The Ingredient You Need for Richer, Nuttier Blondies

Blondies have never been my thing. In the realm of bar cookies, I'd choose a brownie any day. But today's recipe made me reconsider. Unlike a brownie where the chocolate is always the star, if you look at a blondie as a blank canvas, you can add in flavors that will really shine.

In their traditional form, a blondie is a bit one note: Sweet and brown sugary, tasting like butterscotch with a nice crackly top. Today's recipe takes the classic up a notch with a hefty scoop of cookie butter, a spread with the consistency of nut butter that's made of crushed speculaas cookies. The cookie butter gives the blondies a hint of warm spice (think: clove, cinnamon, and allspice) and nutty flavor.

I add a cup of chocolate chips to my batter, using a mix of semisweet and white chocolate. This is all about personal preference, though—and you can use any chocolate you like. Bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or even butterscotch chips would be delicious. Next time I bake these, I'll also add in some toasted, chopped pistachios for crunch, so feel free to add some nuts, if you're so inclined.

My biggest piece of advice is to not to overbake these bars. They should be just set in the center. I like them slightly on the underbaked side—which, as bonus, allows them to freeze nicely, remaining fudge-y in texture. If you want to double the recipe, you can easily do that and bake it in a 9 x 13-inch pan.

If you can't find cookie butter, try using nut butter and adding 1/4 cup more sugar to compensate for the sweetness level. Most grocery stores have cookie butter these days, or you can order it online. I, however, use Biscoff brand. They've got some excellent recipes in their archives, which is where I found this recipe.

Now, brownies will always have a top spot on my dessert list, but these certainly are stiff competition.

Have you baked with cookie butter before? Tell us about it in the comments.

Posie Harwood is a writer, photographer, and food stylist based in New York. You can read more of her writing here.