Would I want to bake professionally? In a bakery, where you have to work at 3 a.m., not on your life. But in a test kitchen, sure. I imagine bakers in test kitchens don’t work at 3 a.m., plus they get to experiment all day long and that sounds like fun to me.
I’m convinced that Better Homes & Gardens has one of the best test kitchens around because their recipes never fail. These blondies are a “make it mine” version from the Better Homes & Gardens Baking book, where you use a base recipe and add whatever you want to it. In this case, I used milk chocolate chips and toffee bits, a basic but delicious combination. Think Heath bar, but in a blondie. As expected, they were delicious.
Ingredients
- 10 2/3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
- 3/4 cup toffee bits, plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with baking spray.
In a large saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture melts and becomes smooth. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cool, add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Stir in flour, baking powder, and baking soda; batter will become fairly thick. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits; the mixture will be thick. Spread into your pan, then sprinkle additional chocolate chips and toffee bits over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until top is a very light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cut into bars while still warm; when completely cool, remove from pan and store in an airtight container. Makes 24.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 