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Dark Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

Blondies, as I have mentioned before, are a kind of bar cookie that spans the gap between a regular chocolate chip-type cookie and a brownie. They are typically made with a plain (i.e. nonchocolate) dough that has plenty of mixed in chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruits, but have a dense and fudgy texture that is most often associated with brownies.

My inspiration to make blondies was from a picture that Joe had up on Culinary in the Country. In his batch of blondies, which included cinnamon and chocolate chips, it was easy to see the signature texture of the blondie – the moist and almost fudgy center that sets them apart from a regular cookie. I based my recipe on his, using just a touch less butter and sugar, but still excluding a leavening agent (much as I did in making my Peppermint Cookies and Cream Brownies to prevent the batter from loosing it rich and dense texture during baking. I also used my Baker’s Edge pan, and as expected, each piece turned out to be perfectly done with it.

The blondies turned out to be chewy and delicious, and while they were not nearly as fudgy as brownies, they still managed to give the impression that you’re eating something more than just a cookie. They’re perfect with a big glass of milk. The focal point of this batch was the large amount of chopped dark chocolate-covered cranberries that I mixed into the dough. I ended up adding a handful of extra dried cranberries for some extra tartness and if you don’t have chocolate-covered berries, go ahead and split the amount given below between chopped dark chocolate and plain dried cranberries.

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Blondies
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate covered cranberries, chopped
(or 1 1/2 cups of a mix of chopped dark chocolate and dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease the Baker’s Edge pan (or a 9×13-inch baking dish).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Stir in flour and salt, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain, then add in dark chocolate covered cranberries. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake for about 27-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is a light golden brown. If using a 9×13, the brownies may be slightly thinner, so be sure to check them early; it is better to check once or twice than to have overdone blondies.
Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes about 20 blondies.

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16 Comments
  • JEP
    December 12, 2007

    Wow—I did not know choc covered cranberries existed. I have heard so many praises for bakers edge & really want one, too!

  • Joe
    December 12, 2007

    I love these changes Nic! I’m glad to see the butter and sugar can be reduced and have them still turn out well – I have to find me some dark chocolate cranberries!

  • Sasha Cohen
    December 12, 2007

    Hi there…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Wednesday . Sasha Cohen

  • Astra Libris
    December 13, 2007

    Oooooh, where do you find chocolate covered cranberries? They sound divine, especially in this recipe!

  • Paige Davis
    December 13, 2007

    Hey!…Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts ! it was a great Thursday .

  • Nicole
    December 13, 2007

    I picked the dark chocolate covered cranberries up at Trader Joe’s actually. And I ate a good number of them before I was halfway through mixing this dough!

  • Aparna
    December 17, 2007

    I make blondies often as my daughter prefers them to brownies. Nice variation.

  • Julia Race
    February 7, 2008

    I love the sound of all your recipes, I am always looking for new ones for cookies.
    My problem is I dont know what amount is a “cup” how do I know if my cups are of the same size as your cups, Could you please advise. thank you Julia

  • Julia Race
    February 7, 2008

    Sorry didnt write my email address correctly in the last post

  • Cecilia
    March 26, 2008

    i tried making these and they didn’t bake well. is there supposed to be baking soda or powder in this?

  • Jamie
    January 11, 2009

    These look scrumptious. I love blondies, love chocolate chips and I always have dried cranberries on hand. Yummy!

  • Life in Asia
    March 3, 2010

    Yummy, trying this tomorrow and will share it with my friends and take their thoughts on this recipe.

  • Eileen
    November 14, 2010

    What a great recipe. I love the combination of dark chocolate & cranberries. My husband and I ate these up!

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