White Chocolate Blondies

I got this recipe from my friend Brad and they are seriously delicious. I like this recipe a lot better than my other blondie recipe. I made these on Sunday for dessert and the whole family loved them. They're chewy and buttery and the white chocolate is awesome. The original recipe calls for nuts and suggests lining the 9x13 pan with foil and then cooking spray, but I omitted the nuts and just buttered the 9x13 and they turned out beautifully.

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I just used my regular bleached flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) melted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate chips (1 cup) or chopped bar, or 3 ounces each white chocolate and seminsweet chocolate chips. (I used a whole chopped white chocolate bar plus 1/2 cup semisweet chips)
(1 cup pecans or walnuts--optional)*

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9x13 pan.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.
3. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate (and nuts) and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula.
4. Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. (Or eat hot like I always do. So yummy.) Cut into squares and serve.

If you want to add the nuts, here's the first step of the recipe:
Spread nuts on large rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer nuts to cutting board to cool; chop coarsely and set aside.

If you want to foil-line your pan:
Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 9x13 baking pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch lenth foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. (If using extra-wide foil, fold second sheet lengthwise to 12-inch width.) Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

(See why I just rubbed butter all over the pan???)

Blondies

After a rich, decadent dinner of sole (fish) stuffed with crab and scallops, loaded baked potatoes, and fresh, juicy tomato wedges, I decided to try this recipe. I got it from a "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbook I got for my wedding. This was my first time trying this recipe and I thought it turned out nicely. It calls for less butter and 1/3 the chocolate of my cookie bars, but is still very rich, buttery, and chocolaty. Grayson took one bite and said, "This is DELICIOUS!" I loved melting the brown sugar and butter in the pan together--it looked so pretty. :)

2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 c butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c chopped nuts

Grease a 9x13 baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat brown sugar and butter over medium heat until butter melts and the mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Stir in eggs 1 at a time; stir in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Spread batter in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces and nuts. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (avoid chocolate pieces). Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into bars while warm.

I didn't add nuts to mine, but think they would add a nice crunch. This would be delicious, of course, with milk or vanilla ice cream.