I’m just going to go ahead and say it: Brownies are overrated. It’s not that I dislike them as a concept. I can be a big fan. I developed Delish’s Best-Ever Brownies, and I do believe they are, in fact, the best. I worked damn hard for that shiny, crackly top and fudgy, borderline gooey middle. But most brownies are mediocre. Let me explain.
At a party, where one is most likely to consume a brownie, they’re usually made from a boxed mix, and they’re almost always over-baked. Homemade brownies have the potential to be better, but they’re rare. And in more cases than not, they’re either dry or too cakey—at the very worst they're both. Blondies are better. Here’s why they’re underrated:
1. They’re almost always homemade.
Blondie mixes exist, but did you even know that? Probably not, because no one uses them. Homemade = automatically better.
2. They’re easier to make.
People tend to think of blondies as lighter version of brownies, just without the cocoa. It's not that simple. Most blondie recipes have way more flour and they rely heavily on brown sugar for chewiness. In other words, the process is similar to making cookie dough, which is to say that it’s SO easy. You can combine everything in one big bowl.
To make fudgy brownies, you need to set up a double boiler and use a ton of eggs (my recipe calls for five!). I'm mad at myself for how annoying that is.
3. They’re harder to screw up.
After testing over 50 recipes in the past month, our test kitchen team has learned that when it comes to brownie batter, everything matters. The brand of cocoa you use, for example, can impact the resulting taste drastically. Annoyingly, expensive Dutch process cocoa yields way more delicious brownies than the cheap kind you likely already have in your pantry. You don't need to worry about all that ish with blondies—they don't care if you use an artisanal or generic bag of flour. They're not as snobby.
4. They’re chewy and fudgy.
Brownies are difficult to define. Most people like them fudgy, but some prefer them cakey and others chewy. The texture of a blondie isn't really up for debate. It's that of a perfect chocolate chip cookie, chewy and fudgy...just way thicker.
5. They’re infinitely adaptable.
You can throw anything into a blondie—potato chips, candy, crushed Oreos...the list goes on and on. You could also flavor the blondie dough a ton of different ways. Think: peanut butter, snickerdoodle, pumpkin. Yes, blondies do have more fun 😉.
6. You don’t need to wait forever for them to cool.
I know people are super into warm brownies, but the concept is just wrong (unless you're topping it with ice cream). When brownies are fresh from the oven, they're impossible to cut. And what's even more upsetting is that you can't really taste them. They just taste...hot. A brownie's true cocoa flavor doesn't come through until they've cooled to room temperature.
Blondies take less time to cool. (Probably because they're not chocolate-based.) But, if you really can't wait and cut into them while they're still warm, they'll still taste totally delicious.
7. You can have more than one without feeling disgusting.
Brownies are dangerously decadent. Many people claim they can only take a couple bites. I, as a chocoholic never experience this problem—but after eating just one single square, I usually feel like I need a nap. On the other hand, I can down three blondies no problem.
