Never Fail Blondie Bars
These chewy blondie bars come together with just a bowl and a spoon. Mix them up with your favorite add-in’s and the batter will be ready before the oven preheats!
Yesterday, I experienced the first crisp fall day in Chicago. It was glorious and almost made me reconsider my current stance on pumpkin baked goods. It even peer-pressured me into buying my first decorative white pumpkin. I’m not mad about it.
The cooler weather is also getting me excited to bake all the things! I really, really don’t enjoy turning on my oven during the summer. I mean, I do it (pizza, duh), but I really don’t look forward to it. I’m sure I’m not alone in that sentiment.
Another reason why I love fall? It is officially cookbook season. Several internet friends are releasing their very own cookbook babies right now, and I love having the opportunity to share them with you! Today’s chewy (seriously chewy!) never fail blondie bars are from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook by Mary Younkin.
I met Mary (author of the blog The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook) on a photography retreat two years ago, and was struck by her kindness and wonderful sense of humor. Mary is a true gem, and also happens to be a busy working mom to three to the cutest kids (all boys!) ever. On that note, follow her on Snapchat.
Mary’s motto in the kitchen is cooking from scratch as simply as possible, and her new cookbook channels that philosophy perfectly. It is filled to the brim with weeknight-friendly dinner recipes, and creatively divided into chapters based on preparation time. Each recipe includes ideas for easy side dish, preparation tips, or adaptations. The book also includes weight conversions, which I love, love, love!
Despite offering a huge range of savory dinner recipes to choose from, I got totally distracted by the dessert chapter and Mary’s recipe for never fail blondies. The recipe name drew me in from the beginning, and a craving for blondie bars immediately ensued. Let’s start baking!
As the name suggests, this blondie bar recipe could literally not be easier. Who doesn’t love a no fail dessert that you can turn to any day of the week?
The blondie batter can be thrown together with just a bowl and a spoon, and it will be ready before your oven even has time to preheat. Like my favorite cookies, these bars use only brown sugar, which helps make them extra chewy.
If you’re a chewy dessert bar or cookie fan (is there any other way?), you will love these! The best part is that you can customize these blondie bars to your liking with various add-in combinations. Mary offers six different combinations as a starting point, but the possibilities are endless.
When I prepared this recipe, I took inspiration from the contents of my pantry. My version below contains semisweet chocolate chips, chopped pistachios, and unsweetened coconut flakes – but feel free to mix them up to your liking.
Dried fruits, nuts, extracts, chocolate, you name it and you can add it. Go wild!
Other Flavor Combination Ideas:
- 1 cup (175 grams) chocolate chips, any kind
- 3/4 cup (130 grams) + 1/2 cup (55 grams) chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup (130 grams) white/dark chocolate chips + 1/2 cup (70 grams) macadamia nuts
- 3/4 cup (130 grams) dark chocolate chunks + 1/2 cup (55 grams) chopped walnuts
- 1 cup (80 grams) shredded coconut + 1 cup (175 grams) mixed chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup (110 grams) caramel bits + 2/3 cup (115 grams) semisweet chocolate chip
Never Fail Blondie Bars
Ingredients:
Blondies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 112 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (225 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1 whole large egg
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (85 grams) semisweet chocolate chips*
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes*
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Line an 8-inch (20-cm) square span with parchment paper or line with foil and grease the foil very well.
- To make the blondies, in a large bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in the flour and salt, just until combined. Stir in the semisweet chocolate chips, pistachios, and coconut (*or any of the other flavor combinations mentioned above the recipe), reserving a small handful of each to sprinkle on top if you’d like.
- Scoop the bater into the prepared pan and spread to the sides. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until an inserted toothpick has moist crumbs. The blondies should be slightly browned along the edges. Cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes and then lift the blondies out by the paper/foil and set on a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing and storing in an airtight container.
- Flavor Substitution Ideas:
- Feel free to swap out the chocolate chips, pistachios, and coconut with any other flavor combination mentioned above.
- This recipe can be doubled to fill a 9 x 13-inch pan. The doubled recipe will need to be baked for 40 to 45 minutes, until an inserted toothpick has moist crumbs. Slice into 16 – 24 servings.
- You can make this recipe in a greased pan without any liner at all, if necessary. The parchment will make it easier to lift the bars from the pan, and for slicing outside of the pan.
Recipe reprinted with permission from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook by Mary Younkin.
All images and text ©.Tips For Success:
Substitute the flour with: 2/3 cup (98 grams) brown rice flour + 1/4 cup (32 grams) tapioca starch + 3 tablespoons (33 grams) potato starch, to make these bars gluten-free.
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Your photos are gorgeous and they’re making me crave these blondies all over again! I’m glad you’re enjoying the cookbook. Thanks so much!
These looks so delicious! My kids would love me if I made them this weekend!
Thanks so much Karen! Mary gets the credit with this one. I have a feeling your kids will love them, and they could totally mix and match with their favorite add-in’s! 🙂
Ohh, I am a serious sucker for blondies, and the addition of pistachios and coconut?! Pure magic. These look soo good!
Laura! Do you think this would work with a flax egg or egg replacer? I can’t eat egg but these looks so good!
I want to try these bars. They look excellent 🙂
Thank you Laura for these fabulous blondies and also for including the gram weights (for us brits who do not use the cup method)! I shall be making these this week-end (after I’ve finished cooking my 12 jars of Christmas Piccalilli – my veggies are sitting in a gallon of brine waiting for me in the kitchen!)
Can you substitute coconut or gram flour for gluten free blondies as I have a GF friend who would love these. Thankfully I can eat anything – and usually do!
Just made these with white chocolate chips and pecans – so yummy! I can’t believe I’ve never had blondies before as I like them so much better than brownies. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try toffee bits in them.
These look fantastic! I definitely need more blondies in my life. And the idea of quick, easy-but-from-scratch weeknight dinners is totally up my alley. I was a Pinterest recipe-printer completely until a few months ago, but now I love sitting down on Sundays to comb through my cookbooks and make my meal plans based on whatever I find. I challenge myself to cook only from one book each week and now I have my favorites! 🙂
These look so easy and delicious! I love that they’re customizable, since i feel like I never have the exact ingredients for a recipe in my pantry!
Having a good old fashioned blondie recipe under your belt is always a top notch idea.