What happens when a chocolate chip cookie collides with a brownie? A blondie! Featuring the moist texture and bar-style of a brownie paired with the caramel notes of brown sugar and vanilla in a chocolate chip cookie, blondies may or may not contain chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, toffee, chunks of candy, coconut or other delightful additions. Brown butter provides a modern twist to some versions.
Interestingly, the first published recipe for a brownie, in Fanny Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cookbook in 1896, was what we now call a blondie. It contained no chocolate – that didn’t become common in American baking for about another 10 years. It was sweetened with both molasses and brown sugar, so it was darker and had more depth of flavor than today’s blondie recipes. Now we often combine light brown sugar with dark for a medium toffee flavor or use white sugar in place of one kind of brown sugar for an even lighter flavor. It took about 50 years for Farmer’s recipe and its cousins to be called blonde brownies.
One of the best things about blondies is how fast and easy they are to make. The batter is simple to knock together even by hand – no mixer required – and pours easily into one pan. So much faster than making individual chocolate chip cookies!
Today, in addition to the traditional gooey, toffee-flavored original blondies, recipes abound for blondies with twists like pumpkin and pie spice, cinnamon and apples and more. Keto and gluten-free options allow more people to enjoy the deliciousness of blondies. Read on for a classic blondie recipe from Taste of Home as well as a gluten-free recipe and a keto one that includes peanut butter!
Classic Blondies with Chocolate Chips
From Taste of Home
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla just until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to brown sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread into a greased 13×9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
Low-Carb Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Blondie
From My Keto Kitchen
4.5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4.5 ounces natural peanut butter, smooth
3 ounces (½ cup) Natvia
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ounce (¼ cup) coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3.5 ounces sugar-free chocolate chips
Preheat oven 180C/355F. Place the softened butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth.
Add the Natvia and beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula occasionally.
Add the chocolate chips and stir through with a spoon. Pour the mixture into a lined square cake tin. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, the blondie is baked when an inserted skewer comes out clean. The blondie will be very fluffy and will drop slightly when cooled. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into 16 pieces and enjoying.
Gluten-Free Blondies
From Better Homes and Gardens
2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, cut up
2 eggs
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla
2 cups Gluten-Free Flour Mix (recipe below)
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butterscotch-flavor pieces or semisweet chocolate pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan cook and stir brown sugar and butter over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon just until combined. Stir in vanilla.
In a medium bowl stir together Gluten-Free Flour Mix, baking powder, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in butterscotch pieces. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading evenly.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars while warm.
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
3 cups white rice flour
3 cups potato starch
2 cups sorghum flour
4 teaspoons xanthan gum
In a large airtight container whisk together rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, and xanthan gum. Cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 months.
For even more gooey blondie goodness, check out HuffPost’s roundup of blondie recipes!
