Home. After spending the summer travelling through other homes - mine in Karachi, my brothers' in Oxford, a friends in London and a beautiful apartment in Paris I find myself rethinking what home means. Clearly, I have been thinking hard and not blogging quite enough, but on to cheerier things, like Peanut Butter Blondies 😉

My Favourite: Baking

This recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies is ever so slightly adapted from one of my favourite cookbooks of all time "Baking" by Dorie Greenspan. When I first moved to Toronto almost ten years ago I found myself friendless in an unfamiliar city and without *gasp* google maps. So I did what I could, I wrote directions down in a notebook, searched out independent coffee shops, and familiarised myself with the bookstores. There was a big Indigo at the corner of Richmond and John and it became one of my Toronto go tos. It was there that I discovered this cookbook. Although I would read it there many times over I couldn't bring my unemployed self to buy it. That's where my friend stepped in for which I am forever grateful. Given how well used it is, my family and friends in Toronto are too 🙂

This summer the girls and I were away for 44 days (or so my husband tells me). There were blissful weeks in Karachi filled with food, family, and joy. There was a whirlwind UK trip in which we also spent 2 days in Paris, 2 in London and a few in beautiful Oxford with my brothers family. Much can be said about our time away, but I am reminded that I apparently write a food blog and not a version of dear diary.

Consider yourselves spared folks. I will say this much, which is that although I didn't bake a lot on this vacay if I had these rich addictive peanut butter blondies w their milk chocolate chunks would have made the cut. The combination of almost salty peanut butter with nuggets of chocolate is too dazzlingly delicious to resist. They are absolutely perfect for picnic baskets & since the first week of Fall has brought summer weather with it (!!!) it would be a crying shame not to enjoy these outside somewhere in the warmth of the sun surrounded by the festive fall trees.

Actually I kid when I say picnic basket, I am more of a Ziploc kinda girl. However you pack them they're a delicious treat, the kind of yummy after school pick me up that is perfect with a tall glass of cold milk or even late at night warmed ever so slightly for optimum meltiness. Mmmm...

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Peanut Butter Blondies

Author: Sarah Mir

Ingredients

1 cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup peanut butter not natural
5 tbsp room temp butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped peanuts
⅔ cup milk chocolate chunks/chips
¼ cup peanut butter chips can use additional chocolate chips instead

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep a square baking tin with parchment paper or buttered foil
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
Beat the peanut butter and butter together till luxuriously smooth
Add sugars and beat well for about 1-2 minutes
In go the eggs one by one, beat 30 seconds between additions then add the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the flour and beat until just combined.
Add the peanuts + chocolate/peanut butter chunks/chips and mix just enough to disperse, i.e. a few seconds.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, just until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Give it 5 minutes then remove the parchment/ foil from the pan and set the blondies aside on a rack to cool down
Cut into squares and serve