Description
These milk chocolate mocha blondies are extra flavorful with espresso powder, butter, brown sugar, milk chocolate, and a hefty dose of vanilla extract. Add an extra egg yolk for the best texture. Review recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 14 Tablespoons (196g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled (see note)
- 3 or 4 teaspoons espresso powder (see note)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (1 heaping cup) milk chocolate (discs, chopped bars, or chips)
Espresso Glaze
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 Tablespoon warm water
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch square pan or line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished blondies out (makes cutting easier). Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and espresso powder together. Whisk in the brown sugar until combined, then whisk in the egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk or stir until combined. Batter is pretty heavy and thick, so I usually use a silicone spatula. Fold in the chocolate.
- Evenly spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out *mostly* clean. A couple moist crumbs are ok, as long as it’s not wet. Remove from the oven and cool blondies completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze: Using a fork, mix the espresso powder and warm water together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and milk/cream. For thinner glaze, whisk in more milk/cream. For thicker glaze, whisk in more confectioners’ sugar.
- Drizzle over cooled blondies. Lift the blondies out using the parchment paper overhang on the sides. Cut into squares.
- Cover and store leftover blondies (with glaze) at room temperature for up to 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. Blondies without glaze are fine covered at room temperature for a week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: It’s easiest to freeze the bars without the glaze topping, then glaze before serving. To freeze, cool blondies completely. Cut into squares and layer between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before glazing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula
- Butter: You need 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp of butter. I typically use 1 cup (16 Tbsp) in my blondies, but reduced it down to 14 Tbsp here. With 1 cup, the blondies can sometimes taste greasy.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder is like instant espresso. You can find it in the coffee aisle or purchase it online. Use it in both the blondie batter and glaze. Use 4 teaspoons (recommended) in the blondie batter for rich coffee flavor or 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) for a milder flavor. You can substitute instant coffee granules (not ground coffee) if needed. If using instant coffee, I recommend using 4 and 1/2 teaspoons in the blondie batter and for the glaze, use 1 teaspoon dissolved in 1 Tablespoon warm water.
- Milk Chocolate:Â I used Guittard Organic Milk Chocolate Baking Wafers in the pictured blondies. I found them at my regular grocery store. Feel free to use milk chocolate chips or chopped Hershey’s bars. Instead of milk chocolate, use the same amount of white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, or dark chocolate. Chips, chunks, wafers, or 2 chopped 4-ounce bars.
- Best Pan to Use: A 9-inch square pan is best. An 8-inch square pan is a little too small. You can spread the batter into a 9×13-inch pan for thinner blondies. Do your best to spread the batter to each edge of the pan. Bake time is around 28-30 minutes.