Line a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. If you don’t have a 9 x 9 pan, please refer to the Notes section below. Preheat oven to 350°F

Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl: flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

Chop the chocolate candy into small pieces and set aside. Ensure that your large eggs are at room temperature.

Measure the 1 cup of butter (equivalent to two sticks), then melt it in the microwave (or on the stove). Let it cool until it is just slightly warm.

Using a hand mixer, mix the butter and sugars on medium high speed until fluffy and lightened. This will take approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 1 minute after each addition.

Add the vanilla and mix again. The mixture should now be fluffy and lightened in color.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently until just a few small streaks of flour remain.

Gently fold in the candy.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared 9 x 9 pan and smooth out the top with a offset spatula.

Bake in the preheated 350° oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The top of the blondies should be a light golden brown. Let them cool in the pan, then remove them by lifting up the foil or parchment paper and transferring them to a solid surface so that they can be cut into bars.

Decorate the blondes with candy eyes and/or other candies if you like.

If you’d like to make your own candy eyes, it’s surprisingly easy! Check out my recipe here:

NOTES: 👹. If you don’t have a 9x9” pan, you can use a 9x13” pan as a starting point. Use a ruler to measure 9 inches lengthwise, and fold the aluminum foil up to serve as a barrier as shown on the picture bellies. Lightly crumpled some other aluminum foil to help stopper the folded side. If you prefer to use the full 9 x 13” pan, bake for only 20 to 25 minutes.

NOTES: 👹. There are many types of chocolate candy that work well in this recipe. For this batch, I used: - Snickers - M&Ms - Milky Way - Twix - Rolo You can use whatever you have on hand, or you can just use chocolate chips (or a mix of chocolate chips and nuts).

NOTES: 👹. If you like, you can press additional candy onto the surface of the blondies while they are still warm. Alternatively, you can top with sprinkles!