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:
Lorie
I just made these Blondies and added toasted walnuts, heath bits and white chocolate chips and they have turned out FANTASTIC!! I can’t wait to make another batch adding different things but your recipe is brilliant as most of your recipes are. Thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds absolutely divine, Lorie! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤️
Maria P
My goodness. This recipe is great. Thank you for both written directions and video.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you think so, Maria! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment, we really appreciate it 😊
nora
perfect! whole family loved them!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Great to hear! Thanks for commenting, Nora! 🙂
Susie
This recipe turns out really well. I made a half recipe in an 8″ x 8″ ceramic dish. They were gone in under two hours with only two people eating them. I used dark chocolate chips instead of white because I hate white chocolate. Even my son who likes white chocolate and would live on sugar if you let him thought they would have been too sweet with white chocolate. After tasting the batter, I also added 50% more salt than the recipe called for. But those adjustments were for personal taste, nothing wrong with the recipe. The only thing I will do differently next time is stir the chocolate chips into the dry ingredients before mixing with the wet because I think they’ll be less likely to sink that way.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Susie! 2 hours might be close to breaking my record for how fast they were eaten. 🤣
Tamara Alonzo
Hi! Just wondering if you have ever frozen these before and if they were still good once thawed?
Sam
Hi Tamara! I have not personally frozen them but they should do well being frozen then thawed. 🙂
David Alexander
Tamara: Most cookies freeze very well; I do it often. Especially brownies, blondies, and other bar cookies. The key to good results is to have a freezer that is at zero degrees or below. That way, they will be fine for a month or two. Happy baking!
Brittany
I love this recipe! This is a thanksgiving favorite in my family.
Sandra Schulz
My bars are dry. I did half the recipe but shouldn’t have been the issue. Nice flavor but disappointing.
Sam
Hi Sandra! This is a result of either the flour being accidentally over-measured or the bars were baked too long. I hope that helps!
Caroline Robinson
My blondies were very dry too, like a cookie in fact. I used the metric measurements and only baked for 23 minutes. Disappointed and won’t make them again
Sam
Hi Caroline! Unfortunately, if no ingredients were mix-measured it sounds like the blondies were a bit over-baked, I would double check that your oven temperature is accurate and pull them out a bit earlier next time.
Julie Davis
First blondies I ever made; don’t know what took me so long! AWESOME! Made them yesterday with walnuts & next time with Butter Finger pieces. Mmm! The texture is dreamy too!
Sam
Yay! So glad you enjoyed, Julie! 🙂
Ruth Ulloa
All of my boys absolutely loved them! They liked them more than brownies.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Ruth! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it! 🙂
Megan Orser
Help! I don’t have unsalted butter! Can I omit the 1 tsp of salt and use the same amount of salted butter? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Megan! Just reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp and you should be just fine. 😊 You can read more about this in our post on substituting salted vs. unsalted butter.
Kelly
This recipe was absolutely amazing. I did not have cornstarch, so I substituted with 4 teaspoons of flour, and they were delicious! So glad I found this recipes, thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they turned out for you, Kelly! Enjoy ❤️
Sandra Schulz
Thank you.
Carol
Making these with M & Ms! Great recipe and puppies are adorable.
Emily
Oh my!!! Stealing this idea! Making these for my 3 year olds “birthday cake” next week! He wants a cookie cake! Lol, and looovveeees “colorful” everything! Thanks for the idea!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We hope he loves it, Emily! If you want to try it, we also have a Cookie Cake recipe too! 🙂
Emily Chan
Such an easy and simple recipe ! It’s my partner’s favorite dessert now !
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you loved them, Emily! Thanks so much for your review ❤️
Jenny
A truly great recipe! Thanks perfect sweetness! I used half walnuts and half macadamias and topped off with icing sugar. Thank you for the recipe! Will definifely be using this often
Catherine
What can I use to make these dairy free? Can I use the same quantities of sunflower based vegan butter?
Sam
Hi Catherine! Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with dairy free baking so without having tried it I would be hesitant to advise. Hopefully someone else can chime in.
Catherine
OK, thanks! I tried doing a straight swap using vegan butter but they came out quite dry… Hopefully someone else can advise! 🙂
Kelly
This is my go to recipe that I use for Blondies. I do up the vanilla to a tablespoon and have been switching out the add ins for something different. I have a batch in right now with crushed Heath bars as the sub for the chocolate chips. They are so easy to give away cause EVERYONE loves them! { Keeps us from overeating them} This is the perfect Blondle recipe!
Sam
LOVE the sound of the Heath bar add-ins! Thanks for sharing, Kelly, I’m so glad you have enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Allie
Is it possible to make these as cookies? Giving them a try today…
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Allie! This recipe actually turns out with a cookie-like texture, so you shouldn’t need to modify. If you’re looking for an actual cookie recipe with a similar flavor, you can try our brown sugar cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, or our blizzard cookies. 😊
Christena
Absolutely, the best Blondie recipe!!! They didn’t last one day in my house. I added toasted pecans and cranberries.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds delicious! We’re so happy they were a hit for you, Christena. Thanks for your review 🙂