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Blondies Recipe

Filed under Bakery, Cookie

Blondies

Please welcome Simply Recipes guest author Garrett McCord who shares with us his favorite blondie recipe.

Blondies are often called brownies without chocolate which I find silly; blondies are a dessert with their own unique deliciousness and personality. Whereas brownies depend on chocolate for their flavor, for blondies it's all about the brown sugar, giving the blondies their distinctive molasses flavor. Chewy, rich, and flavorful blondies, when made right, are an indulgent dessert that are hard to resist.

This is my "go-to" dessert recipe since it only takes about 5 minutes to make and then throw in the oven. I can't count how many times I dashed this together so that last second company could arrive to a freshly baked treat. Plus, it only makes a small batch, so you don’t have to worry about being tempted by dozens of tasty treats lying in wait for you.

Since brown sugar is the critical flavor here, I suggest using dark brown sugar. While butterscotch chips or walnuts are commonly mixed in, chocolate chips are equally good. And of course, blondies should always be served with a glass of milk.

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Blondies Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of butter, melted
  • 1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.

4 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 blondies.

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Posted by Garrett McCord on Mar 17, 2008 and indexed Cookie

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Comments

Delicious. Usually I find blondies to be too sweet, however, I think the cocoa/chocolate in brownies really cut through the sweetness.

My girlfriend makes a mean brownie/blondie using store bought plain cake mix (either german choc. or white cake) with the addition of very little liquids to make a very thick and fudgy brownie/blondie. These look wonderful though. I know for a fact that peanut butter belongs in blondies or perhaps peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch, or both!

Posted by: Nick on March 18, 2008 12:20 AM

Garrett, I do believe you are clairvoyant. I have been yearning over the PERFECT good and simple blondie recipe for quite some time now (quite some time meaning 6-10 years...) The last time I had blondies was when my little sister made them in her easy bake oven so I think it's time to return the favor. Many thanks for the awesome recipe!

Posted by: Sam on March 18, 2008 1:43 AM

One cup all purpose ... flour.
Whoops! Thanks for catching the typo! ~Garrett

Posted by: mbash on March 18, 2008 2:36 AM

Mmmm... I don't have any dark brown sugar at home but I do have a glut of light brown ones. Is that a viable alternative?

Of course! =) ~Garrett

Posted by: Anonymous on March 18, 2008 4:05 AM

I love Blondies!

Posted by: Daron on March 18, 2008 5:19 AM

That reminds me that I have never tried blondies!! It's about time, I think. :)

These look delish!

Posted by: Patricia Scarpin on March 18, 2008 5:21 AM

Looks like time to try these again!

Posted by: Deb C on March 18, 2008 5:38 AM

Ah, something for the non-chocolate lover. These look tasty!

Posted by: earth heart on March 18, 2008 6:01 AM

I will definitely have to try these! I love that they're quick, that they don't make too many, and that I always have all of those ingredients on hand. Perfect!

Posted by: Amy on March 18, 2008 7:32 AM

I love Blondies. I have all their records, and even attended a concert in the 80's.

"One way, or another, I'm gonna eat'cha, I'm gonna eat'cha, eat'cha, eat'cha, eat'cha..."

Yup. Still need more sleep.

Almost forgot...I recently made a cocoa-based brownie recipe, substituting about 1/3 to 1/2 of the white sugar with a light brown sugar on the suggestion of a pastry chef friend. The brown sugar gave it a saturated chocolate flavor that left me speechless. You must try it if you never have. Compensate a bit for the added moisture, however.

Posted by: jonathan on March 18, 2008 7:34 AM

My mom always added a small amount of maple syrup to her blondies. Really tasted great with the brown sugar!! Can't wait to try it!!

Posted by: Amanda on March 18, 2008 8:41 AM

Excellent recipe! I love bondies! One little thing that I did differently is brown the butter - just cook it for about 6 minutes until just brown (careful not to burn it!) and let cool slightly before continuing - it really adds a nutty depth to the taste.

Thanks for some great cookie and bar recipes Garrett!

Loving this idea, Andrea! ~Garrett

Posted by: andrea on March 18, 2008 8:41 AM

Great recipe, Garrett! I like putting white chocolate chips in my blondies!

Posted by: Delilah Hinman on March 18, 2008 9:07 AM

Ooh, this looks delicious! I'll add it to my ever-growing collection of dessert recipes! Thanks, Garrett.

Posted by: Lauren on March 18, 2008 10:32 AM

I needed a quick dessert for supper with friends tonight. So I made the recipe with chocolate chips and walnuts because that's what I had on hand. Smelled great in the oven and my taster sample confirmed it: incredibly yummy. Perfect!

Posted by: Stacy on March 18, 2008 10:46 AM

YUM! These look Great!

Nick, can you please have your girlfriend post her recipe on your site... PLEASE!!! :)

Posted by: Denise on March 18, 2008 11:28 AM

Just a pinch of salt, really? I find that when recipes are designed around very sweet ingredients one needs a bit more than a pinch of salt to make me want to take another bite after the first rich one. (Most especially if your add-ins are also sweet.)

Also because there is no salt like the next one I think it's important to add an extra pinch at least for good measure. Remembering that baked goods need not be salty per se, but balanced...

I used to work at a bakery where we added all sorts of great additions like peanut butter, and toffee to the mix. Blondies are not only forgiving, they're quite accepting!

Posted by: shuna fish lydon on March 18, 2008 11:59 AM

Blondies are the most requested dessert in our house. We LOVE them! Your look great. Hummmm... maybe I should make some tonight :0)

Posted by: Michele on March 18, 2008 12:37 PM

Wow. Those look REALLY good... I'll have to make them after Easter, just without the nuts. :)

Posted by: Audrey on March 18, 2008 12:58 PM

Can I possibly fake dark brown sugar by adding some molasses to some light brown sugar? Or should I just use light brown sugar if that's what I have on hand? Don't ask what kind of house I live in where I have molasses AND lt. brown sugar but no dark brown sugar. ;-)

I would say just use light brown sugar. ~Garrett

Posted by: Kate on March 18, 2008 1:16 PM

I saw this recipe and couldn't believe it! My nana used to make these,but she called them butterscotch squares. These are just like hers!! AWESOME! Thank you!

Posted by: Lisa on March 18, 2008 1:41 PM

Blondies are also quite wonderful if you replace the vanilla with almond (or if you are adventurous like me... add TO it), add 6 oz of softened Mascarpone, some lemon juice and once baked and cooling, lemon flavored sparkling sugar for presentation and pizazz! The possibilities of things you can do to this recipe are ENDLESS!!!

Posted by: Darby "the Dessert Diva" on March 18, 2008 2:30 PM

Wow, those look awesome. My mom used to make these.

Posted by: furiousball on March 18, 2008 3:09 PM

This may sound like a silly question (I'm a new baker), but are Blondie's similar to chocolate chip cookies without the chips? I can't seem to bake the cookies without burning them, so I thought maybe I would give this recipe a try.

PS - Garrett, I made your red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's for my deployed husband and he loved them!! (Besides the squished factor since I had to vacuum seal them!) Thank you so much!

Hmm, I guess, in a way, they are a bar cookie that is close to a c.c. cookie. Really, a blondie has it's own character and definition. Blondies are, as Shuna notes, very forgiving; give the recipe a try! Also, very glad that the Red Velvet cupcakes turned out so well for you! ~Garrett

Posted by: Kerry on March 18, 2008 3:33 PM

These just came out of the oven a few minutes ago... MmMmmm. Chewy and soft. Yum. I think I would've lowered the butter just a tiny tad (slightly too greasy). I added 2 tsp of molasses to the mix too.

Posted by: autumnmist on March 18, 2008 4:07 PM

Those blondies look nicely darked by the brown sugar...mmm...

Posted by: Kevin on March 18, 2008 7:09 PM

I have been making a similar recipe for years (decades, actually); we call them blondie brownies, and we use semi-sweet chocolate chips. As a matter of fact, getting ready to make a batch to send to son in Iraq.
Thanks for the variation!

Posted by: Deborah on March 18, 2008 7:28 PM

How fortuitous! I was JUST searching for a good blondie recipe yesterday, and today you post this! I will definitely try it this week.

Posted by: Amy on March 18, 2008 8:56 PM

Oh you can never have anything too sweet!
Seriously, I have tried blondies with carob and no one has noticed it wasn't chocolate.

Posted by: Canny Granny on March 19, 2008 7:15 AM

Those look delicious! I've honestly never made blondies before (I love chocolate too much!) but this recipe is so enticing, I'm going to give it a try!

Michelle
thelittledish.com

Posted by: michelle on March 19, 2008 10:18 AM

I never thought that I would enjoy brownies without chocolate, but these just came out of the oven and I had a piece without waiting for it to cool. It was delicious and it's quite likely that I'll be making these again before the end of the week. I didn't have any dark brown sugar on hand, and used light brown sugar instead, but they came out fabulous. I also added some semi-sweet chocolate chips and they provided the perfect contrast. Thanks for a great recipe!

Posted by: Sarah on March 19, 2008 11:16 AM

I've always preferred blondies to brownies; thanks for defending them as their own dessert!

Posted by: Lady Amalthea on March 19, 2008 11:19 AM

I made these last night and they are THE pblondies. I never put any add-ins (chips, nuts) even though I like both ingredients in other baked goods. My first taste of blondies was as a grade school student in TX and those were plain, so that's how I like them now.

I used light brown sugar instead of the dark (which I didn't have in my pantry) and they were still fantastic. We had none left over!

Posted by: Claudine on March 19, 2008 5:15 PM

Great recipe! Can't wait to try this one!

Posted by: Mary on March 19, 2008 5:50 PM

Those look amazing. My mouth is watering.

Posted by: Andy on March 19, 2008 5:50 PM

I have these in the oven right now. They smell delicious, and the batter was yummy too. Can't wait to eat them!

Posted by: April on March 19, 2008 5:56 PM

I thought the butter and sugar were melted together in a saucepan for blondies? Or is that a different bar cookie?

Posted by: Keira on March 19, 2008 7:16 PM

I just ate one of the batch I commented about earlier. YUM! I browned the butter, like another commenter suggested, and used chocolate chips. I cut the pan into 16 pieces. I can't imagine eating 1/9th of the pan!

These would be so awesome with candied ginger. I'm definitely going to try that sometime.

Posted by: April on March 19, 2008 9:42 PM

I can't wait to try the blondies this weekend. Does any one have a recipe for a good warm sauce to serve with the blondies?

Posted by: Kim on March 20, 2008 7:04 AM

I started mixing the ingredients together once I saw this recipe, looks so good! Mine are in the oven now!

Posted by: Rose on March 20, 2008 2:20 PM

I made these tonight to take to our Good Friday service tomorrow. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a parchment-lined jelly roll pan. They turned out perfect! Delicious!

Posted by: Seven on March 20, 2008 4:12 PM

I made these last night in just minutes while I was heating up leftovers for dinner. Super easy and delish! I used a mixture of chocolate chips and PB chips. SO good! Thanks for the great recipe!

Posted by: Mel on March 21, 2008 10:14 AM

Based on a Cooking Light tip, I always brown the butter as I melt it a bit to deepen the flavor. You get caramel notes. Delish!

Posted by: Cady on March 22, 2008 8:00 AM

Thanks so much for this recipe. I am not a baker, but they came out great. Easy, but homemade, is exactly what I am looking for. Addicted to this site!

Posted by: Hil on March 22, 2008 9:02 AM

Those look delicious! I definitely prefer Blondies to plain old chocolate brownies.

Posted by: Lisa on March 27, 2008 4:08 PM

Yum... I baked them for a baby shower tomorrow and I'm having a hard time not eating all of them now! I used light brown sugar, but I will try dark brown next time, maybe brown the butter as well just to deepen the flavor. Thanks so much for the recipe!

Posted by: KC on March 28, 2008 10:57 PM

Can't wait to make these for an event I have coming up this weekend. Need something quick and that doesn't require hand mixer etc. Thanks!

Posted by: Mrs. L on March 30, 2008 2:15 PM

Wonderful recipe!
We loved it, we'll make it again for sure.
Thanks!

Posted by: vanou on April 4, 2008 10:22 AM

This is a great recipe. My favorite part is that the recipe is sized for an 8x8 pan, which is preventing me from eating way too many! I agree about lowering the butter slightly. Also, I used half Smart Balance and half regular Margarine, keeping it pure by not adding any mix-ins. Used light brown sugar, with an extra teaspoon of molasses (after all brown sugar is simply granulated sugar with added molasses). But I'd say throw this in your recipe box as your regular blondie recipe.

Posted by: Dave E. on April 5, 2008 12:15 AM

FABULOUS!! Loved them! I made 4 pans yesterday as part of my contribution to the freezer cooking my girl friends and I were doing! My pan did not make it to the freezer! My husband is in love!

Posted by: Jane on April 6, 2008 8:39 AM

Delicious. However took far longer than 25 minutes in the oven, so give your self enough time.

Posted by: Jake on April 13, 2008 3:10 AM

These are *amazing.* Thank you so much for this super easy, delicious recipe. I used chopped dates instead of nuts or butterscotch chips and they worked very well.

Posted by: Dewi on April 15, 2008 10:03 AM

I've made these a few times now (and always a double batch!) They are amaizng. I've made them with semi-sweet chocoloate chips (I'm a chocolate fiend) and chopped walnuts on top. mmm ...

To die for. And so easy I can whip them up without breaking out the heavy machinery!

Posted by: pricklypanda on April 18, 2008 10:34 AM

Thanks for a great blondie recipe. Made these yesterday and we're really enjoying them. Used semisweet chocolate chips as a mix-in and had to use light brown sugar because that's what I had. Will try them again when I have the dark sugar and I bet they're even richer.

Posted by: cindy on May 5, 2008 5:05 PM

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