Salted Caramel and Peanut Blondies

When I was younger my next door neighbor, Mrs. Lust made the best butterscotch brownies aka blondies ever. When I saw her walking across the lawn that separated our two houses I always hoped she was bringing over brownies or her potato salad. Nothing was better on a summer night than sitting on the deck fresh from the pool with a brownie in hand.

This weekend in honor of my birthday I decided to make myself a bit of that past happiness. Blondies are insanely easy to make and usually only require a handful of ingredients that most kitchens have on hand.

Do you have butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and flour? Good news, you're set to go!

Whenever I make something I always look for a small way to make it my own. For Christmas my dad gave me a handful of salted caramels from Trader Joe's to take home with me. These caramels are seriously tasty and are just begging to be cut up and dumped in any blondie batter.

Any time I see caramel, I automatically think peanuts. It must be my love of Paydays and Cracker Jack. Mmmmm...

So let's review. I took insanely tasty, rich and buttery blondies and made them 10x better with a little caramel and peanuts. I think I deserve a pat on the back if I do say so myself :D

Are you in love with blondies as much as I am? What other ingredients do you think I should add to my recipe?

Salted Caramel and Peanut Blondies 
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian 

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup caramels, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 dish and set aside.
2. Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add butter to sugar, egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Gently stir in flour until just combined. Fold in caramels and peanuts.
4. Scoop batter into pan and smooth out top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges have slightly browned. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

What I'm Listening to Today

The Temptation of Adam: Josh Ritter
Love Vigilantes: Iron and Wine
Chasing Pavements: Adele-->God, I love this song.