Blondies

I first made these blondies for Kevin to take to a nerd conference.  Him and a bunch of friends got a huge suite together, and I wanted to make a treat for them.  These bars were such a huge hit that I made them again the next week as part of my dad's "Treat of the Month".  (Off the Topic Side Note: I mail my dad some kind of homemade treat once a month.  I started doing this a few years ago as his Christmas gift.) The blondies are rich so you'll want to cut them small.  This recipe (and a lot of blondie recipes) use all brown sugar and no white sugar.  I think the flavor that the brown sugar lends is a big reason why I love blondies so much, another reason is the versatility, you can just throw in whatever you have in the pantry. Don't clog up these bars with too many add-ins because you'll want to taste the cookie part also.  Since there are 2 cups total of chocolate chips and pecans, I would use that as a guide when substituting other add-ins.  The batter is really thick so you'll have to fight it a little to smooth it into the pan.


Here are some words of wisdom from this recipe's directions that are very useful when making any type of bar cookie:

• When preparing the pan use foil or parchment paper to line the pan, this step allows you remove the entire contents and easily cut the blondies into individual bars.
• Don't over bake them.  Take them out of the oven when the top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to the touch.

Blondies
From Baking Illustrated
Makes 36 bars


1 1/2 C (7 1/2 oz) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 C packed (10 1/2 oz) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 C white chocolate chips
1 C pecans, toasted and chopped coarse


1.  Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350.  Place two pieces of foil (or parchment paper) perpendicular to each other in a 9x13 pan, pushing the foil (or paper) into the corners, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3.  Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl until combined.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined.  Do not overmix.  Fold in the semisweet and white chocolate chips and the nuts and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with rubber spatula.
4.  Bake until the top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to the touch, 22-25 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove the bars from the pan using the foil (or parchment) handles and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into 1 1/2 by 2-inch bars and serve.