Brunettes vs. Blondes

For many years there has been an endless dispute between what is better: blondes or brunettes? No…I’m not talking about hair color, I mean blondies, also known as vanilla brownies, versus chocolate brownies. For countless months, Gilly’s has been team brownie. I mean how could I not be? Chocolate is my life source. In my opinion, there is nothing better than coming home after a long day and biting into a warm, gooey brownie that soothes your soul. Brownies ensure me that no matter how bad my day was, they will restore my faith in the world.

But now let’s talk about blondies… Every Thursday, my friend Victoria comes over to watch TV. This usually revolves around some Shonda Rhimes drama, chip and salsa and pizza. I always bake something for the occasion. Earlier in the week, I asked Vic what she wanted and she said something like cake-batter. So obviously I thought about some funfetti cupcakes, but hesitated as I had scheduled other cupcakes for the week. She then suggested cake batter brownies.

I hesitated. What? I had never even thought of the idea! The best thing about being a baker is having your friends serve as a source of inspiration for your recipes. Victoria single handedly stimulated this recipe.

My mother loves blondies. Every time I am home she always requests two things…carrot cake or “a really good blondie”. Blondies are often overlooked in baking as they resemble a chocolate-chip cookie bar. Blondies differ in a manner however, as they are made with brown sugar, opposed to granulated white sugar. While this recipe is not entirely a traditional blondie, it still represents the essence.

This recipe too, is so easy. Like freakishly easy. I think they look a total of an hour and 30 minutes were dedicated to cooling. The recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction and like I said, they are so simple. This recipe is perfect for you to quickly whip up and bring to a party. They are vibrant and delicious.

You need: 1 box of yellow cake mix.

When I started Gilly’s I was adamant about not utilizing box mixes. Once you make the real thing, you don’t jump to go back to the old. I did have a change of heart though. Box mixes are great. They’re perfect when you want to practice your frosting skills, without wasting your ingredients. Box cake mixes make sturdy cakes which are awesome for practice. Long story short, I always have a box mix on hand.

Next you’ll need vegetable or canola oil, an egg, ½ cup of milk and sprinkles and white chocolate chips. I did not have any white chocolate chips so I added regular semi-sweet in. To reduce the overwhelming chocolate taste, I added some vanilla extract as well.

This recipe requires one bowl and it’s just some heavy hand-mixing. Use those muscles and you’ll be rewarded with a treat! Below is the recipe.

Bake these up!

Cake Batter Blondies

recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 -1/2 cup milk (less is better)
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips; or semisweet

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Spray 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk slowly. You want to cake batter to be as dense & thick as possible. Mix in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.  Pour into prepared baking pan, sprinkle a few more sprinkles on top, and bake for 25-30 minutes until edges are just turning brown.
3. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes so the center sets, before cutting into squares.