Maple Pecan Blondies with Smoked Salt

0 Brown your butter until it smells like nutty caramel gold. Pour into a bowl and cool until liquid but not solid. (Think melted ice cream, not frozen brick.)
1 Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8 pan. Don’t skimp—you don’t want blondie fossils stuck to your pan.
2 Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Park it off to the side like the boring kid in gym class.
3 Beat the egg for about a minute, then add brown sugar and whip until fluffy—“Southern pageant hair in the 80s” fluffy.
4 Stir in cooled brown butter, vanilla, maple extract, and maple syrup. Beat until creamy and smooth.
5 Fold in the flour mix until just combined. Toss in ½ cup pecans like you’re sneaking extra crunch into the batter.
6 Spread into your pan, then sprinkle the rest of the pecans over the top. 
7 Bake 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
8 Now, here’s the magic—finish with a pinch of flaked smoked salt. Not table salt. Not “I bought this at Dollar Tree” salt. Actual smoky flakes of awesome.
9 Cool if you can. Or cut early, deal with gooey collapse, and brag about it anyway.