Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet with butterscotch notes and lots of chocolate deliciousness mixed in.
Texture: Thick, chewy, gooey, and rich.
Ease: Super easy! One bowl recipe with no mixer required and ready to enjoy in just 45 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: That crinkly crust studded with chocolate chips and a sprinkling of flaky salt is simply irresistible.
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This is one of my husband’s FAVORITE recipes. He requests it constantly.
I designed this recipe to be a little more thick and chewy than your average blondie, with just a touch of gooey-ness right at the center.
You’re an hour away from enjoying the butterscotch flavor of brown sugar + butter with the chewy texture of a brownie. You may already have all the ingredients on hand.
Struggling with Flat or Dry Cookies?
My free guide shows you how to fix texture problems and bake cookies you’ll love.
Feeling creative? You can easily omit the chocolate chips or replace them with candy, nuts, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or anything else your heart desires.
I have several other scrumptious Blondie Recipes on my site – like my Easter Blondies made with Cadbury mini eggs, my Caramel Pecan Blondies loaded with gooeyness, or my Peanut Butter S’mores Blondies that are pure PB heaven.
But you’ll want to come back to this classic blondie recipe again and again. To the point where you may even have it memorized one day!
My tip? they’re even better with a glass of milk or a scoop of ice cream on top.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Blondies
What Is A Blondie? What is the Difference Between Blondies and Brownies?
Blondies are basically “blonde brownies.” There is no cocoa or melted chocolate in the batter of a Blondie. Instead, Blondies are made with brown sugar for a rich butterscotch flavor and plenty of vanilla extract for a wonderful vanilla flavor.
In my book, a good Blondie is gooey, chewy, and a little fudgy.
Do I Have to Use Brown Sugar?
Brown sugar is essential to a traditional blondie. You can also use dark brown sugar if you want a bolder butterscotch flavor and a bit of extra chewiness.
Here’s what to do if you’re out of brown sugar:
- Make your own DIY Brown Sugar. If you’ve got white sugar and molasses on hand, simply make your own brown sugar. You will need 1 ½ cups (300 grams) white granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses.
If you want to experiment with reducing the sugar, start with only a fifteen percent reduction to avoid making the blondies dry and cakey. Read more about the role of sugar in baking here.
The Key to Perfectly Baked Blondies: A Metal Baking Pan!
This recipe yields thick, rich blondies, so it’s important to use a pan that conducts heat effectively, like my favorite from USA Pan.
Avoid glass or ceramic pans because they will take far longer to bake. This often leads to the center being undercooked, gummy, and slightly sunken by the time the edges start to dry out.
Check out comparison below, where I baked this recipe at the same temperature for the same time in the same oven.
Though the differences weren’t quite as dramatic as with our brownie testing, you can see the glass pan blondies are more gooey and underdone in the center.
What if I Don’t Have a Metal Pan?
If you must use glass or ceramic, drop the baking temperature by about 15°F and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
How to Customize Blondies
You can use any type of chocolate chip or any other mix-in that’s similar in size and shape to customize this Blondie Recipe.
Just keep the volume or weight about the same as written in the recipe. I don’t recommend adding anything wet, like fresh fruits – but here are some other ideas to customize this recipe to your personal taste:
- Milk, dark or white chocolate chips (or a mix of all three!)
- Homemade toffee bits
- Butterscotch chips
- Peanut butter chips
- Chopped, lightly toasted nuts (pecans or walnuts are my favorite!)
- Any baking chocolate or candy bar, chopped into small chunks
- M&Ms
- Dried fruit, like chopped cherries or raisins, or even dehydrated berries
How Do You Know When Blondies Are Done Baking?
I worked with recipe testers to test this recipe in four different ovens across the country. What I learned? Baking time will depend entirely on your oven AND your preferred level of doneness.
Here are a few tips for achieving your version of perfect Blondies:
- Baking time: 25 – 28 minutes was perfect for a more soft and gooey center, while 30 to 35 minutes resulted in a more firm center and more golden edges.
- Visual cues: Blondies are done baking when the middle is just slightly jiggly and shiny on top, but the edges look solidified. Be careful not to overbake or they will become dry and crumbly.
- Remember: residual heat will continue to cook the Blondies. Even if they seem just slightly underdone in the center, remove the Blondies from the oven. They’ll solidify more as they cool. Please note that it is normal if the center dips slightly after cooling, which is more likely to happen with a glass pan.
- Too gooey? Rest overnight. If your Blondies are still a little gooey for your liking after they’ve cooled, let them sit on a cooling rack overnight, lightly covered with plastic wrap. This period of time will help them solidify even more.
- Oven temperature: Also, be sure your oven is actually at the temperature it says it is. Learn more about that in my Oven 101 article, and if you don’t have an oven thermometer, now’s the time!
Blondie Baking FAQs
Why use an egg + egg yolk?
The extra yolk provides richness for a chewier texture – so don’t skip it! Be sure your eggs are at room temperature, and use large eggs (not medium or extra-large – your large eggs should be about 56 grams in shell).
Why Are My Blondies Hard? Why Are My Blondies Dry? Why Are My Blondies Cakey?
The answer to all of these questions is likely the same simple mistake: incorrect measuring of ingredients.
If you are not measuring your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale, you could accidentally be adding too much flour, causing hard, dry, or cake-like Blondies. Learn more about how to measure ingredients correctly here!
The other reason your blondies could be turning out too dry or hard is likely that they’re overbaked. Learn how to tell when your blondies are done baking below.
Should Blondies be Gooey?
A little bit, yes! Overbaked Blondies are basically a dry, hard cookie bar.
Can I Double This Blondie Recipe?
Yes! Just double all ingredients and bake it in a 9×13-inch metal baking pan and add a few minutes to the baking time.
Storage: How Long Are Blondies Good For?
You can store the Blondies for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge. If storing for more than a day, wait to slice into bars until you’re ready to serve to prevent stale edges.
You can also freeze Blondies (as a whole slab or sliced) for up to 3 months. Store wrapped in plastic wrap and inside an airtight container. Thaw overnight at room temperature. You can then refresh in a 325°F oven for about 5 to 10 minutes, if desired.
Blondies Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour,
measured correctly - 1 3/4 cups (281 grams) mix-ins of your choice, such as chocolate chips or nuts, divided
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch metal pan* with foil or parchment paper. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter in 30-second increments until melted. Add the sugar to the hot butter and whisk to combine. Let cool until just warm.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk vigorously until smooth. Stir in the salt, baking powder, and flour with a rubber spatula. Gently stir in 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) of the mix-ins.
- Evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan. Top with remaining mix-ins.
- For an ooey-gooey center, bake until the edges are lightly golden but the center still jiggles slightly, about 25 minutes. For a firmer center, bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is lightly golden and set, 30-35 minutes. Set pan on wire rack and allow to cool before cutting. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving.
- Store for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge. If storing for more than a day, wait to slice into bars until you’re ready to serve to prevent stale edges.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2010 and updated in 2023 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
Maybe it’s me? Says 1 1/2 cups flour (191 grams), I went based on the grams and landed on 191 grams around 1 cup of flour. Cooked for 30 minutes and they were all extremely gooey!!! Like batter still, did not hold their shape at all!!! Should I have had done the 1 1/2 cups of flour and nixed the grams!!??
Hi there! I’m sorry to hear that these blondies didn’t turn out as they should for you! 191 grams is the correct weight measurement for 1.5 cups of flour – more on weight measurements vs. volume measurements here. There are a few reasons these blondies may have been too gooey:
– What type of pan did you bake the blondies in? Glass vs metal pans can make a big difference on the baked result, as Tessa shows in this article here.
– Your oven might be running a little cool. Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips. If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much. This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites.
Next time, I would recommend baking these blondies a few extra minutes, and use a light-colored metal pan if possible, and this should solve any overly-gooey issues 🙂 I hope that helps, and I hope you’ll give these blondies another try – they really are incredible! Happy baking!
Made these on Wednesday and the family devoured them…I’ve made another lot this morning and hope they last a bit longer!
These are just like the ones my mom used to make when I was a kid! Exactly the recipe I was looking for. So yummy! Thank you!
I browned the butter first before adding the sugar. I also used 1/2 vanilla extract and 1/2 vanilla bean paste. 💖
I made these Blondies last week exactly as recommended and baked them for 28 minutes. Our foodie friends declared them Outstanding and requested the recipe. I served them for dessert the following night to my grandsons who begged for more. This recipe is a keeper!
Way too much butter. Try 6-8T
Hi Aaryn! I’m sorry to hear that these blondies didn’t work as they should for you. Lowering the butter in this recipe will reduce the delightful fudginess the baked blondies should have, and cause them to be much more dry and crumbly, so we don’t recommend that. Without more information and without having baked alongside you, it’s difficult to say exactly what went wrong here – but here are a few of the most common issues that may have occurred:
– Were any ingredients substituted, reduced, removed, or accidentally forgotten? Every ingredient in a baking recipe is there for a reason, and many ingredients need the perfect balance to chemically react with one another, to form the perfect bake. That’s why reducing sugar, using a different type of flour, skipping leavening agents, etc can have such a big impact – and that’s why ensuring you measure accurately is so important. Even seemingly small changes can mess with a recipe’s chemistry, resulting in issues.
– What type of pan did you bake the blondies in? We highly recommend baking these blondies in a light-colored metal pan, as ceramic/glass/silicone pans cannot conduct heat as well as metal. Check out this article here for more info on that.
– Your oven might be running a little cool. Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips. If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much. This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites.
– Also, if needed, allow the blondies to sit overnight at room temperature. This should help firm them up and absorb any slight greasiness you may be experiencing.
I hope something here helps, and I hope you’ll give these blondies another try sometime – they really are incredible! Happy baking 🙂
Made it on a whim at 4am, tastes great! I baked for 32 minutes and had no mix-ins or sea salt. Colored it red for Chinese New Years 👍
These were delicious! I lined the pan with parchment and didn’t add any extra oil to that, they were perfectly cooked at 27 mins. I used half butterscotch chips and half choc chips. Very impressed!
The flavor of the blondies was solid. I was going for gooey so I followed the recipe’s directions and baked for 27 minutes, removing when the center was slightly jiggly. When I cut into them post-cooling they were liquid in the center. I was really only able to eat the edges, which is disappointing because I planned to bring the tray in for my coworkers tomorrow. I will probably try this recipe again with a longer bake time.
Hi Sarah! I’m sorry to hear that these blondies didn’t turn out as they should. Did you use a metal pan? Using a glass, ceramic, or silicone pan can impact the bake time significantly – learn more about that here. Also, do you have an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven is accurate? When I started using an oven thermometer, I realized my oven was 25-30°F off from what it was telling me! Most home ovens are lying to us about their real temperature. Learn more about that here. I hope this helps, Sarah, and I hope you’ll give these blondies another try – they really are amazing! Happy baking 🙂
I made these last night and they’re so good! Tastes like cookie dough! I was just wondering about the recommended serving size, and the amount of calories?
Hi Juno! So glad to hear that you enjoyed these blondies! We don’t have nutritional information for our recipes, as we believe that dessert should be an indulgence! You should be able to find a nutritional calculator online to assist with this, if you wish! 🙂
This recipe is delish. I may have used more butter (salted) than called for but added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and used dark chocolate chips and dried cranberries for the additions. So good. Thank you for the inspiration!
Made this according to the recipe, but it came out very dry. Not at all like I thought – it looked exactly like the picture but the insides were dry. I bake a lot, so I’m not a rookie. I was disappointed in this recipe. It was a waste of expensive ingredients. I also find all the pop-up ads to be completely annoying, as well as the long post to get to the point – the recipe.
I’m sorry to hear you experienced issues when baking this recipe! If your blondies were dry, that typically means that either too much flour was added or they were baked a little too long. I’d encourage you to check out our tips in the pink box above the recipe – we did a lot of experimenting when it came to creating this recipe and share our insights and what we noticed with this recipe in particular regarding the baking time. You’re welcome to use our “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page to skip over the baking science section of our posts if needed, and the advertising allows us to continue sharing free recipes, but we appreciate hearing your opinion as we continue to make changes on our site for the best reader experience.