The Hungry Hounds is the food blog of Paul and Rebecca Shetler Fast, country representatives for Mennonite Central Committee in Haiti. Learn more about MCC Haiti at their blog, www.haitimcc.org.

Blondies, for those of you unfamiliar, are a brilliant dessert creation that takes a chocolate chip cookie, and mashes it into bar form, reminiscent of its brownie cousin. My Mom made blondies for us growing up, and they have remained a key dessert on my easy-and-failsafe shortlist; requiring only that you dump ingredients into one bowl, mix, add in some treats, and bake. These Rich and Salty Coconut Blondies are a densely gooey treat. As many of our North American readers have cool temperatures these March days, consider firing up your oven to bake these decadent Rich and Salty Coconut Blondies.

Yield: 1 8×8 pan, about 16 small bars

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons salted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts, whole or halved

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease or prepare an 8 by 8-inch baking pan.
2. Once your butter is slightly cooled, pour into a large mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, vanilla and egg. Stir with a spatula to combine.
3. To your butter mixture, add the flour and baking powder, stir thoroughly to combine. Finally, add the chocolate chips, coconut and peanuts, and stir to evenly distribute.
4. Pour the thick batter into your baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. You are looking for a shiny top and light golden brown color, err on the side of under rather than over baking.

Note:

We find these taste best when they are fully cooled and at room temperature or even refrigerated.