Best Blondie Recipe
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Looking for the best blondie recipe? These rich, buttery blondies have chewy centers, crisp golden edges, and plenty of chocolate chips in every bite.
Blondies are rich, buttery bar cookies with a rich caramel flavor and chewy texture. Often described as the vanilla version of a brownie, they’re made with brown sugar instead of cocoa and studded with chocolate chips (plus optional pecans for crunch).
I’ve baked countless batches of blondies over the years, but I always come back to this recipe. they have the perfect balance of crisp edges, chewy centers, and gooey pockets of melted chocolate. It’s the kind of foolproof recipe you’ll bake again and again.
Perfect for bake sales, potlucks, holiday cookie trays, lunch boxes, or after-school treats, these blondies also freeze beautifully, making them an easy make-ahead dessert.
“Best blondie recipe I have made and my go-to for a quick and delicious dessert.”
Blondie Ingredients
- Melted Butter: Provides a rich, creamy base for the batter. Melted butter creates a denser, chewier blondie. You can also use browned butter for a nuttier flavor or swap it for coconut oil or non-dairy butter alternative if you need to make this without any dairy.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and a deep, caramel-like flavor, while granulated sugar sweetens and gives the blondies crisp edges and soft center. (Be sure to pack the brown sugar tightly.)
- Egg & Vanilla Extract: The egg binds everything together, while vanilla adds warm, aromatic flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure for the blondies. For the most accurate measurement, use the spoon-and-level method: spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge—don’t scoop directly from the bag, which can pack in too much flour.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips & Chopped Pecans: These mix-ins add texture and flavor—melty chocolate in every bite and a subtle crunch from the pecans.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make Blondies
Step 1: Mix the butter and sugars. Beat the melted butter with both sugars until the mixture looks smooth—this is what helps create that shiny, crackly top later on.
Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until the batter looks smooth and cohesive.
Step 3: Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour and salt on low speed, stopping the moment you no longer see dry streaks. This is the step where it’s easiest to overdo it; extra mixing here develops more gluten and pushes the texture toward tough or cakey instead of dense and chewy.
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. The batter will be quite thick at this point — that’s normal. If you’re skipping the nuts, a few extra chocolate chips in their place works well.
Step 5: Spread into the pan and bake. Transfer the batter to a greased pan and spread evenly. Bake until the top looks set and lightly golden, with edges just starting to darken. The center may still look a little soft—that’s exactly what you want
Step 7: Cool, then slice. Using the parchment overhang, lift the blondie brownies from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve warm or room temperature. The bars will keep nicely for a few days stored in an airtight container at room temperature; freeze for longer storage.
Pro Tips And blondie Variations
- Swap the mix-ins: Swap all or half the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, change the nuts or leave them out, or even add some dried cranberries. Just keep the amount of mix-ins you add to 1¼ cups.
- Line your pan with parchment paper: It makes removing the blondies a breeze and ensures cleaner slices. Be sure to leave an overhang on two sides so you can lift the whole slab out of the pan once cooled.
- Don’t be tempted to add baking powder or baking soda. This recipe is designed to bake up dense and chewy with crisp edges. Adding a leavener will give the blondies a lighter, more cake-like texture.
- Don’t overbake. It’s better to slightly underbake blondies than overbake them. Remove them from the oven as soon as the center is set; they’ll continue to cook from the residual heat as they cool.
- Want to double the recipe? This blondie recipe works great doubled and baked in a 9 x 13 pan. You may need to add a few minutes to the bake time.
For more chocolate chip treats, don’t miss my classic chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate chip ricotta cake.
More Bar Cookie Recipes You’LL Love
Blondies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan with an 8 x 11-inch (20 x 28-cm) piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch (5-cm) overhang on two sides. You'll have to create seams in the corners and along the edges of the pan to get it to stay put (you can always add a few dots of butter underneath if necessary).
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the melted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. On low speed, mix in the flour and salt until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is set and lightly golden. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool. Using the parchment overhang, lift the blondie "cake" from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares. Store the blondies in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Most amazing Blondie recipe, since my daughter is allergic to nuts, I just add a few more chips and omit the nuts…..these blondies barely last a day or two in my house….as always Jenn, thank you for simple, delicious and easy to make recipes.
I made the chocolate chip pecan blondies to bring to “game night” Had tried other blooie recipes in the past. Your recipe just shouted “make me, you won’t be sorry”.
I’ve been asked to make them for every game night–that’s how big a hit they were. The recipe was simple to follow and results were beautiful and delicious. This recipe is a keeper. Don’t need to change anything. Don’t need to add anything. The recipe is perfect just as it is.
Hi Jenn. Can I make these blondies in a metal pan instead of a glass pan? Will there be any difference in the baking time?
Thank you!
Sure Gayle. You may need to cook them a few minutes longer but not much.
Can you use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar? Also, can you double the pecans? Thank you!
Yes and yes! Hope you enjoy the blondies.
First, I want to say that I am a cooking/baking freak with a huge cookbook/cooking magazine problem–5 bookshelves’ worth! And your website is now my go-to place for recipes!! Fabulous–every one.
For this one, I’d like to double and bake in 9 x 13 pan. Any different instructions for this?
Also, I’d like to substitute some of the chocolate chips with M&M-type blue and white candies (can you guess which school 😉 ?) sprinkled on top. Suggestions for ratios for doing this?
Thanks!!
Hi Kim, So glad to hear you like the recipes! These can definitely be doubled- I’ve done it and have used two 8-inch pans, but some readers have commented that they have doubled it successfully using a 9 x 13 pan. Baking time would be the same. And I think you could substitute some of the chocolate chips with some M&M’s with no adjustments. Hope you enjoy!
Best blondies ever! I’ve made them twice w/o adjustments and shared them with my husband, grandsons, knitting group, and doormen. Loved by all. I especially love the size … not too much. Since finding your site, I’ve tried many of your recipes and have added them to my collection. Thank you!!
I don’t review recipes often because there are so many and who really reads them all? However, I thought I would review this one because I make it all the time. This Blondie recipe is the easiest, tastiest and my husband’s favorite. I started by making them last year in my cooking class I teach, and have been making them ever since – so at least 40 times. Because it’s so basic, it’s easy to adapt. I usually use 3 different chip flavors – white morsels, butterscotch and sprinkle chocolate minis on the top and different combinations thereof. One time I added peanut butter powder and sometimes almond extract and add sliced almonds on the top. Also, instead of using all butter, I use 2 oz butter and 2 ounces coconut oil. They are always good and always a hit. I’ve tried other recipes and they’re not as good as this one. I love Jennifer’s suggestion of parchment paper with the hangover for easy removal. I have adopted this practice for all brownies I make. Thank you Jennifer for this valuable suggestion and sharing this wonderful recipe that is failsafe.
Loved it, loved it, loved it! In Kentucky, we love deserts with Bourbon flavor. I searched for a recipe to approximate the famous chocolate chip pecan pie w/ Bourbon only in a brownie. I found yours and modified by soaking the pecans in 2 Tbsp of whiskey for a couple of hours before adding to the mix. The alcohol cooks out but leaves the flavor. Cut just a little bigger and top with fresh whipped cream. Special occasion quality desert! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I read the recipe and questioned why there was no leavening agent. I thought it was a misprint (hadn’t read the below reviews yet) so I added 1 t teaspoon baking powder. They turned out wonderful. More like a cake brownie and the flavor is great. Also put pecans and white chocolate chips. This is a keeper
Forgot to mention I doubled the recipe. Took them to work today and everyone loved them.
Must have hit the JACKPOT of recipes on this site. Excellent! Co-workers said it was one of their all-time favorites they’ve ever eaten. The incredible smell in the house made it hard to wait. I’ve never cared for warm cookies but snuck a taste & these are awesome! Great either warm or cold. Thank you again for sharing your site and recipes with all.