk

1/3 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups macadamias, partially chopped & partially ground

FOR THE TOPPING:

1/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine (I always use Earth Balance)

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar or 2 tablespoons other brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup raw macadamias, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. To prepare the dough:.

3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a blender, whiz the tofu with rice milk until smooth.

5. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla, and blend again.

6. Pour the tofu mixture into the flour mixture and use a firm wooden spoon to combine everything well.

7. Fold in the macadamias. The batter will be thick and have a cookie dough consistency.

8. Spread in the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping.

9. To prepare the topping:.

10. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the margarine, turbinado sugar, and maple syrup, and heat until the sugar dissolves.

11. Increase the heat to bring to a boil for 1 minute.

12. Stir in the nuts. Remove from heat.

13. Finally:

14. Remove the blondies from the oven and pour the topping over them.

15. Return to oven, and let bake for 10 more minutes.

16. Let cool completely before serving. The topping should harden to a caramel-like consistency.

17. Cut them into 16 squares or triangles.