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:
Madilynn
So simple and dangerously delicious!
Saije
I know this isn’t a big question and is going to be easy to answer but do you have to had the Walnuts, can I just add the white chocolate chips.
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Saije! Yes, that would work just fine. 🙂
Amanda
I only have a 9×9 brownie pan, can I just split the batter into two 9×9 pans ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Amanda! You can actually bake this recipe in a 9×9 pan for extra thick blondies, or you could split the batter in half and make two 9×9 pans. If you make two pans, just note that the blondies will be thinner and you will need to adjust your bake time accordingly (longer for thicker blondies, shorter for thinner).
Kaylee
This is a silly question, but if I want to only make half of the deriving size do I just cut all the ingredients in half? What about the cook time?
Thank you!!!
Casey @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kaylee! Yes, you will want to cut all of the ingredients in half. You may want to bake in an 8×8″ or 9×9″ pan, and the cook time may not be as long so you should start checking them early. Hope this helps!
Jenny
Loveeed I did 40g less of brown sugar found it to be perfect sweetness
Kelsey
I want to make these but my oven tends to run hot and overcook things. Should I adjust the temperature? I’m worried if I just adjust cook time the centre won’t be cooked through and edges will be burning
Sam
Hi Kelsey! The best way to handle this is to get an oven thermometer, figure out how far off your oven temperature is and then from there just set your oven to a lower temp. 🙂
George
Best blondies recipe ever! So fudgy and soft. I tried a half dozen blondies recipes online and most were mediocre, but this one is AWESOME. I used slightly more dark brown sugar than light (3/4 cup dark, 1/2 cup light) and that plus the extra egg yolk I think is what makes these so soft and gooey and chewy. It worked perfectly at high altitude too, they were done in 24 minutes.
Nancy Jolly
I made these this morning and followed the recipe to a T but they came out dry. What did I do wrong? I baked them for 25 minutes. Was that too long?
Sam
Hi Nancy! Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? Is your oven running hot? They shouldn’t be dry at 25 minutes in a 9 x 13. That’s the low end of the suggested bake time.
Nancy Jolly
Thanks Sam. I didn’t deviate from the recipe so it must be oven temp. Thank you for replying.
Cre
Perfect recipe! I recently tried this with toasted, chopped pecans and I browned the butter, really gave a boost to the butterscotch-like richness. I also kept out some of the sugar and added 2T of agave syrup to keep them moist and chewy! Certainly a keeper! Thank you for this classic, chocolate-free recipe
Kelly norman
I want to make these today, im out of cornstarch. How important is it?
Sam
Hi Kelly! The cornstarch is important to help make these soft and chewy. You could substitute it with flour, but have quite the same texture. They should still taste good though. 🙂
BeckyB
I want to make this tomorrow and wondering if anyone has doubled the recipe and used a large jelly roll pan?
Sam
Hi Becky! I have not personally tried it, but it should work. Your bake time will vary. 🙂
BeckyB
Doubled it and put it in a jelly roll pan. 26 minutes and they were perfect!
Rere
This looks so good! Just one question, can I make this recipe with frozen raspberries? If so, how many grams should I put in? I can’t take nuts 🙁
Sam
Adding raspberries will add a lot of moisture so I can’t say for sure how to do it or how it will turn out without having tried it. 🙂
Haley
This is my #1 go-to recipe for any sweet treat, in ANY corner of the internet. I do swap out the mix-ins for semi-sweet chocolate chips + butterscotch chips, but this is recipe should win awards. Outstanding, every time.
Dana
Made for group football party and most people thought it was macadamia nut and everyone loved it, more directions should be listed like this in the steps which made it way easier then scrolling and maybe missing a step, greeeeaaat recipe as is
Deb
Delish:
This is a great recipe. I added white chocolate chips along with the semi sweet chocolate chips and had pecans in the pantry so threw in a cup full. Next time I make it I’ll double the chocolate chips because the recipe as it stands skimps on them for my tastes. The votes are in and this one is a keeper!
Sam
So happy to hear this, Deb! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it!
Carl
I quite often make this as a brownie recipe instead, substituting 45g of the flour for cocoa powder and it makes the best brownies ever. But recently I’ve been sticking with the blondie version and using dark chocolate chips + macademia nuts. It’s a dangerously tasty recipe, can’t recommend enough!