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:
Jade
Made blondies a few weeks ago using another recipe and they were tough around the edges and raw in the middle. Tried this recipe and they came out perfectly – thank you! I added white chocolate pieces and broken up custard cream biscuits 😊
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jade! 🙂
Elaine
I was searching for a blondie recipe and tried two others with mediocre results. Came across this one and decided to give it a try. They are easy to make and delicious. I added white chocolate chips but no nuts. I like that you can customize this recipe with different add ins. Thanks very much for this keeper.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies so much, Elaine! 🙂
DJ
I’ve made these twice in 1 week. I made them to your specifications the first time, and “my way” the second time. I browned the butter, toasted the nuts, and added 6 pieces of chopped cooked bacon. My family loved them both ways.
Sam
Hi DJ! That bacon addition sounds incredible! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Amanda
It was extremely dense and tasted like flour :/
Sam
Hi Amanda! These blondies are supposed to be dense. Did you happen to weigh your flour? There may have been too much flour that led to that taste. I hope that helps! 🙂
sam
hi. when it says 100g of sugar is that just normal granulated sugar or caster sugar.
thanks sam
Sam
Normal granulated. Enjoy! 🙂
Ella
I just followed another recipe and blondies were just ok. Added bittersweet chocolate chips and pecans per recipe. They weren’t quite as chewy and sweet as I would have liked. Think all I was tasting was the bittersweet chocolate chips. I was wondering what the cornstarch does & what adding 1 egg yolk does. Also, good to know that dark brown sugar will make blondies sweeter than light brown. Look forward to trying your recipe soon. Thanks
Sam
Hi Ella! Check out my “tips” section in the post, it goes over the cornstarch and egg yolk. Hope you love the recipe! 🙂
Jennie
I made these for my young son and his friends on an 8-hour road trip. I used 200g of chopped dried mangoes instead of white chocolate and nuts (allergy). Turned out soft and chewy mango bars. Everyone loved it and keeps asking me when I’m going to bake it next. This recipe is perfect! Thanks so much for sharing.
Sam
Ooo that sounds delicious! I am so glad everyone enjoyed them Jennie! 🙂
Dawne McCluskey
Absolutely delicious! It was my second attempt at making Blondies. I tried another recipe a few years ago and it was overly sweet. These are just perfect. I didn’t add any extras in but next time I will try mixing in Heath bits.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies, Dawne! 🙂
Tami
Great recipe and a big hit! We are not sweet eaters but were in the mood for something. I had all the ingredients for this which are about the same as cookies… did not want to go the trouble of making cookies. Followed the base recipe to the T. Only difference was using add in’s I had on hand… regular chocolate chips ( about a scant cup), pecans (about 1/2 C) and coconut flakes (ehhh…just shook some in). Came out awesome. My oven stinks and needs adjusting. Used a glass pan prepped without flour….and baked for 20 minutes which gave me a clean toothpick… color was not yet achieved so turned off oven heat to finish off residual for 5 minutes…we prefer under done vs over done. I saved the recipe and will now be my go to. I am thinking next time I may try adding chopped pineapple to it… may increase the flour a bit to compensate for the moisture…can’t see how it will go wrong because this is awesome and moist as is!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies, Tami! Those sound like wonderful additions! 🙂
LilyB
Sam thank you for sharing this recipe, I made the blondie it was delicious. I omitted the nut because I made it for an event, and I didn’t have any cornstarch in the house but they were still delicious. Everybody loved it. Next time I will include nut and I will make sure I have some cornstarch on hand.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the blondies, Lily! 🙂
Sarah
I just made theses and subbed in grated carrots.
Sam
How did they turn out?
Laura
This recipe was so easy to follow and they taste great. The only problem is that they taste a bit eggy…is that just me?
Sam
So glad you enjoyed! I haven’t noticed any eggy-ness so I can’t comment on that, I’m sorry!
Karen Swarthout
i live at 5,000 ft. elevation and made no changes. they came out wonderfuly delicious!!! i did use regular chocolate chips instead of white. thats just what i had on hand!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies, Karen! Thank you for the feedback regarding high altitude baking. 🙂
Heather
These are amazing! I added replaced cashews with walnuts do to an allergy.
I’ve made them several times! Yum!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Heather! 🙂
Connie
What are ingredient amounts for high altitude? Oven temp?
Sam
Hi Connie! I am not familiar with high altitude baking, so I can’t give you a good answer here. The temperature would be the same, but I’m not sure of any other alterations that would be needed. I’m sorry. 🙁