Tag Archives: blondies

Aug 1

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

I have something shocking to admit: I haven’t been in much of a baking mood lately. I know—blasphemy, but this tends to happen to me during the summer. Still, I did decide this week to whip up a batch of blondies, and I’m glad I did, because they were the perfect accompaniment to the raspberry swirl ice cream I’ve been devouring like a madwoman.

These blondies are basically your classic Cranberry Bliss Bar without the frosting. If you want to add frosting, you can find the recipe here. But I felt that these were more than sweet enough without it (thank you, white chocolate).

These blondies strike that perfect balance of being chewy yet light; and the cranberries add a nice touch of tartness to a sweet white chocolate-infused batter. Best of all, they’re really easy to throw together. My batch took less than 15 minutes from start to finish, including cleanup. And aside from tasting great, they’re also pretty to look at. If you’re in the mood for a quick summertime treat, these blondies will be sure to hit the spot.

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White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies
Recipe from RecipeGirl

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
1 and 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 and 1/4 cups AP flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (the original recipe said 1/8 of a teaspoon, but I like a slightly stronger cinnamon essence; you can also add a pinch of nutmeg if you enjoy that flavor profile)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or you can use white chocolate chips)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Melt the butter for one minute in the microwave; stir in brown sugar and then cool to room temperature.
3. Beat or whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
5. Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture.
6. Stir in the cranberries and chopped chocolate. Note that your batter will be thick.
7. Spread your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let the blondies cool in their pan completely before cutting and serving.

 

Jul 16

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

I’m clearly on a blueberry, strawberry, and white chocolate kick. Summertime just does that to me I guess. I used my go-to white chocolate blondie recipe as a base for these bars and added in the strawberries because, well, I’m in the midst of a love affair with strawberries and I might as well celebrate it.

I love the contrast of the slightly tart and tangy strawberries with the sweetness of the white chocolate. Even though I’m not one of those people who shuns white chocolate ’cause it’s too sweet, I definitely appreciate the balance of flavor the strawberries bring to the mix. Incidentally, you could substitute strawberries for another tart fruit, like raspberries, and get similarly delicious results.

strawberryblondies

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
1 cup strawberries, chopped

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using either your stovetop or microwave, combine the butter and white chocolate to melt. If using your stovetop, put butter and white chocolate in either a double boiler or heavy duty saucepan and melt on low heat while stirring frequently. If using the microwave, put butter and white chocolate in a small bowl and melt on 50% power for 30-second increments until butter is melted and white chocolate is mostly melted. Use a fork or whisk to get the chocolate nice and smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the white chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and well-combined.
5. Whisk or stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
6. Stir in strawberries. (Quick note: If you’re washing your berries on the spot, make sure to pat them dry before adding to batter. You’ll want to eliminate as much moisture as possible before baking.)
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the blondies cool completely (at least 90 minutes) in the pan before cutting into bars.

Jul 10

White Chocolate Blueberry Blondies

After having achieved success with the white chocolate blondies I whipped up not so long ago, I decided to take that same recipe but incorporate one of my favorite summertime fruits: blueberries. I love the contrast of the sweet white chocolate and slightly tart, tangy blueberries. These babies were absolutely amazing. I actually got impatient and dug into them when they hadn’t fully cooled, which made them kind of gooey—but in a good way. In fact, you could just as easily serve these warm in a bowl, call your concoction a white chocolate blueberry pudding, and top it off with vanilla ice cream for contrast. Yum.

whitchocblueber

White Chocolate Blueberry Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
1 cup blueberries (I used fresh but feel free to try frozen)

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using either your stovetop or microwave, combine the butter and white chocolate to melt. If using your stovetop, put butter and white chocolate in either a double boiler or heavy duty saucepan and melt on low heat while stirring frequently. If using the microwave, put butter and white chocolate in a small bowl and melt on 50% power for 30-second increments until butter is melted and white chocolate is mostly melted. Use a fork or whisk to get the chocolate nice and smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the white chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and well-combined.
5. Whisk or stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
6. Stir in blueberries. (Quick note: If you’re washing your blueberries on the spot, make sure to pat them dry before adding to batter. You’ll want to eliminate as much moisture as possible; otherwise, your blondies may not bake up as well.)
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars. I recommend waiting a good 90 minutes to make sure they’re nice and firm. Worst case, if you’re impatient like me, you’ll get a gooier “blueberry blondie pudding” if you choose to dig in earlier. And trust me, that’s not such a bad thing.

Jul 1

White Chocolate Blondies

Some people aren’t fans of white chocolate. But I am—big time. And since I hadn’t baked with white chocolate in awhile, I decided to whip up some easy blondies.

These bars really are a cinch to make. The only tricky part is keeping an eye on the white chocolate while it’s melting. Of course, the best way to melt white chocolate is to use a double boiler, but I got lazy/was in a bit of a hurry and chose the microwave method instead. And you know what? These blondies didn’t suffer one bit.

whitechocblondies

White Chocolate Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate plus another 1/4 cup
½ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using either your stovetop or microwave, combine the butter and 1 cup of white chocolate to melt. If using your stovetop, put butter and white chocolate in either a double boiler or heavy duty saucepan and melt on low heat while stirring frequently. If using the microwave, put butter and white chocolate in a small bowl and melt on 50% power for 30-second increments until butter is melted and white chocolate is mostly melted. Use a fork or whisk to get the chocolate nice and smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the white chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and well-combined.
5. Whisk or stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
6. Stir in 1/4 cup white chocolate and bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle some more of the dark chocolate chips on top.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.

Mar 12

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

A lot of people I know don’t like white chocolate. “It’s too sweet,” they’ll insist. Well that’s fine, but I think white chocolate is utterly delicious. (And since when did “too sweet” become a problem?)

For those of you who find white chocolate to be a bit too sweet on its own, consider these fabulous blondies. The rich, chewy cake captures that classic blondie flavor, and the addition of the macadamia nuts helps offset the sweetness of the white chocolate by introducing just the right amount of saltiness.

Best of all, these blondies are quick and easy. The most time-consuming part of the process for me was chopping the macadamia nuts, and even that didn’t take very long (plus, I got to snack on some as sort of a pre-blondie treat).

Enjoy these blondies on their own, or go crazy and drizzle a little bittersweet chocolate sauce over them to jazz ‘em up even more.

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies
Recipe very slightly adapted from Beantown Baker

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used half dark and half light)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups AP flour
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts, divided
1 cup white chocolate chips, divided

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking pan.
2. Heat the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat or in your microwave on low power until melted. Let cool to room temperature before continuing.
3. Beat the vanilla and eggs into your sugar mixture.
4. Beat in flour and baking powder on low speed.
5. Stir in half of the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.
6. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan, and then sprinkle with remaining nuts and white chocolate chips.
7. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The tops of the blondies should be slightly browned—but not too brown—before you remove them from the oven.
8. Let the blondies cool completely in their pan before cutting into them.

 

Mar 6

Heath Bar Blondies

I’m a firm believer that yummy desserts don’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. Case in point: these Heath bar blondies. They took me almost no time to whip up, and the end result was just insanely good—crispy toffee and chocolate pieces scattered amidst dense, chewy blondie goodness. Does it really get better than that?

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Heath Bar Blondies
Recipe from Lovin From The Oven (a great site, by the way – check it out)

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped Heath Bars

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. Mix or whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter until well-combined.
3. Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well-blended.
5. Stir in the chopped-up Heath pieces.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the blondies cool completely in their pan before cutting into them.

 

Jan 21

Chocolate Chip Blondie-Topped White Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

Sometimes I have a hard time deciding what I want. This applies to life in general, but also dessert. Hence my dilemma earlier today: Was I in the mood for blondies? Or did I want to go the chocolate route and bake up some brownies?

I decided I simply didn’t have to choose and instead opted to whip up a crazy but deliciously indulgent concoction that took a surprisingly short amount of time to prepare. I call them chocolate chip blondie-topped white chocolate marshmallow brownies. I know that’s a mouthful, so feel free to call them whatever you like. Just have a tall glass of milk on hand when it’s time to bust into these bad boys.

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Chocolate Chip Blondie-Topped White Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

Ingredients:
For the brownie layer:
1 stick melted butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup chopped marshmallow bits (you can cheat and use miniature marshmallows—it’ll save you time—but I opted to quickly chop up some full-sized marshmallows because I wanted really small pieces)
For the blondie layer:
1 stick melted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

Method:
For the brownie layer:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 pan.
2. Combine the melted butter and cocoa.
3. Add in your sugar and mix well.
4. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
5. Stir in the flour, salt, and vanilla, then whisk to combine.
6. Stir in the white chocolate chips and the marshmallows.
7. Pour brownie mixture into the prepared pan; set aside.
For the blondie layer:
1. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar.
2. Whisk in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
3. Stir in the flour and salt, then whisk to combine.
4. Stir in the semisweet and white chocolate chips.
5. Pour the blondie mixture on top of the brownie mixture; use a spatula to smooth the top.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Jan 20

Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Toffee Blondies

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a wonderful little blog called Dunk and Crumble while looking for a chewy blondie recipe—‘cause that’s just how I like my blondies. I found this recipe and decided to tweak it just a bit by adding toffee bits to the mix. This recipe makes a nice-sized 9 x 13 pan, and it took almost no time to throw together. Best of all, I didn’t have to bust out the stand mixer, hand mixer, food processor, or anything of the sort. All I needed were some mixing bowls, a whisk, a spoon, and a pot for browning the butter. The result? A tasty, chewy blondie that made this busy baking mama a very happy gal.

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Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Toffee Blondies

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the pan
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks (I used Ghirardelli—they were on sale)
½ cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup toffee bits

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper, letting two inches of the paper hang over the side of the pan.
3. Combine the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt in a small-medium bowl
4. Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and keep heating it, stirring frequently, until it turns nice and golden brown. Once browned, bring the butter back to or close to room temperature (if you’re impatient like me, you can consider cheating and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes).
5. Mix the white and brown sugars in a medium bowl.
6. Add the cooled butter to the sugars and whisk until well-combined.
7. Add the eggs to the sugar-butter mixture and whisk.
8. Whisk in vanilla.
9. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until just incorporated.
10. Stir in the chocolate chunks, pecans, and toffee bits.
11. Transfer your batter into the prepared pan (it will be pretty sticky and dense, but resist the urge to mess with it).
12. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top and sides start to brown slightly and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
13. Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and cool on a rack. Once they’re completely cool, feel free to slice ‘em up—and do your best not to eat half of them in a single sitting.