Blondie-Covered Brownies

When I was younger, for a fleeting moment, I desperately wanted a twin.

It may have stemmed from my absurd fascination with Mary-Kate and Ashley, but we won’t go into how I was grossly obsessed with them, wore their clothes, sang their songs, and hung up pictures of them on my walls.

I’ve already said too much.

Anyway, I wanted a twin because the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap had just come out and I thought it’d be sototallyrad to have a twin to get into twinsie shenanigans with, like swapping identities to trick our dumb parents who supposedly wouldn’t tell the difference. And also, I had this notion that twins had the same thoughts and personalities, so inevitably if I hated some meanie girl on the playground, my twin would, too, and we could plot revenge tactics together using Twin ESP.

However, when I got older, I was kind of glad I didn’t have a twin. I like just being me. And plus, if there were two of me, it’d be kind of scary. It would truly be a situation of “too much sexy.” I don’t want to make others jealous.

Instead, I’m just fine with having an alter-ego. Like Bruce Wayne. Or Beyonce. Just call me Sasha Fierce, Batman.

Did you know brownies have an alter-ego, too? If you thought lil ol’ brownie was alone in this world full of bars, think again. This all-American sweetheart has a sexy sister you have to meet: blondie. And if you haven’t, you need to get with the world. We’re in 2012 now. Internet is like air, but you pay for it. Also, brownies aren’t just brown anymore. Or chocolate-y. They have a sweet, sassy brown-sugary side too (one I actually prefer over their ever-popular brownie sister).

Usually, this cruel world makes you choose brownies or blondies. I decided that, with modern times comes modern invention. Enter the Blondie-Covered Brownies. If you ever wanted to punch someone who said “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too!” in a snobby voice, this is your metaphorical left hook.

Wham bam. Brownie and blondie.

Welcome to 2012.

Blondie-Covered Brownies *inspired by CakeSpy’s recipe 

For the Brownies:

3 sticks butter, melted
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 & 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

For the Blondies:

2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Liberally grease a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. First, prepare your brownie layer. In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour + salt with a whisk; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter + sugar until combined yet gritty. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add the cocoa mixture, slowly incorporating into the batter, until batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan in an even layer.
3. Bake the brownie layer for 20 minutes. While it’s baking, prepare your blondies.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder + salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter + brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated. Batter will be very thick.
5. Remove the brownies from the oven at the 20-minute mark. Adjust your oven temp to 350 degrees F. Brownies will just barely be set, so be careful. Using a ladle, spoon the blondie batter on top of the brownie layer. Try to cover it as completely as possible. It’s okay if a little peeks out, but generally you want it on there pretty even. Don’t spread too much; the brownie layer underneath isn’t set enough.
6. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean. Cool the bars a little, then pop ’em in the fridge for about an hour to set completely. Store these pups airtight, at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Holy molycakes. These bars are AHHHHWESOME. Yeah, you read it right–over four sticks of butter in these bad boys, but they’re oh-so worth the extra steps (and calories) to make ’em. The brownie layer is so dense and fudgy–perfectly chocolatey. And the blondie layer is sweet and slightly salty. Together, the brown sugar paired against the cocoa is to-die for. I especially liked them warm 🙂

Enjoy these bad boys!

xo, Hayley