Cinnamon Swirl Blondies with Chocolate Chips

Wow. Seriously, wow. These were so incredibly delicious - I made these for Sunday dessert as my whole family was about to venture into an 8 week weight-loss challenge involving 6 sugar-free days a week. These blondies were an appropriate sendoff, if I do say so myself. I found the main recipe here and tweaked it just a bit...naturally no dessert is a real dessert without chocolate and extra cinnamon (at least according to the McDonald family). They were awesome served warm with vanilla ice cream, but my roommates also raved about them a few days old.

Cinnamon Swirl Blondies with Chocolate Chips

for the blondies:

2/3 cup butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

for the cinnamon swirl:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan. 

In a small saucepan, melt the 2/3 cup butter and let it cook until golden brown on medium heat (around 10 minutes, maybe longer). Set aside to cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and stir until smooth. Add the vanilla, eggs, and lemon juice and mix well. Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

in the same pan you used to melt the butter for the batter melt the 1/4 cup butter for the cinnamon swirl. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Drizzle the hot cinnamon sauce over the batter and use a butter knife to swirl it. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before serving. 

Enjoy! I know I did. :)