Do you know what happens when I tell my boyfriend that we need to take a break from baking? He puts on his apron and takes it upon himself to learn how to bake. Yes, that’s right- I didn’t make this recipe, but I did show him the recipe in my cookbook and mentioned that I planned on making it in the future. I came home on Valentine’s Day after resisting all the yummy temptations at work that day to find my boyfriend making these delicious chocolate chip blondies. It would have seriously been okay it this was just an average chocolate chip cookies, but no, these were the oooiest gooiest chocolaty chip overload blondie bars ever made.
Needless to say, I ate a bunch! How could I resist? I wish I could say it stopped there, but it didn’t. The whole weekend was a slew of baking up all the most delicious treats in the world. I have loved baking my whole life because it makes me happy and relieves stress and frustration. I also love eating dessert and sharing them with others. My boyfriend must have recently figured how amazing this feeling is.
On Monday, President’s Day, he had the day off and I didn’t. I received texts all day in between meetings that went like this:
- Do we have coconut?
- Are we out of cinnamon?
- Do we own ground cloves?
The baking madness was not over and I could only imagine what I was coming home to. So last night, he pinky swore me that we would both stop baking for three weeks. Don’t worry you will hardly even notice I am not baking because I have so many recipes to post now!
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1½ cups chopped walnuts
- 1¼ lbs. semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1⅔ bag of a 12oz. bag)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using the paper from the sticks of butter, grease a 8½x12x2 inch baking pan and then dust with flour.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, turn mixer to low and then add in vanilla extract. Next add in egg one at a time mix until all combined.
- In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt.
- Gradually add in dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed until all combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Spread the dough onto baking pan until smooth
- Bake for 30 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the middle of blondies and if there is no batter on the toothpick they are done.
- Let cool and then slice into squares.
Source– Adapted from Ina Garten’s Cookbook Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
