Coconut Nips Blondies

My brother Jonathan is back in Bohol again and since we see him rarely already [but of course, Jovan's presence is 'rarer'], it becomes a great excuse for me to heat up the oven and make something special for the family to enjoy. And so I was browsing over Tastespotting as I do almost every single day to look for something simple but 'yum'. I was thinking brownies but I've been using cocoa powder pretty much lately, I wanted something else. And so I stumbled through these blondies from Honey and Butter that looked ever so pretty. However, I couldn't copy the recipe straight from her blog [I don't know why.] so I hopped on to her source Brown Eyed Baker's site and looked for the recipe there. I printed it right away, shopped for ingredients and baked it after dinner. 

I didn't have chocolate so I chose to use colorful Nips[candy coated chocolate] instead. And here they are.

[I baked them last night but opted to take the photos this morning for better lighting. :) ]

up close

This batch turned out really crispy and with just the right sweetness. [for me]

This is the original recipe found at Brown Eyed Baker's Site.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Yield: 16 two-inch-square bars

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Combine the flour and salt; set aside.

3. Stir together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.

4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until blended, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth even with a rubber spatula.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set in the center but still soft. Do not overbake. Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate, then cool completely before cutting into squares.

packed some goodies for my brother's friends in Cebu. :) 

[He's going back there later btw. :( ]