Blondies:

Preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C. Line an 8 x 8-inch square baking tin with parchment, spray lightly with cooking spray, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat softened butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, brown sugar, molasses, milk, vanilla bean paste, and salt, mixing until well combined.

Add flour and baking powder to butter mixture, and mix until just combined.

Spread blondie batter into prepared tin, using a rubber spatula or damp fingers to evenly distribute the mixture. (Batter will be somewhat thick.)

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove tin from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While blondies are cooling, prepare the salted caramel.

Salted Caramel:

In a small saucepan, warm cream, butter, and salt over low heat. (Do not boil.)

In a separate pan, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, brushing down the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush as needed. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a medium caramel color (about 365° F / 185° C on a candy thermometer; your mixture should resemble honey.) This will take a few minutes, so be patient!

Remove pan from heat and pour warm cream mixture into the caramelized sugar mixture, then wait for a moment until the bubbles subside.

Return pan to medium heat and cook mixture to approximately 244-245° F / 118° C. (This will produce a caramel layer just firm enough to hold its shape on the top of the blondies, yet soft enough to chew easily!) Again, it will take a few minutes for the caramel to come up to the proper temperature, so be patient.

Pour caramel mixture over blondie slab, and use a spatula to spread evenly, making sure the caramel reaches all edges of the tin.

Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt.

Sit aside to cool, at least one hour or until caramel has set. Remove blondies from tin and slice into 16 squares, and enjoy!

Layer blondies between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.