Blondies

Today I have made the dangerous discovery that there is a gooey, caramel-y bar cookie that can be whipped up in no time flat and only uses a few basic ingredients. They can be made plain (if you can call it that) or stuffed chock full of extras to make them even more delicious. And judging by the fact that I made them only a few hours ago and the pan is half empty, they are 100% Roomie Approved. Not bad for about five minutes work.

Blondies
Basic Recipe:
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Butter an 8×8 pan.

Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions* (below).

Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
Top with a vanilla butter cream, chocolate ganache or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

*I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and 1/4 cup whiskey, which I might take down to 2 tbsp next time - it's a bit strong in the gooey centre bits.

Update: once the cookies cool down and solidify a bit the alcohol taste is much less strong.