There are Blondies and then there are Bl-ON-dies! Uh… eyes here. Food, people, food! Okay…so these bars happen to be the latter and a very fine example at that. The recipe here is originally from Magnolia Bakery and after trying them a few years ago, they’ve been on regular rotation at our house anytime we want a decadent, shall we say… highly indulgent treat. Perhaps not one to be eaten frequently, but occasionally? Or company? Absolutely. A winning must-have in your “best of” collection. Because they are after all, hands down… one of the very best bars I’ve had.
A few tips:
Don’t overbake the blondie layer. Personally, I bake it on convection bake at 300 degrees F. and start watching at about 20 minutes. With my oven it doesn’t take too much longer than that. Be sure to bake just until a toothpick test comes out clean and then remove from oven to let cool.
I use JIF Creamy Peanut Butter. I believe it has the best flavor. Don’t use any kind of natural peanut butter in these. They won’t turn out the same and you’ll be disappointed.
If you can find regular cocktail peanuts that are unsalted, I find they make for the best tasting result in the end. I’ve also used dry roasted unsalted peanuts, which is what I used in the pictures here. They’re still amazing.
Peanut Butter Heath Bar Blondies (from Magnolia Bakery)
Blondies:
1 1/2 C. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C. smooth peanut butter (I recommend JIF Creamy)
2 1/2 C. granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 T. vanilla extract
3 C. self-rising flour (if you don’t have self-rising flour at home, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt)
Topping:
1 C. peanut butter chips
3 T. heavy cream
4 coarsely chopped Health bars or chocolate covered toffee bars (about 1 cup)
1/2 C. finely chopped unsalted peanuts
Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease and flour a 12 x 18-inch jellyroll pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the peanut butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix well. Add the flour and beat until well incorporated. Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool to room temperature.
To prepare the topping: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the peanut butter chips and the cream, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the peanut butter mixture decoratively over the cooled blondies. Sprinkle the Heath Bars and the peanuts on top.
Allow to cool to room temperature, or overnight, before cutting and serving. Makes 24 three-inch blondies.
do u have any idea how much torture i go through when i see such delicious mouth watering pastries on your blog when i m trying so much to maintain my weight if not be able to reduce a bit….. u make it so difficult… :))))))))
Hahaha…thanks and I knoooooowww…but they’re so yummy! 🙂 Although I will say, that I’ll be striking a bit of a balance through the next week with a couple of posts of some really great salads. Stay tuned…. 😉
Wow salads …. sure will look fwd to it…. veg salads too I hope ….. 🙂 🙂
Wow! These look marvelous and I can believe that they are a favorite at your house! Will have to give your recipe a try!
Thanks so much! Not one we make often, but always very well received! 🙂
This seems easy enough for me to bake for summer bbq parties right now. Thanks for the recipe. These look gorgeous!
Hi Gigi! They are so simple and really delicious. I would just recommend keeping them covered and refrigerated before putting out for serving. If left in the heat they might get a little soft and the top will get melty. 🙂 Hope you can make them!
Thanks for the heads up!
One word justifies indulgence in that sumptuous bar : Company.
I totally agree. C’mon over!
Aw! That’s so sweet of you. Thank you, thank you so much. I’m smiling.
Indulgent is right! These sound terrific. The only problem I foresee is that by the time my guests arrive, there’d be so few left that I’d be embarrassed to serve them. THanks for sharing a great recipe.
Hahaha…well? It does make an awfully large pan…. You could almost feed a whole Blackhawks celebration party! 😉
Oh WOW, love those bars. Heath have always been my favorite candy with snickers neck and neck, I’ll be making these!
Thanks! Mine, too… exactly! 🙂
Reblogged this on *Julianne Fiori *.
Thanks, Julianne! Glad you like it! 🙂
Yum! Do you think these are good “shippers?” I have someone who lives far away that would love these…would they hold up in the mail? Do they go stale quickly?
I’m not sure I’d recommend shipping these unless they were kept cool. They’re sturdy enough, but anytime I ship my baked goods, I’m kind of particular in getting them there overnight. My friends will tell you I’m kind of funny that way, but I like my cookies and most baked goods to be eaten within a couple to three days at most. They usually disagree, but I just think they’re best eaten at their prime. 🙂
Utterly decadent moorishness – the kids would be falling over themselves to get at these – but they’re in bed….well they should be anyway.
Haha…I think they’d love them!
YUMMY! I think I just found my kryptonite…
Haha… well everybody’s got one form or another! Thanks!! 🙂
This looks so good I will definitely want to try it. My daughter and were wondering if you would happen to have a good recipe for cobbler. My daughter wants to make a cherry cobbler and we know your recipes are great! 🙂
Great, I hope you do! I’ve gone ahead and emailed you a few excellent cobbler recipes. Have fun choosing and I hope they work out for you!