The BEST blondie recipe lives up to its name! This recipe yields buttery soft cookie bars with vanilla-caramel undertones. It come together quickly, no mixer needed. Include your favorite add-ins (white chocolate, dark chocolate, nuts) or enjoy plain! This carefully tested recipe has been a fan favorite for years and has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews! ⭐️
Actually *Perfect* Blondies
Buttery, soft, chewy, loaded with your favorite add-ins, my blondie recipe is perfectly decadent. With hints of butterscotch, vanilla, and caramel, you won’t miss the chocolate. Serve slightly warm, topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for a truly indulgent experience.
I spent a great deal of time developing this blondie recipe (you can’t imagine how many batches of not-quite-perfect blondies I had to eat, it’s a tough life 😉) and I finally have the perfect version to share. My recipe includes lots of tips and tricks so you’ll get perfectly soft, chewy and buttery results every time. No dry or cakey blondies here! Let’s get right to it.
Blondie Ingredients
We don’t need to cover everything, but let’s chat a moment about some of our key players:
- Butter. Melted butter is the key to a softer, chewier blondie recipe that stays soft and chewy (it’s also a key ingredient in my best chocolate chip cookie recipe, if you’ve tried that you already know what a game changer it is).
- Sugar. A blend of brown and granulated sugar works best here. The higher ratio of brown sugar works well to impart a deep, rich, and subtly caramel-y flavor that makes these irresistible.
- Eggs. An extra egg yolk contributes to the tender, dense texture of the bar.
- Baking powder. Blondies ought to be dense and leaning toward fudgy territory, but just a pinch of baking powder adds a bit of lightness to the bar so it’s not too dense or difficult to chew. Note that the omission of baking soda is intentional, baking soda would create a lighter airier, and more cakey texture that we’re actively trying to avoid.
- Cornstarch helps make the bars tender and chewy.
- Add-ins (use your favorites!). Truth be told, you can add nothing, no nuts, no chocolate, and you’ll still have a darn good cookie bar. But I prefer to dress things up a bit. White chocolate chips and chopped walnuts are my favorite, but swap out the white chocolate for semisweet or a chopped baking bar, swap out the nuts for a different kind of nut or more chocolate, or if you want to toast your nuts before adding them, that works just fine, too!
For the full recipe and the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
How to Make Blondies
The blondie batter comes together quickly and easily. No mixer needed, no fancy equipment.
Start by melting your butter. It doesn’t need to cool completely, but if it’s still quite hot when you add the butter you can expect your blondies to be a bit greasier on the bottom after baking and to take longer to bake.
Add the sugars, eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Stir it well, but don’t go crazy. Mixing well can help create shiny/crackly tops, but over-doing it could make the blondies a bit cakier than I personally care for them to be. I never use a mixer for this step.
Add the dry ingredients. Always whisk them together separately (to make sure the baking powder and salt are well-distributed through the batter), then stir them into the batter. Once again, don’t go overboard with the mixing. Any add-ins you’re using get stirred in last.
Bake & enjoy. The very edges will turn lightly golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. A sprinkling of flaky sea salt while they’re still warm is optional, but strongly encouraged 😉. Let the blondies cool completely before you cut into them, otherwise you may panic that you completely underbaked them (you likely didn’t).
Tips & Variations
- When it comes to sugar, a blend is best. For the brown sugar called for in the recipe, you can just use light brown sugar, but I personally prefer a blend of light and dark brown sugar. I don’t care to use all dark brown, though, as I feel it makes things a bit too rich and butterscotch-y.
- Adjust the add-ins. 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. Feel free to use all walnuts, all chocolate (completely fine to make this recipe nut-free), or swap out some or either of these. A chopped semisweet chocolate bar is quite delicious, in my opinion.
- Pay attention to your pan. A metal pan is best for this recipe and will ensure the quickest and most even baking. If you opt for a glass or ceramic pan, your blondies will almost certainly take longer to bake, and exactly how long will vary. I haven’t tried this blondie recipe in a silicone pan, but am not sure I’d recommend it.
- Brown your butter for a gourmet flavor. Brown 1 cup of butter (you do not need to brown extra to accommodate the lost liquid from browning). You will want to make sure it’s cooled a bit before adding the eggs, so the eggs don’t cook prematurely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Blondies are occasionally referred to as “blonde brownies”. They are made without cocoa powder and without melted chocolate and aspire to a rich, buttery brown-sugar-vanilla flavor rather than a deep chocolate one (so you can expect a higher ratio of brown sugar to granulated here).
White chocolate brownies are closer in nature to brownies than blondies are, while blondies are more similar to chocolate chip cookie bars.
Most often this is due to over-baking. Baking for too long or on too high of a temperature will quickly change the texture from fudgy/borderline gooey to crumbly and dry instead.
Other culprits include accidentally mis-measuring an ingredient, using the wrong kind of flour (you need all-purpose, and please do not use self-rising!), accidentally using baking soda instead of powder, or over-measuring your flour.
First, check your pan. If you used a glass, ceramic, or silicone pan the blondies will take longer to bake, and exactly how much longer can vary greatly depending on the particular material of your pan (some people have needed over 45 minutes to bake!). If you use a smaller pan, even if it’s metal, the blondies will also take longer to bake.
If you substituted or accidentally mis-measured any ingredients, this could also cause this issue.
Wait for the blondies to cool at least mostly before cutting into them, if cut into while warm they’ll look quite underbaked.
If a visual is helpful, see the video in the recipe card for exactly how this blondie recipe look in my kitchen every step of the way.
I’ve been in love with this recipe for years and am so excited for you to try it yourself. If you do, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
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Best Blondie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar firmly packed (see note)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated 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 (see note)
- 1 cup (130 g) chopped walnuts (may omit, see note)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 13×9 metal baking pan with parchment paper (or lightly grease and flour the pan).
- 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) granulated 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 the dry ingredients into wet until just 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
Brown sugar
I like to use half dark and half light brown sugar in this recipe for a perfectly balanced flavor with butterscotch undertones. If you don’t have both, you can use just light brown sugar.Add-ins (nuts & chocolate), and making this recipe nut-free
You can use up to 2 cups of your favorite add-ins, feel free to swap out the white chocolate chips and nuts for your favorite additions (semisweet chocolate chips, pecans, a chopped baking bar, etc.). This recipe can certainly be made nut-free, just swap the nuts for an equal amount of white chocolate chips or your preferred add-in.Pan note
A metal baking pan is recommended. Using a glass, ceramic, silicone, or other material will increase the time needed to bake, sometimes significantly. Please also note that if you opt to use a smaller pan the baking time can be expected to be longer.Storing
Cover tightly (or cut and transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days. These blondies may also be sliced, tightly wrapped and frozen for several months.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.
More Cookie Bars to Try:
Kat
Made these yesterday. I liked them, but Hubby thought they tasted more like cornbread. Would it have been the 2 tsp of cornstarch that caused this?
Sam
Hi Kat! I’m glad you enjoyed them! A couple of things that could cause this is over-measuring the flour or over-baking them. I hope this helps. 🙂
Kristin
Great results! I also halved the white sugar as I do with most recipes, and it turned out great. I think, like some other comments, it could also use less brown sugar.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kristin! 🙂
Heidi
Delicious. I did half white chocolate chips and half butterscotch!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Heidi! 🙂
Taylor Lake
Batter tastes great, however the amount of flour called made it very dense at first, BUT worked in its favor at the end result. Also, it’s taking much longer to bake than in directions. Followed recipe to the T, and it was still liquid in the center of it after 25 minutes on 350F. It needed 30/35-Ish minutes for mine. It was perfect and it’s very gooey,sweet, moist, and overall just so heavenly. Perfect topped with vanilla ice cream! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Danielle
I just made this and the flavor was great but the texture was a bit too dense and sweet for my taste. I made some small modifications and I loved it! I halved the white sugar to reduce the sweetness since I prefer a slightly cakier blondie omitted the extra egg yolk and doubled the baking powder. They were perfectly buttery and perfectly balanced being dense without being gooey and being soft and fluffy. Thank you! I added semisweet and white chocolate chips as mix-ins. Will be making a macadamia nut version next!
Sarah
I followed the recipe exactly, though I also cooked down some blueberries on the stove and pushed through a sieve, then drizzled over the batter and swirled in. Took longer for my center to set – about 40 minutes bake time. End result delicious. Buttery and chewy, the way I like my cookies. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sarah! The blueberry sounds like a great addition! 🙂
Pam
I’ve enjoyed baking since I was a little girl (near to fifty years now) and chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. Chocolate anything is my favorite. But this recipe came out so perfectly buttery, moist, chewy and delicious that I’m about to make them for the THIRD time this winter. I used pecans along with the white chips the second time I made them, and they were even more melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious, tasting like butter pecan. I’m a southern girl who loves rich and sweet desserts, so this is absolutely perfect for me and my family. I’m thinking of adding a little coconut to half the batter as a special treat for my father who’s been shuttling me and my daughter around during this icy weather while my car is held hostage in my downhill, ice-slicked driveway! Thanks for sharing this tasty blondie recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Pam! 🙂
Sandy
I halved the recipe and put in smaller pan cooked for 11 minutes. Delicious
Autumn Johnson
So delicious! These do not last long at my house and they were also easy to make and the recipe was perfect!
Kayla
Made these with browned butter and I didn’t have any cornstarch, unfortunately.
But to compensate I did use a trick I learned through The Kitchn’s “Soft Cocoa Brownies” recipe which is similar, and that’s to use some powdered sugar (like as a sub for white sugar), and to beat the eggs, sugars & melted butter mixture until you reach luxurious ribbons. It made these absolutely amazing!!
They have a shiny, crackly skin/finish and a gooey, soft melt in your mouth interior.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Kayla! 🙂
Annie
After searching the internet for hours, this was the recipe we went with after a failed batch from another site. This is simple, easy, and very good. Cooked in the size pan suggested and was perfectly cooked at 25 minutes. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Annie! 🙂
Kaliopi
I’ve made blondies many times. I gave your recipe a try then realized I was out of vanilla! So I zested a whole lemon added the juice and what do you know….amazing! I called them lemonies. Dusted the tops with some powdered sugar. My family made them vanish in an hour. Hour recipe was fudgy and soft and with the lemon zest and juice wow! Try it you’ll have a new bar to serve😜
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
L.A.
Help! I’ve made these twice (I will get them right) but each time they come out super greasy. I’ve eaten blondies and know what the finished consistency should be, but I can’t seem to get it. The first time, my hand would come away wet with butter when I picked them up. I cooked them longer than the recipe called for because the top still looked wet (turned out it was just the butter). So, they were a little crispy on the edges as well. However, the center did not seem cooked through despite a clean toothpick test. I guessed that I mis-measured the flour.
However, I just re-made them and *know* I measured correctly and only cooked for 25 minutes but having the same problem with the butter. This time I used parchment paper instead of butter/flour for the pan to however minimally reduce the butter. Toothpick came out clean on the test again, but the center is gooey (seemingly uncooked – won’t hold its form) still. The edges looked perfect this time though. Worry if I keep cooking the edges will get hard again without the center cooking like last time. Any ideas?
Only change to recipe: I used about 1/2 cup butterscotch chips because that’s what was in the pantry.
Thanks!
Sam
Hmmm was your butter really hot when you added it to your sugars? If your edges are firming up but the center isn’t quite cooked I wonder if your oven temperature is off slightly?
Sh
I’m curious did you Lightly pack or Tightly pack the brown sugar. When I first looked at the recipe I thought it said lightly…luckily I looked again and saw it said Tightly.
Tess
Very tasty, however mine came out lumpy (possibly I overmixed?) That was not the biggest issue though… they came out super oily. I will try again and use half the butter next time.
Overall, great flavor, just some issues with presentation (likely my fault), extremely oily (not sure what happened there).
Thank you for sharing!
Lynn
Absolutely wonderful recipe! I’m not the best baker in the bunch. But this recipe was super simple to follow and the blondies turned out PERFECT. Full of flavor and chewy in all the right ways.
Dawn
Awesome simply awesome!
Dutch
Just mixed them a up and in the oven now. First time attempting to make blondies. Recipe was very easy to follow. Smells good in the oven!! I just put chocolate chips in there for extras. Hopefully it turns out well.