Chocolate-Peanut Blondies

Next to chocolate chip cookies, brownies and blondies are some of the most popular sweet treats. Unfortunately most people bake them from boxed mixes when in fact they are too easy to make from scratch. You can find all the ingredients you need in your pantry. One of my most popular recipes on this site is my best brownies. I love the rich dark chocolate brownies, but I also love blondies just as much. I make them quite often. They might not be as well known as their chocolaty counterpart, but there just as good—if not better.

This recipe is my go-to, all-in-one blondie recipe. I adapt this recipe over and over again. Here it's made with chopped semisweet chocolate and chopped peanuts. Chopping the chocolate results in fudge-like blondies. Use chocolate chips and the blondies will turn out a bit more cake-like since the chocolate won't melt as much. Any chopped nut can stand in place of the peanuts. Try macadmia nuts with white chocolate, for example. Instead of chocolate, you could also use carob chips, peanut buttter chips, butterscotch chips, or toffee chips. Variation is encouraged!

This is the kind of recipe you will want to come back to time and time again. These blondies are great to bring to holiday parties or simple gatherings with friends and family. They can even be gifted: Simply package a few squares in cellophane bags and tie with twine or raffia for a unique favor. Take a bite out of one of these blondies and you won't be able to resist them!

Chocolate-Peanut Blondies

Note: This recipe also makes cookies. Spoon balls of dough onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown and set in the center.

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 8-by-8-inch pan, line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, using a whisk or hand-held mixer, beat together the sugar and egg until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and melted butter, beat until combined. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl now and then, until just combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate and peanuts. Spread batter in prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan before lifting out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Transfer the cooled blondies to a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into small or large squares. Yield: 16 blondies or 25 blondie bites.