The Best Blondie Recipe
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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 1/2 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)
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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Hi! Can I use canola oil instead of butter?
Hi Sarah! I wouldn’t recommend it. I suspect they would turn out pretty oily. 🙁
Can I use regular chocolate chips to do like a chocolate chip cookie dough type bar? Or will the chocolate chips alter the batter too much by melting during baking?
Sure! We also have chocolate chip cookie bars, cookie dough brownies, and cookie dough fudge that might interest you 😊
Came out great! Measured all dry ingredients by weight, added about 2 additional tsp of vanilla, didn’t add nuts but went with white chocolate chips. Haven’t had blondies in forever. It has a great vanilla flavor with a subtle maple flavor as well. Baked about 27 mins, came out chewy and moist.
With the cost of eggs right now, can I just use 3 eggs?
I would just use 2 eggs, that way omitting the extra yolk. The blondies won’t be quite as chewy, but I think they’ll still be good and probably better that way than adding another yolk. I hope that helps!
How long can these be stored at room temperature?
Hi Katie! They will be good for up to 5 days in an air tight container. 🙂
Hello, should the butter be melted or softened?
Hi Kenisha! The butter should be melted as written in the recipe 😊
Made this yesterday and it is so Yummy. I just have use other sugar alternatives since I am Diabetic.
I made four batches for a function where I was assigned to bring Blondies. All of the sides were perfect but the middle was too mushy although cooking any longer would have overcooked the sides. I didn’t get one perfect batch, but the flavor was great.
I forgot to mention that I measured by weight and it never took a full 2 1/4 cups of flour. I loved measuring using. a scale rather than by cup to be assured of the actual amount.
Would a quarter sheet pan work with this recipe?
It could, but I’d be worried it may not be deep enough to hold all of the batter.
I’m glad you were ultimately able to enjoy them! I wonder if maybe your oven was running just a bit hot and didn’t allow the centers to fully cook?
Love this recipe! Thank you! Should these be stored in the fridge or on the counter?
Hi Kaila! They can be stored on the counter. 🙂
Can the recipe be halved ? It’s just the 2 of us and I don’t freeze.
Thank you
Sure! You will need to bake for less time though 😊
These are SO GOOD. I didn’t have any chocolate chips, but I made some peach preserves and swirled it in the blondie batter and the result was heavenly. Texture and sweetness is perfect. I baked them in a ceramic dish and probably needed about 10-15 extra minutes. I will definitely use this recipe again!
I’ve been in search of the perfect Blondie for so long now that my pants are getting tight…🤣
This recipe was dang close; I was a bit skeptical about the melted butter when they came out kinda heavy and greasy, but after reading some of the other comments I think my downfall was mixing in the sugars while the butter was still hot. Guess I’ll be trying again soon (and pants shopping while I’m at it lol!)
Hi!! I have done this blondies before (They are delicious by the way) but I have one question…Instead of only melting the butter, can I brown it instead? I’m sorry if there are some grammatical errors, english is not my first language 🙂
Hi Sammi! I find when I brown the butter the blondies tend to come out a little bit greasy and I don’t really love it.
Hi! I’m italian and I’ve tried it by using some “tools” like metal cups and plastic spoons instead of “grams”: unfortunately they became really spongy and cakey :S Isn’t flour too much??
Hi! I would use the gram measurements if you aren’t certain that your tools are not the same as the standardized American ones.
Is it possible to adapt to a 8*8 pan?
Hi Ni! An 8×8 holds about 40% less batter than the 9×13. You can reduce the recipe, or just discard any excess batter you may have. Your baking time will definitely be slightly different depending on how thick you make your blondies. Be sure to keep an eye on them while baking so they don’t get over-done! 🙂
Wow wow wow!!! Came out PERFECT! I substituted pecans for the walnuts as that what I had open and I baked for a total of 40 minutes. I couldn’t be more pleased.
I live in Sweden and I’m trying to figure out exactly what brown sugar is here. Is it like a “wet” or dry sugar?
Sorry for the weird question 😅
Hi Amanda! Brown sugar is actually granulated sugar with some molasses mixed into it. I actually have an article on how to make brown sugar. 🙂
Brown sugar is what French call CASSONADE.If this helps 🙂
crispy sides were great, i had to rebake three times though because my mixture seemed a little runnier on the inside than I would have liked/expected, even though I followed the recipe exactly as it said. However, found this a little too sweet for my liking. Would reduce the sugar next time..
very fudgy and chewy like cookie dough texture. any tips or advice to make it a little more cooked would be helpful. perhaps omit the extra egg yolk? TIA
Hi Nash! If it comes out and cools too much before being put back in the oven it won’t bake properly. Your oven may just need a few more minutes. They should come out with more of a brownie texture. I would just leave them in the oven for a few minutes longer. I don’t recommend omitting the egg yolk. 🙂
made with dark brown sugar and pecans they turned out so good!
This recipe is the best I’ve ever used for Blondies! Tender, buttery, slightly crunchy edges–perfection! I have made these just as written, and have modified by adding leftover bits from other baking projects (mini m&ms, butterscotch chips, coconut, etc). I’m sure this recipe will become an extended family favorite–thanks so much for sharing!