Walnut Chocolate Chip Blondies

Last week before Christmas and the kids are practically levitating with excitement. School let out Friday and the house immediately descended into the happy chaos of winter break: pajamas until noon, hot chocolate at ten a.m., Christmas movies on repeat, and the constant background hum of four children trying to guess what is in the wrapped presents under the tree. Justin has already shaken every box. Tyler has examined the shapes. Amber is pretending not to care while clearly cataloguing every package. Josie asked Dave if she could open just one, just one, please Dad, and Dave said no and then looked at me with the panicked expression of a man who almost said yes.

I did my Christmas baking this week: two batches of the chocolate sheet cake because I need one for Christmas Eve and one for Christmas Day, because this family goes through cake the way normal families go through bread. I also made pecan pie, which is Larry favorite, and apple pie, which is Gayle favorite, and a batch of dinner rolls for Christmas dinner, made from scratch because Christmas dinner rolls do not come from a can. Not in this house. Not on Christmas.

Christmas Eve we will have the traditional supper: beef stew, bread, and pie. It is simple on purpose. The meal is not the point on Christmas Eve. The point is being together, sitting around the table with the tree lit in the corner and the candles on the mantel and the feeling of the whole year coming to a close, the good and the bad and the hard and the beautiful, all of it distilled into one evening, one meal, one prayer, one family.

I wrapped presents Wednesday night after the kids were asleep. Dave helped, which means Dave held the tape while I did the actual wrapping, because Dave cannot wrap a present to save his life. He wraps like he is packaging engine parts: functional, efficient, ugly. I wrap like a woman who has been wrapping presents for thirty years: neat corners, smooth seams, bows that stay. It is the one domestic art I am vain about, and I am not apologizing.

The tree is up. The lights are on. The fudge is in the tin. The cake is baked. The presents are wrapped. We are ready. Christmas, come in. We have been waiting for you.

With the tree lit and the fudge in the tin and Christmas finally, truly here, I wanted something for us to snack on through the wrapping chaos and the quiet moments both—something easy enough that I wasn’t spending another hour in the kitchen, but good enough to feel like a treat. Blondies have always been my answer to that particular need: one bowl, one pan, no fuss, and they disappear fast enough that you know you got it right. These Walnut Chocolate Chip Blondies are what I made, and they were exactly right for the week.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy lifting.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Build the batter. In a large bowl, stir the melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth and glossy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined—do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Pan and top. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips over the top.
Bake. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The center will look slightly underdone—that is correct.
Cool and cut. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, at least 1 hour. Lift out using the parchment overhang and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Walnut Chocolate Chip Blondies — Two Batches, Because One Is Never Enough at Christmas