These gochujang blondies are a wonderful blend of spicy and sweet in a blondie, a cookie bar with the chewy and gooey texture of a brownie, but without the cocoa.
These blondies are made with a combination of light and dark brown sugar and are packed with butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, and caramel bits. Then, they are topped and swirled with a gochujang "caramel" before baking.
For the chips and "add-ins," I used what I had on hand from other baking projects (the end of the bag). You can substitute some of your favorites, such as chocolate chips, toffee bits, or toasted pecans or walnuts.... whatever you have.
I loved the butterscotch chips because they bring out the flavor of the bars, and the caramel bits because they add more chew.
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a Korean fermented chili paste. Ingredients include red chili peppers, glutinous rice, fermented soy beans, and salt. Depending on the brand, it can vary in spiciness but the flavor is generally savory with a hint of sweetness. If you can't find it, the flavor is similar to sriracha, but the texture is more paste-like.
To make the gochujang "caramel" in these blondies, you mix together softened butter, brown sugar, and gochujang. You then dollop the mixture over the top of the batter that is already in the pan, and then, using an offset spatula, you swirl the mixture through the batter.
Once you bake the blondies, the gochujang mixture will seep into the batter and create pockets of spicy sweet and savory flavor.
These blondies are sweet with more than a little hint of heat, but not too much. Even though you can definitely taste the spiciness of the gochujang, my husband, who is pretty picky about spicy foods, actually liked these!
While I've made savory dishes with gochujang such as Korean fried chicken, "dirty" fried chicken, and Instant Pot braised brisket, I've not used the ingredient in a dessert. Recently, the New York Times published a recipe for Gochujang caramel sugar cookies that I hear has become viral.
Why not try it in blondies, right?
Verdict? These blondies turned out to be really good. Plus, the base blondie recipe itself is very chewy and moist, just like a brownie/blondie should be. They are not at all cake-like.
Tips To Make These Blondies:
You begin with melted butter mixed with brown sugar. I used half light brown and half dark brown sugar. You could use all light brown sugar but I think all dark brown sugar might be a little too molasses-y.
I've seen some blondie recipes where you brown the butter before mixing it with the sugar for a deeper flavor. I decided to skip this step because I wanted to emphasize the butterscotch/caramel flavor of the bars. They actually taste a lot like chocolate chip cookie dough, in a good way. If you'd like to brown the butter, give it a try and let me know!
Once they've cooled, store these blondies at room temperature in an airtight container on a layer or two of paper towels.
A note about cooking time: Baking time will vary depending on your oven and pan. Bake the blondies until the center is no longer jiggly, but not solid. You still want the blondies to be very moist. Mine took 25 minutes.
If you like blondies, be sure to try my peanut butter and jelly blondies and chocolate chip marble square blondies (for your chocolate cravings).
Both recipes call for swirling and add-in through the batter before baking.
Best Blondie Recipes
- Carrot Cake Blondies from Creative Cynchronicity
- Duff's Brown Butter Blondie from Hezzi-D's Recipe Box
- Frosted Maple Pecan Blondies from That Recipe
- Gochujang Blondies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
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Gochujang Blondies
These gochujang blondies are a wonderful blend of spicy and sweet in a blondie, a cookie bar with the chewy and gooey texture of a brownie, but without the cocoa.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 110 grams (1/2 cup) light brown sugar, packed
- 110 grams (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 135 grams (1 cup) unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 100 grams (about 2/3 cup) butterscotch chips
- 50 grams (heaping 1/4 cup) caramel bits
- 50 grams (about 1/3 cup) white chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 heaping tablespoon gochujang
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8" by 8" metal cake pan with parchment paper. Spray the pan and the parchment with spray oil. Set aside.
- Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla and egg.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined. Add the chips to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute.
- Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
- In a small bowl, combine the gochujang "caramel" ingredients until combined. Dollop the gochujang over the top of the batter in the pan, and then drag an offset spatula or knife through the dollops to create swirls in the batter. Be sure to press into the batter a little so that the gochujang is not just on top.
- Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until the center is no longer jiggly, but still most enough to leave crumbs on a toothpick inserted in the center.
- Let cool completely in the pan.
- Lift the edges of the parchment out of the pan and place the blondies on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
207Fat (grams)
9 gSat. Fat (grams)
5 gCarbs (grams)
30 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
30 gSugar (grams)
22 gProtein (grams)
3 gCholesterol (grams)
29 mg
I bet the white chocolate balances out the gochujang and the caramel adds the perfect compliment. These blondies sound incredible!
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