This is the best chewy blondie recipe! Buttery, soft, and simple to make (no mixer required!) I think you’re going to really love these!
This recipe is very similar to my well-loved chocolate chip cookie bars and is every bit as good! My Blondies recipe includes options for mixing in chopped nuts or white chocolate chips, but these cookie bars taste just as good without any add-ins at all. Be sure to check out my how-to video at the bottom of the recipe!
Thank goodness I had this easy blondie recipe planned to share today!
If you’ve been following my Instagram stories you already know that Zach and I are fostering three 7-week old puppies. They are the cutest, goofiest, fluffballs I’ve ever seen, but they’re also exhausting, so excuse me if a few of my sentences are a little incoherent today. Bonus puppy pics at the bottom of the post!
But back to the blondies.
Buttery, soft, chewy, loaded with your favorite add-ins, these cookie bars are packed with flavor and they are the perfect easy snack when you need a dessert in a pinch. Fortunately today’s recipe is super simple because I don’t know that I’d have the brainpower to focus on anything even mildly complex right now, but I do have a few tips and other info I want to share with you.
What is the Difference Between a Blondie and a Brownie?
The main difference between a blondie and a brownie is the chocolate.
Blondies are occasionally referred to as “blonde brownies”. They are made without cocoa powder and aspire to a rich vanilla flavor rather than a deep chocolate one. Blondies are also often made with brown sugar, and while I do use brown sugar in my brownies, the flavor has a more noticeable affect in the blondies (more on that below).
Here’s my favorite brownie recipe if you’re in the mood for something chocolatey!
Tips for Making Blondies
- You can use all light brown sugar, all dark brown sugar, or a combination of the two for this blondie recipe. I like to use half light and half dark. Keep in mind that if you use all dark brown sugar your blondies will have a richer, sweeter taste and a more moist texture.
- Melting the butter for this recipe gives the blondies a buttery taste and a soft, chewy texture. I much prefer melting the butter to creaming my butter and sugar when making blondies and cookies for this very reason (I do the same thing with my chocolate chip cookies).
- The extra egg yolk and the cornstarch are also key ingredients for making these blondies soft and chewy. I talked a lot about why I use cornstarch in my recent pumpkin bar recipe, if you want more information on that!
- You can add up to 2 cups of your favorite add-ins to this blondie recipe. I listed a mix of chopped walnuts and white chocolate chips in the recipe. I found that this combination provided a nice balance of sweetness and crunch. Of course, you can also leave the add-ins out completely!
Alright, well I have two puppies pulling on my shoelaces right now and another that’s determined to devour my couch, so I’m off to take care of that. Enjoy!
More Cookie Bars You Might Like
How to Make Homemade Blondies
Be sure to check out my Blondie Recipe VIDEO just below the recipe! If you enjoy these videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel so you can be the first to see all of my cooking videos <3
Best Blondie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar* tightly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour (note that in the video I accidentally said 2 ½ cups flour, that is incorrect, you only need 2 ¼ cups as written here)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (115 g) white chocolate chips
- 1 cup (130 g) chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper**
- Combine melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir well.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar*, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Set aside.2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
- Fold in white chocolate chips and nuts, if using.⅔ cup (115 g) white chocolate chips, 1 cup (130 g) chopped walnuts
- Spread blondie batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 25-30 minutes*** or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs.
- Allow to cool before cutting and enjoying
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Foster Puppy Bonus Pics!
Piper, Paula, and Paul (we didn’t name them!) are available for adoption through the rescue that Zach and I volunteer for: For the Love of Dogs Rescue.
Karen
I want to recreate the blinders sold at my local Blue Bottle Coffee. They are baked in small rectangular moulds about 3”x1”x1” with flakes of sea salt on top. Would you sprinkle the salt flakes before or after baking? Any suggestions on oven temp and bake time modifications for baking in silicone financier moulds? Thanks.
Sam
Hi Karen! I would top with sea salt after baking. I’m not sure on a bake time in a silicone mold but the temperature would remain the same. 🙂
Theresa
delicious!! Always butterscotch chips in Blondie brownies is how I remember growing up; that’s what I added. Thanks much!
Katie
Slammin’! Made today with half chocolate chips and half salted caramel chips (Trader Joe’s). Was too lazy to do cookies and thrilled to find this recipe. Will post on instagram for you also!
Cathy L
An Obesity Connect commercial playing above your recipe is a real turn off to make a high calorie holiday treat. I guess you don’t get to choose your commercial. Lucky I’m making them for someone else.
Melissa
This is a great blondie recipe! I added some cinnamon chips and a drizzle of cinnamon glaze and they were out of this world! This blondie recipe has a better structure and not nearly as gooey and hard to cut as the King Authur recipe I’ve been using for years. Will make these again and again!
Katherine
I just tried the batch I made this morning and the texture is perfect! This is exactly what I was looking for and was really worried about wasting ingredients again after trying a disappointing recipe this past weekend. I baked this in a bronze-colored 9×13 pan for 25 minutes. I lightly greased and floured the pan, like she says, instead of using parchment paper and they came out very easily. Pro tip I learned from the internet earlier this year: cut brownies/blondies with a plastic utensil and they won’t stick! Game changer. I mixed in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks, and a 1/2 cup of mini semisweet ‘cos it’s what I had on hand and it was delicious! I will be remaking these to take to Thanksgiving. 🙂
Janice
Has anyone used a gluten free flour in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Janice! I have not personally tried it, but I have had others report success using a 1 for 1 gluten free flour. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Julie
Just made this today and it tastes amazing!!! I wanted to ask if we could freeze these, how to freeze, and how long it can last in the freezer? Thank you for this yummy recipe!!!
Sam
Hi Julie! You can freeze these. They will be good for several months once frozen. 🙂
VICTORIA
Easy & delicious. Furthermore, she listed the ingredients & their amounrs needed for each step, underneath the step. I found this to be very handy, and kept me from scrolling up and down to double check the ingrediens. I’ve never seen anyone else to do this, so kudos to Sam!
Sheila
100% agree Victoria!!! this made the recipe so much easier for me to follow. Thanks Sam!!!
Lara
Hi, can I use only caster sugar, because in my country we do not have brown sugar packed, only normal brown sugar, dry, and how would be the correct quantity? Thanks.
Sam
Hi Lara! I haven’t personally tried it but I think it could work. I would think you would want to use the same amount, but I’m not overly familiar with using it. 🙂
Kasey
can I use a 14×9 pan with this recipe and will the baking time change? I want to use this recipe for Thanksgiving
Sam
Hi Kasey! That should be just fine, the bake time will be reduced though (I’d start checking at 20 minutes, though they might not be done quite that soon).
Karen
Brown sugar ‘packed’ means gently pressing down the brown sugar into the measuring cup. It is not a special kind of brown sugar. So you can just use ‘normal’ brown sugar by weight for a more accurate measurement since how firmly one packs/press down in the brown sugar varies. Caster sugar is white sugar, so it will not have the same taste as brown sugar.
Rosh
Hi, Sam,
Thanks for posting this recipe, can’t wait to make it! Just one question, is the cornstarch a must or can I make do without it?
Thanks again 😊
Sam
Hi Rosh! I HIGHLY recommend it as it’s a key ingredient to make these soft and chewy. If you do omit it you would need to replace it with flour just know that it will change the texture a bit.
Cindy Vaughn
I haven’t made them yet but by looking at the recipe I know they will be delicious!
Marilyn Bowman
I work at an orchard that cooks homemade food for the employees. I have made these brownies several times and they are amazing. The pan comes back empty!
Kelly
I’m making these for about the 50th time right now. My family adores them. I have found to get even more adulation, I dump a bag of chocolate chips on top, cover with foil long enough to melt the chips, then spread evenly like a frosting. Life will be good today-smile:)
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Kelly! 🙂
Cynthia
I’ve made this recipe a handful of times and I love it! I do half dark brown and half light brown sugar as suggested and it’s perfect! I tried it with macadamia nuts but I feel walnuts are best for this recipe. Even my friends who doesn’t like walnuts loves these blondies.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Cynthia! 🙂
Emily
Are there measurements for 8×8 instead of 13×9?
Sam
Hi Emily! Unfortunately I do not have them. You would need to cut the recipe by a little less than half so the math could get a bit tricky.