These blondies are a jam-packed with things that make me very happy.
A super soft, buttery, brown sugar base, loaded with peanut butter chips, and swirled with Nutella.
I used my go-to blondie recipe that never lets me down. The batter comes together in one bowl, in 5 minutes, without using a mixer.
That’s especially important when you don’t have a dishwasher, and each and every dirty dish counts.
I’m on vacation and don’t want anything fussy or that takes more than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Although I sometimes can’t find tomatoes or cream in Aruba, I spotted a bag of peanut butter chips in the local grocery store. Sold. Never mind that they were $6 dollars. I love peanut butter, what can I say.
Use chocolate chips if you can’t find peanut butter chips, or if you’re feeling more frugal.
Everything tastes better with swirls, especially swirls of Nutella. I was going to use peanut butter, but wanted a pop of chocolate. You don’t even have to dip your fingers in it for this recipe.
If you don’t have Nutella, try Homemade Peanut Butter or Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter. The recipe is highly adaptable, another reason I love it.
While they bake, the butter and brown sugar caramelize, and the bars take on caramel and vanilla flavors.
They’re supremely soft, moist, and dense. No chemical leaveners such as baking powder or soda are used, and you’ll just want to sink your teeth into these softies.
Mine are especially soft and gooey because my kitchen here is un-airconditioned. It was 88F and very humid when these pictures were taken. Everything melts and gets very soft. In more normal conditions, your blondies won’t be as soft and melty.
The peanut butter chips are the perfect flavor nuggets, adding bursts of peanut butter flavor, without overtaking the flavor and making them taste like peanut butter blondies.
Not that that would be a bad thing. There’s a recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies with Nutella Swirls in my cookbook and they’re wonderful.
These were so good. And a little messy.
And that’s what napkins are for.
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Nutella-Swirled Peanut Butter Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- about 1/3 cup Nutella (Homemade Peanut Butter or Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Stir in the peanut butter chips.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Evenly add and swirl the Nutella. To create the marbled pattern shown, drizzle Nutella over batter in 5 wide, evenly spaced, parallel lines, each spanning the length of the pan. Like 5 rows of long train tracks. Rotate pan 90-degrees. With a toothpick, starting at the top of the pan, “draw” 4 or 5 evenly spaced lines through the Nutella. You’re dragging the toothpick perpendicularly through the first set of lines to create the marbling.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Bars shown in photographs were in 90F Caribbean heat and humidity, and very soft and melty. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What’s your favorite fast and easy go-to dessert? Favorite way to use Nutella or peanut butter (chips)?
How do I dive into a pan of these??
Cmon down to Aruba, that’s how :)
I like soft and melty and these look awesome! Nutella always hits the sweet spot :)
O M G.
These look heaven like. My mouth is watering!!!!! amazing!
I will put these on my to do list – yummmmm.
I would love you to come over and say hey on my blog if you have a spare could of minutes?
molliebylett.blogspot.co.uk
Im a singer/songwriter so its all things music fashion yummy food yummy places and travel!
Warm wishes!
Mollie xoxo
We don’t have a dishwasher either, so YAY for 1 bowl for blondies haha. ppp and Nutella and PB together? Everyone in this house will be happy!
It’s nice when everyone is happy, isn’t it :)
Oh my goodness, these would make me happy too!
$6 for a bag of peanut butter chips? That’s insane!
Well they’re usually almost $5 in San Diego so not that much more here!
Being a huge fan of blondies myself, these Nutella-swirled babies are on my to-make list now! Pinning!
Thanks for pinning!
Peanut butter and nutella? What a divine combination!
Hi Averie…clearly…another creation falling right into the “must-make” Averie PB classic section!!!
This is HUGELY off-topic (well…ok…we’re talkin’ PB bars!)…but as peanut butter chips are difficult to locate in my neck -of-the-woods in France…I was wistfully thinking of the peanut butter bars that were served in cut rectangles in the high school cafeterias in the U.S.. Have you ever heard of/attempted these. You are the PB MasterChef for me….so I was thinking if ANYONE has the key to this mystery…it is “thyself”!!!..I remember them being chewy, full of roasted peanut taste…and quite simple and straight-forward in their pea nutty-ness…the end pieces on the big cafeteria sheets were the best!…Would this be termed a blond peanut butter brownie in todays world?
Anyway….THIS looks amazing…Nutella is QUITE easy to come by in Europe (it’s everywhere) …although I am partial to your homemade peanut butter with the honey-roasted peanuts….I might “go that route” here to highlight the marvel that is peanut butter, and use either white chocolate chips for the non-existent pb chips…or even pieces of salted caramel or toffee.
Thank you …always for your detailed instructions….and explanations of how various ingredients “work” together…taste/texture variance in finished products..etc…It ALL helps…It is ALL appreciated….very much.
Enjoy them!
First, I hope you are enjoying your trip!
Second, oh my goodness gracious, these will knock my socks off. I can’t wait!
That nutella stuff is amazing and addictive at the same time! I wish I can get my hands on its giant jar version! Wonder anyone know where I can get that from? xx
I actually buy store-brand Nutella when I can and sometimes you can get lucky and find a jumbo jar :)
Oh my goodness, these look incredible!! I guess I am out of the loop…did not know you were in Aruba. Lucky ducky! Of course, I have been busy busy for the past few days (haven’t been able to look at your gorgeous recipes!!) but these look simply divine. Since Seraphim can’t do peanut butter or nutella either for that matter (no nuts) think sunbutter would hold up and I could use chocolate chips or butterscotch? I would love to try these! Have a wonderful vacation, Averie!!
I actually replied to another gal who’s daughter has an allergy before you and said: Replace the PB chips with choc chips. If she’s allergic to the hazelnuts in Nutella too (or is it just a peanut allergy?) but replace that with Sunflower Seed butter, Hot Fudge, or just melted chocolate. Such a flexible recipe, and can easily work around nut allergies!
So yes to choc or butterscotch chips and yes to SFSButter!
Hope you guys are doing great!
We are great, Averie, thanks! I hope you are all well, too! I am so making these TOMORROW!!! :-)
When I worked at Disney I would come home from work and just eat spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella straight from the jar. Blondies would have been so much easier…. plus my roommates would have found blondies more normal.
I bet these would be incredible with browned butter!
They would be great with browned butter! Sort of a play on these! https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/01/browned-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-cups.html
And you coming home from work with the spoons…I can relate :)
1. These looks UHHH-mazing
2. Aruba?! Have a FANTASTIC vacation! You deserve it! :)
Thanks, Ashley! We come twice a year and it’s definitely a working vacation. Blogging continues 6-7 days a week. Mama’s got to pay for this little adventure :)
That gooey center. I’m fainting over here Averie. If only I could charter a plane to Aruba, I’d be on your doorstep before you could bake me a new batch.
LOL – well I want your bars. Wish we could trade!
Oh my, I love Blondie’s so much and I can’t wait to try them like this with nutella. Yum!!