Peanut Butter Blondies

Tomorrow night, we're bringing pizza over to our new-parent friends, Theresa and Greg. We're going to have dinner with them, and also meet the baby (10 days old!). I decided that I should bake something to bring for dessert as well.

A few weeks ago, I saw this recipe over at BakingBlonde. I knew that I had to put this in my queue of recipes to try... I just needed an occasion. And here it is!

I also saw that Katie over at Good Things Catered made them recently as well. I ended up using Katie's suggestion of adding peanuts to the recipe, so I followed Katie's recipe more closely than the original at BakingBlonde.

Since I followed the same recipe and used the same size pan, I'm not really sure why mine turned out so differently from both BakingBlonde's and Katie's. But regardless... Michael and I sampled one after they cooled, and they are delicious! So sweet and peanut-buttery and just good.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients:

- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, almost melted
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
- 1/3 cup honey roasted peanuts (I chopped them up before adding to the batter)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8x8" pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter for 20-30 seconds until almost/all melted. Allow to cool for five minutes.

3. Combine butter, oil, and peanut butter. Mix until creamy and smooth.

4. Add brown sugar to the mixture and continue to mix until smooth.

5. Add the egg and mix to combine thoroughly.

6. Add milk and vanilla, and again mix to combine.

7. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined (the batter will be thick).

8. Gently fold in chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.

9. Place mixture into prepared pan. Spread mixture evenly and level the top.

10. Bake 20-30 minutes, until set in the middle. Cool completely before cutting.