Mmmmmm....

Made this for dessert tonight. If you like brownies...you'll like these too.


Blondies (modified from How To Cook Everything)

6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt * important -- need to balance the sweetness out
1 cup all-purpose flour

Butter an 8×8 pan (spray with oil)
Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting, a pizza cutter works well.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter

My additions tonight were 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, and 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips...which actually melted down due to the warm butter in the batter....so it made chocolate smears. Delicious chocolate smears, that is.