Easy Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Blondie Bars

Name: Easy Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Blondie Bars
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, melted; 1 1/2 cup brown sugar; 2 eggs, room temperature; 2 tsp vanilla; 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter + 1/4 cup for topping; 1/2 tsp kosher salt + 1/2 tsp for topping; 1/4 cup caramel sauce; 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

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If you love peanut butter, this is the treat for you! Topped with a salted caramel and peanut butter sauce, these easy peanut butter blondie bars take less than an hour to make from start to finish.

stacked peanut butter blondies with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce

It’s a weeknight. You’re tired from another day at the office (whether virtually or physically), you’ve got what feels like a bajillion chores on your to do list and freaking Brad just sent you another 6pm urgent request.

Freaking. Brad.

It’s times like this where a single glass of wine isn’t going to cut it.

No, you need a sweet treat for putting up with Brad’s inability to plan for yet another day. Something that’ll satisfy that sweet tooth without adding to your already long list of things that need to get done.

Girl, I got you.

These rich peanut butter blondie bars not only come topped with a decadent peanut butter and salted caramel sauce, but they take less than an hour to make start to finish.

Here’s how to make these blondies

First, make the batter.

In a bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Stir until smooth.

A quick note on room temperature eggs: For this recipe, it’s important that the eggs are at or around room temperature so that the warm butter is able to dissolve the sugar and warm the peanut butter. If you forgot to take the eggs out in advance (we’ve all be there), you can fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). Fold the dry ingredients into the batter.

Second, create the peanut butter and salted caramel topping.

Line a 9″x9″ square cake or casserole pan with parchment paper and spread the batter into it. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter in the microwave using 15 seconds increments until it thins (I used 30 seconds total).

Drizzle the peanut butter and caramel sauce over the top of the batter and swirl with a butter knife.

blondie batter being drizzled with caramel, peanut butter and roasted peanuts

Finally, bake the blondies.

Top with chopped peanuts and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with cooked crumbs only.

Take the blondies out and immediately sprinkle with an additional 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.

Expert tips

Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
Omitting the caramel sauce: Caramel not your thing? No problem! Simply leave it off or substitute it with a 1/4 cup of something else, like marshmallow fluff.
Testing for doneness: Blondies have reached the perfect level of doneness when a toothpick/cake tester comes out with a few baked crumbs. Because blondies are a moist treat with a fair amount of fatty ingredients, a completely clean toothpick indicates they’ve likely been overbaked.
Making a large batch: If you’d like to make a larger batch of these blondies, you can double the recipe and bake them in a 9″x13″ casserole dish. Simply increase the bake time by 5-15 minutes or until done.
Storage: Blondies can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for about 3 days.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a brownie and a blondie?

While both brownies and blondies are dense cake-like baked goods with a fudgy texture, they differ in two key ways: Chocolate and sugar. Brownies have a rich, chocolatey flavor thanks to the inclusion of, well, chocolate while blondies tend to have more of a caramel or nutty flavor. Additionally, many brownie recipes call for granulated sugar while blondies typically rely solely on brown sugar for their sweetness.

Why are my blondies crumbly?

Crumbly blondies are usually an indication that they’ve been over-baked. One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to begin checking them 5-10 minutes before the minimum baking time listed in the recipe.

Why are my blondies greasy?

Blondies have a dense, fudge-like texture and may seem greasier when compared to other baked goods like cookies. If your blondies seem overly greasy or if you notice the butter separating from the batter while they bake, it’s likely a sign that the batter wasn’t mixed enough.

Why are my blondies cakey?

Some recipes simply produce cake-ier blondies than others. If you’re sure that the recipe should make a dense, fudge-like blondie, too little liquid (or too many eggs), over-baking or over-mixing.

cooling rack with slice salted caramel and peanut butter blondies

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #thesimplesweetlife. I love seeing your creations!