So...it's been a while since I posted a recipe, and now that Christmas is coming, I figured it'd be a good idea. Plus, I made some amaaaazing blondies the other day!
So, for those of you that are in the dark, a blondie is basically a brownie minus the chocolate. I know, I know...you chocolate lovers are all going to stop reading now, but I dare you to read on...even I, a devout chocoholic, adore this amazing treats. While brownies have a common base of melted butter, granulated sugar and cocoa powder, blondies are created with melted butter and brown sugar. The result is a rich toffee-like flavor. Mixing the butter and brown sugar creates such a fabulous aroma that it will make you want to eat the batter by the spoonful. I’m not kidding. Be prepared to muster up some serious willpower. The flavors in these blondies are fabulous – the batter is rich, the coconut slightly sweet and adding a chewy texture, and the chocolate with the perfect amount of, well, chocolateness.
I was a huge fan of how the batter smelled when being mixed together, and loved the crisp, crackly, brownie-like top that the blondies had when they came out of the oven. MMMmmmmm, I want to bake more already!
So here I go...
Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Yield: 16 two-inch-square bars
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
Topping:
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine the flour and salt; set aside.
3. Stir together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until blended, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth even with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. Do not overbake. Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate, then cool completely before cutting into squares.
7. For the topping, combine the chocolate and butter and melt until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle over the bars.
Some notes on the recipe:
- I used Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, which are larger than regular chips, so more like a “chunk”. Plus I like dark chocolate.
- You don’t need to break out a mixer – I made these with one bowl and a large spoon.
- To get clean cuts, use a bench scraper to cut straight down...no slicing or sawing with a knife, perfect edges!
- I am now a blondie convert.
