Easy Easter Treats #2 – Peanut butter & Candy Egg Blondies

All I will say about these Easter treats are – they are easy to make and super moreish.

Oh, and the colour! I just love the colour! The Candy Eggs give them a real Easter feeling.

You will need:

1 ¼ cup All-purpose flour

1 ¼ cup Caramel-roasted nuts (you can also use a cup of caramel-roasted nuts and a 1/4 cup roasted almond slithers)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

1 ½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla extract or essence

2 large eggs

280-340 grams small candy eggs (what most South Africans call Speckled Eggs, but any small candy coated egg will work well)

¾ cup Chocolate chips (I like using white chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Spray an oven-proof dish (roughly 22cm by 33 cm) with a non-stick spray before lining it with waxed paper.
Place the flour and nuts in a food processor and process (approximately 30 to 45 seconds) until nuts are broken down and blended with the flour. Add the baking powder and salt, and pulse to combine.
Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes will do the trick.
While the mixture is beating add the peanut butter, vanilla, and eggs until incorporated. Don’t over beat the mixture.
Gradually beat the flower mixture into the above mixture until combined.
Set 3/4 cup of the candy eggs aside. Stir in the rest of the eggs and the chocolate chips into the mixture.
Transfer the batter to the prepared dish. Scatter the reserved eggs on top, pressing down ever so slightly.
Bake until the blondie puffs up, the edges are a deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. It probably will bake for anything between 25 and 40 minutes depending on your oven. Start checking whether your blondies are done from 20 minutes onward though.
Cool in the dish on a wire rack. When completely cool cut into squares.