Sweet, nutty, and tart, these blondies are chock full with fixings and flavor. They are one of my go to desserts and always get gobbled up wherever I bring them. This is my favorite combination of fillings but uses the base recipe from the Complete ATK TV Show Cookbook - if you're getting into cooking/baking at home and are looking for a book that has a little bit of everything (with lots of helpful technique tips), I can't recommend it enough!
Yield: 36 square bars
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) packed light brown sugar
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (4 oz) walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse
1/2 cup (3 oz) semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup (3 oz) dried cherries, chopped
Directions
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with two pieces of foil crossed over each other to form a "sling" that will make it uber easy to remove the blondies from the pan. Spray the foil with vegetable oil once formed into place.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, whisk to combine and set aside.
Whisk the brown sugar and melted butter together in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the walnuts, chocolate chips, and cherries and turn the batter (it will feel a lot like a cookie dough) into the 13x9 pan, smoothing the top with the spatula to even out.
Bake until the top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Lift the foil sling containing the blondies out of the pan. The foil should release by simply peeling it down and away, but if needed you can loosen the edges with a paring knife to lift it off. Cut into small squares, approx. 2"x2".
Bonus
There are probably dozens of filling combinations that would be just as delicious as the one I'm sharing - choose your own adventure! Here are a few I've tried and enjoyed:
1 cup toasted pecans, 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup toasted walnuts, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes
1 cup toasted sliced almonds, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chocolate chips (sub the vanilla extract for almond extract)
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