Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Blondies with Caramel Drizzle

I think the blondie is underrated.  Brownies get so much air time, and with good reason:  they're delicious.  But the blondie is a rarer bird:  it's a subtle, delicious treat, and a good one can rival any brownie for gooey, sweet satisfaction.  And what's better than a regular blondie?  A gluten-free blondie of course!

A simple blondie recipe is just like a brownie but minus the chocolate and plus a lot of brown sugar.  The great thing about it is you can add just about anything to the basic batter to make it more interesting.  If you've read pretty much any of my blog you may have noticed I'm a wee bit obsessed with caramel and chocolate.  In my opinion, it's a combination that can't be beat.  So of course I like to add them to my blondie recipe.

You can use myriad other mix-ins (nuts, white chocolate chips, chopped peanut butter cups, other candies...), and put anything on top.  For this recipe, however, you only need chocolate chips and caramel sauce (I used some dulce de leche I'd made earlier from this recipe), and pretty much everything else you'll already have on hand.

 

These blondies are so easy and really come together in a snap, so they're great to make for a party.  I use melted butter and cook it down a bit with the sugar, because it both caramelizes the sugar and browns the butter.  The end result of this small extra step is a lovely, toasted flavor in the blondies that you just don't get without it.

Happy blondie-ing!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter (cold)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free baking flour blend (with xanthan gum)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup gluten-free caramel sauce (such as dulce de leche) for drizzling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish and line with parchment paper so that it overhangs the edges on 2 sides. 
2. Cut the butter into pats and place in a medium saucepan.  Melt slowly over low heat, and stir in the brown and white sugar.
3. Stir and cook the sugar and butter until smooth and it begins to dissolve, about 5 minutes.  It will lighten in color slightly.  
4. Transfer the butter/sugar mixture to a mixing bowl and add in the vanilla.  Stir.
5. Add the eggs and mix after each addition (I usually make this with a whisk and don't even bother dirtying an electric mixer - that's how easy it is!).
6. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder.  
7. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk or mix until smooth.
8. Add in the chocolate chips and stir again.
9. Pour the batter into the baking ban and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is dry.
10. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then cut the non-lined edges away from the pan with a sharp knife and using the parchment edges, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  
11. Once totally cool, cut into squares and drizzle caramel sauce or dulce de leche over them on the rack (place some parchment underneath the rack for an easier cleanup).  Makes about 20 blondies.