These Christmas blondies, with their chewy texture and fun dots of red and green, are the perfect dessert for the Christmas season. They’re easy to make and perfect for serving at holiday parties.
Blondies are a lighter colored version of a traditional brownie since they don’t incorporate cocoa powder. However, while blondies aren’t chocolatey like brownies, these Christmas blondies still have some chocolatey flavor thanks to the holiday M&Ms.
If you’ve been looking for a fun treat that will get everyone into the holiday spirit, this blondie recipe will have you searching no longer!
Why You’ll Love Christmas Blondies
These festive little treats have a lot to love about them.
- A Twist on Brownies – Brownies are always popular, especially during the holidays, but these Christmas blondies are a different special treat to put out with the other holiday goodies.
- Lots of Uses – Sure, these are great to serve at Christmas parties! But they also make a great hostess gift, teacher present, or a fun treat to just keep around for sweet snacking throughout the season. You can also take them to cookie swaps at Christmas time or make them any time of year by trading out the holiday M&Ms for other varieties.
- Super Festive – These colorful blondies are perfect for the holiday season with all of their bright holiday colors.
Ingredients
Most of these simple ingredients are probably already stocked in your fridge and kitchen cabinets.
- All-Purpose Flour- Flour gives the blondies structure and texture.
- Cornstarch – Using cornstarch makes the blondies soft and tender, but also a little chewy.
- Baking Soda – As a leavening agent, baking soda helps the blondies to rise.
- Fine Sea Salt – This simple seasoning brings out the sweetness of the sugar and warmth of the vanilla.
- Melted Unsalted Butter – Butter adds rich flavor. Melting it helps it to easily incorporate and gives the blondies a fudgy texture. If you are using regular butter (salted) omit the additional fine sea salt.
- Light Brown Sugar – Using brown sugar gives these sweet treats a caramel-like flavor. You can use light brown sugar for the lightest colored blonde brownies or use dark brown sugar for more molasses flavor.
- Large Eggs – Use room temperature eggs for the best results. Eggs work to bind the ingredients together.
- Vanilla Extract – Round out the flavors of the blondies by using vanilla.
- Mini Holiday M&M’s – These M&Ms give the blondies their festive appearance and add chocolatey flavor.
How to Make Christmas Blondies
This Christmas blondies recipe is so easy to whip up — it’s a great go-to for a last-minute holiday dessert.
- Dry ingredients. Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk or sift together to completely combine.
- Melted butter and sugar. Add the melted butter and sugar to a large bowl and stir until the mixture becomes somewhat pasty.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Stir the eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients.
- Combine wet and dry. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Fold in M&Ms. Use the rubber spatula to fold most of the mini M&Ms into the blondie batter.
- Add to pan. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake. Sprinkle mini M&Ms over top of the blondie batter. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the blondies are golden brown pass the toothpick test.
- Cool and slice. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature before slicing.
What to Serve with Christmas Blondies
Try serving these sweet blondies with a dollop of whipped cream (or chocolate whipped cream) or a drizzle of fudge sauce or caramel sauce. You can also add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or maple ice cream with pecans over the top.
Make this with a mug of whipped hot chocolate or even Grinch hot chocolate.
Variations
Try a few swaps to switch up the flavor profile in these super simple blondies.
- Flour – Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
- Candies – For other holidays, switch out the M&Ms for different colors. Or swap out the candies for milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips.
- Extract – Add other flavors by substituting another extract for some or all of the vanilla extract.
- Nuts – Crush pecans or walnuts and fold them in for added texture.
- Spices – A dash of cinnamon or nutmeg will add warm flavor.
Storage and Freezing
You can keep these festive blondies stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Make Ahead: Make the batter for blondies ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Refrigerator: Store blondies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Freezer: Freeze blondies for up to 3 months. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place in a resealable freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
Common Questions About Christmas Blondies
Blondies are lighter in color and get their flavor from brown sugar and vanilla. Brownies, however, have cocoa powder, making them a chocolatey dessert.
When prepared and baked correctly, blondies do have a somewhat gooey texture inside.
Before taking blondies out of the oven, insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, your blondies are fully baked. If it does not, return the pan to the oven and continue baking until they do pass the toothpick test.
Other Sweet Holiday Treats
We love anything red and green! Happy holidays!
- Christmas Crack Candy
- Meringue Christmas Trees
- Christmas Fudge
- Chocolate Christmas Trees
- Christmas Star Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Bombs Recipe
Christmas Corn Flake Wreaths
Eggnog Oreo Cookie Balls
No Churn Peppermint Ice Cream
Christmas Blondies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter ,melted
- 1 ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup mini holiday M&M’s , divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9X13 baking dish with shortening and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing, whisk or sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together the melted butter and sugar until they are like wet sand.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, scrape the bottom and sides frequently and mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combine.
- Fold in all but 2 tablespoons of the mini M&M’s into the batter; make sure they are evenly distributed.
- Transfer the blondie batter into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the M&Ms.
- Bake for 25- 30 minutes until the edges are set and it passes the toothpick test.
- Allow the blondies to cool and then slice them to equal squares and serve.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Nutrition
I followed recipe exactly & it had great flavor but I was unable to get them out of my the pan as bar, it just crumbled! I’d love to make again but I need to change something to make it more bar-y. (I made these on Sat 23rd & didnt serve until the 25th so they had plenty cooled by then!)
Hmmm… I’m sorry to hear that! Can you email me at jessica@savoryeperiments.com and we can troubleshoot the issue?
These are so fun and festive. I love bringing them to holiday events
Made these for a party this weekend, and everyone loved them! So buttery!
These are such fun and festive blondies! I know my kids will have a blast making these with me during the holidays!
The red and green m&m’s are the perfect, festive touch for these delicious blondies. Such a great idea. Thank you!
Super fun and festive! Can’t wait to make with my nephews.