Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondie

I was six.

I was at my favorite place on earth. Grandma’s house.

I walked up the big cement steps that lead to the entrance of the stilt wooden house. My eight year old cousin greeted me with enthusiasm. We played for the longest time. As much as I didn’t care what was happening around me, I suddenly realized the house was awfully quiet. Where were the adults? We had no idea. We didn’t really care either. The property was big enough to lose people here and there.

I was hungry. My cousin then signaled for me to follow her. Apparently, she had something special that I could eat. We both crept into the kitchen. She dug out a large jar of peanut butter. She asked if I knew what it was. I gave her the look. The ‘seriously, you think I don’t know what peanut butter is’ look. She then grabbed a spoon. She opened the lid, scooped a big dollop of peanut butter and asked me to eat it.

Now this was new. Peanut butter had always been in my sandwiches but to eat it straight up was foreign to me. I felt naughty. I looked around wondering if an adult would suddenly appear and we would both be in trouble. No sign of life anywhere. I took a bite. She looked at me. “How is it?” I gave her my biggest smile and the hardest nod. We giggled and continued to scoop and devour peanut butter right off the jar. Yes. We were that unsanitary.

I didn’t used to love peanut butter that much before but after this, peanut butter and I… we were inseparable.

Of course there’s no need to talk about my love for chocolate. That is innate. Inborn.

Put these two together along with fudginess and chewiness and there you have it. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondie.

Rich, indulgent & moist peanut buttery flavor with chocolaty goodness in every bite.

Can’t get enough of sweet things? How about some No Mixer Chocolate Cake.

Also, if you haven’t already, please check out my last post Korean Kimchi Stew. It’s my go to lazy day, quick yet comforting dish. Spicy, savory & slightly sweet and super simple to whip up.

What’s your favorite blondie?

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondie             Makes 1 9X9 blondie (3/4″ thick)

what you need:

6 tbs unsalted butter, melted plus extra for greasing pan
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs plain yogurt
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5.31 oz (1  1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp coffee powder
3/4 tsp baking powder (see notes 1)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus 1-2 tbs for topping if you want
1 tbs chopped peanuts (optional)

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 X 9 square pan, line the pan with parchment paper so it overhangs on all sides and grease the parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, whisk the butter, sugar, yogurt, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract.

3. In another bowl whisk the flour, coffee, baking powder and salt.

4. Pour the wet ingredient into the dry. Fold until almost incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and finish incorporating. Do not overmix or blondies may become tough. Batter will be very thick but still spreadable.

5. Pour batter into the pan. Smooth to even the batter out. Sprinkle more chocolate chips if you want to. Top with chopped nuts (if using).

6. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center has a little moist crumbs.

7. Let the blondies cool in the pan over a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes:

1. Baking powder: Decrease or exclude baking powder altogether for a denser, fudgier version. Increase for a lighter, cake-ier version.

2. For chewier, fugdy blondies, decrease the baking time a little. The middle will still be slightly gooey but will firm up a little when cooling. Longer baking time results in a cakier blondie. After a certain point, the longer it bakes, the drier and tougher it will become.

3. This makes a moderately sweet blondie. Some those with super sweet tooth, increase the sugar accordingly.

4. You won’t taste the coffee. It’s just there to enhance flavor.

5. You can add or top batter with chopped nuts if you want to.

6. You can substitute peanut butter with almond or cashew butter, or whatever the heck your favorite butter is. These blondies give an obvious but not overwhelming peanut butter taste. If you want to, you can increase the amount of peanut butter a little more.