White Chocolate Chunk Blondies

They say blondes have more fun. I’m not so sure about that as a natural brunette. But it begs the question, do blondies have more fun?!? I have to say a resounding YES!!!!! I’m not a big fan of chocolate, and I definitely have to be in the mood. Which means brownies don’t typically beckon to me. But a golden, rich sweet non-chocolate version? Yes, please any day. Ok ok, you say, but this does say “chocolate”.

White chocolate can’t even really be considered chocolate in my personal opinion. Yes they come from the same plant, but a totally different process that has a huge variation in flavor. Whatever your chocolate preference, these white chocolate chunk blondies will hit the sweet spot!

This is a variation on my original pumpkin spice blondie recipe (fall is coming, don’t worry!) and it truly works with any baking “chip” you want to use. You could switch this up with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, or any other option you find at your store. The recipe is the same except for the last step in that case! So please feel free to alter to YOUR taste buds and please let me know how it goes!

The first step in nearly all my baking involves butter and sugar. Did you know there’s a reason for this? It traps air bubbles into the mixture and aids in the airy texture we all want in baked treats. This recipe uses only brown sugar, but you can also mix it up with dark brown sugar or regular granulated sugar. 

After you cream together the butter and sugar, you’ll add the eggs and vanilla. Here you find my secret weapon when making gluten free baked goods. I frequently convert regular recipes to gluten free ones using a cup for cup flour blend. The cup for cup concept is a bit misleading, as gluten free blends are typically a bit more dry than their wheat counterparts. In comes the extra egg YOLK. It’s just enough moisture to combat the difference in texture, and adds a lovely richness to any gluten free recipe.

Once you have goopy wet mixture, you’ll slowly add the flour mix until well blended. I used to swear by a hand mixer because I felt I had more control over the process. My husband convinced me to buy a stand mixer last year and it is the best thing ever! I can start the mix and walk away and do something else instead of fatiguing my arm! Once you’ve finished this step, you’ll have a very thick batter.

For the white chocolate chunks, you could purchase chips, although I’ve been unable to find any lately, as they are the fake vanilla variety. I definitely wanted the real deal, so I grabbed some ghirardelli baking bars. To get the chunks I recommend placing the broken up bars into a ziploc bag, putting parchment paper underneath, and smashing with a meat grinder. You could also use a regular hammer if your mind grinder has mysteriously disappeared! Once you’ve got perfect sized chunks, add them to the batter and mix gently.

You’ll put all of this into a lightly greased 9×13 pan. After 25 minutes at 350 they’ll be done! I know the impulse is going to be to dig right in, but I have to tell you to let these cool all the way before cutting them! They are still very gooey straight from the oven and tend to fall apart (no gluten as glue). Letting them cool down completely will yield beautiful square shaped blondies that everyone will rave about! Seriously my friends beg me to make these for gatherings!

This recipe is perfect for those pot luck events where you know you’ll be faced with 10 desserts you can’t eat. These white chocolate chunk blondies come to the rescue every time, and no one will even know they’re gluten free!

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out, and if you changed the flavor!!!!