This is another recipe that I had to tamper with over and over. It was important to me to make sure that the texture was right, as Blondie’s have a tendency to get too cakey, and dense. I really wanted one that was flakey, buttery and chewy. I also think that brown sugar flavor is a nice departure from Blondie’s made with white sugar, (believe me, I tried them both ways!). And of course you can play around with what fruits or nuts you want to add to the batter- this was a play on my very favorite white chocolate and cranberry Christmas cookies, and I love them!

Brown Sugar Blondies

-2 2/3 cups AP flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-2 cups brown sugar
-1 cup soft unsalted butter
-2 eggs
-2 tsp vanilla
-1 cup dried cranberries
-12oz white chocolate chips
-1 1/2 cups roasted and salted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a 12×16″ sheet pan, (a cookie pan with sides) and put a sheet of parchment paper down on the bottom of the pan.

2) I then spray the top of the parchment, and the sides of the pan with non-stick baking spray.

3) In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, and then beat the eggs in one at a time, until they are completely mixed in.

4) In a separate bowl sift all of the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until combined.

5) Fold in the cranberries, white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts with a spatula or spoon. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and spread evenly to the edges.

6) Bake the Blondie’s for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Do not over bake! When the Blondie’s are finished, let them cool completely before cutting into them for the cleanest cut.

Makes 36 Blondie’s