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So my son went back to school today. For all my talk about being ready for them to go back, I’ve gotta admit I’m sad (especially for my little monkey that starts kindergarten next week…I kind of blinked and she wasn’t a baby anymore.)
Will. Not. Cry. (Already am.)
So anyway, for whatever reason, it was really important to me that I pack him an extra-special lunch for his first day back at school. And that meant making one of his favorite treats to pack in his lunchbox.
I don’t know where this recipes comes from–it’s been scribbled and shared and filed and copied for as long as I’ve been baking. I love it because I almost always have the basic ingredients and the ones I don’t usually have (the different flavored chips) are easy to switch out for what I do have. They’re rich and sweet and gooey and perfect for a first day of school. For excited kids and sad moms. Yeah, I totally just admitted to eating my feelings.
You’ll need salted butter, light brown sugar, 2 eggs, all-purpose flour, and vanilla. Nope, you don’t need baking soda or baking powder.
You’ll also need 3 different types of baking chips; I usually use chocolate, white chocolate, and peanut butter, but I’ve used butterscotch chips in place of peanut butter chips in a pinch.
Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 350. Place the measured brown sugar into a large mixing bowl (sidenote: have I ever mentioned how one of my favorite simple pleasures is measuring out brown sugar?)
Melt the butter and add it to the brown sugar.
Mix until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and combine.
Place the batter in the prepared pan
and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Allow to cool completely. When they’re cool, combine some chocolate chips and coconut oil or shortening in a Ziploc freezer bag and seal. Heat in 15 second increments, mashing the bag each time to combine the chocolate and oil, until the chocolate is melted and smooth and combined with the oil. Cut a small corner from the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the bars. Allow the chocolate to harden and cut into squares.
Triple Chip Blondies
Our Best Bites
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with the back of a knife
2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup for drizzling on top
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Melt the butter. Combine in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (excluding the 1/3 cup reserved chips), white chocolate chips, and peanut butter or butterscotch chips and mix until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely. When cool, combine the reserved chips and the coconut oil or shortening in a small freezer zip-top bag, seal it, and heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments, mashing the bag with your hands until the chocolate and oil are smooth (repeat as long as necessary). Cut a small corner out of the bag and squeeze the melted chocolate over the baked blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Your little girl is totally adorable! I’m already sad thinking about kindergarten and my baby is only 2! lol Those bars look so delicious!
Curious as to what else you put in your sons lunch for the first day. And, where does one find coconut oil?
Either in the baking aisle or the health food aisle (and sometimes both).
Oh, and I packed him a turkey and cheese sandwich on a Hawaiian roll, one of these bars, grapes, one of those watered-down Capri Sun things, and a handful of chips.
Because my kids were soooooo excited, I was excited for them! That made it so much easier. I didn’t make them feel like they were ruining my life because they grew up. I had a friend who did that and her daughter was a total mess when she got older. That said, I am going to make these decadent yummies to celebrate all y’all’s kids’ first days of school!
Those look so yummy!! My 1st grader, Thomas, was looking over my shoulder as we scrolled down through the recipe. When we saw the final product, Thomas said, “Oh yah!!” We will have to make these as soon as I get some more vanilla!! 🙂 Good luck with the start of school! Our sweet kiddos grow up so fast!! My oldest is a senior this year!! I’m not sure where all that time went!!! 🙂
Yum! I was feeling pretty good about myself for getting a dinosaur-shaped sandwich cutter, but these will definitely make an appearance in my son’s lunch next week! I think by the time my girls go to preschool next month I’ll be needing a few as well!
Oh, I’m so excited to try these. My sister-in-law makes a 3-chip blondie that was awesome when she made it but I have never had very much luck gauging “cook until they are gooey but not too gooey, which you will know after they cool for two hours.” So I’ll be making these for the first day of school, for sure.
I need these in my life. Love the ziplock trick for the drizzle 🙂
My five year old just started Kindergarten and I was so prepared to be sad and cry, but I ended up having to “be strong” for my three year old. She cried every time we had to drop him off for school, saying “brother’s never coming back”, over and over again. I wish they loved each other that much all the time!
No kiddos for me and hubby yet. But when the little ones do come these will most definitely be in their first day of school lunchboxes. What a lovely tradition to start! I’ll have to put these in my husband’s lunch bag for now… mine won’t make it into the lunch box.
Blondies, of the triple chip variety…are my kriptonite. And those look like the perfect balance of moist and chewy…yum!
Would these work with unsalted butter instead?—-> clearly not a baker. Thanks!
Yep, just add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt with the flour. 🙂
Thanks! But does it need the salt? I’d prefer to leave it out, if that’s an option. Thanks again!
It doesn’t NEED it, but it will help balance out the flavors.
Just checking – no leavenig? I don’t see an baking soda.
🙂
No leavening. 🙂
This is next on my recipe box to try, I really want to try it. I think the kids are in agreement, it’d be what takes the clouds out of a blue sky and the shade on a summer day!
I feel the same way about the kids going back to school, but what’s even worse for me is the way it signals how fast time goes by. My oldest is in fifth grade, I remember when he was in no grade not that long ago.
What a good mom to make your son a special lunch for his first day back at school. These triple chip blondies look so yummy.
Oh my! These sound divine and I can’t wait to try em.
These look dangerous (I keep these basics on hand too), and delicious. Can’t wait to try. I totally hear ya on the kids going back to school. I cry every year…especially this year when my oldest (3rd grade) told me not to walk in…just drop off in the drive-thru. Seriously?? There were exactly 2 cars in the drive-thru that morning, including me. And yes, he is an unsentimental boy. 🙂
Those look amazing! I may just make them tomorrow…or tonight.
The first words I said when I saw this recipe in my inbox was Oh my gosh! lol These looks ridiculously easy AND yummy! I love bar type recipes. And your little girl is ADORABLE (both as a baby and now)! 😉 We’re planning to home school our children so I get to miss out on all those ‘goodbye’ tears as a parent. 😉 But I have friends who send their kids to school and it’s really hard for them to let their kiddies go. I bet it’s really rough! 🙁 That’s one cool thing about home schooling-you don’t have to say goodbye. 🙂
YUM! These sound delicious!
These look so good! Can’t wait to invade my dorm room kitchen and make them! Do you guys possibly have an ETA on when your Our Best Bites app might hit the market?
I think we shall be making these tomorrow in preparation for Monday’s first day of school! Or maybe I’ll make them Monday for the first after-school-snack. With apple slices on the side. 🙂
I made something very similar last week when my kids started school 😉 I’ll be trying these though because, like you, I do typically have these ingredients on hand, unlike my recipe which has graham crackers and sweetened cond milk. Thanks!
OMG…these look incredible! This just might be what I make for my Bday treats this weekend!
Made these today! I switched the peanut butter chips for heath bits (all I had) and they were WONDERFUL! Thanks for this gem!
OOOO Heath bits might be a good idea to try!
I’m making this tonight… it doesn’t look as smooth, but I think it’s because of the whole wheat flour I’m using… or I should have mixed it longer.
I have fallen in love with your website. Every time I repin, it’s one from your site. Thank you, you’re wonderful.
I just made these and they seem raw in the middle, they are perfectly golden on top. Are they supposed to have a raw cookie dough consistency or what did I do wrong? Still taste great by the way but are on the verge of runny.
Thanks,
Carey
I made them yesterday and they same thing happened to me too. After checking back here, I noticed my dough was a lot runnier before it was baked, than the pictures here. Perhaps next time I’ll add more flour??
I put them back in the oven, even though they had cooled, and baked for another 15 minutes after the first 25. They are a little crispy around the corners but seem better in the middle. The kids like them and that’s all that matters!
It could be your oven and how it bakes. I’d try making them in a jelly roll pan because it will help get the middle done without burning the edges.
I made them and they were the same way so I just through them back in for about 15 minutes. They were still soft and way more edible than the initial take out. Good luck!
I made them with just them peanut butter and chocolate chips and didn’t bother with the chocolate drizzle, oh my goodness were they good! The didn’t last long at my house!
Your son’s lunch sounds like my kiddo’s lunch! Definitely going to try these my kids (and unfortunately me) will love these! I’ll make them for Sunday when I treat myself and the kids can take them for lunches that week so they quickly leave the house!
Made these tonight, followed the recipe exactly but omitted the pb chips and made up for it with more chocolate and white chocolate. Baked for 25 minutes and they are PERFECT!
I made these the past weekend – very VERY delicious! My family is crazy about it! My husband asked that I should PLEASE make it again. So, thanks for an incredible recipe!
Way. too. sweet. Obnoxiously sweet. I didn’t know that was even possible, because I’m totally a sweet freak. I made this recipe with butterscotch chips. If I try this again, then I might use PB chips….and then PB and chocolate drizzle instead.
Yeah, generally speaking, butterscotch chips are too sweet for me, plus you get a lot of those same flavored from the brown sugar, so I can see how that would be a lot. 🙂
I seemed to have the same problem as other posters, that they were raw in the middle. After lots of thought, I think that maybe I over mixed the batter/dough. Mine was also very creamy before I placed them into the oven. This has happend before with the tollhouse cc cookie mix, and the cookies turn out very different if not overmixed. I used the mixer to add in the flour. Your dough seems thicker and more like paste, mine was like thick pancake batter. I will try again tonight, keeping in mind to treat the batter/dough like muffins! I’m also going to try heath bits like April says instead of one of the chips.
I make Toll House blonde brownies with double chocolate chips and it never occurred to me to use butterscotch chips. What… I’m gonna have to try this. Btw, there’s no such thing as too sweet. 🙂
I worry that I might have over baked mine but it was hard to tell when the center went from raw to done. Otherwise it was a super easy recipe that I hope was as good as it sounded and looked!!
I hear ya! My youngest started kindergarten two weeks ago. I spent the first day a little teary-eyed but I kind of got used to the quiet on the second day. By the third day I was telling myself to enjoy it while it lasted because the kids would be home soon. You see where I’m going with this…
I cried and cried when my con started Kindergarten. He started EIGHTH grade last week….insert sobbing here.
These bars looks like just the ticket to drown my sorrows…and maybe pack in his lunch box. 😉
These were So. Good. I halved the recipe, because this 34 week pregnant woman did not need to eat a whole 9×13 of blondies. And yes, I would! I also found that I didn’t have quite a 1/3 c of chocolate chips. (blame it on the pregger…) so a 8×8 was perfect. My husband and I both loved them. My dog even seemed to enjoy the taste she snagged before I almost beat her.
Thanks for filling my life with great food.
OK, I made these today, and they were amazing! I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the “newish” Nancy Drew movie, but there’s a scene in there where she is in the lunchroom at her school, and she whips out a placemat and cloth napkin to eat her lunch and enjoy her homemade blondie. It’s funny. She also bribes people to give her clues and information by offering them a homemade blondie.
These could be bribe-worthy. 😉 After seeing that some people had problems with them being too soft, I thought I’d try to refrigerate the dough before baking to firm it up for a couple of hours. They probably would’ve been fine either way, but I baked them for 26 minutes, and they were perfect. Thanks for another winning recipe!
These tasted pretty good – definitely sweet. I think the brown sugar might have been a bit too much (or maybe it was the chocolate chips). My 8 year old commented that she couldn’t eat her whole serving (a 2″ x 1″ rectangle) so it had to be pretty sweet. And the cooking time was off as well, as some of the other reviewers have commented. I put them back in the oven twice for about 8 extra minutes of cooking time and they finally firmed up. Overall they were okay, not my favorite. But this site is still GREAT!!! 🙂
I’m gonna have to make these tonight, regardless of the heatwave in my area (SoCal). I have two kids… (and I’m a teacher myself) one a senior in high school and the other a freshman in high school. I no longer get overly sentimental about their going off to school anymore because they think it’s ridiculous. I just shudder at the thought that I am a mom of two high schoolers. I can’t be that old yet and I still think of them as my babies. The freshman went back to school two weeks ago and the senior went back two days ago. But I bet they would let me cry and gush over them publicly if I made these for them! =)
So I made these blondies last weekend and everyone raved about them! I did have to bake them quite a bit longer than instructed. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
We loved these! They were great slightly warm and {according to my husband} even better when they have completely cooled. Such a creamy, buttery, delicious bar.
These bars were a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. I thought I could trust our best bites to provide me with delicious dessert recipes. Unfortunately I was mistaken. They were too greasy and sweet. I broke out horribly the next day after one small square. I even made these for my boyfriend and he broke up with me saying he couldn’t marry such a horrible cook. These blondes have to only ruined my face and waistline, but also my love life.
Honey if your boyfriend broke up with you it isn’t because of a dessert! If you broke out, perhaps you should start using some face wash…
Sounds like it was already on its way.
Wow! What a great recipe! These cleared up my acne, helped me lose those last five pounds, AND made my boyfriend propose! Thank you, Our Best Bites! You are awesome!!! 🙂
seriously “big debbie”!?! that was the stupidest comment i have ever seen. maybe your boyfriend broke up with you because your so overly dramatic.
I love you guys’ recipes. I was wondering if you have an easy way to convert them to metric measurements? I like to send recipes I like to penpals who live in other countries, and that would be awesomeness!
Jeff
After reading through the reviews and people having the dough to runny and not cooked in the middle I decided to use a tip I found on pinterest about how to melt the butter. A reviewer suggested whenever making a cookie like batter for bars or a crumble, not to melt the butter entirely because it will make you batter runny. Her suggestion was to melt it on low heat on the stove so the doesn’t doesn’t seperate. I however am not that patient so I found a different method. Just put you butter in the microwave and heat it on the defrost setting. Watch it carefully and when about half of the butter is melted take it out and whisk the rest of the butter into the melted portion. You should then have a light yellow creamy/melted butter (but not seperated…that is the key). That is how I approached this recipe given the previous comments. And my batter came out very cookie-ish, not runny at all. And they cooked evenly in the oven. And here is the best part……DELICIOUS, MMM-MMM GOOD, YUMMY, CAN’T STOP EATING THEM…EVEN THOUGH I AM FULL! So if any of you are hesitant or haven’t been able to get them to turn out…try this method for melting your butter and it might make all the difference!
So good!! I’ve made blondies before and used a different recipe, but I think this one will replace it. It was so easy and delicious. I used a little more flour since, being at high altitude, I usually need to do that and baked them about 30 minutes–and they were perfect! Dense, buttery, chewy. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
I made these and thought they were too sweet as well. And it takes A LOT for me to think something is too sweet. I also thought the baking time was off. I had to extend the baking time several times and in the end concluded they are just too doughy. With that much butter, baking chips and brown sugar having them be somewhat raw was too much. It did not make them good. Shame on me though, this is the only Blondie recipe I’ve made that didn’t call for baking powder/soda. I should have known. One tsp baking powder is a must so you’re not just eating really sweat cooking dough.
First day of school tomorrow! My baby is starting kindergarten and my big girl is in 3rd grade. These were requested for the first day of school lunch boxes. I love this recipe and always come back to it. Oldie but goodie!