Easter M&M Blondie Bars
If you love M&Ms and blondies, get ready for the best of both worlds with Easter M&M Blondie Bars. Imagine a gooey, sticky, chewy brown sugar blondie loaded with crunchy pastel M&Ms – all of your favorite Easter dessert flavors in one delicious treat. With just a few simple steps, you’ll have a colorful and tasty dessert that everyone will enjoy. Not only will you wow your friends and family with your baking genius, but you’ll also be treating them to something special that mixes the chewy with the crunchy. Don’t just celebrate Easter with eggs – celebrate with Easter M&M Blondie Bars!
My family loves two things: Easter and blondies. Easter is the perfect excuse for a big family dinner and lots of beautiful cute pastel treats for dessert. When I found these Pastel M&M’s I just knew I HAD to make something for Easter with them!
So when I made the recipe for these decadent blondies – perfectly ooey-gooey and soft baked, loaded with vanilla and chocolate – I just knew I had to share them here.
For more Easter treats, try my Easter Dirt Pudding Cups!
What do I need to get started?
- Unsalted butter softened to room temperature. I always use unsalted in my baking, so I can control the amount of salt going into the blondies.
- Light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar can also be used for an extra deep caramel flavor.
- Vanilla extract. I always recommend using pure vanilla extract – not vanilla “essence” or vanilla “flavoring.”
- Eggs.
- Flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Easter or Pastel colored M&M’s – if you can’t find them, you can use standard M&M’s too!
How to make Easter Blondie Bars
Start by preparing your pan. I used an 8×8 baking pan for extra thick blondies, but you can double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan as well! Spray with non-stick spray and then line your pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is lighter in color and nicely whipped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. It will take about 1 minute of mixing for everything to be smooth, light, and fluffy.
Lightly whisk together the dry ingredients, then add to the butter mixture. Slowly fold it all together until nearly combined, then add in the M&M’s, reserving some for later. Continue folding until the M&M’s are evenly spread throughout the blondie dough. Transfer to your baking pan and then sprinkle remaining M&M’s on top.
These have a baking time of about 25 minutes, or until the blondie bars are nice and golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. In my oven, it took exactly 30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool completely before serving.
Storage and Make Ahead
Store these in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. I do not recommend refrigerating these M&M bars, because they will lose some of their gooey softness when chilled.
You can make the entire blondie recipe up to 2 days in advance, and simply save the uncooked batter in the fridge and then bake it off when you are ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
Blondie bars are a super versatile treat that can be switched up by swapping out just a few ingredients!
- Add chocolate chips for extra chocolatey flavor!
- Add some peanut butter and Reeses Pieces to the batter for some delicious and rich peanut butter chocolate blondies!
- Sprinkles and extra vanilla extract for super fun birthday cake blondies!
- Switch out the color of the M&M’s to make this festive treat for any time of the year!
- Throw some roasted nuts in the batter and brown the butter for an aromatic and deeply flavorful blondie.
What’s the difference between a blondie and a brownie?
The main difference is chocolate. Brownies are traditionally made with chocolate that is melted down and added to the batter. Blondie bars are a good replacement for people who might not care for a ton of chocolate in their dessert.
So Blondie recipes are basically a vanilla replacement for brownies! And the best part, they only need one bowl, so minimal clean-up.
Tips and Tricks
Use all my tips and tricks for the best possible M&M bars!
- Always use brown sugar. Even if you only have white sugar at home, I promise that the flavor and texture of brown sugar are exactly what you need to bring these blondies over the edge. Brown sugar = tender and gooey blondies.
- Feel free to add more M&Ms to the batter for extra candy goodness!
- I chose to cream together with my butter and sugar because I found that it made for a bit of a thicker and lighter blondie, although most blondie recipes go the traditional route of melted butter.
- Once the flour is added to the batter, be very careful not to overmix. Mix just until you can no longer see the flour. Overmixed flour = a tough and dry blondie.
Easter M&M Blondie Bars
Easter M&M Blondie Bars are LOADED with pastel M&Ms, vanilla, brown sugar, and all the gooey goodness to make the best of both of my favorite treats: a blondie recipe that doubles as an M&M bar!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar (or you can use ¾ cup each brown sugar and white sugar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup Easter (pastel colored) M&M candies, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9-inch baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing, if necessary.
- Beat in eggs until light and fluffy (about one minute). Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
- Stir in ½ cup of M&M’s.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of M&M’s over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- The bars can be cut once they have cooled down.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
`1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 232Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 155mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 0gSugar: 34gProtein: 3g
