Blondies with Chocolate Chips

I had full intentions of bringing these blondies to my cousin's graduation party; however, after sampling one they slowly started to disappear. They're dangerous to keep around. 

(Sorry they never made it to your party, Aunt T! )

Believe it or not, this was my first time making blondies. I haven't had a good past with  brownies (I'm determined to change that) so I assumed I wouldn't be good at making blondies. Boy was I wrong!  Martha (yes, we're on a first name basis) sends me daily emails with the cookie of the day recipe. I usually get the email while I'm at work and spend about 2 minutes drooling over whatever the day's recipe is before I file it away in the 'cookies to make' folder in my email. There are a lot of cookie recipes filed away. I better start crossing some off my list, especially if they're all as good as these were. 

Blondies are a cookie cake like goodness. The recipe called for walnuts which surprisingly I didn't have on hand so I omitted them. Walnuts or pecans would add a lovely flavor. I'll be sure to add them next time. If you're planning on bringing these to a party, keep in mind this recipe only yields 16. You might want to make 2 batches.

Blondies with Chocolate Chips

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup each chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and walnuts.
   
3. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares.