Blonde Brownies

Today I was in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, but easier…without all the mess. So, I turned to the next best thing, blonde brownies—also known as blondies. The recipe is from Tollhouse because it’s simply the best and super easy. Slightly modified by me.

Blonde Brownies
Prep time: Approx. 20 minutes

2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine, softened
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups of your chocolate chips of choice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Now, this is where Tollhouse and I differ in the most significant way. They say to use a 15x10” jelly roll pan, but not only do I not have one of those, I don’t like “brownies” that are about a quarter of an inch thick. It’s just not right. Brownies are thick, chunky, soft squares of deliciousness. So, I use a 13x9” glass casserole dish. Grease it up (whether you use the jelly roll pan or the casserole dish) with some nonstick cooking spray or butter.

In a small bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, and salt. I usually wisk the dry ingredients together for a few seconds just to make them smoother and less lumpy. Then, in your large mixing bowl, mix together your sugar and softened butter until smooth and creamy. Then beat in your eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in your flour mixture, about a half a cup at a time, until the batter is thick but smooth and well-mixed.

Finally, stir in your chocolate chips and make sure to distribute them well.

(I had a picture of all this but it was too blurry to be useful so you’ll have to use your imagination.)

Then, pour (well…more like plop it all down with a spatula) the mixture into your baking dish of choice. Spread it around evenly and make it look nice. It should look something like the below photo.

Now, put it in your preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. As with every recipe, the bake time may be different at different altitudes. I’m at sea level. If you’re using a jelly roll pan, the cook time will be less. Just watch it towards the end. It’ll be ready when the top is nice and golden brown and when you stick a fork in it, it comes out clean (except for delicious melted chocolate chips). Basically, it should look something like this:

Let it cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into brownie-sized squares and devouring. These are great served warm with vanilla ice cream, but they’re also great when they’ve cooled completely…still awesome the next day and the day after and the day after…

Dig in!