With Thanksgiving in the not-so-distant past, there is one thing on a lot of people’s minds: Christmas cookies. Even if you don’t actually celebrate on December 25, it’s hard not to like the various sweet treats that seem to erupt from kitchens as result of holiday baking endeavors.

My two favorite baked goods are brownies and chocolate chip cookies. So, what could be better, I ask you, than a chocolate chip cookie dressed in a brownie’s clothing? Adapted from How to Cook Everything and seen on Smitten Kitchen, these blondies can be converted into many a favorite cookie.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Butter an 8×8 pan.

2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).

3. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set
in the middle. Cool on rack
before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

* 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
* 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
* 1/2 cup mashed bananas
* 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or whiskey; increase flour by one tablespoon
* 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
* Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit (such as dried cherries) into prepared batter
* Top with a vanilla butter cream frosting