Chunky Butterscotch Walnut Blondies

Let me start off by saying, I was looking forward to trying my first Dorie Greenspan recipe, but these did not turn out chewy as the original recipe stated. I was making this expecting it to be like a soft chocolate chip cookie, or have the consistency of the gingerbread blondies I made (which were amazing BTW), but nope, it totally left me unsatisfied. Don’t get me wrong, if you like crisp and crunchy cookies you would love this! The taste was there, but I usually make soft baked everything! I also think it was an error on my part, thinking I would be able to make it the same way I made the other blondies. I spread it out on my 12x17 pan and baked for 35 min. I think if I baked it for less time, it would have been soft and chewy like it was supposed to be. I will try these again, but I will definitely follow the directions next time!

These were made for our Go Red for Women bake sale at work. I wish it turned out as expected, but oh well. It’s still good. I was bummed and was about to go make something else, but it was almost 10pm at night, and I didn’t want to do anymore.

*Chewy* Chunky Blondies
Source: Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours", as seen on Sugar and Spice

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits (I used butterscotch chips)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325° F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches