The BEST blondie recipe lives up to its name! This recipe yields buttery soft cookie bars with vanilla-caramel undertones. It come together quickly, no mixer needed. Include your favorite add-ins (white chocolate, dark chocolate, nuts) or enjoy plain! This carefully tested recipe has been a fan favorite for years and has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews! ⭐️
Actually *Perfect* Blondies
Buttery, soft, chewy, loaded with your favorite add-ins, my blondie recipe is perfectly decadent. With hints of butterscotch, vanilla, and caramel, you won’t miss the chocolate. Serve slightly warm, topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for a truly indulgent experience.
I spent a great deal of time developing this blondie recipe (you can’t imagine how many batches of not-quite-perfect blondies I had to eat, it’s a tough life 😉) and I finally have the perfect version to share. My recipe includes lots of tips and tricks so you’ll get perfectly soft, chewy and buttery results every time. No dry or cakey blondies here! Let’s get right to it.
Blondie Ingredients
We don’t need to cover everything, but let’s chat a moment about some of our key players:
- Butter. Melted butter is the key to a softer, chewier blondie recipe that stays soft and chewy (it’s also a key ingredient in my best chocolate chip cookie recipe, if you’ve tried that you already know what a game changer it is).
- Sugar. A blend of brown and granulated sugar works best here. The higher ratio of brown sugar works well to impart a deep, rich, and subtly caramel-y flavor that makes these irresistible.
- Eggs. An extra egg yolk contributes to the tender, dense texture of the bar.
- Baking powder. Blondies ought to be dense and leaning toward fudgy territory, but just a pinch of baking powder adds a bit of lightness to the bar so it’s not too dense or difficult to chew. Note that the omission of baking soda is intentional, baking soda would create a lighter airier, and more cakey texture that we’re actively trying to avoid.
- Cornstarch helps make the bars tender and chewy.
- Add-ins (use your favorites!). Truth be told, you can add nothing, no nuts, no chocolate, and you’ll still have a darn good cookie bar. But I prefer to dress things up a bit. White chocolate chips and chopped walnuts are my favorite, but swap out the white chocolate for semisweet or a chopped baking bar, swap out the nuts for a different kind of nut or more chocolate, or if you want to toast your nuts before adding them, that works just fine, too!
For the full recipe and the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
How to Make Blondies
The blondie batter comes together quickly and easily. No mixer needed, no fancy equipment.
Start by melting your butter. It doesn’t need to cool completely, but if it’s still quite hot when you add the butter you can expect your blondies to be a bit greasier on the bottom after baking and to take longer to bake.
Add the sugars, eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Stir it well, but don’t go crazy. Mixing well can help create shiny/crackly tops, but over-doing it could make the blondies a bit cakier than I personally care for them to be. I never use a mixer for this step.
Add the dry ingredients. Always whisk them together separately (to make sure the baking powder and salt are well-distributed through the batter), then stir them into the batter. Once again, don’t go overboard with the mixing. Any add-ins you’re using get stirred in last.
Bake & enjoy. The very edges will turn lightly golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. A sprinkling of flaky sea salt while they’re still warm is optional, but strongly encouraged 😉. Let the blondies cool completely before you cut into them, otherwise you may panic that you completely underbaked them (you likely didn’t).
Tips & Variations
- When it comes to sugar, a blend is best. For the brown sugar called for in the recipe, you can just use light brown sugar, but I personally prefer a blend of light and dark brown sugar. I don’t care to use all dark brown, though, as I feel it makes things a bit too rich and butterscotch-y.
- Adjust the add-ins. You can add up to 2 cups of your favorite add-ins to this blondie recipe. I listed a mix of chopped walnuts and white chocolate chips in the recipe. I found that this combination provided a nice balance of sweetness and crunch. Feel free to use all walnuts, all chocolate (completely fine to make this recipe nut-free), or swap out some or either of these. A chopped semisweet chocolate bar is quite delicious, in my opinion.
- Pay attention to your pan. A metal pan is best for this recipe and will ensure the quickest and most even baking. If you opt for a glass or ceramic pan, your blondies will almost certainly take longer to bake, and exactly how long will vary. I haven’t tried this blondie recipe in a silicone pan, but am not sure I’d recommend it.
- Brown your butter for a gourmet flavor. Brown 1 cup of butter (you do not need to brown extra to accommodate the lost liquid from browning). You will want to make sure it’s cooled a bit before adding the eggs, so the eggs don’t cook prematurely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Blondies are occasionally referred to as “blonde brownies”. They are made without cocoa powder and without melted chocolate and aspire to a rich, buttery brown-sugar-vanilla flavor rather than a deep chocolate one (so you can expect a higher ratio of brown sugar to granulated here).
White chocolate brownies are closer in nature to brownies than blondies are, while blondies are more similar to chocolate chip cookie bars.
Most often this is due to over-baking. Baking for too long or on too high of a temperature will quickly change the texture from fudgy/borderline gooey to crumbly and dry instead.
Other culprits include accidentally mis-measuring an ingredient, using the wrong kind of flour (you need all-purpose, and please do not use self-rising!), accidentally using baking soda instead of powder, or over-measuring your flour.
First, check your pan. If you used a glass, ceramic, or silicone pan the blondies will take longer to bake, and exactly how much longer can vary greatly depending on the particular material of your pan (some people have needed over 45 minutes to bake!). If you use a smaller pan, even if it’s metal, the blondies will also take longer to bake.
If you substituted or accidentally mis-measured any ingredients, this could also cause this issue.
Wait for the blondies to cool at least mostly before cutting into them, if cut into while warm they’ll look quite underbaked.
If a visual is helpful, see the video in the recipe card for exactly how this blondie recipe look in my kitchen every step of the way.
I’ve been in love with this recipe for years and am so excited for you to try it yourself. If you do, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
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Best Blondie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar firmly packed (see note)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour (note that in the video I accidentally said 2 ½ cups flour, that is incorrect, you only need 2 ¼ cups as written here)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (115 g) white chocolate chips (see note)
- 1 cup (130 g) chopped walnuts (may omit, see note)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 13×9 metal baking pan with parchment paper (or lightly grease and flour the pan).
- Combine melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir well.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Set aside.2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.2 ¼ cups (285 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir the dry ingredients into wet until just combined.
- Fold in white chocolate chips and nuts, if using.⅔ cup (115 g) white chocolate chips, 1 cup (130 g) chopped walnuts
- Spread blondie batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs.
- Allow to cool before cutting and enjoying
Notes
Brown sugar
I like to use half dark and half light brown sugar in this recipe for a perfectly balanced flavor with butterscotch undertones. If you don’t have both, you can use just light brown sugar.Add-ins (nuts & chocolate), and making this recipe nut-free
You can use up to 2 cups of your favorite add-ins, feel free to swap out the white chocolate chips and nuts for your favorite additions (semisweet chocolate chips, pecans, a chopped baking bar, etc.). This recipe can certainly be made nut-free, just swap the nuts for an equal amount of white chocolate chips or your preferred add-in.Pan note
A metal baking pan is recommended. Using a glass, ceramic, silicone, or other material will increase the time needed to bake, sometimes significantly. Please also note that if you opt to use a smaller pan the baking time can be expected to be longer.Storing
Cover tightly (or cut and transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days. These blondies may also be sliced, tightly wrapped and frozen for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
More Cookie Bars to Try:
Becky
I love them. I only wish they’d turned out lighter in color, like the ones in your photos (because I love the look of them, they’re so visually appealing). I used a glass pan so I had to bake longer – about 45 minutes. Next time I’ll try them in a metal pan. But still very good!
Judy
Hi, could you tell me what adjustments I would make for higher altitude? We live in CO at 4700 feet. Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Judy! Unfortunately we are not very familiar with high altitude baking so we’re not sure of any adjustments that would need to be made 🙁
Rhiannon
These are delicious. I halved the recipe but followed as written and the result was a fudgey blondie with a brown butter flavor. I added chopped macadamia nuts and baked in an 8×8 glass pan for about 29 minutes. I went a little extra and added chocolate chips to the top right when it came out of the oven, once they melted I spread them over half the pan. Yummmmm. Will be making this recipe again.
Carrie
I haven’t tried a Blondie recipe in 35 years because that recipe was terrible but this recipe is absolutely delicious! They were perfectly baked in 25 minutes. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Katie
I have made these many times and they are perfection! Boyfriend says they are the best thing I ever made…and I make A LOT of treats. If Sam’s recipe and tips are followed, the blondies are 5 stars every single time.
PS I have exclusively used your recipes for sweets for over a year now and just wanted to let you know how much I love them and appreciate all the time you put into perfecting them so I don’t have to haha but it is also so nice to just have one place to go to for a recipe and know that it is going to be good 😉
Sam
Thank you so much, Katie! I am so glad you’ve enjoyed everything so much! 🙂
Anne Duncan
These are so delicious the best Blondie recipe ever I added a cup of butterscotch chips and some pecans. It was so good. I ate four in a row. I could’ve eaten more. I had to stop myself
Sam
I’m impressed you could stop at 4! That’s much more restraint than I have. 🤣
Bonnie-Marie Ares
Hi, This recipe was given to me by my husbands co-worker’s wife, who made them for my husband who was retiring. I have since made these Blondies many, many, many times for different occasions. 🙂 They are so delicious and I will continue to make them. I follow your recipe to the T and they come out perfect every time. 🙂
Heather
I added peanut butter chips and macadamia nuts instead! ❤️Turned out amazingly .. ty
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum, that sounds tasty Heather! Enjoy ☺️
Melissa
I halved this recipe and baked in an 9×9 pan and cooked for about 25 minutes. They were a little thin for my personal preference, but still delicious! I left out the nuts and added just a sprinkle of more salt because I was craving something sweet and salty. This is definitely a great base recipe to add in anything you’d like.
Pam Fosson
Definitely a Winner, loved this blondie recipe, thanks for sharing!!!
isabella
Hello, can i add strawberries to this recipe instead of nuts? also can these be precut and put into the refrigerator? or maybe put into cupcake molds? i plan on making these for a potluck so I need to prepare them a day in advance.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Isabella! Fresh or frozen strawberries would probably introduce too much moisture, but freeze dried might work. And yes they can be made in advance, but you can just keep them covered at room temperature ☺️
Ashlee
Enjoyed your cheerful and helpful video! Sadly, the ratios were a bit off for a blondie and the result was far more cake like in texture.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashlee! We’re sorry to hear your blondies were cakey 😕 Did you make any substitutions? Or is it possible that you over-baked or over-measured your flour? We’ve tested this recipe many times, and as you can see from the pictures, the results are fudgy and chewy. We’re happy to help troubleshoot further!
Chrissy
My aunt is SUPER picky about the blondie brownies. They have to be chewy and so I researched before I made the decision to try yours because I have made several other recipes and they were not up to her standards! Lol well, you did NOT disappoint!! I made these tonight to host their visit to stay with me in Florida for the holiday weekend and she was so happy! They are perfect!!! Thank you so much!! I will always use this recipe now!!
Anne W
I watched your video showing how to make these white chocolate brownies, In the video you add 6 ounces of melted premium white chocolate to the melted butter. I have read over this recipe on this page several times and do not see the addition of the melted 6 ounces of white chocolate . Is the video another recipe for the blondies ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Anne! You are looking for our white chocolate brownies recipe. This post is for our blondie recipe, which is different. Hope that helps! 😊
Louise Schwartz
Delicious