Dessert of the Week: Blondies

We had a wonderful dinner at my sister's house over the weekend. I was in charge of dessert- and I wanted to make blondies! Because we always have brownies, and blondies just sound fun. Little did I know these babies pack quite a bit of sugar and butter inside. I didn't want to use more than two cubes of butter (I'm healthy, can't you tell? :D) so a lot of the blondies recipes I found on Pinterest wouldn't cut it. But these Infinitely-Adaptable Blondies from Smitten Kitchen were perfect!

(Picture from Smitten Kitchen.)

I doubled the recipe, and rather than put it in a 9x13 pan (again- two cubes of butter for just a 9x13! Man, that seems like a lot). So I did a full cookie sheet worth and they were a bit thin, but still delicious and chewy. I think maybe a jelly roll pan would have been perfect. I mixed in white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and toffee bits. With vanilla ice cream, these were sure winners!

(My lovely picture with awkwardly strewn chocolate chips. 

They look kind of dry here, but they were good I promise!)

Blondies

From Smitten Kitchen, adapted from How to Cook Everything

8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces or 113 grams) butter, melted
1 cup (218 grams or 7 3/4 ounces for light; 238 grams or 8 3/8 ounces for dark) brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup (4 3/8 ounces or 125 grams) all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
4. 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