Today I decided to venture into new territory: the blondie. Now, I'll admit I haven't really been into blondies before. Often they're just too tooth-achingly sweet, without the bitterness of chocolate to balance it out. But I gave it a try, because I love oatmeal so much.
They turned out really nice and chewy, kind of like a giant oatmeal cookie crossed with a fruit-stuffed blondie. This blondies recipe is so chock-full of fruit, nuts, and oatmeal, that it seems almost healthy! These blondies would make a great quick breakfast with a tall glass of milk or a nice hot cup of tea. They could also be a great way to get your kids to eat oatmeal and fruit!
Banana Apple Oatmeal Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of oats ¾ cup for the batter, ¼ cup for the topping, divided
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans or walnuts optional
- ⅓ cup crushed apple chips
- 1 medium banana
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare a 8 inch pan by lining it with foil or parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together until well combined.
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In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and beat on low speed until combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture a little at a time, beating on low speed, until just combined.
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Stir in the ¾ cup of oats, crushed apple chips, and nuts (if used). Scrape half of the batter into the pan and smooth it out to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
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Peel the banana, then cut thin round slices from the banana and place them over the first layer of batter until it is mostly covered. Don't overlap the slices.
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Spoon the remaining batter over the top of the banana slices and smooth it out until the banana slices are no longer visible. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of oats over the top and press in the oats gently with your fingertips.
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Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is lightly browned all over and a toothpick inserted in the middle doesn't come out with batter on it.
Recipe Notes
You may use different fruits and/or nuts, or simply omit the nuts, if you prefer. If you use a soft fruit, bake it in the middle layer; if you use a dried fruit, it may be mixed into the batter.
I realize this may be sacrilege on this site, but I actually prefer blondies to brownies! (I would never turn away a brownie, don't get me wrong). I was very excited to see the brownie's albino counterpart featured. 🙂
There's enough love to go around the whole brownie family, blondies included. 🙂
You're going to faint next Sunday when I post my White Chocolate Brownies. I thought I didn't like white chocolate. It turned out that I was very, very wrong... but now I need a superlative for this recipe. "Incredible White Chocolate Brownies"? "Ultimate"? "Slap Your Mother"?
Maybe not that last one.
I am such a big fan of Blondies! To top it off a Blondie Oatmeal Cookie Mashup? Sign me up!! Should give these a go - as soon as things have slowed down on this end! Yummo!
Hope you like 'em! 🙂
If you are going to leave the darkside, this is a great place to go! They look delicious!!