Pistachio & Chocolate Chip Blondies

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After my last success of pairing chocolate and pistachios, I racked my brain for other ways to use them.  My first idea was brownies, but after more contemplation I felt like the strong cocoa would overpower the delicate taste of the pistachios.  I did like the idea of a chewy bar like brownies, though, because I feel like the soft pistachio would work well there.  That got me thinking about blondies, the brownie’s lighter non-chocolate cousin!  Turns out that was the way to go!  I could get the chewy texture of a brownie and get a little bit of chocolate by adding chocolate chips without the cocoa totally overpowering those lovely pistachios.  Perfect!

Time for blondies!

As with most things, this recipe starts by preheating your oven.  Now put the sugar in a large bowl.

Then melt the butter and pour it over the sugar.  Next stir them together until the mixture is smooth.  Let this cool until it’s room temp to ensure the eggs don’t scramble when you add them later.

In a smaller bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Then whisk the eggs and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture.

Fold in the flour and other dry ingredients until it is almost completely mixed.

Now add the pistachios and chocolate chips and mix together.  I actually used salted pistachios for this and found that it added a nice savory flavor without it being too salty.  It’s also easier to find already shelled pistachios if you use salted, which was an added bonus. 🙂

Coat a 9″ by 13″ pan with cooking spray and pour in the batter.

Bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Then cool about 20 minutes and then serve.

I recommend serving them warm if possible so the chocolate will still be melted and gooey.

Yum!