Indulge in Richness: Baking Decadent Finlandia Butter Blondies

Finlandia Butter Blondies are a testament to the exquisite flavor that high-quality butter brings to baked goods. While many are familiar with Finlandia’s renowned cheese, which has graced American delis for over half a century, their butter is increasingly making its mark in mainstream grocery stores. This premium, European-style butter offers a depth of flavor and a creamy texture that elevates simple recipes into extraordinary treats. When you bite into one of these blondies, you’ll immediately understand why Finlandia butter is becoming a favorite among home bakers and professional chefs alike. Its unique qualities truly shine through, making these blondies exceptionally rich and satisfying. This recipe offers a delightful way to explore the superior taste and texture that Finlandia butter provides, transforming a classic dessert into a truly gourmet experience.

The Excellence of Finlandia Butter: A Closer Look

Finlandia butter is conveniently available in 7 oz blocks, offered in both unsalted and salted varieties. Each type boasts distinct characteristics that cater to different culinary needs. The unsalted variety is particularly noteworthy as it is a cultured butter. This means live bacteria are added during its production, similar to how yogurt is made, resulting in a slightly tangy, complex flavor profile that many connoisseurs adore. This culturing process also contributes to a lower moisture content and higher butterfat percentage compared to many American-style butters, which is a significant advantage for baking, leading to flakier pastries and richer, more tender baked goods. The depth of flavor in cultured butter adds an unparalleled richness that is immediately noticeable in recipes like these blondies.

Finlandia Butter: Salted and Unsalted Varieties

In contrast, the salted Finlandia butter is crafted simply with cream, salt, and milk. It offers a pure, rich dairy flavor complemented by a balanced saltiness that can enhance a variety of dishes. While I personally enjoy both, I often find myself sprinkling flakes of sea salt over the unsalted cultured butter when using it as a spread, which creates a delightful contrast of creamy tang and savory crunch. The versatility of Finlandia butter makes it a staple in any kitchen, whether you’re spreading it on toast, enriching a sauce, or, as we’ll explore, baking something truly special. The availability of both options ensures that you always have the right butter for your culinary endeavors, whether you’re aiming for a controlled salt level in baking or a ready-to-use spread.

Why Choose European-Style Butter for Baking?

European-style butter, like Finlandia, is celebrated in the baking world for its superior quality. Its higher butterfat content, typically around 82-84% compared to the 80% found in most American butters, means less water and more rich, concentrated butter flavor. This subtle difference has a profound impact on the texture and taste of your baked goods. For blondies, it translates to a chewier texture, a more tender crumb, and an undeniably richer, buttery taste that truly shines through. It’s an ingredient that doesn’t just add fat; it adds character and depth, making every bite a luxurious experience. When butter is a primary flavor, investing in high-quality European-style butter truly pays off.

I was incredibly excited when Finlandia provided a sample of their butter to create a new recipe. My goal was to develop a baked good that would truly highlight the magnificent flavor of this butter. Two classic options immediately came to mind: a decadent pound cake and the timeless, comforting blondie. Both are recipes where butter is a star, not just a supporting player, allowing its quality to be the defining characteristic of the final product. Their simple ingredient lists allow the butter to be the hero, delivering an unadulterated buttery bliss.

A Tale of Two Bakes: Pound Cake and Blondies

Finlandia Classic Butter Pound Cake

My first venture with Finlandia butter led me to their own recipe collection, specifically their Classic Butter Pound Cake with Sweet Butter Glaze. The experience was nothing short of fantastic. The pound cake, with its dense yet tender crumb, boasted an incredible butter flavor that permeated every bite. It was so good, in fact, that I baked it again, this time adding a striking stripe of chocolate. To achieve this, I simply combined ¾ cup of the prepared batter with some melted chocolate before swirling it into the remaining plain batter. The result was not only visually appealing but also offered a delightful chocolatey counterpoint to the rich butter, making it an even more indulgent treat. The aroma filling the kitchen alone was enough to tell you this was no ordinary cake.

This particular pound cake recipe relies on air incorporation, rather than chemical leavening agents like baking powder, for its rise. This method, often called the “creaming method,” requires a stand mixer to thoroughly beat the butter and sugar together, creating a light, airy base that gives the cake its signature texture. The extra effort is well worth it for the remarkable outcome, yielding a cake that is dense yet moist, with a fine crumb that perfectly showcases the butter’s exquisite flavor. It’s a classic technique that truly benefits from the high-quality fat content of Finlandia butter.

Effortless Decadence: Finlandia Butter Blondies

While the pound cake was a triumph, sometimes you crave something a little easier to whip up. That’s where these Finlandia Butter Blondies come in. They are significantly simpler to make than the pound cake, requiring no specialized equipment like a stand mixer – a simple saucepan and a bowl will do the trick. This recipe is a variation of my go-to blondie formula, and I can confidently say that the addition of Finlandia butter elevates them to a new level. The blondies achieve an even richer, more pronounced butter flavor, with a delightful chewiness that’s hard to resist. The straightforward process makes them perfect for a last-minute craving or a casual get-together.

For this specific batch, I opted for a classic combination of toasted hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate chips. The hazelnuts add a wonderful nutty crunch and depth, perfectly complementing the sweet, rich blondie base and the slight bitterness of the chocolate. However, the beauty of blondies lies in their adaptability. Feel free to experiment with any kind of nuts or chocolate chips you prefer – walnuts, pecans, macadamias, white chocolate, milk chocolate, or even a mix of several. The possibilities are endless, and the Finlandia butter base ensures that whatever you choose, the blondies will be utterly delicious, providing a canvas for your creativity.

Tips for Perfect Blondies Every Time

Achieving the perfect blondie is straightforward, especially with quality ingredients like Finlandia butter. Here are a few tips to ensure your batch turns out beautifully:

• **Don’t Overmix:** Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix just until combined. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, leading to tough blondies rather than tender ones. A light hand will yield a wonderfully chewy texture.
• **Cool the Butter-Sugar Mixture:** After melting the butter and combining it with brown sugar, it’s crucial to let the mixture cool slightly before beating in the egg. Adding an egg to a hot mixture can scramble it, affecting the texture of your blondies. Patience here ensures a smooth, even batter.
• **Don’t Overbake:** Blondies are meant to be soft and chewy. Overbaking will result in dry, crumbly blondies. Look for edges that are lightly golden and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a center that might still look a little soft. They will continue to set as they cool, so trust the process.
• **Line Your Pan:** Using foil or parchment paper to line your baking pan makes it incredibly easy to lift the entire batch out once cooled, allowing for clean, even cuts. Remember to grease the foil/parchment as well to prevent sticking.
• **Toast Your Nuts:** If using nuts, toasting them beforehand (on a dry pan over low heat or in the oven for a few minutes) enhances their flavor significantly, adding another layer of depth to your blondies. This simple step amplifies their aroma and taste.

Serving Suggestions & Customization

These Finlandia Butter Blondies are fantastic on their own, perhaps with a dusting of powdered sugar. They pair wonderfully with a cup of coffee or a tall glass of cold milk. For an extra indulgent treat, serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. The contrast of warm blondie and cold ice cream is simply divine, making them perfect for dessert any time of year.

As for customization, let your imagination run wild! The base recipe is incredibly versatile:

• **Chocolate Varieties:** Try milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter chips, or even chopped candy bars for different levels of sweetness and flavor.
• **Nutty Adventures:** Experiment with pecans, walnuts, almonds, or even pistachios for varied textures and subtle flavor notes.
• **Fruity Twists:** Dried cranberries, cherries, or chopped apricots can add a lovely tang and chewiness, balancing the sweetness of the blondies.
• **Savory Crunch:** A handful of pretzels or a sprinkle of sea salt on top before baking can offer a delightful sweet-and-salty contrast, which is always a crowd-pleaser.
• **Extracts:** Beyond vanilla, consider adding almond extract, maple extract, or even a touch of orange zest for different aromatic profiles that can completely transform the blondie.

• Walnut Chocolate Chip Banana Blondies
• Caramel Filled Blondies
• Hershey’s Baking Melts Peanut Butter Candy Bar Blondies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
• Maple Butterscotch Macadamia Blondies

Recipe

Finlandia Blondies

Anna

These Finlandia Butter Blondies offer an incredible depth of flavor and a perfectly chewy texture, making them an instant classic and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for any occasion.

Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

 

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 140 grams
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted Finlandia butter 114 grams
• 1 cup packed brown sugar 210 grams
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ tablespoon rum
• 1 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup toasted nuts your favorite (I used hazelnuts here)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees F. Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and grease the bottom. This step ensures easy removal of your blondies once they’re baked and cooled.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. This combines the dry ingredients evenly for consistent baking.
• Melt the Finlandia butter in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar to the warm butter and stir until well combined. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes before beating in the egg. This prevents the egg from scrambling.
• With a spoon or whisk, gently beat in the egg, vanilla and rum into the cooled butter-sugar mixture until smooth. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet batter, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. If the batter is still warm, allow it to cool further, then gently fold in the chocolate chips and toasted nuts.
• Spread the batter evenly in the prepared 8-inch pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the edges are pale golden and begin to pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. The center should still look a little soft, as blondies continue to cook slightly as they cool.
• Let the blondies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, use the foil lining to lift them from the pan and cut into even squares for serving. Enjoy the rich, buttery goodness!

Keyword Blondies, Finlandia Butter, European-style butter, Butter Blondies, dessert recipe

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Conclusion: Elevate Your Baking with Finlandia Butter

Baking with Finlandia butter is an experience that truly highlights the difference high-quality ingredients make. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting, these Finlandia Butter Blondies offer an approachable yet incredibly rewarding recipe. Their rich, deep butter flavor, combined with a perfectly chewy texture, makes them an instant classic and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The subtle tang from the cultured butter adds a layer of sophistication that standard butter simply cannot replicate. Each bite is a testament to the premium quality of Finlandia, transforming a simple blondie into a memorable dessert.

So, the next time you spot Finlandia butter in your grocery store, seize the opportunity to elevate your baking and treat yourself to these undeniably delicious blondies. You won’t regret it! They are more than just a sweet treat; they are an invitation to savor the exceptional taste that comes from using the very best ingredients in your kitchen. Discover the difference that true European-style butter can make in your homemade desserts and impress your family and friends with these irresistible Finlandia Butter Blondies.