By Priya Krishna
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling and chilling
- Rating
- 4(913)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Saffron and pistachio, a combination known to many on the Indian subcontinent as kesar pista, is a classic flavoring in South Asian, Iranian and other desserts — and for good reason. The buttery richness of pistachios brings out the floral flavor in saffron. Kesar pista shines in other sweets like this nutty twist on a blondie. Seth Byrum, my partner and an avid home baker, suggested enriching the base with white chocolate, which feels reminiscent of khoya, the richly flavored milk solids in several South Asian confections. The radiantly golden frosting lets the saffron do the talking. Garnish the top with pistachios to mimic the top of more traditional South Asian sweets, like shrikhand.
Featured in: The Dreamiest Desserts Start With These Two Flavors
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch pan
- ¾cup/112 grams raw, unsalted pistachios, plus more for garnish
- 1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
- ¾teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¾teaspoon baking powder
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾cup/173 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1¼packed cups/250 grams dark brown sugar
- 2large eggs, at room temperature
- ½cup/87 grams white chocolate chips
- ½teaspoon/.33 gram packed saffron threads
- 1½tablespoons whole milk
- 6ounces/170 grams cream cheese, softened
- ⅓cup/77 grams unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔cup/93 grams confectioners’ sugar
- Pinch of coarse kosher salt
For the Bars
For the Frosting
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Make the bars: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper such that the paper spills out over the sides of the pan, like wings.
Step
2
In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until the nuts are very finely ground. Don’t let them get pasty. Add the flour, salt, baking powder and cardamom and pulse to combine.
Step
3
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar until smooth and shiny. (The butter will separate at first, then blend in.) Whisk in the eggs until incorporated. Add the pistachio mixture and mix with a silicone spatula to combine. Gently stir in the white chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer.
Step
4
Bake until the sides are brown and pull away from the pan, and the middle is slightly paler in color, 25 to 27 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.
Step
5
While the bars cool, make the frosting: Finely grind the saffron threads in a mortar using a pestle or in a microwave-safe bowl using the back of a spoon. If needed, transfer the ground saffron to a microwave-safe bowl or to a small saucepan if you don’t have a microwave. Stir in the milk, and microwave on high or heat over medium until the mixture is frothing around the edges but not boiling, about 30 seconds. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer to quickly cool the mixture.
Step
6
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, use an electric hand or stand mixer or a heavy whisk or wooden spoon to beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. If working by hand, this takes some muscle. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and beat again until hom*ogeneous and no clumps of sugar remain. Beat in the cooled saffron milk until well-combined. The frosting will turn a bright golden hue.
Step
7
Once the bars have cooled completely, scrape the frosting over the top, and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Crush or chop some pistachios for garnish and sprinkle all over the top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating. The bars keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Ratings
4
out of 5
913
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Cooking Notes
Demetroula
Had all the ingredients on hand so I made these yesterday and took them to a meeting last night. Beautiful colour, a delicious riff on blondies, raves all around. If you love the combo of pistachios, cardamom and saffron, you're all set. Surprisingly, despite the amount of sugar + white chocolate, they weren't over-the-top sweet as I expected.I freshly ground the cardamom -- and it took more like 4 hours for the frosting to set in the fridge. Will definitely make again.
Linda S.
I made them to share with friends from the neighborhood. They were a hit. But if I make them again, I will change a couple things: (1) I thought they were WAY too sweet. Even though I cut the bars in tiny portions, I thought they were a little overpowering. I'll skip the white chocolate next time, and (2) a half teaspoon of saffron is too much, given the price and overpowering taste. I'll cut that down -- maybe an eighth of a teaspoon.
nancy
I made these today. Love the bar, but the frosting never set. I would definitely cut the amount of milk or add it “as needed” for a spreading consistency.
Paige
Delicious, but just way too sweet. I didn't even add the white chocolate! The cardamom overpowered the pistachio, so I would cut that in half next time. The frosting was excellent though, wouldn't change anything there. I did not have issues with the frosting setting.
Mary Anna Hovey
WOW....I'm in the process of making these. Pan has been in the oven 30 minutes and they still are not done. I have no idea why.
Archana Patel
Definitely not! Saffron has a flavor to it as opposed to turmeric which is mostly used for color.
Dena
Made these today, some have said they were too sweet, but I didn’t have that experience, probably because I used lightly salted roasted pistachios as that’s what I had on hand! Honestly, I think that’s a better choice- nutty texture and really cut the sweetness - all around, an unusual and tasty treat!
Nancy from Cali
Not sure why other people complained. These are excellent cookies. The pistachio flavor is divine. I have a couple of notes. I did not have white chocolate chips; so I cut up a bar of Callebaut white chocolate into tiny pieces, more like shaved chocolate. With this technique the chocolate didn’t sink and blended throughout the cookies. They did need an extra 5 minutes to bake and the frosting stayed a little gooey. But they are still fantastic.
Chef Mccormick
This was so uninteresting. Not one of these ingredients shines; making it an uninteresting and uninspired muddle of flavors. Perhaps orange zest or orange blossom water in the frosting? And I would go way heavier on the cardamom in the blondie. Not a repeat.
barbA
For a sweet cake that size I use only one-half cup sugar. Plenty sweet. Plus you have white chocolate in the batter and a sweet frosting.
Archana Reddy
I absolutely loved this treat. Reminded me of Diwali sweets. Made a couple of changes after reading the reviews, used salted pistachios, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips. DIVINE!Cannot wait to make it again.
Nancy McAfee
Disaster! The chips sank to the bottom and crusted. The frosting was not very good and you cannot taste the pistachios.
mar
rock solid. used roasted + salted pistachios, which ended up balancing out the sweetness of the icing; keep the white choc chips as-is, gives a little sweetness to the bar -- great recipe
Anna Stamborski
1/2 the sugar, salted pistachios, added orange zest to the batter. Astounding
Christa
Frosting disaster!! The recipe calls for room temperature cream cheese. I ignored the instruction "room temperature" and wondered why oh why my frosting looked like undercooked hard boiled eggs...turns out, if cream cheese is cold, it won't mix properly and have a lumpy consistency. Making this on Thanksgiving wasn't the smartest play either. The blondie portion, was fantastic. Will make again with a simple butter cream frosting.
kelsey
A hit at Friendsgiving! The frosting was a bit on the softer side so add time for extra cooling if needed.
Tina HP/Paris
Going to make this, looks delish. Wondering what i can use instead of flour (wheat-free) – almond meal too nutty/thick. Will do a cashew frosting, from comments the reco frosting is a bit rich.
orlando bloom
Great. Not too sweet. Very pretty
BD Traveler
These are so good!! I’m desi and I’m loving the South Asian flavors in this. I’m pretty sure saffron cream cheese frosting is my new favorite thing. I forgot to set a timer when I put the blondies in the oven so I guesstimated 19 more minutes but then they needed like 15 more minutes than it called for! I think I had these in the oven for like 30-45 minutes in total which was confusing and I’m not sure why they took so long; the blondies were still super jiggly and not passing the toothpick test
Felicity Spector
I just made these to bring into work - it is 30 Celsius outside so the frosting melted a bit but my colleagues in the newsroom were crazy for them! One colleague said ‘this is the best thing you’ve ever made’ and I make 3 cakes a week to bring in for people… so I’d say they were a success.
ss
10g molasses
E Traverso
I loved these however the frosting was a bit thick so I used more milk. The blondies alone are the BEST!!! My family and kids went crazy. We enjoyed the saffron frosting but I made more of a glaze and it was a hit. I love saffron but we all felt the frosting was a bit much. I now make these with a glaze, and garnish with pistachios and when I can get them edible flowers. Always a hit.
M. M. Dillman
About 30g sugar per bar if portioned into 12 bars.
M. M. Dillman
My friends and I thought these were too sweet. The amount of sugar seemed to dominate any nuance of cardamom or saffron or pistachio which were the intriguing flavors of this treat for me. I might try again with 3/4 brown sugar in the blondie and skipping the white chocolate. I’d also leave out the butter in the frosting and only use 1/3 confectioners sugar for a stronger cream cheese tang to balance the blondie.
LindaL
I have made at least ten batches of this fantastic recipe and every single person loves it. I’ve even created a recipe for ice cream with most of the same flavors (except buttercream). Easy. Flavorful. And surprising. Love it!
AM
Very delicious! I used half the frosting.
Cecil
very good - good to take out
Bruce G
Hey Chef McCormick. Why the hate? I thought these were wonderful as is, but your suggestions of orange zest and extra cardamom will probably push them over the top. Definitely will repeat and give your suggestions a try.
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