Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Blondies

     Some of the people I enjoy baking for the most are my friends. Yes, I like giving them yummy things, but it's also nice to occasionally have critics who will love just about anything I make. When I bake for a big group of fellow teenagers, I generally keep it pretty simple - not too many fancy layers or flaky pastries - that way, I know everything will disappear quickly!

     I'm in AP World History this year, which... well, it's not the easiest course (to say the least). My teacher has been having some review sessions after school in preparation for the AP exam in 3 (!!!!) weeks, and I decided that snacks were in order. As long as we were struggling over which Chinese dynasty had which rulers, we might as well have sweets.

     A couple of weeks ago I made s'more brownies, which everybody loved. This week, I decided to keep with the bar cookie theme - bar cookies are quick to bake, with no scooping of individual cookies, and not messy to serve - but something less chocolatey. Enter blondies.
     These are delicious blondies, chock full of butterscotch chips and melty pieces of chocolate. I had to add in an extra egg to the batter because it was too dry (my version of the recipe is below), and it resulted in a blondie that is the perfect combination of chewy and cakey. I love these, and so does my family - I'll find out tomorrow what my classmates think of them ;)
     Enjoy!

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Blondies

(adapted from Hershey's Kitchens)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar  

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

3  eggs 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1-3/4 cups (11-oz. pkg.) butterscotch chips 

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl until creamy (I did this by hand). Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in butterscotch chips and nuts, if desired. Spread in prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
   -Makes 24 to 36 bars, depending on how big you cut them.