Loaded Blondies!

I absolutely adore Blondies. In general, I am way more of a chocolate girl than vanilla, but when it comes bars, I go blonde all the way. Blondies are way more versatile, and leave more room to experiment with add ins.

When I was a little girl, I went out to eat and there was a flyer for their new Blondie dessert and it said something along the lines of "Blondes really do have more fun." I completely didn't get it, and as a girl with brown hair I was offended for some weird pride reason. But now, with every fluffy warm bite from that golden bar. I get it. And these Loaded Blondies are proof that they really do have more fun.

I love this recipe because it is so versatile. You can change the base by simply adding a different type of nut butter or spread to the melted butter/ brown sugar mixture and go crazy with different add-ins, and it will still be a great bar. I usually add peanut butter to the base and add in peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Today I had a tiny bag of caramel chips I wanted to use up so I used those, chocolate chips and dressed it all up with my personal favorite:

So without further ado, I give you:

Loaded Blondies Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2 cups brown sugar (dark or light- my personal preference is dark)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Or another extract? I have never tried but it could be interesting!)
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, creates a fluffier texture in my opinion but not mandatory.)
• 1 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon add-ins examples: Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, walnuts, sprinkles, chopped candy bars, shredded coconut, M&M's, sprinkles, and any other you can think of. Be creative! 
• Optional: 1/2 Cup nut butter, Nutella, Biscoff spread, etc.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 13x9 inch pan.
2. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda ad cornstarch (if using), set aside.
3. Heat butter in a saucepan or in microwave for 30 second intervals until melted thoroughly. 
4. Whisk brown sugar into melted butter until well mixed. 
5. If using, whisk in your nut butter or spread.
6. Whisk in eggs one at a time into the melted butter/sugar mixture.
7. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
8. Lastly, whisk in the flour mixture until just combined, be careful not to overmix!
9. Gently stir your 1 cup of add ins. 
10. Spread batter evenly into your pan then sprinkle the extra tablespoon of mix-ins on top. 
11. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out from the center clean.
12. Let cool before cutting into bars, or like I did, hearts! 
13. Eat plain or top it with ice-cream and hot fudge and embrace your inner Blondie and have fun! :)

What do you prefer? Brownies or Blondies? What are some of your favorite mix ins? Let me know in a comment below!

Blondie Recipe Adapted from: About.com