Easter Blondies

How to Make Easter Blondies

What Is A Blondie? What is the Difference Between Blondies and Brownies?

Think of a blondie as brownie’s butterscotch alter-ego! There is no cocoa or melted chocolate in a blondie. Instead, blondies are made with brown sugar for a rich butterscotch flavor and plenty of vanilla extract. A good blondie is gooey, chewy and a little fudgy. Just not as fudgy as a brownie.

They’re the perfect easy Easter dessert recipe or the perfect way to use up leftover Easter candy. Bonus: these treats only take about 40 minutes from start to finish!

Ingredients for Easter Blondies:

• Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking to control the salt content.
• Sugar – Specifically light brown sugar which will give a beautiful butterscotch flavor and a soft chewy texture to these blondies. Read more about the science of sugar in baking here.
• Eggs – One whole egg plus one egg yolk. The extra yolk adds richness and chewiness. Be sure your eggs are at room temperature so they blend into the batter evenly.
• Vanilla extract – For flavor. Don’t skimp!
• Salt – I prefer to use fine sea salt instead of table salt for its pure flavor. You can also sprinkle some flaky sea salt on the baked blondies to balance the sweetness of the Cadbury eggs if you’d like. Learn more about the differences between types of salt here.
• Baking powder – Just enough to give these blondies a slight lift while still baking up chewy. Check out my Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder article to learn about the science of leaveners.
• All-purpose flour – Measured correctly. If you add too much flour, you may end up with dry, dense, or crumbly blondies.
• Mix of Cadbury mini eggs and dark chocolate chips – You can use exclusively Cadbury mini eggs if you like, but you run the risk of these bars becoming a little too sweet. I recommend balancing that Cadbury sweetness with dark chocolate chips. However, you can also use semisweet if you prefer.
• Flaky sea salt – for topping, to perfectly balance the sweetness from the chocolate.

Instructions for How to Make These Easy Easter Blondies:

1. Prepare your baking pan. Line an 8×8-inch aluminum pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set the prepared pan aside.
2. Melt the butter. In a large heat-safe mixing bowl, heat the butter in the microwave until melted. You can also do this on low heat in a small saucepan on the stove.
3. Combine the sugar to the melted butter. Whisk vigorously to combine. Let cool until just warm.
4. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. The more you whisk, the smoother the top crust of the blondies will become.
5. Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the salt, baking powder, and flour with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overmix the batter once dry + wet ingredients combine.
6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and mini eggs. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Add some additional chocolate chips and mini eggs to the top, to decorate, if desired.
7. Bake the Easter Blondies. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes for blondies with a softer interior, or 30 to 35 minutes for a firm interior with golden edges. Baking times will vary from oven to oven!
8. Allow to cool before slicing. Serve.

What if I Can’t Find Cadbury Eggs? Can I use M&Ms instead?

These Easter Blondies will work with any type of chocolate chip or similarly sized mix-in, though the Cadbury mini eggs are so quintessentially Easter-y. If you can’t find them, I recommend using Easter M&M candies. Pretzel or peanut butter M&Ms will also work!

I’m Out of Light Brown Sugar! Can I Still Make These Blondies?

There are two things you can do before you make an annoying extra supermarket trip:

1. Substitute dark brown sugar for the same amount of light brown sugar, if that’s all you have. Your Easter blondies will be a bit darker than pictured here, and a little softer and richer from the additional molasses in the dark brown sugar. Your blondies will still taste delish!
2. Make your own light brown sugar! For this recipe, you will need: 1 ½ cups (300 grams) white granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses.

See? Easy peasy!

The Key to Perfectly Baked Easter Blondies: The Baking Pan

These mini egg blondies yield thick and rich blondies, so it’s important to use a pan that conducts heat effectively, like my favorite USA Pan.

We want to make sure the blondies cook through completely, but remain soft and gooey in the center.

Avoid glass or ceramic pans for this recipe!

Those materials take longer to heat up and cook. This often leads to the center being undercooked by the time the edges start to dry out and darken.

Check out our side-by-side comparison here, where we baked the exact same blondie recipe at the same temperature, for the same amount of time, in the same oven:

Though the differences weren’t quite as stark as with our brownie testing, the glass pan blondies were definitely more gooey and less set. They also sunk in the center slightly. Sinking centers is a common issue with glass pans of all sorts. This can cause issues for blondies & brownies as well as quick breads & loaves like banana bread.

But I only have glass, what do I do?!

If you must use glass or ceramic, drop the baking temperature by about 15°F and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.

Why Are My Blondies Hard? Why Are My Blondies Dry? Why Are My Blondies Like a Cake?
Troubleshooting Your Blondie FAQs!

Besides using the right pan as detailed above, 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 for perfect results every time 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?

Yes! Overbaked blondies are basically a dry, hard cookie bar. Who wants that? Learn how to tell when your blondies are fully baked right below.

How Do I Know When Easter Blondies are Done Baking? It varies!

We’ve tested this recipe in FOUR different ovens across the country. What we learned is that for this recipe in particular, the baking time will depend entirely on your oven AND your preferred level of doneness.

1. We found that 25 – 28 minutes was perfect for a more soft and gooey center, while 30 to 35 minutes resulted in a more firm center.
2. They’re done when the middle is still slightly jiggly and shiny on top, but the edges look solidified. You want to be careful not to overbake these or they will become dry and crumbly.
3. Remember: residual heat will continue to cook the blondies, so even if they seem just slightly underdone in the center, go ahead and remove them from the oven. They’ll solidify more as they cool. Please note that it is normal if the center of your blondies sink slightly after cooling, which is more likely to happen with a glass pan.
4. If your blondies are still a little gooey for your liking after they’ve cooled, cut them into slices and let them sit on a cooling rack overnight, lightly covered with plastic wrap. This period of time will help them solidify even more.
5. 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!

Can I Double This Blondies Recipe?

Yes! Just double all ingredients of this easy Easter dessert and bake it in a 9×13-inch baking pan, adding a few minutes to the baking time.

How to Store Easter Blondies:

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 the blondies into bars until you’re ready to serve to prevent stale edges.

Can I Freeze Easter Blondies?

You can also freeze these blondies (as a whole slab or sliced) wrapped in plastic wrap and inside an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature. You can then refresh in a 325°F oven for about 5 to 10 minutes, if desired.