Noms: Cake Batter Blondies (Made festive for Valentine’s Day!)

Every person who bakes needs one solid go-to recipe, that one that never fails, always delights and can be made at the drop of a hat. For me, it’s these Cake Batter Blondies.

Why are these so great?

• They’re delicious. The flavor of cake, the texture of brownies. A+.
• They’re easy.  They take about six ingredients (nothing crazy!) and 35 minutes.
• They’re sharable. You can cut them into small squares to feed a bunch of people, and they don’t need plates or forks or anything.
• The festive possibilities are endless. These involve cake mix, sprinkles and chocolate chips — all things you can personalize for any occasion. This batch uses red, pink and white sprinkles for Valentine’s Day. I’ve used Halloween and Fourth of July Funfetti mixes (Wal-Mart usually has a good selection), and last Valentine’s Day I had red chocolate chips.
• And the flavor possibilities are, too! Just go to the store and browse cake mixes; they all work. I’ve used yellow, white, strawberry, pink lemonade, key lime and more. It never fails!

So, if you’ve got a half-hour and some cake mix, get going.

Here’s your full shopping list:

Cake Mix — Oil — Milk — Egg — Sprinkles — Chocolate Chips

First, mix your sprinkles into your cake mix. I usually do this right in the mix bag! Or, if you want to skip that step entirely, start with Funfetti mix 🙂

Mix together the egg and the oil, then stir in the mix. It’ll be pretty crumbly at this point.

Add the milk SLOWLY — to get that dense brownie texture, you don’t want a ton, just enough to get it all mixed together. I typically start with a quarter cup and go up bit-by-bit from there.

Mix in the chocolate chips, then spread the batter evenly in a pan. This might take some work because the batter is so thick — I use a spatula to get all my corners covered.

And that’s it! Stick it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are brown, and let cool completely before serving. Enjoy. 🙂

For the full recipe, visit Sally’s Baking Addiction or Girl Meets Life. I originally found the blondies at SBA, but I use the recipe at GML (Sally’s source) because the measurements are written for the pans I use. GML is for an 8×8 or an 8-inch round (I’ve used both to equal success); Sally’s is for an 11×7. They’re not much different.