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:
Alisha A
I made these with brown butter (and then added back butter to the browned butter to equal the weight required) and used pecans. They were a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Alisha! 🙂
Bri
I really love this recipe I’ve made it multiple times and everyone loves it.
Valley
I have made them various times using butterscotch chips, pecan, walnuts and macadamia nuts yep I alter the recipe to yummiliciousness!
T
Oh my Amazing! this is a keeper;)
Bo Anne
These are really good Blondies. Chewy, moist and not too sweet. I had to bake mine about 33 minutes.
Lim
I’ve got a question, how tall did you spread the batter? Im worried about making it too to tall and it ending up not cooked through enough 🙁
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lim! If you evenly spread it into your 9×13 pan, you shouldn’t have any issues 🙂
Rae Anne
These were perfect for my euchre club. One is allergic to chocolate and another to nuts! Everyone raved how delicious these were!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds like this was the perfect recipe for you, Rae! We’re so happy they were a hit 🩷
Heather
This IS the Best Blondie Recipe ever!! I have tried and tried to make blonde brownies and they have always flopped, until now. These are not too greasy, not too cakey; firm but still have that cookie crumble. Rich with buttery flavor. And my kids love them! These are the best!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Heather! We are so happy you like our recipe 🩷
Naya
These were so yummy! I doubled the recipe and divided the batter among 3 8×8 square pans because I wanted them to be a bit thicker. I accidentally overbaked them by a few minutes so some of the blondies were more cakey than fudgy, so I would definitely recommend underbaking. Brought them to a bake sale and they completely sold out!
Tracey Saunders
I made these and they are absolutely delicious,
Thank you for sharing.
DL
Have you ever included fruit in these? I’m thinking a little bit of peach?
Sam
I have not tried adding fruit here. I’m not sure how it would go as it would be adding in moisture and that could cause some issues.
AnaH
Try using vanilla icecream on top with peach syrup or whipped cream with the syrup. It’s so delicious and maybe the taste you are going for
Stacey Gardner
You made the process easy and they are amazing! Thank you!
Kim
How long do they keep and how should they be stored? Can they be frozen? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kim! They will be good for up to 5 days in an air tight container at room temperature. We haven’t tried freezing them, but they should do well 🙂
Kim
Thanks! I made these and they were absolutely delicious!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Kim! 🥰
Jenna
Love this recipe! It’s been a new fave in our household. I also tried a variation and added 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut as I didn’t have choc chips and they were really nice. In preparation for kids lunchboxes, I also divided the batter into 21 cupcake cases and baked for 15 mins which worked beautifully too.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Love the coconut addition, Jenna! We’ll have to try that. Thanks for the review ❤️
Nangi
Hii, could I use oil instead of butter? 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nangi! We wouldn’t recommend it. We suspect they would turn out pretty oily 🙁
Alyssa
How long would you say for a glass pan?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Alyssa! We haven’t tried it, but several reviewers have said the blondies needed about 45 minutes in a glass pan. We recommend you keep an eye on them 😊
Kym
Absolutely delicious! I added the white chips but reserved the nuts. When the bars cooled, I frosted the bars with a thin layer of caramel fudge icing and topped with chopped salted mixed nuts. They really needed no tweaking at all because they are yummy on their own!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds heavenly, Kym! Thanks for sharing 🩷
Beebs
I doubted this recipe soooo much because of the sugar content and the reviews sounded too good to be true but everything is PERFECT ahhhh I love it I love it so so much. I halved it and put it in a 4×4 pan. loved it!!!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂