better-late-than-never blondies

When Kyle came home from work last week begging for blondies all I could do was hang my head in shame. I had never made them. I had never had the desire to make them. Worse yet, I had never liked them. *gasp!* How could I not like the non-chocolate version of a brownie? Nuts! Every blondie I've ever come across has had some type of nut in them, and while they look fantastic, I've always taken a laissez-faire attitude with them. What's the point of eating something and having to pick around the nuts?


After much begging that evening, something clicked. Why couldn't I make them without nuts?? Duh. :: forehead slap :: I ran down to the computer knowing that I could find a recipe on one of the famous blogs I read on a nearly everyday basis, and of course, Smitten Kitchen came through for me again.

This is a blondie recipe that is simple, allows for any add-ins (or subtract-aways), and is touted to be Deb's favorite blondie recipe. 'Nuff said. Onward to the kitchen...

In my recipe, I used 1 tsp vanilla and added a bag of peanut butter chips. The next time I make this recipe, I think I'll add some peanut butter to the mix as well as chocolate chips because while they turned out pretty great, I think they needed a little extra "umph." (This was no fault of Deb's though.)

Blondies
source: Smitten Kitchen from How to Cook Everything

• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
   Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
3. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I always err on the side of caution with baking times — nobody ever complained about a gooey-middled cookie. Cool on rack before cutting them.
   

Further additions, use one or a combination of:
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting