Blondies With Dark Chocolate and Chopped Almonds

I've sort of been in the mood to bake recently. I've been dwelling on the idea of chocolate. Chocolate cookies. Chocolate cake. Chocolate everything.
But I couldn't decide what to make, so I put it off. Finally, today, shopping day, I made my decision; I wanted to make something I haven't done before. Something amazing and delicious and new.
Enter the Blondie.
I've never made blondies. In fact, I've rarely had them. Still, they have a certain charm to them that I cannot resist. So, when we went shopping, I picked up some extra butter. It turns out it was the only ingredient I really needed, although now I am out of brown sugar...
These are so fun and delicious, and mine are extra thick -- I used a 8x8 pan instead of a 13x9, since I don't own the latter (*hint hint Christmas gift! hint hint*). As a result, the cooking time was a little longer than I expected, but it worked out perfectly. The consistency is great, the flavours are wonderful, and they fulfilled my need to bake.
So, without further ado...!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted completely
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
dark chocolate drops (optional)
chopped raw almonds (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius).
Grease and flour baking pan.
Add brown sugar to mixing bowl. Melt butter completely, and add to sugar, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature.
As sugar mixture is cooling, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl.
Beat eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture, making sure to incorporate completely.
Add flour mixture little by little. Mix until batter becomes thick.
Add chips and nuts, as desired.
Pour batter into baking dish, making sure to spread evenly.
Bake between 20-25 minutes (13x9) or 35-40 minutes (8x8), or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow blondie cake to cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely, cut and serve.

Notes:
Play around with the additions to your blondies. For example, you can do a butterscotch-walnut combo, or use multiple chocolates.
I used a secret ingredient in mine to make them extra delicious, but I can't tell you what it is!! Play around with flavours in your blondies -- add spices or extracts that you think will work well.

Thank you for reading! I hope I've inspired you to be a little adventurous in the kitchen!
If you have any questions or comments about this recipe, please leave them below.
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