Chewy Peanut Butter Blondies

What are blondies exactly? They are basically a non-chocolate brownie! Instead of cocoa, we use brown sugar for a molasses-y, caramel-y vibe. This also makes them ridiculously chewy and endlessly customizable.

This version includes peanut butter in the base for a fantastic nutty flavor, but you can also try these strawberry blondies for a fruity spin.

Ingredients

I love these blondies because they are so crazy easy to make, and I usually have the ingredients on hand. Let’s review the list highlights below:

• All-purpose flour. Our standard flour, no need for a specialty flour today.
• Melted butter. This provides the ooey- texture of the blondies
• Light brown sugar. And a lot of it. This is the -gooey texture! Plus, the molasses provides a rich, caramelized flavor to the blondie. A dark brown sugar will have a much stronger flavor and will overpower the peanut flavor.
• Peanut butter. I recommend using a non-natural peanut butter here, something I only stick by for baking. A more classic peanut butter like Jif or Skippy will be less oily, plus provide the childhood flavor memories of Reese’s peanut butter cups.
• Milk chocolate chunks. I know, I usually recommend semi-sweet or dark chocolate for my bakes, and feel free to swap those in, but for true peanut butter cup vibes, I wanted that milk chocolate bite for these. I prefer chopped chocolate wafers, but chocolate chips are also a good option.
• Mini pretzels and chopped Reese’s cups. These are optional, but they add a little fun to the top of the blondies. You can also scatter some extra chocolate on top instead.

Making Blondies

I promised that these blondies are ridiculously easy to make. Grab a big bowl, a whisk and a spatula. That’s it! Measure everything directly into this bowl as you go (I love a kitchen scale for this).

Start by whisking together all the wet ingredients – melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.

Why is sugar considered a wet ingredient you ask? Because when heated it’s melts into a liquid.

Next, I whisk in the baking powder and salt. This ensures they are evenly spread throughout without having to combine the dry ingredients in a second bowl. I am refusing to grab a second bowl for this recipe!

Now to add the flour. Switch to the spatula here so you can stir everything in. The dough is going to be very thick, so I mix about 80% of the way then add the chocolate chunks and finish stirring everything together at once. Your biceps will thank you.

Baking Blondies

I prefer to use metal baking pans in many cases. I don’t feel the glass or ceramic conducts the heat as well as results in uneven baking. They will still work, but the results from a (sturdy) metal pan tend to be superior. Just avoid those disposable, thin metal pans.

For easiest removal, I line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Metal binder clips are great for holding the sheet in place during filling and baking.

Transfer the dough to the pan and smooth out. Because it is so thick, pat it down with the spatula or slightly wet hands. Top with pretzels and chopped peanut butter cups, pushing them down slightly into the dough.

Baking Times

Your preference for fudgier or cookier blondies will help determine the baking times. All times will yield a chewy peanut butter blondie, but a shorter baking time will give a richer, fudgier texture. A longer baking time will have a more set and cookie-like texture. No wrong answers.