Valentine Day Blondies

Now, I found this recipe a month or so before Valentine’s Day, and I just couldn’t wait for the week to get here so I could make them at the appropriate time. So finally, this week gets here, and I make the recipe. It was pretty easy to make, thank goodness. The recipe:

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup to 1 1/3 cup Valentine M&M’s

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, and mix well. Cool slightly. (I cooled for like, two minutes) Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add flour mixture, little bit at a time, mixing well. Add 2/3 cup M&M’s. Spread in 9x9x2 pan. Sprinkle 1/3-2/3 cup M&M’s (your discretion) on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

The recipe was easy enough, but when I pulled it out of the oven, it was still jiggly and the toothpick I inserted didn’t come out clean, so I baked for a bit longer, like 4 minutes. Then when I checked again, it still jiggled, but the toothpick was clean, so I took it out. And as soon as I took it out, I noticed that it had a really strong vanilla scent. That’s when I realized that the amount of vanilla the recipe calls for is the most I’ve ever seen added to anything. I waited for it to cool down completely, and then when I cut into the bars, they were so gooey it barely cut. I was disappointed in that. They were delicious though, but there was definitely a strong vanilla after taste. So maybe the original gal I got this from meant to write teaspoon, but it came out as tablespoon? I’ll never know. I forgot to snap a pic of them after I got them after the oven, so you’ll have to be pleased with this pic of them going in: