White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

White chocolate gets a bad rap. My childhood memories of it are overly sweet candy bars that my mom would try to push off on me because it was less likely to give me a headache. It wasn't until well into adulthood that I discovered how delicious on its own good white chocolate is. It's even better once you add fruit to it. Raspberry is a natural companion, but I think I had discounted the opportunities for strawberries. It's not quite strawberry season here yet, but luckily I still have a stash in the freezer from the peak of last season. I'm glad I didn't wait to make these, they're well worth it and very summery even on a stormy day.

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies (from Love and Olive Oil)

Ingredients
5 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberries, hulled and halved (I used closer to 2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang (this will help the blondies come out of the pan later). Butter parchment.
2. In a double boiler or a bowl set over (but not touching) a pot of gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring constantly, until smooth. [You might be able to do this step in the microwave if you have grocery store white chocolate.]
3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. At this point your batter should have cooled slightly to just above room temperature. Don't worry if it appears to separate.
4. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
5. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just incorporated and no dry flour remains.
6. Fold in strawberries. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely.