Peppermint Blondies
Yes, it’s another cookie recipe. But can you blame me? I mean, it’s cookie season. Okay, every season is cookie season in this house. But this is the ultimate cookie season, because this is the time of year when there are cookie swaps and cookie bags and plenty of gifts that are in the cookie mileu. Let’s be honest. From the day after Thanksgiving until New Year’s, every day is cookie day. Which means you have at least 30 days where you could have a totally different cookie every single day and never have the same one twice. I don’t do that but I could… and maybe next year I will. But that’s beside the point. The point is that this is the time of year you want to have a variety of cookie recipes at your fingertips so you can dole out the cookies without worrying if you handed out the same cookie last month, last week or yesterday. Besides, a variety of cookies makes for a much more interesting holiday season, don’t you think?
So, this time I made some peppermint blondies. I love blondies. They’re pretty much chocolate chip cookies in bar form, which means they’re so much easier to make. Yes, you still have to take the time to brown the butter (because browned butter chocolate chip cookies are the best chocolate chip cookies) and mix up all the ingredients, but instead of scooping out spoonful after spoonful of cookie dough onto a baking sheet, you get to pour all the batter into a large brownie pan and bake them all together at the same time. It’s a nice alternative to the same great, chewy cookie without the extra patchke.
This year I decided to make my favorite blondies, but made one small change to keep with the spirit of the season: I added peppermint. Now, I know peppermint may seem like an odd choice for a chocolate chip cookie, but why? One of the best flavor combinations out there is chocolate and peppermint. I love that combo. And I’m not alone. Red and white tins of peppermint bark are sold at every department store across the nation (and beyond). Peppermint mochas can be found in every coffee shop and chocolate covered peppermints have been a staple since waaaay before I was born. So, I figured why wouldn’t it be good in a chocolate chip cookie. I’m so happy I took the gamble because the final result were sweet, moist bars filled with chocolate chips and a hint of mint.
While they were delicious all on their own, I wanted to make them a little more festive, so I added a simple pink buttercream and white sprinkles. I don’t know what it is about pink and white, but those two colors scream two holidays to me: Valentine’s Day (of course) and Christmas. Plus, putting a stack of pretty pink blondies on any holiday table immediately makes it more festive, don’t you think? I do, which is why these pretty pink blondies will definitely be part of my holiday baking moving forward.
Ingredients
- 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- Place 12 tablespoons of butter in a small pan and melt over medium-low heat, swirling the whole time until it turns a golden brown and develops a nutty smell. (Make sure you watch it closely, otherwise your brown butter will turn to burned butter and we don’t want that.) Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Beat the melted butter and brown sugar together until combined. Add the eggs, beating after each one, until combined. Add the vanilla and peppermint and stir to combine.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, until just combined. Fold in the the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- While the blondies bake, make the frosting. Beat the remaining butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add the milk until combined. Add a drop or two of pink food coloring until you get the desired pink color. Set aside.
- Remove the blondies from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Spread the prepared frosting over the top, then scatter with white sprinkles. Cut into rectangles and serve.
