Friday, November 9, 2012

Chocolate Chunk Blondies

I'm all about a bar cookie.  I'm also all about Ina Garten's recipes.  Her recipes are pretty much foolproof.  Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks her recipes are foolproof because she actually named her newest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.  Say what you will about Ms. Garten, but the lady can write a fantastic recipe.  

My daughter is participating in a bake sale this weekend and I wanted something that was reliable, delicious, and easy to package.  Ina's Chocolate Chunk Blondies are all of that and more.  With over a pound of chocolate in the recipe, this is definitely a cookie for all the chocolate lovers out there.  Please keep these blondies in mind for the upcoming holidays because they are fantastic! I really do believe this is one of those desserts that would be enjoyed by all.
 

Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
Makes 12 bars

1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temp
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temp
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1-1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate chunks 

Note:  I substituted regular chocolate baking chips because my store was out of chocolate chunks.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour an 8-1/2 x 12 x 2-inch baking pan (I used a 9 x 13 size pan lined with greased parchment paper for easy removal). 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on high speeds for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well, scraping down the bowl after each addition.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chunks with a rubber spatula.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don't overbake!  The toothpick may have melted chocolate on it but it shouldn't have wet batter.  Cool completely in the pan and cut into 12 bars.

10 comments:

  1. I'm all about the bar cookie also. I HATE having to form all of those cookies and then put them in the oven, batch after batch. Major pain. Plus...bar cookies have so much more of all the chewy bits that everyone loves! These look amazing.

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  2. These are so much more sophisticated than just a cookie. Love Ina's new book. It just came in the mail. You're right. She's foolproof.
    Sam

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  3. Hi Kim! Long time no see, but I'm back in the blog groove and checking up on all my old friends! Hope everything and everyone is well, I see you're still super busy and cooking up some amazing things! Come visit anytime!
    Megan ( meganssweetlife.com )

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  4. I've gotta get that book, I have all her others and they are always in use. These look amazing!

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  5. i adore ina. she's actually one of the biggest reasons i started to love cooking. i saw her show six years ago and became obsessed. these cookie bars look awesome. i'm going to have to look into that book :)

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  6. I check Ina books out of the library all the time, but I ought to buy one. Have not even seen Foolproof yet.
    Yummy cookie bars....a fun item for people to just cut a slab off and munch,

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  7. Must look for her books, got only one from her and I love it!

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  8. I keep hearing good things about this book!

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  9. Holy Moley look at all that chocolate! I'm drinking a cup of coffee right now wishing I had one (or two!) of these bars. I like that this recipe uses brown sugar--really dig that for choc chip cookies. Hope the bake sale went well!

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  10. Ina is definitely one of my favorites. I won all her cookbooks and her new one is just a short jump from my bookshelf.

    This is a great cookie bar recipe. As always, thanks for sharing it with us.

    Velva

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