These blondies are a jam-packed with things that make me very happy.
A super soft, buttery, brown sugar base, loaded with peanut butter chips, and swirled with Nutella.
I used my go-to blondie recipe that never lets me down. The batter comes together in one bowl, in 5 minutes, without using a mixer.
That’s especially important when you don’t have a dishwasher, and each and every dirty dish counts.
I’m on vacation and don’t want anything fussy or that takes more than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Although I sometimes can’t find tomatoes or cream in Aruba, I spotted a bag of peanut butter chips in the local grocery store. Sold. Never mind that they were $6 dollars. I love peanut butter, what can I say.
Use chocolate chips if you can’t find peanut butter chips, or if you’re feeling more frugal.
Everything tastes better with swirls, especially swirls of Nutella. I was going to use peanut butter, but wanted a pop of chocolate. You don’t even have to dip your fingers in it for this recipe.
If you don’t have Nutella, try Homemade Peanut Butter or Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter. The recipe is highly adaptable, another reason I love it.
While they bake, the butter and brown sugar caramelize, and the bars take on caramel and vanilla flavors.
They’re supremely soft, moist, and dense. No chemical leaveners such as baking powder or soda are used, and you’ll just want to sink your teeth into these softies.
Mine are especially soft and gooey because my kitchen here is un-airconditioned. It was 88F and very humid when these pictures were taken. Everything melts and gets very soft. In more normal conditions, your blondies won’t be as soft and melty.
The peanut butter chips are the perfect flavor nuggets, adding bursts of peanut butter flavor, without overtaking the flavor and making them taste like peanut butter blondies.
Not that that would be a bad thing. There’s a recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies with Nutella Swirls in my cookbook and they’re wonderful.
These were so good. And a little messy.
And that’s what napkins are for.
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Nutella-Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- about 1/3 cup Nutella (Homemade Peanut Butter or Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Stir in the peanut butter chips.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Evenly add and swirl the Nutella. To create the marbled pattern shown, drizzle Nutella over batter in 5 wide, evenly spaced, parallel lines, each spanning the length of the pan. Like 5 rows of long train tracks. Rotate pan 90-degrees. With a toothpick, starting at the top of the pan, “draw” 4 or 5 evenly spaced lines through the Nutella. You’re dragging the toothpick perpendicularly through the first set of lines to create the marbling.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Bars shown in photographs were in 90F Caribbean heat and humidity, and very soft and melty. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What’s your favorite fast and easy go-to dessert? Favorite way to use Nutella or peanut butter (chips)?
You got me at the words “Nutella and PB”..;) Totally making these! They look amazing.
Oh my goodness, these look so dense and gooey and amaaaazing!
Lol – “blondies” that is.
Ah yes – adventures in the no dishwasher, hot kitchen. I know this one well, Averie. Seems like it must be well worth having the beach right there though! These look fantastic – I love gooey blondes – the more so, the better. ;)
It’s totally worth it and I know you know what it’s like, living where you live, where the heat and lack of certain ‘modern’ conveniences is the norm, but it all works out :)
They look delicious. I think I would like them even more super soft sitting in a little humidity :)
I totally do. Some people are not into it, but I am :)
Those look so melt in your mouth delicious, and I love that gorgeous Nutella swirl!
Supremely! melt in your mouth, that’s for sure!
Oh my god, YES. This, especially: In more normal conditions, your blondies won’t be as soft and melty. I want them that soft and melty!!!
These are just oozing and look so delicious. Like the texture of a melting smore where you just can’t eat them fast enough! I love the looks of these!
All my cookies are less than 30 minutes and are my go-to recipes! If it takes more time than that, I don’t do it.
I know you’re an under-baker so you too can achieve the gooey status with ease :)
And they were like a melting smore! Yes! I almost called them that and I ALMOST added marshmallows to them b/c I bought mmallows and was going to actually make them as Nutella smores bars but as I was mixing the batter was worried that a mm’s would have just pushed gooey into won’t-hold-together down here, so left them out, but that was actually my orig plan!
Omg, you are pure evil. These look amaaaazing! Finger-licking amazing!
they were finger-licking amazing! :)
um, how fantastic are these?! Don’t know if I could be trusted with these around the house…
Small batch sizes are my friend :)
Your vacation kitchen sounds a lot like my real life. No dishwasher, no air conditioner, hot all the time. Welcome to my life. These blondies sound pretty ridiculous. I’d even be willing to turn my oven on for them. You just have to keep everything in the fridge in the tropics. C’est la vie.
I normally refrigerate things down here before I take pics of them https://www.averiecooks.com/2011/12/chocolate-saltine-toffee.html but then I get condensation on the chocolate. And then people write in with really rude comments! So it’s like – gah I can’t win!
If I was here more, I’d invest in better appliances, put a/c in the kitchen, etc but for now, I sweat. lol
Oh Averie, these bars look amazing! I love how gooey they look. Brown sugar, Nutella, & peanut butter chips? I die. :) Hope you’re enjoying fun & sun in Aruba!
Thanks Allie! We are!
Averie, it is scary knowing I have all of the ingredients to make this. You are quite the temptress! Baking and blogging in Aruba? Make sure you set aside plenty of time for fun! xo
Blogging goes on, 6-7/posts a week, rain or shine :) Have a great week!
Theyre in the oven :)
AWESOME! Lmk how you like them!
LOVED them! The pb and nutella is a winning combination! genius!!
So happy to hear you made them and loved them! Awesome!
These remind me of the peanut butter and chocolate swirl brownie my mom makes all the time. I am sure they are fantastic with the nutella.
I’ve wanted to do a brownie like what you’re talking about but haven’t so far – only blondies. Your mom’s recipe sounds great!
Averie stop! Every time I check your site there is something thoroughly tempting I want to make! Actually I have to be honest, I won’t make these as my daughter is allergic to nuts, but I wanted to tell you that they look unbelievable and I bet they are truly delicious!
Replace the PB chips with choc chips. If she’s allergic to the hazelnuts in Nutella too (or is it just a peanut allergy?) but replace that with Sunflower Seed butter, Hot Fudge, or just melted chocolate. Such a flexible recipe, and can easily work around nut allergies!
You really can never go wrong with Nutella. That stuff is addicting, I tell ya! I could polish off a jar in one sitting with no problem ;) Combining that with one of my other favorite flavors- peanut butter is a match made in heaven. And it’s funny because I was just looking for a blondie recipe that looked exciting enough to make and this one certainly does the trick Averie.
Glad that these look exciting enough! If you try them, lmk! If you’re a Nutella fun, these do the trick!