
Pepperidge Farms is the OPI of cookie companies. Just like a certain raspberry shade tells you a girl is Berry Daring, certain flavor combos familiarize you with the residents of Sausalito, Montauk, Captiva and Santa Cruz. It makes total sense that they everyone in each respective town likes milk chocolate with macademia nut, milk chocolate chunks, dark chocolate brownie, and oatmeal raisin cookies, right?
I made blondies for the first time ever on Monday, using Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. Inspired by the Chesapeake Pepperidge Farm cookies I stare at daily while waiting for my morning coffee at the campus cafe, I added dark chocolate and toasted pecans.

All it takes is one bowl, one baking dish, one measuring cup and one measuring spoon. Practically no mess! Use your microwave to melt two sticks of butter then add two cups of brown sugar.

Beat until combined. It will look greasy and gross at first but don’t worry, it comes together. Beat in two eggs and two teaspoons vanilla extract plus a generous pinch of salt.

Add flour to make your batter blonde. Two cups, of course.
It would be hard not to memorize this recipe.

Two cups chocolate followed by your pecans, already toasted then cooled. I used all the pecans I had left, about a cup and a half. An even two cups would be just fine.

Pour into a buttered 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees until almost done in the center.

While they cook the kitchen smells like warm vanilla. Not butter, not chocolate, not cookie dough, just pure, unadulterated, amazing vanilla. Consider me converted.
After 35 minutes mine were set along the edges and gooey with warm chocolate. Not bad for one bowl and five minutes work time.
You can add whatever flavors you want to the basic blondie blueprint- espresso, white chocolate, dried cranberries, bourbon, etc. The Chesapeake blend was crunchy and a little too sugary. I should have know those imaginary Southerners would have a sweet tooth!
What would you put in your blondies?
xxSarah