We had a few baking odds and ends lying around recently, so on a very rainy weekend we decided that we should put them to good use and bake up something fun.  We settled on blondies – the pale cousin of brownies.  Blondies are perfect for when you want something sweet that’s not too chocolatey, and as a bonus they’re pretty easy to make.  We’ll show you here how to whip up a pan of these blondies in no time.

 

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You’ll need:

  • Butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Sugar
  • An egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Flour
  • Baking powder
  • Walnuts
  • A 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips
  • Cooking spray

For your blondie batter, soften 10 tablespoons of butter (that should be 1 whole stick plus 1/4 of another stick), then place in a stand mixer and beat together with 1/2 cup each of sugar and brown sugar.  Add in your egg and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix on a low speed, then add in 1 1/4 cup of flour, 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt and keep mixing just until you have an even batter.

 

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Use a spoon to stir in a cup of walnuts and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.  Take a 9-inch square baking pan and coat it with cooking spray, then place the batter into the pan.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top, then use your hands to press the batter into the pan in an even layer.  Take the rest of your chocolate chips and scatter them over everything.

 

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Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, until you can stick a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean.

 

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Let the pan cool, then you can cut up your blondies and enjoy!

 

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These were a quick treat to make, so they’re perfect for a day when you need (or just want) a dessert that doesn’t take a lot of effort to make.  And while these blondies don’t have the intense chocolate flavor of brownies, they’re pretty good in their own right:  the mix of regular and brown sugar gives them a interesting, almost caramel flavor, and you’ve still got some hints of chocolate from the chocolate chips.  Also the chocolate chips, both inside and on top, plus the walnuts give a nice crunch that contrasts with the chewy texture of the blondies.  All in all, these were great to snack on over the course of a few days, and they’re definitely something we’re going to keep in our back pocket for times when we need to bake something up on short notice.