blondie recipe
An easy chewy blondie recipe made in 30 minutes! A simple bar cookie flavored with butter, brown sugar and vanilla that is soft, chewy and stays fresh for over a week!
A good blondie recipe should be chewy, packed with butterscotch flavor and, above all else, easy! This recipe is all three! Brown sugar, butter, vanilla and butterscotch chips pack in the flavor and make these blondies extra chewy.
One bowl, a whisk and 30 minutes stand between you and the best blondies! These come straight from my little black pastry recipe book. You should file this recipe away in yours alongside homemade brownies with a flakey top, brookies and chewy sugar cookies!
Table of contents
Why You Will Love this Blondie Recipe
- An easy last minute dessert, bake sale or birthday treat.
- Made in one bowl with a whisk. Melted butter makes these extra chewy and incredibly easy to make!
- It comes straight from a professional kitchen into your home.
- Perfect flavor & texture. Brown sugar, butter, and vanilla not only give you the perfect butterscotch flavor but they also combine for the chewiest blondies!
Professional Tips for Making Blondies
- I recommend whisking the dry ingredients together first. While this technically makes it a 2 bowl recipe, it is best practice to distribute the baking soda, salt and baking powder throughout the flour mixture.
- Whisk the eggs in very well. The eggs emulsify the batter and bind together all that sugar and melted butter! Whisking very well before adding the dry ingredients will keep the blondies from feeling or tasting greasy.
- Slice cold for perfect slices. It isn’t essential but cooling the blondies to room temperature then refrigerating for 1 hour will allow you to slice perfect slices as small (or as large) as you want! This is the best option if you want bite sized pieces for a dessert bar or as a little treat.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour will ensure the best chewy texture. I wouldn’t recommend using bread flour or cake flour. Pastry flour would be a fine alternative. You can also use an all-purpose gluten-free flour in this recipe. Just be sure to let them cool and then cut them after refrigerating for the cleanest slices.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I use a balance of baking powder and baking soda to achieve the perfect leavening. If you don’t have baking soda, simply omit it. The resulting blondies will be a little flatter.
- Kosher Salt
- Large Eggs: The eggs add moisture, fat (adding to the chewiness!) and emulsify the batter! They are essential for making sure the blondies don’t feel, taste or look greasy. The ratio of butter to brown sugar to flour makes these chewy without adding an extra egg yolk.
- Vanilla Extract
- Unsalted Butter: The butter should be melted and still warm when mixing. This will ensure the most chewy texture. You could also brown the butter for brown butter blondies like I did in my brown butter carrot cake or oreo rice krispie treats!
- Dark & Light Brown Sugar: I use a mix of dark and light brown sugar for a rich flavor, but you could use one or the other depending on what you have available. Using 100% brown sugar makes these blondies rich with butterscotch flavor and chewier than those made with granulated sugar.
- Butterscotch Chips: Butterscotch chips are optional but they really enhance the butterscotch flavor. I love these same blondies without them just as much, truth be told.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible Variations
- Get crazy with the mix-ins! Instead of (or in addition to) the butterscotch chips, try folding in chocolate chips or morsels, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped candy bars, M&M’s, or shredded coconut. Add a few extra on top for a pretty presentation. These bars are also excellent with cranberries or dried cherries along with chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts.
- Add a swirl! Swirl in some salted caramel sauce, softened peanut butter or another nut butter, melted chocolate, marshmallow fluff, or any combination.
- Think outside the flavor box: Use these blondies as the base for these s’mores blondies, carmelitas or a blondie cookie cake like this chocolate chip cookie cake!
How to Make this Blondie Recipe
Use these instructions to make thick, chewy butterscotch blondies! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F convection (with the fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan). Spray and line a 9-inch square (for thicker blondies) or a 9 x 13-inch rectangular (for thinner blondies) baking pan with crisscrossed parchment paper. Letting one side overlap the edge to make wings.
I clip these wings down with small metal binder clips to keep them from folding over the blondies while baking. The non-stick spray just sticks the paper to the pan.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: In a separate large bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, butter and sugar until homogenous. Pour all the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and stir it in using a rubber or silicone spatula. The mixture thickens too much to use the whisk. Fold in butterscotch chips if desired.
Step 4: Pour blondie batter into prepared pan and spread out with an offset spatula.
Step 5: Bake in preheated oven, for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and beginning to brown on the edges. The bake time will vary depending on the pan you choose to use. The 15-20 minutes is for a 9×13 inch metal pan. If you are baking in a pyrex or glass pan, they will need an extra 5 minutes or so. The same goes for baking thicker blondies in a 9-inch square dish.
Step 6: Cool completely in pan before removing.
Refrigerating the cooled blondies before slicing will give you perfect slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store baked and cooled blondies well wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature for a week, refrigerated for 10 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
The freezer is the best option for preserving the fresh taste and texture. Unless I am serving them the day or the day after they are made, I cool the blondies, refrigerate, cut and then wrap very well and freeze.
This blondie recipe is an excellent make ahead recipe. I recommend cutting and then freezing the cut blondies. Simply thaw at room temperature 30 minutes (or more) prior to serving.
You can make as large a batch as you want! You can also make a half batch. This recipe easily divides into 2!
Serve blondies as a stand-alone treat at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave or oven. Top warm blondies with vanilla ice cream, crème anglaise, salted caramel sauce or butterscotch sauce then sprinkle with toasted nuts.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
blondies
Description
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted, 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup butterscotch chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F convection (with the fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan). Spray and line a 9-inch square (for thicker blondies) or a 9 x 13-inch rectangular (for thinner blondies) baking pan with crisscrossed parchment paper. Letting one side overlap the edge to make wings. I clip these wings down with small metal binder clips to keep them from folding over the blondies while baking. The non-stick spray just sticks the paper to the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, butter and sugar until homogenous. Pour all the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and fold it in using a rubber spatula. The mixture thickens too much to use the whisk. Fold in butterscotch chips if desired.
- Pour blondie batter into prepared pan and spread out with an offset spatula.
- Bake in preheated oven, for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and beginning to brown on the edges. The bake time will vary depending on the pan you choose to use and if you are using the convection setting on your oven. The 15-20 minutes is for a 9×13 inch metal pan in a convection oven. If you are baking in a pyrex or glass dish, they will need an extra 5 minutes or so. Thicker blondies in a 9-inch square dish will take longer as will those baked in a conventional (no fan) oven.
- Cool completely in pan before removing. Refrigerating the cooled blondies before slicing will give you perfect slices.
Notes
The freezer is the best option for preserving the fresh taste and texture. Unless I am serving them the day or the day after they are made, I cool the blondies, refrigerate, cut and then wrap very well and freeze.
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef created recipe. Check out our other delicious brownies & cookie bar recipes or try another nostalgic snack favorite, banana bars with cream cheese frosting!
