Everything Blondies

I can't believe I'm done with college.  Well, almost done.  Classes ended this friday and now I only have a couple papers and some paintings to work on and then I'll be finished.  I can't believe I'll be moving out of the house that I've lived in for the past two years.  It's definitely a weird time to say the least.

Anyway, since my roommates and I will be moving out of here in a couple weeks, no one's really been on top of grocery shopping.  We don't have milk or eggs as of two or three days ago but there's still a more than fair amount of food in our pantry and fridge.  

I was craving brownies last night and craving baking.  It's been too long.  But instead of baking I hung out with my friends and the urge passed; it came back today though and I decided to make some blondies.  I didn't really want to go the vegan route so luckily I had some egg whites in the fridge.  

These blondies were a total improv though.  I looked at a few recipes online but just felt like experimenting.  I had some ingredients I felt like throwing in and some overripe bananas I wanted off the counter so I worked with what I had and added a little bit of everything.

They came out quite well too, and overall I'm really pleased with them.  They're super moist and chewy with pockets of slightly melty chocolate chips.  However, despite them being tasty, the banana flavor seems to dominate almost "everything."  I wish I could taste the maple syrup, the peanut butter, and the coconut a little bit more so of course,  I think the recipe could be tweaked.  It's not perfect, but the texture is wonderful. 

I could also see these working well if the bananas were replaced with yogurt and perhaps if more peanut butter and coconut were added or maybe even some nuts.  But I'm still very happy with them because they are a healthier version of blondies that doesn't sacrifice any flavor or texture.  

They only have a half stick of butter in them and I could even see using a little less.  You could also use half whole wheat flour instead of just a quarter cup (there was no rhyme or reason to that decision).  I think the recipe is relatively forgiving so if you try any other combinations, let me know how they turn out!

Everything Blondies

Adapted from various sources

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (plus more for the pan), softened

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup grade b maple syrup

1/4 cup liquid egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch ground cinnamon

1/4 cup unsweetned flaked coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8x8 brownie pan with butter.  Cream butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl.  Mash bananas in another medium bowl.  Add maple syrup, egg whites and vanilla to banana mixture and combine.  Then add both flours, baking powder and cinnamon to the banana mixture and combine well.  Add banana/flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar and mix until well combined.  Add coconut, chocolate chips and peanut butter and mix until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared brownie pan and bake for about 28 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.