Melted-Gooey Blondies

These treats remind me of the 60 Thomspon in NYC, which isn’t like most boutique hotels. Instead of standard little mints awaiting you on your snuggly soft pillow, the Thompson opted for blondies. Yes, blondies. All wrapped up and waiting for me right on my pillow every night. (Of course I gouged mine and stole my husbands, but that’s another story). I loved them, but couldn’t (and still quite can’t) figure these little treats out. Is it a cookie? A sort of inside-out brownie? Or both? Apparently it’s from the cookie-family, although I consider it a brownie. Whatever it is, it’s delicious. A cool thing about this recipe is that there are two parts – the basic mixture and then all the little additives you want to include and customize.

8 tablespoons of butter (or 1 stick), melted

1 cup of brown sugar (a little less if it’s light, a little more of it’s dark)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 pinch of salt

1 cup of all-purpose flour

 

Additives: (pick one or a combination of whatever you like below)

1 cup of chopped nuts

1 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon of mint extract, in place of the vanilla

1/2 cup of mashed bananas

2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla

1/2 cup of dried fruit, mixed in the with the batter

Top with vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter frosting

 

Preheat your oven to 170C and butter an 8 x 8 baking dish. Mix together the brown sugar and and butter until smooth. Once smooth, add the egg and vanilla. Add salt and then stir in flour. This provides the basis of your blondie, add in whatever additional combinations you’d like. I opted for chopped pecans and semi-sweet chocolate chips which turned out excellent. Once the batter is complete, place in baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on the batter, you don’t want to over cook it, as that keeps the gooey and chocolate interior (which is to die for). That’s it.

I served alongside a scoop of ice cream and they were divine. A quick, easy dessert – and a nice change to my routine peanut butter or oatmeal cookies. Plus, when they’re all gooey and melted, they won’t last long on your dessert tray.

 

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Recipe, courtesy of smittenkitchen and How To Cook Everything