Midweek Food Musings: Variation on a Brownie Theme...Coffee Blondies with Chocolate Chips

On Monday I fell in love… again.   Pedro Ospina, a Philadelphia and Brazil-based artist, has me fascinated by his work, his energy, and his love of life, children and art. (http://www.pedroospina.com/) As he recounted the tale of his trajectory into his current world—I listened to his words but was mesmerized by his passion for working with all people, children, and communities--and getting people involved in his mission. His passion is evident in all he says and does.

Passion. I feel like this profound word is so overused (I’m just as guilty of being a word-overusing writer/speaker), but fire-like love for something is contagious and motivating. Pedro’s vision of community sparks; he creates “ambientes,” environments, in neighborhoods and schools, in the form of murals, sculptures and more, that are delightful/evocative and that set people in motion in the most positive of ways. In addition, his path and work remind us that there are so many ways to make a life; this, these days more than ever, this is a great message for us all. In encourage you to explore his work.  (By the way—he currently has an exhibition, entitled “Woven in Tension” on display at Westchester Community College in the gallery in the Academic Arts Building.)

So from Pedro Ospina, I move to the exploration of flavors. 

As many of you know,  brownies are one of my favorite treats to bake. But today I was inspired to branch out. I tried making coffee blondies. The result? I like them and hmmmmm….this may be the start of my brownie experimentation phase!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Blondies

2 cups all purpose flour


1/4 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt


2 cups packed dark brown sugar


3/4  cup unsalted butter, melted


2 tablespoons excellent quality vanilla extract (Dominican vanilla—the PURE extract—is my favorite)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons instant espresso

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.   

Batter pre-chips

In a mixer, combine the sugar, vanilla, eggs, and coffee and mix well.  Slowly the dry ingredients and mix just until well blended (using the mixer or by hand). Fold in the chips.

Ready to bake

Ready to serve

Spread the batter into 2  lightly greased 8 by 8 inch baking pans (I use two because I take one to work!) or one bigger one.
Bake the blondies  for 30 minutes, or until a knife in the center comes out dry.  Cool before cutting. Serve with café con leche, vanilla ice cream, or a nice tall glass of milk.