Easy One Bowl Nutella Blondies from Cake Babe

Easy One Bowl Nutella Blondies - made July 4, 2024 from Cake Babe 

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces Nutella

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together melted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
4. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk for 30 seconds then add the vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
5. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined. Fold in chocolate chips until evenly disbursed.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
7. Drop the Nutella by spoonfuls over the batter and use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella through the batter.
8. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a non-Nutella part comes out clean. Do not overbake.

I have mixed feelings about this bar cookie. On the face of it, it lived up to its claim of being easy to make and using only one bowl. But I wonder if the original recipe directions and ingredients were correct? By that I mean the ingredient list includes the spices but the directions don't mention actually adding them to the batter.

I added them to the directions here to avoid confusion but in hindsight, I think this would've been better without the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Not just because I'm not a fan of nutmeg (cinnamon is fine) but this is better just as a straightforward Nutella blondie. Nutella and a brown sugar blondie stand well on their own and don't need an additional flavor profile of spices. Not to me anyway.

I baked this for exactly 25 minutes and they were fine, not overbaked, but they were cakey. If I'd taken them out a couple of minutes earlier, they might've had a more "fudgy" texture, which I would've preferred.

All in all, this was good but I'd give the nod of the Nutella-Swirled Chocolate Chip Blondie recipe from Averie Cooks as more of a favorite.