Best Peanut Butter Blondie Re-Do: Alex Bakes!

These Best Peanut Butter Blondies are exactly what they say–literally the best peanut butter blondies I have ever had. Try them–you will agree.  Affiliate links were used in this post, but only to link to items I would be discussing and linking to anyway.

This is one of those First World Blogger problems—I love these bars. Like seriously swoon love them. But I was, frankly, a lousy photographer way back when I made them for this site. So in the intervening years I am always choosing different recipes (because I want to be able to blog about them) but wishing I would make these and also wishing that the photos were better.

Enter Alex. She wanted to bake something a few weeks ago (it has taken me some time to get them on the site), so I decided to let her try to follow one of my recipes. When she started looking at peanut butter cookies, I knew I wanted her to make these so I could take new photos.
I love these pictures–which is why there are so many! Alex used to be the kid who refused to “model” my cookies for me, but she just went crazy this time. We had a lot of fun–as you can imagine there are plenty of choices that were even funnier but that I figured I would spare her the embarrassment when she gets older of really absurd photos of her being out there on their internet.

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite baking cookbook authors, Lisa Yockelson, in her awesome Baking by Flavor. You can use any combination you want of chocolate and peanut butter mix-ins (chocolate chips, Reese’s Cups, Reese’s Pieces, Peanut butter chips, M&Ms, cacao nibs, peanuts, etc); I highly recommend the unwrapped pouches for the peanut butter cups (see for example: Reese’s Minis Peanut Butter Cups, 8-Ounce Pouches). I know I just said you could use any combination that you want, but the Reese’s Cups are the one non-negotiable. They really make these cookies and take them a step above regular peanut butter chocolate chip bars or cookies.

5 from 1 vote

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Best Peanut Butter Blondies

Closely adapted from Lisa Yockelson.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cookies

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

• 1 cup (126 g) AP flour
• 1/4 cup cake flour (fluffed, spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 1/8 t salt
• 1/3 cup natural smooth peanut butter
• 8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 8 oz package Reese's Cups--miniature and unwrapped
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Reese's Pieces

Instructions

1. Spray an 8X8 baking pan and line it with parchment paper that overhangs the sides (you will use it to lift the blondies out of the pan). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Sift together the AP flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl (this is easily done by hand) whisk together the melted butter and peanut butter. Whisk in the brown sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Switching to a wooden spoon or a spatula, mix in the sifted flour mixture. Stir in the chips, candy and peanut butter cups. The dough will be thick and chunky.
4. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and spread it in evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating front to back halfway through. The bars are done when the dough is set and golden. Let the pan and bars cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.