The Best Blondie Recipes

Blondies make such a wonderful treat. Delicious golden slices with a crisp edge and caramelly, fudgy centre, they are as easy to make as they are to eat.

I’ve collected together the best easy blondie recipes and all my tips and tricks to make them perfectly every single time.

Why blondies are the best

There’s a story that brownies, the classic American baked treat, were invented to provide a snack that was convenient to eat at a party without cutlery and without mess.

I would argue that the blondie takes this mess-free eating a stage further with no traces of cocoa to be seen. A good blondie needs no decoration, and no fuss. The key is to keep it simple and let that buttery, caramelly flavour shine.

One of the reasons I love them is that they are as kind to the kitchen and the cook as they are to your fingers and clothes.

You really only need one bowl and a fork to whip up the basic recipe, which is wonderful on its own and makes a great background for simple additions too.

What are blondies?

Blondies are a traditional American traybake. Denser than a conventional cake, these delicious golden squares have wonderful buttery flavour, a papery crust and a soft, chewy layer in the centre.

The crucial thing about a blondie recipe is the ratio of fat to dry ingredients. There’s more butter here than in a cake recipe, and you need to make sure the butter and flour are well combined. Get that right and you will have wonderful, delicious blondies every time.

Easy Blondies – a classic recipe

My basic easy blondie recipe is so simple to make. It’s so straightforward that you can make it with just one bowl and one fork and one baking tray, so if you find yourself in a holiday cottage with next to no equipment, you can still bake.

Once you have mastered this classic recipe, the sky is the limit. It’s so easy to add different flavours and textures. I have had a lot of fun adding my favourite treats to blondies and brownies.

You can find my step by step instructions for making easy blondies here.

Small batch baking

I don’t like to bake too big a batch, as there are just the two of us at home and I don’t want to be left with a glut when our guests go home.

I find a lot of published recipes for traybakes are just too big for us. My blondie and brownie recipes make a relatively modest 12–16 squares, though it is easy to double the recipe if you need to cook for a crowd, office or a bake sale.

If you need to make a larger quantity, simply double any of my recipes and use a 9″ x 13″ pan and cook for another few minutes.

How to prepare a tray for easy blondies

I normally use an 8″ / 20 cm square pan for my blondies. For a double batch, I use a use a 13″ x 9″ baking pan, which results in deeper blondies and needs a slightly longer cooking time.

You do not need a fancy baking dish – mine was £4 (about $5) from the local discount store.

I like to line the pan with foil backed baking parchment. This is slightly more expensive but I find that it holds its shape so much better, which makes lining the pan so much easier.

Cut the parchment to size, fold so it sits in the pan, with the parchment side up. (If you are using a springy parchment use some fold back clips to clip it to the sides of the baking pan).

Once lined you need to butter or grease the pan.

• Use cake release spray – this is my preferred method. Give a light spray, and then use a pastry brush or piece of scrunched up kitchen paper to make sure the bottom and sides of the liner are coated, and to then remove any excess.

• A light flavourless oil. Add a few drops and spread round the inside of the pan with a pastry brush. Again, make sure you work it into the corners and remove any excess.

• Butter – Either melt a teaspoon of butter and use the pastry brush method above, or get a dab of really soft butter and use a piece of kitchen paper to spread it evenly.

Once baked, I wrap the blondies lightly in the lining paper and store them in a cake tin.

How long do blondies last?

Blondies will keep for about five days (if you let them!). I wrap them in the baking parchment once they are cool and then store them in an airtight tin.

Be aware, though, that if you add pieces of biscuit and chocolate, the texture of these additions may change.

If you want to, you can also freeze your blondies. Pack into an airtight plastic box, or wrap in foil, then a sealed bag and keep them in the freezer for up to three months.

Making the most of your blondies

In a way, the whole point of blondies is that they can be enjoy simply. You don’t need a cake fork. They are perfect finger food.

Having said that, you can make more of your blondies. Microwave them for ten seconds before serving to restore the fudginess of the centres and recreate that straight from the oven effect.

For a delicious blondie dessert, serve them warm with a scoop of ice cream and top with your favourite sauce. I love this caramel toffee sauce or my easy hot fudge sauce with blondies.

More easy blondie recipe hints and tips

• Use real butter. Baking spread has its place but in blondies, butter brings the flavour. Use it for the best results.

• Use proper vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. You want that delicious vanilla flavour. Remember that extract means real vanilla. Essence can be synthetic and simply isn’t as good!

• Use brown sugar, light brown, or dark brown (or a mix) for that delicious caramel flavour.

• Mix the batter properly. You do not need an electric mixer to make any of my blondie recipes, but you do need to mix the batter well to combine. Having said that, you don’t want to overwork the flour either. Mix as you add each ingredient, adding the flour last. Make sure there are no lumps. You should have a lovely glossy shiny batter before transferring to the baking pan.

• Big lumps of chocolate or sweets used as toppings can sink into the batter, which gets runnier when it first goes into the oven. If you want to see the additions, lift the blondies out of the oven 5 minutes before the end of cooking time, lightly press on the toppings and return to the oven.

• Remove from the oven while the blondies still have a wobble in the centre. They will carry on cooking as they cool. Slightly underdone is better for that lovely, soft, fudgy texture.

• Allow to cool before cutting. Most freshly-baked goods are very fragile, and can sometimes appear oily. Let them firm up, allowing the butter to solidify before slicing and serving.

The best blondie treats recipes

Easy blondie recipes made with our favourite sweet treats.

Classic blondie flavours

You can add so many wonderful flavours to the classic blondie. Here are some of our favourites.

Your own blondie recipes

The classic blondie recipe is so easy to adapt to suit your own needs. If you want to introduce your own favourite flavours, have a look at the recipe that seems to be the closest match to get a sense of how to adapt it.

Have fun experimenting. I would love to see what you made!