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!
More Cookie Bars to Try:
Hi,
Can you substitute blueberries to the recipe in place of the chocolate chips and walnuts?
Thank you,
Richard
Hi, Richard! I haven’t tried it personally but think that it will work fine. If you do try it, I’d love to know how they turn out! 🙂
Hi,
Made them and brought them into work today, as I usually bake for my coworkers. I wish I could tell you how they tasted, but they were gone fairly quickly, quicker than most of the baked goods I bring in.
I did find the batter/dough to be thick, so it was a bit of a challenge incorporating the blueberries without breaking them.
I did a couple things different than the original recipe:
1. I sprayed both the pan and parchment with cooking spray
2. I always use jumbo eggs
3. I refrigerated the dough overnight once I had spread it in the pan
4. I bake it for 45 minutes (because of the refrigeration)
I did wonder why an additional egg yolk instead of the whole egg?
Thanks for the recipe. I will use it again.
Richard
So glad you enjoyed the blondies, Richard! I use just the additional egg yolk because the yolk helps make for a more tender, more chewy blondie, but if we also added the egg white it would make the blondie more cakey.
SO you think these would be okay to make in a pampered chef brownie pan? Also, after reading the comments, I’m considering butterscotch chips and pecans. Do you think those two would be okay together?
I have heard such great things about the Pampered Chef brownie pan but have yet to try it. I think that it should be fine. Butterscotch chips and pecans would be a nice addition. Since you will be using the Pampered Chef pan, you could divide the batter and do some with and without the additions. Let me know how it turns out, Kellie. 🙂
These turned out AMAZING. The batter was delicious when we licked the beaters and were so excited to finish dinner and clear the table for dessert tonight. I am conjuring up some unique mix-ins for the next time.
Dessert is the best part of any meal for sure! I am so glad that your family enjoyed the blondie’s, Destiny! I can’t wait to hear what you mix-in next time. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Just made these and they look and smell amazing! I added Reese’s chips because I didn’t have white chocolate. I wish I could try one, but they’re a present for a friend, but I’m sure they are amazing! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
What a sweet and thoughtful gift, Miriam! I hope that your friend loves the blondies! 🙂
This recipe was delicious. I like to put butterscotch chips in my blondies. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you so much, Allison! I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Hi I just made these with Bobs gluten free flour I found the batter very very stiff. Should I possibly use less flour when it is gluten free
Hello I was wondering if I used an 8 x12 pan would these turn out a lil thicker like a brownie???And would I have to double this recipe to get the thickness…
Hi, Cynthia! I use a 9″ x 13″ baking pan for this recipe, so if you use an 8″ x 12″ baking dish, they would be a little thicker than mine (see picture on post). These are brownie-like thickness so I am not sure how thick you are trying to make these. Just something to mention… since you will be using a smaller pan, they will need to bake longer so I recommend just keeping an eye on them. I hope that you enjoy the blondie’s. Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
These are delicious! What a great recipe! I added pecans to mine! They’re going to a church event tomorrow. What do you think about added dried cranberries?
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies! Dried cranberries sound great to me! 🙂
Next time I make them I will try the cranberries. I’m a bit worried they might suck the moisture out of the blondies!
Soak em in rum.
Hi. I was wondering if i could use m and m’s for this recipie becuse i do not have any white chocolate chips or walnuts. would that be okay?
Absolutely, I hope you enjoy the blondies, Samantha! 🙂
Hi,
I’d like to try these, they look amazing!
What does ‘tightly packed sugar’ mean?
Thanks x
Hi, Emma! What this means that you press the sugar more firmly, packing it in the measuring cup more tightly, adding more and repeating the process until you have a very compact amount of sugar. I hope that helps! Happy Baking! I hope that you enjoy the Blondies! 🙂
Hi
Wanted to Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe, absolutely delicious.
I did have to use my mixer though, have injuries to both wrists, didn’t over mix, came out so good.
Thank you
Marybeth
I am so glad you enjoyed the blondies so much, Marybeth! 🙂
You know brown sugar is tightly packed when you flip it out of the measuring cup and you can cut it with a knife and it slices like a loaf
Absolutely delicious as written. I chose to add 2 cups of my favorite candy bar (Snickers) and also made once without add-ins. Super yummy and easy blondie base!
I love the sound of Snickers mixed into this blondie recipe, Melissa! I will have to try this next time. I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
I made these bit misread tightly as lightly for the brown sugar. I also doubled the recipe. They were not gross, but they were not gooey and not sweet enough.
Do you think the lack of brown sugar due to not tightly packing it (I normally tightly pack it for recipes) would make that much of a difference? Or maybe it just doesn’t double well?
Hi Cynthia! This recipe does double well, I would definitely think it would be the lightly packed brown sugar, you’d end up with much less than you really need. I think if you try it again with the brown sugar tightly packed you’ll be pretty happy with the blondies 🙂
I’m from the UK. The sugar you used you said was granulated, would you compare that to Caster sugar? I’m not sure if they are the same thing in the UK and US.
Hi Daisy! Caster sugar is usually more fine than typical granulated sugar in the US, but that will work just fine for this recipe. I hope you love the blondeis!
Can i use blanched almonds instead of the walnuts ?
Hi, Niya! Yes, that should be fine. Let me know how the blondie’s turn out. 🙂
I made these for a Christmas party and they were a huge hit!
I was wondering, if I wanted to do an 8X8 batch (so I don’t eat all the leftovers), do you think I can just half the recipe? I guess it would be tough to half one egg yolk.
What do you think?
Hi Samantha! so glad to hear the blondies were such a hit! Yes, you can cut the recipe in half. I honestly would probably just leave out the egg yolk for a half batch to make things easier, though technically you could scramble the egg yolk and just add half of it to the batter that way. Keep an eye on the bake time as well, the blondies should need to bake for less time but I’m not sure exactly how long it will take. I hope that helps!