Blondies

So first off, in case you haven't heard, I'm pregnant. Woohoo! We're very excited for our second little one to be on the way. Everything's been great except for the whole sick thing. You know...minor detail. But, that is just about over so I'm finally ready to get cooking and blogging again! I had lots of plans over the past couple months, but the thought of food was repulsive, so those plans got pushed aside.

Sorry for the details, but I wanted to let you know there was a good reason for my lack of blogging! Food is delicious to me again (hooray!) so I'm really excited to share some recipes with you. Tonight we had some amazing pork loin chops with rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes and garden squash and zucchini. I was too busy licking my plate, so I didn't get any pictures, but you better believe I'll be making that again...and soon.

For now though, I have an absolutely delicious recipe for blondies. Blondies are kind of like cookies in brownie form - like a cookie bar. These are moist, slightly gooey, flavorful, and completely satisfying. The recipe is so easy to remember and it only uses one bowl! The use of brown sugar instead of white sugar gives a delicious depth to the flavor - almost like butterscotch - and I instantly fell in love with these. I hope you do too!

This recipe makes one 8x8 pan. I made them for a big family get-together so I quadrupled the recipe and made two 9x13 pans - one with nuts (pecans) and one without. It worked out great.

Blondies

1 cube butter, melted (1/2 cup)

1 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 - 1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 - 1 c. nuts, chopped (optional, but soo delicious)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 pan. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt. Stir in flour. Add chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until middle is set. Better to overcook than undercook (mine only needed 25 minutes doubled, so be careful). Cool on wire rack before cutting.

Source: Smitten Kitchen