- I made Ina Garten's blondies for a recent book club.
- The recipe features basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
- The blondies were easy and cheap to make — and a huge hit with all my friends.
I've never been much of a baker, but I've always found Ina Garten's desserts delicious and approachable. With her help, I've made everything from decadent brownies to a cake so good that she said it makes "grown men weep."
So, when the inaugural meeting of my new book club was set, I decided to find another Barefoot Contessa recipe to impress.
I landed on these blondies, which were cheap and easy to make since I already had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. Everyone couldn't get enough of them.
Ina Garten's blondies only require a few ingredients. You probably already have most of them in your kitchen.
To make Garten's blondies at home, you'll need:
- 1 ¼ pounds of semisweet chocolate chunks
- 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ pound (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups of chopped walnuts
- 1 cup of light-brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup of granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
Since I was making these blondies for a large group, I opted to skip the walnuts.
I also didn't realize I had bought chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks until I got home from the supermarket. I don't think it affected the results, so feel free to use either based on your preference or what you already have!
First, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and greased my baking pan.
Garten recommends using an 8-by-12-by-2-inch pan for this recipe. She also advises flouring the pan after greasing it, which I forgot to do — whoops!
I was still able to easily remove the baked blondies from the pan with a rubber spatula, so don't fret if you make the same mistake.
Then, I began making the batter.
I added the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a big bowl, then used my handheld electric mixer on high speed to mix everything for three minutes.
Garten says you'll know it's ready when the batter has turned light and fluffy.
I turned my mixer to low and began adding the eggs one at a time, as well as the vanilla.
Garten advises scraping down the bowl as you add each egg, making sure to mix the batter well.
In a separate bowl, I combined the dry ingredients.
Per Garten's instructions, I sifted the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
With the mixer still on low, I slowly added the dry ingredients to my batter.
It was almost time to bake!
Then, I folded in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
You would also add the walnuts during this step.
I spread the batter into my pan, making sure to smooth the top, then threw it into the oven.
Garten says to bake the blondies for 30 minutes exactly, using a toothpick to check that it's ready.
"Don't overbake!" she writes in the recipe description. "The toothpick may have melted chocolate on it, but it shouldn't have wet batter."
I allowed the pan to cool completely before cutting my blondies into squares.
The blondies had turned an enticing shade of golden brown, eliciting a big round of oohs and aahs when I presented them to my book club.
The blondies were such a hit that one friend said she could have finished the entire pan.
The best word to describe these blondies is luscious. They were baked to perfection, with the chocolate melting into my mouth with each bite. Each moist square felt like eating an extra soft cookie, with just enough crispiness to keep the texture interesting.
"Three words: chunky, decadent, delicious," my friend Kayla said when I asked for a review.
Garten's recipe was also straightforward and quick. Prep and cooking took 45 minutes in total. As the Barefoot Contessa herself would say, how easy is that?
If you're looking for an impressive dessert that doesn't take a lot of time or money from your grocery budget, Garten's blondies are the perfect sweet treat.
