After brownies, blondies are a most popular bar cookie. Flavors of brown sugar and butter are the characteristic features and these are indeed like the blonde cousin of the chocolate or cocoa-laced brownie. Many variations abound, some naked with no chips or nuts in sight, but most recipes have one or both. We have added semisweet chocolate morsels as well as chopped pecans, but feel free to use this recipe for blondies as a base for whatever you would like to add – dried cherries, walnuts, white chocolate chunks – the sky’s the limit. Just stick with the same amounts of add-ins.
Blondies
Author: Bakepedia
Makes: Makes 25 bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate morsels
- ¼ cup pecans halves, finely chopped
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Heaping ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Instructions
- Position rack in the middle of your oven. Preheat to 350° F. Coat an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray.
- Toss the chocolate morsels and nuts together in a small bowl; set aside a couple tablespoons of the mixture (do this by eye).
- Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; toss in larger amount of morsels and nuts; set aside.
- Whisk together melted butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in vanilla and then the egg, blending well. Allow mixture to cool slightly and then stir in flour mixture just until combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Scatter reserved morsels and nuts over the top.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until bars are pale golden brown, are slightly puffed and the edges have just begun to come away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs clinging. Do not over-bake. Cool completely in the pan set on a rack. Cut into 25 (5x5) bars. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper.
Bakepedia Tips
- Don’t be put off by the heaping ½ teaspoon of baking powder. The idea is you need more than ½-teaspoon, but less than ¾ teaspoon, which would have been an amount we could clearly state. Just do it by eye and you’ll be fine.
This was the first Bakepedia recipe I tried and they came out perfectly (because for once I followed a recipe to a T)!