blondies for a blondie
I’m back! But not really, as I got home an hour ago, whipped up a batch of the only blondie recipe you’ll ever need for our favorite blondie’s umpteenth 25th birthday and now I have about 45 minutes to find something in my closet that camouflages my sling because ugh, it’s such an eyesore. (On the flipside, when I don’t wear it and someone bumps into me I get all outraged like ‘don’t you know my shoulder is injured?!’ Well, no Debbie, they don’t.)
Although I am certain the last thing anyone wants to think about today is eating, baking, desserts or the next big cooking holiday, this recipe will usher in what I hope will be a month peppered with ideas for gifty kitchen confections. I know a lot of people this time of year make small gifts bags of baked goods, or larger tins for parties, and while I typically don’t, this gives me a chance, too, to try out a lot of bookmarked recipes while also never showing up at a party empty-handed. Also, I finally have an excuse to buy a candy thermometer.
Of course, this recipe is nothing new. I’ve been making it for nearly two years now because it’s simple the tastiest and easiest — one bowl! — baked goods to whip up for a party. It’s denser than chocolate chip cookies, more complex than brownies and in the classic Minimalist style, you’ve can customize it anywhere from a cranberry almond coconut bar to the gunky atery-cloggers I’m best known for. I typically load up on whatever chocolate I have around — tonight it was milk, white and bittersweet — finely chop some walnuts or pecans, use dark brown sugar, European butter and in something you will probably sense is a theme with me, add a splash of bourbon to boot. Gild the lily? Oh, not me. Never.
Finally, I double the recipe, baking it in a 9×13 pan (though really, just because I don’t have an 8×8 — yet) and cut the pieces really small, almost like cubes so we can rest assured that we’re not overdoing it. Oh no, not us. Never.
Blondies
How to Cook Everything
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
- Butter an 8×8 pan
- Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
- Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
- Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I always err on the side of caution with baking times — nobody ever complained about a gooey-middled cookie. Cool on rack before cutting them.
Further additions, use one or a combination of:
- 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
- 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
- 1/2 cup mashed bananas
- 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
- Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
- Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting
mmmmm, what a great sounding basic recipe - will try this soon! My search for recipes is always a search for the base to more complex things - like the basic pancake recipe, which can be spiced up, substituted and tweaked until the cows come home. It is so helpful to know the ratios that make everything turn out like the thing we expect them to be like (pancake-like, cookie-like, cake-like, quick-break-like, and so on)
Also, I’m about to cook a second batch, in 3 days, of your coffee cake…first one was for fiance back at the real home, second one for relatives at thanksgiving feast…that one goes very high on my baked goods list
This is very interesting that you melt the butter and the sugar… I like when things get intriguing. Is this dark or light brown sugar– have you made them with both??
Peanut butter is also a great addition, can help to make them even chewier.
yum, right this minute I was thinking I need something sweet-if only…and now this-perfect.
Wow, and I like one bowl!
Rachael - If you like adapting recipes, you should really check out How to Cook Everything. Alex bought it in his woebegone bachelor days, heh, and the entire book is recipes and then endless adaptation. The instructions are so clear and simple, and really, it has a recipe for almost anything. Of course, one of the problems with this approach is that you have to guess when, which and how many additions will be beneficial, and when you should just stick with the core recipe. Should you use ½ cup or 1 cup of chocolate chips? It’s a big range. Of course this was an easy choice: all of the above! But would all of those additions be good in a cookie? Probably not.
Glad you loved the coffee cake.
Shuna - See, I found that step brilliant. One, I wholly admit that I love the laziness involved in only having to melt and not cream room-temperature butter, because when is it ever room temperature when you need it? But two, because when you’re making a cookie, you shouldn’t really need all that air beaten into the butter that you would need when making a cake, right? I’d think that the lack of creaming would make for a more crisp cookie. I’ve made it with both light and dark brown sugars - this time, I used both because I only had some of each - and each way, it’s wonderful, the darker of course having a more intense flavor. I applaud your suggestion of peanut butter.
Elle - And so easy! Let me/us know if you try it.
Tanna - Me too! I love it when a recipe-writer tests it both ways, and realizes you lose nothing by saving a dish - perfect, as our sink is already stacked with stuff we didn’t get to washing before running out for the weekend. Blech!
I made these last night — very tasty, and very easy!!! My husband thanks you immensely!
allana
I’m glad to have this in the arsenal–the America’s Test Kitchen blondie recipe made some great bars, but seemed awfully fussy to me (though that’s sorta why I love them, too).
This holiday is going to be my first excursion into the world of giving seriously high-quality but not-requiring-backbreaking-kitchen-labor home-baked gifts, so I’m looking forward to all of your posts for the next few weeks! (And beyond, of course…)
Even though I just ate my breakfast, this recipe made my stomach growl loudly. I may have to make them as soon as we run out of Thanksgiving pie and birthday cake.
Those Blondies sure went well with my hangover on Sunday!
THANK YOU!! For everything. It was a great night, although I am still trying to piece together what happened.
I have one silly question, when a recipe calls for butter is it always assumed to be unsalted butter? These blondies are in the oven right now, I can’t wait to taste them.
I made these using unsalted butter, dried blueberries, chocolate chips and walnuts. My six year old tried some after dinner, and came to me and said, “Mom, these are the BEST DESSERT EVER.” Then I got a big hug and “Thanks so much for making those.”
This is the kid who won’t touch nuts, by the way. And i have never gotten a HUG for making cookies before. Definitely a keeper–easy recipe! Thanks!
Deb, thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I absolutely love dried cherries, so I tried the cherries, white chocolate, coconut and walnut version. They were to die for. I love this recipe because it can be made quickly with whatever ingredients I happen to have on hand and with very little clean-up.
This definitely sounds like a keeper. I´ll have to make it very very soon.
I tried these today and they turned out way too gooey(and I like a gooey center as much as the next person) even after I practically doubled the baking time. I’m thinking my oven temperature is really off or my mistake was the fact that I mixed the other ingredients into the saucepan I melted the butter in and it was very warm(the chocolate chips ended up melting almost immediately). Did everyone else cool the butter to room temp. or cooler first?
Deb. first time poster here and wanted to tell you the combo I came up with for these, since you were the inspiratin not only for the blondes but the flavor…. dark chocolate chips and candied oranges (done as you did for the orangettes). fabulous and a major hit with the party I made them for. thanks for the recipe-s! I love your site, your writing, your photos, the inspiration… oh, and the recipes!
Deb, just wanted to say thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I whipped up a double batch of these bad boys and threw in some nuts and dark chocolate for my company Christmas party. Not a crumb was left! :)
i tried the kitchen sink blondies from soupersalad and FELL IN LOVE. I searched far and wide for the recipe, i even went as far as emailing, mailing and calling to company to see if they would give it to me….they wouldnt.
So i tried ever god damned recipe i could find to see if they were similar. didnt work, this is the closest ive found so far!!!
i melt white chocolate and butterscotch (8 oz) and add it to the recipe and then mix in chocolate chips to the batter…so scrumptcious
Wow but 1/4 cup of bourbon was way, way too much. I had to toss these and make another batch.
Oh no! That’s terrible. My first thought was “god, Deb, not everyone loves bourbon the way you do. For real!” but believe it or not, those are Mark Bittman suggestions from his cookbook, not even mine! Good to know for the future. Sorry you learned the hard way.
I found this recipe (and everyone’s helpful comments) a few weeks ago. Now it’s all my husband asks for! Thanks Deb and commenters!
Chocolate chips and pecans are part of the basic version for us, but as we’re big bourbon and espresso fans, I’ve been playing with those two add-ins. When I used 2T of espresso, the bourbon got lost. Halved the espresso and it disappeared, leaving us with bourbon cubes (not that we minded). Tonight’s plan is to try 1.5T of espresso and a scant 1/4c of maker’s. Cross your fingers please.
Hi, I was having a massive food craving last night and was desperate to find something I could bake with the ingredients on hand. This recipe did the trick. I actually have “How to Cook Everything” but can’t currently find it.
I added 1/4 cup of light rum and 1/2 cup of coconut to the basic recipe and my husband was delighted.
Thank you so much.
heeeeeeeeeeeey these are lush! i am baking them for the second for my best friend to give her on her 18th birthday! i used white chocolate buttons and they look delicious! thankyou xxxxx
Oh my god, I made these as a quick dessert, as well as something non-chocolate so my dad could eat them. I added dried cherries and pecans and they were awesome! Thanks!
WOW…this sounds yummie! When adding cocnut how much should I add? Going to also add pecans and chocolate chips. Can’t wait to make this for the family…and me too!!!!
Wow! Who knew blondies were so easy/so few ingredients? I’m definitely going to have to try these!
I’ve got this recipe in the oven now… looking at the software list, it reminds me a lot of the recipe for “Butterscotch Bars” that my grandma swiped out of an old Better Homes and Gardens book. The only real difference being that recipe included baking powder, so the blondies have a bit more “loft” than these probably will.
Anyhoo, it was the variations that hooked me to try this one - I put bourbon in my blondies ;-)
Cheers, kids…
I used a couple of the add-ons (whiskey and butterscotch chips in place of chocolate chips!) and made what my husband now calls “Tullamore Scotchies”! Thanks for the great recipe!
Just made these last night and brought them in to work — everyone loves them… and hates me for ruining their diets! :)
I just made these for a blonde friend who is recovering from surgery… she loves Blondies – I added chocolate chips (she does not like nuts) - They smell scrumptious and if I wasn’t on a weight loss mission they would most definitively be some missing from her care package… thanks for the recipe! Happy Baking!
I made these the other day as a surprise for my mother and they were FANTASTIC. We knocked out the whole pan in a day (sorry diet!). They were perfectly moist. I added dried cherries, white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Thanks so much for the recipe! They were quick and easy to make but tasted as if I slaved over them all day.
I’ve made two batches of these so far and they are awesome! Has anyone noticed that they taste even better after about 3-5 days of being left at room temp? I think the flavors really have a chance to meld together. I know it’s not easy to wait that long but save at least one and try it!
Oh my! I have had this recipe printed out for a few weeks, and was just waiting for a reason to try it out. I decided that reason was going to be the celebration of my husband and I recovering from the flu! I used walnuts and semisweet chocolate chips, and they are absolutely to die for! So easy, so quick, so delicious. Now I just can’t wait to get to the grocery to make those cherry-coconut-almond ones you mentioned above. Thanks for yet another foolproof recipe, Deb!
these are in the oven baking right now. i went with white chocolate, craisins, and a splash of chambord. can’t believe there’s no baking powder or soda, or leavening of any kind - but they smell divine. baby fell asleep in the kitchen, so i must bake! at this rate, i’ll never lose the baby weight.
These are such great blondies! I’ve been making them for months and decided to leave some love. I added some coconut and peanutbutter :D
I am absolutely in love with these! I’ve made two batches in the last two days — pistachio and butterscotch almond :)
I made these the other day for my family. I got up that morning and decided I wanted to make blondies…which I had never made before! I looked up a few recipes and decided to settle on yours. I doubled the batch and added chocolate chips. They were delicious (and they went fast)! The only thing I plan to do differently next time I make them is add even more chocolate chips. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
These are delicious. I’m on my second batch inside a week. Both with dark chocolate chunks, pecans and dried sour cherries. They feel positively healthy compared to my favourite brownie recipe (which uses a pound of dark chocolate, close to a pound of butter and 8 eggs!). Trisha, how an earth did you discover they taste better after 3-5 days? These are out of the oven and gone! Thank you for an amazing blog (deliciously tempting photos) and a great recipe.
Unbelievably easy. I wish I had found this recipe before. I was just tasting blondies and had to make them. I didn’t have the whiskey or the bourbon but I did have some Grand Marnier (orange liqueur). I put a shot of that in the recipe with milk choc chips, semi sweet choc chips, and walnuts. Unbelievable. Especially with some fresh chocolate chip ice cream. Thank you so much. I’m making a batch for my mom next week.
Just phenomenal and so easy! I threw in a good 3/4 cup of toffee pieces and a little over 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Baking took more like 35 minutes and the center was still on the gooey side, but the end product was worth the wait!
I made this recipe this afternoon after stumbling upon it from Google. I made mine a double batch, and I used dates and walnuts for add-ins. They’re delicious.
http://fatduc.blogspot.com/2008/06/so-i-made-some-blondies.html
I made these over the weekend. They are great. I just added good chocolate chips and toffee bits. Thanks
I was wondering how much Peanut Butter to add and how much butter to take out if I wanted to make PB chocolate chunk blondies?
Megan — I haven’t tried it that way, so cannot attest to the best measurements. However, I have a Peanut Butter Brownie (with chocolate chips) recipe on this site I urge you to try–it’s delicious.
I stumbled into your site whilst trying to decipher what the heck went wrong with the ratios in the blondie recipe I was working on. My friend shot me a recipe for coconut blondies, but it was more like a mediocre coconut cake, with the butter and sugar creamed and all that. Anyhow, those hit the bin, and it was time for round two! I used your base recipe with a smidge of coconut cream and a whole lot of shredded coconut. As soon as my knife cut into these, I knew they were gonna be great!!
http://sweetcharitypie.blogspot.com/2008/06/coconut-blondies.html
By the way, your blog is going in my bookmarks for gratuitous food porn- I love it!
I have a batch of these in the oven right now, plain with some dried cherries. The batter tasted insane (I am an obsessive-compulsive spoon licker!) and I can’t wait for the finished product. My coworkers are going to love me tomorrow!
Thanks Deb!