My mom Irene has a reputation for making the best chocolate chip cookies in town.  Growing up, friends used to visit my house just to have some of Irene's famous cookies.  I'm sure they wanted to hang out with me too, but let's be honest- the cookies were definitely part of the equation!  Irene's cookies make the most incredible blondie recipe too, and here it is!  These blondie bars use the same batter as Irene's cookies with a rich chocolatey center and soft, gooey texture.  They are meant to be served fresh out of the oven, but I prefer eating them frozen. In fact, one blondie square has become a favorite bedtime snack.  

Irene's Delectable Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies

Ingredients:
2 bars margarine or butter (softened)
2 extra large eggs
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups Blends by Orly London Blend
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Heat: Preheat oven to 350º F.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper or spray with non stick oil.

Mix: In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until lightened in color.  Add eggs + vanilla and mix for 2 minutes or until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together Blends by Orly London Blend, salt, and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix all ingredients together on med-high speed for 3 minutes, or until fully incorporated.  Add chocolate chips for 30 seconds or until dispersed within the dough.

Bake: Spoon batter into the baking pan and smooth out to an even layer with a pallet knife, spatula or the back of your spoon.  Bake for 45-50 minutes until the outer edges are brown.  Let blondies cool and slice into small squares.  These blondies can be refrigerated for 10 days or frozen for up to 9 months.  

Chocolate Topping (optional): Remove blondies from the oven 2 minutes early. Evenly spread chocolate chips on top of the blondies and put back in the oven for 2 minutes to melt the chips.  Remove from the oven and spread the chips to cover the top of the blondies and form a top layer of chocolate. Chocolate will harden as it cools.