Peanut Butter and Pecan Blondies

I recently decided that blondies are my absolute favorite treat. They are chewy, flavorful and have delicious undertones of molasses due to the brown sugar. Plus, they’re just like cookies but bigger and in brownie form. What’s not to love about them?

My husband is a huge fan of brownies (he’s quite the chocoholic) but I, on the other hand, prefer my treats to be a little less full of chocolate (I know, I’m shocked too).

Whenever we’re both craving something sweet, I tend to bake blondies because they satisfy both of our cravings. Plus, they can be prepared and baked in minutes.

One of the best parts about blondies is that they are incredibly simple to prepare but they are packed full of delicious flavor. Plus, cleanup is a breeze since you only need one bowl, a pan and something to mix all of the ingredients.

Another great part about blondies is that there are so many different variations. Whenever I prepare them, I peruse my baking supplies cupboard and try to use up leftover ingredients. This time I had peanut butter chips and pecans on hand so I added them to the batch…and I could not have been happier with the result. The peanut butter chips added such a delicious richness to the blondies…they really kicked the flavor up a notch.

Peanut Butter and Pecan Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) and 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 9×13 pan (or, if you have a special brownie pan, go ahead and grease that…these pans are the best!).
3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
4. Add flour, baking powder and salt and continue to mix.
5. Fold in pecans and peanut butter chips, mixing until just combined.
6. Press dough into pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (if using the special brownie pan, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes).
7. Cool in pan and cut into 3×1 1/2 inch bars.

Be sure that you have a glass of milk nearby to wash it all down!