Chewy Blondie Recipe (Cookie Bars)
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Jan. 30, 2024
This is the best Chewy Blondie Recipe that’ll ever grace your taste buds! They’re chewy in texture, buttery in flavor, and even easier to make than cookies.
In This Article
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Why This Recipe Stands Out
This Chewy Blondies Recipe takes all the best parts of thick, gooey chocolate chip cookies and combines them into a bar. Here’s why we love this recipe:
- Super Simple: It only takes one bowl and less than ten simple ingredients to make these chewy cookie bars.
- Family Favorite: Blondies are a classic dessert recipe that the whole family loves. They’re also great for birthdays!
- Valentine’s Day: We mix in pink, red, and white M&Ms to make these blondies the perfect Valentine’s Day treat.
- Versatile: The mix-in options for this recipe are endless.
- Chocolatey: We use chocolate chips and M&Ms for twice the chocolate like we do in these Chewy M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What Are Blondies?
Blondies are like the first cousin of brownies. Instead of having a rich, dense, chocolatey flavor, Blondies have a chewy, buttery, butterscotch taste. Also known as cookie bars, blondies use brown sugar instead of white sugar for a denser, chewier treat.
As the name suggests, blondies are golden brown. We like to mix in chocolate chips, but the possibilities are endless. They’re so easy to make and perfect to pass around at gatherings.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Butter – We use salted butter, but feel free to use unsalted if that’s what you have. Be sure your butter is softened to moderate room temperature, but not at all melty.
- Brown Sugar – You can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe. Dark will leave these chewier, and light will make them fluffier but still chewy.
- Chocolate Morsels – Semi-sweet chocolate morsels give these bars that perfectly gooey, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- M&Ms – Pink, white, and red M&Ms make these blondies perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Substitutions And Variations
Blondies bars are super flexible! Take a look at these fun variations:
- Chocolate: We use semi-sweet chocolate morsels in this recipe, but feel free to substitute with any chocolate you prefer. Dark, milk, and white chocolate would all be amazing!
- M&Ms: There are so many different kinds of M&Ms that would go perfectly in these blondies. Try mixing in peanut or caramel M&Ms. We also think pretzel M&Ms are pretty great.
- Other Mix-Ins: Try sprinkling some chopped walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or cashews into your blondie batter. You could also mix in shredded coconut, butterscotch morsels, or cinnamon morsels like we do in our Chewy Snickerdoodle Bars recipe.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Mix softened butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add vanilla and egg, and mix until just combined.
- Slowly add in flour and salt and mix until just combined. (Be sure not to overmix.)
- Fold in semi-sweet chocolate morsels and M&Ms, if using.
- Scoop blondie batter into greased and parchment-lined pan and bake at 350F for 25 minutes.
- Let bars cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting. Enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
This Chewy Blondies Recipe is already so easy, but we have a few prep ahead tips to make them unbelievably simple:
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure to give the butter enough time to soften and the eggs enough time to come to room temperature before you start baking. This will make mixing so much easier!
- Make Ahead: These blondies keep well at mild/moderate room temperature for up to a week. Just store them in an airtight container to help them stay fresh.
- Freeze the Dough: Unbaked dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
- Freeze Baked Blondies: Blondies also freeze wonderfully. Once they’ve completely cooled and you’ve cut them, simply place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to a month.
Commonly Asked Questions
You’ll know these blondies are done when the edges look golden and slightly crisp and the center looks soft and slightly underdone. A toothpick should come out mostly clean, with a few crumbs attached.
Absolutely! You can either use two 8×8 pans or switch to one 9×13 pan. Just note that the baking time may be a bit longer.
The brown sugar and egg in this recipe help make these blondies thick and chewy. If you’re wanting an extra chewy blondie, try using dark brown sugar. Also, make sure not to over-mix the batter as this can make them hard and too dense.
Blondies taste a lot like an extra thick, bar-version of a chocolate chip cookie. They have a little bit richer and denser texture and more of a caramelized flavor than traditional chocolate chip cookies do.
You can freeze both the unbaked dough and the baked cookie bars. In either case, wrap it airtight and place in freezer for up to 1-2 months.
Did you make this?
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Chewy Blondies Recipe (Cookie Bars)
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, soft but not melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temp
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
- ½ cup M&M's , plus 1/4 cup for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Line 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil, with enough excess to create a “sling” that reaches over the edges of pan for ease of dessert removal. Lightly grease the paper or foil. Set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or you can use a large mixing bowl and electric hand mixer), add the softened butter and brown sugar. Mix on medium high until mixture is fluffy.
- Add vanilla and egg, mixing to combine. Slowly and gently add the flour and salt, switching to low speed; mix just until combined – do not over mix.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate morsels and M&M's. Scrape dough into lined/greased pan, ensuring corners are filled evenly.
- Bake about 25 min or just until toothpick inserted in center comes out barely clean. A few tender crumbs attached are great.
- Let cool completely in pan on wire rack. Carefully remove entire dessert with sling overhang, directly onto a cutting board. Cut into bars and plate to serve.
Notes
- Loosely cover dessert with foil if top browns too quickly during baking.
- Chewy blondies keep well in an airtight container at moderate room temp for several days.
- Feel free to experiment with different types of chocolate or M&M’s to suit the occasion. See original article for ideas.
- Check out this recipe for Forever Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Nutrition (per serving)
More To Bake And Eat
- Chewy Monster Cookie Bars – These monster cookie bars have everything we could ever ask for. Peanut butter, chocolate chips, M&Ms – they’ve got it all!
- Samoas Cookie Bars Recipe – These Samoas Cookie Bars pack a punch with chocolate, caramel, and toasted coconut!
- Award Winning Almond Bars – These almond bars are so good, they won first place at a local baking contest. Plus, they’re so easy to make.
- Fudgy Brownies – Thick, gooey, and extra chocolatey, these are the best brownies you’ll ever taste – trust us!