Marble M&M Blondies {contributor Sara}

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Sara-- Bitz & Giggles

Marble M&M Blondies, vanilla and chocolate combine to make the most insane blondies ever, and the addition of M&M’s just take it over the top!

Hi everyone! It’s Sara from Bitz & Giggles! Like me, I’m sure that you’ve already begun some holiday planning, whether it’s planning the menu for your Thanksgiving meal, devising your Black Friday shopping strategy or figuring out which family photo you’re going to use on your Christmas cards this year. The holiday season sure can be busy, but hopefully it’s a good busy for you without too much stress!

Today is my last post as a This Silly Girl’s Life contributor and I want to thank Dana for such a wonderful experience. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve gotten to share my ideas with you and sincerely hope this isn’t goodbye. You all know where to find me, and I hope you do!

Now, let’s get to these Marble M&M Blondies. Oh my goodness, these bars are seriously delicious and would be an awesome addition to any Christmas dessert platter.

I love putting together dessert platters around Christmas time. A mixture of cookies, bars and candy gives everyone options and makes everyone happy. That’s what we’re going for, right? I mean what’s better than indulging in sweets as you watch The Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time?

My mom always puts a sweets platter together for Christmas that she places on the dining room table. As we stroll from the living room to the kitchen, we have to walk through the dining room. Let’s just say that it has become a necessary part of our Christmas tradition and we make certain to make many trips back and forth just to snag another bar, cookie or piece of candy.

When the kids disappear from our sight, we know where to look first. I will warn you that these blondies I’m sharing today are kid magnets. Yep. I think it’s the M&Ms that draw them in. I’m pretty sure that if I sprinkled some M&Ms on my kids’ broccoli at dinner time, they might at least try a bite. That will be a goal for 2015. 😉

These bars are so versatile! If you’d like to give them a holiday twist, you could try using Christmas M&Ms or another chocolate candy you love.

Regardless, I hope that they make it onto YOUR Christmas dessert platter this year. They may just become a favorite in your family, too!

Marble M&M Blondies

Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup mini M&Ms, divided
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large egg yolk
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar; beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.
In another bowl, combine flour and baking soda; blend into the creamed mixture.
Stir in the M&Ms and set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk until smooth; stir in cocoa powder until well-blended.
Place the chocolate-cheese mixture in little mounds, covering the entire pan.
Place the reserved dough around the cheese mixture and swirl the two mixtures slightly with a fork.
Pat down the mixture and sprinkle with remaining M&Ms.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean.
Cool completely and cut into bars.
Store in refrigerator in covered container.

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