In the decision of brownie vs. blondie I don't think I can ultimately choose. I am a chocoholic to the max and a warm, fudgy brownie (preferably topped with ice cream) is always a good decision. But there's just something special about the sweet, buttery blonde bar that I can't resist. I can't even tell you how many blondie trial and errors I went through. It was so discouraging. More brown sugar, less butter - less butter more brown sugar...too much flour, add another egg? Each time resulted in a unevenly baked, tasteless mess. But I'm happy to say I finally got it right and if your looking for a go-to blondie recipe, try mine! These Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Blondies are sure to be a new favorite of yours!
These bars are whipped up in minutes. Quick, easy and irresistible. The perfect dessert bar if you ask me. The blondie is the base flavor, I think it's best described as a buttery, brown sugar flavor and I used chocolate chips AND butterscotch morsels for the mix-ins. Chocolate chip and butterscotch are a great compliment to the chewy, buttery taste and texture.
One thing that is great about this recipe is that you don't need a lot of ingredients or a lot of time. You don't even need a mixer or separate bowls to assemble the blondie batter. You'll notice in this recipe (and in a lot of others) that if brown sugar is required, I like to use a combination of light brown and dark brown sugar. Why? No specific reason, it's something I tried while messing around with chocolate chip cookie recipes and the best flavor came from using both light brown and dark brown sugar. Maybe I'm crazy or it's unnecessary, but I'll like it - it gives a chewy texture and rich flavor so I think I'll keep it!
These blondies take less than 10 minutes to whip up (I told you, super quick) and they only take 20 minutes to bake! Seriously...only 30 minutes until you have a sweet, buttery o-m-g-good blondie, now that's what's up. But wait, there's a catch. The cooling time is something to consider, but don't worry, it's not that long either. Before you add your batter to it's baking dish, make sure you lightly grease and line the baking dish with parchment paper and leave about 1 inch over hang to make for an easier transfer to a cooling rack. This is a step that I use to over look all the time but not anymore. It makes it so much easier to cut them into even squares. Double points for presentation, people!
When you pull the blondies out of the oven allow them to cool for about 10 minutes in the baking dish. Then, lift them out by using that 1 inch over hang, and transfer to a cooling rack, giving them another 10-15 minutes before cutting. They'll be perfect.
What do you guys like better brownies or blondies? What about the light brown and dark brown sugar combo: weird, unnecessary or amazing? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Blondies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 Large Egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ butterscotch morsels
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper leaving a 1 inch over hang for easy transfer when blondies are done. Set aside.
- Add melted butter and both light and dark brown sugar to a medium mixing bowl. Stir completely until combined. Add in egg and vanilla extract, stirring until combined. Batter should be smooth and have a caramel color. Add in dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until completely combined. Batter will be thick. Fold in chocolate chips and butterscotch morsels.
- Spread blondie batter into baking dish. Spread a thin layer to fully cover the bottom of the baking dish. It may seem like there isn't enough but there is, the layer is just thin. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, test with a toothpick inserted into the center and if it comes out clean the blondies are done. They may finish baking before 20 minutes depending on your oven.
- Allow blondies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. After 10 minutes lift the blondies out of the baking dish by using the parchment over hand and place them on a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 10-15 more minutes. Once cool blondies are ready to cut and serve. Store any leftover in an airtight container.
Notes
- *total time above does not included cooling time
- *to make it look like morsels are popping out on the surface, sprinkle a handful over the batter before you bake them in the oven
I'm traditionally a brownie girl but after seeing this post - I may love blondies more! These choc chip & butterscotch blondie bars look divine.
Thalia - it's so hard to choose which is better!
I like blondies better than brownies, but I think that's because chocolate chip cookies are my very favorite cookie! I, too, love the combination of dark and light brown sugar in desserts like this - I think it contributes to a richer more complex flavor. These look absolutely delicious!
Hi Kim!
I seriously thought I was the only one who did the whole light brown/dark brown sugar combination...it's nice to meet someone who does that too!
Are you sure it is 8x8?? The bars are thick! I went ahead and baked it. But had to add more baking time. I believe it should be 9x13.
Hi Cheryl!
Yes, these bars are thick but I had great results baking them in a 8x8 inch baking dish. I haven't tried a 9x13 inch dish because I thought it would spread the batter out too much and end up in a thinner blondie which wasn't personally what I was looking for. Did you end up baking them in a 8x8 inch or a 9x13? How did they come out for you?
Hi, if I only put light brown sugar, how much of it should I put? Would it still go right? Thanks! Looking forward to making these 🙂
Hello Lila!
If you only have light brown sugar I would recommend using 1 and 1/4 cup of all light brown sugar. That way your adding the same amount of brown sugar needed, but just replacing the dark brown sugar with light brown sugar. Hope this helps! The recipe should still turn out right because most Blondie recipes call for all light brown sugar. The light brown/dark brown suagr combo is just something unique I like to do in some recipes. Let me know how it turns out for you!
I've made these 3 times now--they are awesome! Thanks for the yummy recipe! I've made them a few different ways . . . once exactly as written, once with walnuts and chocolate chips, and once with a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chunks and milk chocolate chips. So great each time!
Thank you so much Rachel! I love that you've tried it with different mix-ins and still had success. I love the chocolate chip butterscotch combination but chocolate chip & walnut sounds fantastic. I also want to say thanks again for tagging me in your Instagram post a while back ?