M&M Blondies
M&M Blondies: A perfect blondie base chock full of M&M candies! A delicious way to use up leftover candies.
This Blondies Recipe is dotted with candied coated chocolates making them colorful and festive!
Why You Must Make
- If you’re like me, you may think that blondies are the same as patting Tollhouse cookie dough in a pan and baking it. But this is a true blondies recipe.
- They’re made with all brown sugar and no white sugar giving a lovely caramel undertone with every bite.
- I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love M&Ms, and you can shake things up with seasonal packages of them for Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and more!
So I turned to Cook’s Illustrated, I made a batch of their blondies recipe but tossed in a few M&M’s instead of all chocolate chips. I’d see if the family liked some official M&M Blondies.
Recipe Tips
- There is one cup of add-ins in these blondies, 1/2 cup of M&M’s, and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. You can easily tweak this recipe by adding some different ingredients depending on your mood.
- Try other chocolate chips like white chocolate chips or peanut butter chocolate chips. Or use chocolate chunks or discs, instead.
- Add some toasted nuts, dried fruit, toffee bits or other candies.
- PRO-Tip: I like setting aside some extra candies and/or chocolate chips to press into the top of the brownies after they come out of the oven. Otherwise, a large percentage of the M&M’s and chocolate chips are hidden beneath the surface.
- This must be done while the bars are still hot, so be careful. Adding more visible candies makes for a nicer presentation.
- PRO-Tip: These blondies are made with baking powder, which typically expires while it’s sitting in your pantry since it’s not used as frequently as baking soda. So check the expiration date or test it by adding a spoonful to a cup of hot water. If still active, it will bubble vigorously.
- Note that since these bars have a thin delicate crust, some cracks may develop as you press in the candies.
Frequently Asked Questions
There were a couple of obvious differences from my typical chocolate chip bars. First, there was no white sugar, just brown. This led to more of a caramel flavor, not a bad thing in my book. Then the ratio of butter to flour was greater in the blondies, making for a more delicate structure.
The crust of the bars was almost flaky, but the insides were dense and chewy. The third difference was the use of baking powder in the blondies instead of soda. This Huffington Post article suggests this may keep the bars lighter in color and possibly doughier in the middle. Again, all this was good with me.
And if you’re wondering the difference between a Brownie and a Blondie, the former has chocolate batter whereas a blondie has vanilla batter.
Blondies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. Stored in the fridge, they’ll last for up to a week. And if you’d like to store them longer, they’ll keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Well, my taste testers don’t give a hoot about baking chemistry, just taste. These bar cookies were winners, and Bill tried to mask his disappointment as I packed up most of these blondies for Nick to take back to his apartment. He and his college roomies came home for the Indy 500. Boy, can those boys eat. I’m not sure these even made it out of the car after the ride back to campus!
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- More Bar Cookies
M & M Blondies
Perfect blondies dotted with vibrant M & M's
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter ( 1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup M & M's (plus a few extras to garnish)
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil, leaving enough overhang to help you lift the blondies from the pan when they're done.Set aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate and M & M's pat batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Push in a few M & M's on top of dough to garnish.Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 27-30 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan using foil and cut to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 barAmount Per Serving: Calories: 254Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 151mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 3g
Skinny Tip
I’m starting a new series of Skinny Tips. How I keep slim is one of my most frequent inquiries. I’ll feature tips on some of my upcoming blog posts.
Tip #15: Don’t drink your calories unless they are nutrient-dense. Give up those sugary sodas and limit your wine to just a glass with or before dinner. And if you have a glass of orange juice or a smoothie, make sure you’re just drinking one serving’s worth. Read your labels for those details.
63 Comments on “M&M Blondies”
I love blondies and these with M & M would be well liked in my house. I love the flavor of brown sugar over granulated sugar. That caramel flavor is delicious!
I’m all for sharing with baby boy but I think Bill has a point. These are too delicious not to hide from anyone under the age of 35!! 😉
I love the chemistry lesson! And the taste to be sure! These look delicious. Cheers to not drinking your calories! Good thing I love me some water!
I have always wanted to bake some blondies but always got side tracked to brownies lol! This sounds like a perfect recipe to start with. Love the slimming tips, if I could follow them, I would be as slim as you!:D sigh!
so far I’m totally with you on the skinny tips! I don’t drink my calories either!
looove these blondies-all that chemistry stuff seems to make sense! 😛
These blondies are totally AMAZING!!! I am also loving the skinny tips!
Cook’s Illustrated is always so fascinating to me. But honestly when it comes down to it I don’t care what is doing what as long it is delicious in the end. These sound fabulous!
Now, those are some really good-looking blondies! I bet they were absolutely delicious! I’m dying to try them I tell you 😉
I love blondies, these look like just what my Monday afternoon needs!
Lucky Nick and too bad for poor Bill! I love how you made these with brown sugar to give a more caramelised flavour and the M&Ms give each blondie all the colours of the rainbow. I know what you mean by uni students and the amount they can eat; Archie’s had a few mates over lately and they all stay for dinner and the amount of food that disappears is staggering xx
Blondies…. mmmmm, I have yet to try these. But they look yummy.
They wouldn’t have made it out of my car either Liz, they look fabulous.
Lizzy!! I love these blondies look perfect and delicious!!! Have a nice week!!xo
Oh, these blondies look great! I love that you used M&M and specific tips such as brown over white, baking powder over soda. I can’t blame those boys and your family for chowing these down based on the looks of them!
Taste always get the best vote! Poor Bill – although I’m sure you’ve got something else up your sleeve for him… Fun colourful swap for the chocolate chips!
I was fairly recently introduced to blondies … but I love them, so thanks so much for the tips! I haven’t seen M&M blondies before – perfect to take to a party! Thank goodness you had a hungry son & friends to help you to eat these (despite hubby’s disappointment!) … I think I would have eaten far too many!
I used to do that driving back to college from a visit home….the treat box would be nearly empty by the time I got back to school!
I’ll bet the bag of blondies was opened before they even got off your street! I know everyone would enjoy them here:@)
we loved reading this post….we learnt the meaning of perfect blondies and they must taste so good with a caramel-like flavor and chunks of M&Ms…..we would rather opt for such delicious homemade goodies..right out of ovens than drink sugar laden sodas which bump up on calories….thanks 🙂
I think I also would like these blondies 🙂 Wouldn’t mind M&M’s instead of chocolate chips 😀