TWD: Peanuttiest Blondies

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Nichi of Bakeologie: peanuttiest blondies.  I haven’t made too many blondies, but I was definitely intrigued by a peanut butter blondie, especially because the recipe also included chocolate chunks.  If there’s one thing we know, it’s that the combination of chocolate and peanut butter is sure to please most everyone in this house.

Last week (before I made the blondies) I’d stopped in at Trader Joe’s for the first time in close to a year.  There’s only one Trader Joe’s location in RI and while it’s not terribly far away, I’m not usually motivated enough to head down there without something specific in mind.  I happened to be in the neighborhood this time though, so of course I stopped in.  Surprisingly, I left with under $20 in goods, but one of my purchases was mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups.  I didn’t have a specific plan, but thought maybe I’d make chocolate chip cookies, substituting the mini peanut butter cups for chocolate chips.  A few days later, however, when I flipped to the recipe for the blondies and started scanning the ingredient list, I decided immediately to use the mini peanut butter cups in place of the chopped peanuts and chocolate chunks.  Otherwise, I made the recipe exactly as written, though I did use smooth peanut butter instead of crunchy.

I thought it was a little tricky determining when the blondies were done baking, and mine sunk a bit in the middle (the sunken ones didn’t make it into the photo shoot) even though I found they were not underbaked when I cut into them.  That seems to happen to me with most blondies I’ve tried – maybe it’s why I don’t make them often?  Anyway, Shane had friends over this weekend and I left the plate of blondies with them.  I didn’t hear much feedback, but more than half of the blondies were gone when I got home so I’ll take that as a good sign.  I liked them, though I wish they’d had more peanut butter flavor; I thought it was fairly mild.  The mini peanut butter cups were delicious additions and I enjoyed the chewy texture of the blondies.  I think I still prefer cookies over blondies, but there is something to be said for the simplicity and ease of blondies.  

Many thanks to Nichi for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe for the blondies on her site here or on page 119 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.