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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Great recipe! I made it for my family and they all loved it. I will definitely be using this recipe again.
Wonderful recipe! I left out the pecans because my son doesn’t care for nuts. Didn’t use any appliances either… just a bowl and a wooden spoon. They came out wonderful and delicious! So darn easy. Will make again and again.
Hi
May i ask if there is supposed to be baking soda or baking powder in this recipe?
Thanks,
Happy New Year
helen
Hi Helen, there is intentionally no baking soda or baking powder in this recipe. (These are more like bars/brownies and don’t rise very much.) Hope you enjoy if you make them!
I made this recipe, but didn’t have semisweet chocolate chips, so substituted white chocolate chips and used chopped pecans. Rave reviews from friends and family. Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe.
Hi. Question. Is the baking time and temp for a convection oven or a non-convection? Thanks.
Hi Phil, All of my recipes are for non-convection baking.
Best recipe. My go to!
I was almost put off by some of the *really* negative reviews about this recipe, but it was easy enough that I figured if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be out many ingredients or minutes of prep time. I wasn’t super-wowed but didn’t really plan to be – I got exactly what I was expecting – a blondie that scratched the itch and ranked a solid 7/10. So I’m not sure why the negativity.
My only mods were to brown the butter before mixing with the sugars and instead of the spoon-and-level technique, I scooped the flour out with the measuring cup and shook it level. (I know this technique makes the pros all cringe, but I grew up baking this way and have only noticed a slight difference. So if I want a recipe a tiny bit drier, this is how I go about it.) I baked it up in a 9” aluminum round with parchment on the bottom and buttered sides for 25mins. After running a knife around the rim, it fell right out.
Can I also use butterscotch chips in this if I don’t have Chocolate chips?
Sure – Hope you enjoy!
Is this recipe mising baking powder? I made them and they really didn’t rise. Every other recipe I see has baking powder. A waste of time and ingredients, usually your recipes are good.
Hi Laurel, there is intentionally no baking powder in this recipe. (These are more like bars/brownies and don’t rise very much.) I’m sorry they were a fail for you!
I only have light brown sugar on hand. How much of a difference will this make?
Assuming you’re referring to replacing the dark brown sugar with the light brown (as opposed to the granulated sugar), it should be fine. Hope you enjoy!
Best Blondies ever!
These were probably one of the best bar cookies/blondies I have ever had. Absolutely delicious. I doubled the recipe, and subbed peanut butter chips for the nuts. Rich but not too much – just right! My college-age son was sick but thankfully can still taste – and these made him feel much better. Yet another five-star recipe. Can’t thank you enough, Jenn, because your recipes never fail. Going to try a bread recipe tomorrow – may even be brave enough to try my favorite, challah!