One Bowl Baking
Peanut Butter Reese's Pieces Blondies

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

These peanutty bar cookies are jammed with Reese's Pieces on top for an extra pop of chocolate-PB flavor.

About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of the new cookbook One Bowl Baking: Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts (Running Press, October 2013), and available at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell's, The Book Depository. Watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. Follow her Chocoholic, Chicken Dinners, Singapore Stories and Let Them Eat Cake columns on Serious Eats. Follow Yvonne on Twitter as she explores Singapore.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: makes one 8-inch pan
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Special equipment: 8- by 8-inch pan

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups Reese's Pieces candy

Procedures

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line bottom and two sides of 8- by 8-inch pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing ends to overhand sides. Lightly grease pan.

  2. Place butter in a large microwaveable bowl and microwave on low power until just starting to melt, about 30 seconds. Stir in sugar and salt until combined. Stir in peanut butter, then egg and vanilla. Add flour and baking soda to the bowl, then stir until combined. Stir in peanuts.

  3. Spread into pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with Reese's Pieces. Bake until golden and just set, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan, about an hour. Lift blondies out of pan and slice.