The history of Blondies

The history of

Blondies

Today’s Object

Do you ever wonder who first thought of Blondies?

Fannie Farmer’s 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book included a recipe for “brownies,” but the dessert didn’t contain any chocolate and was instead much more similar to what we think of as blondies. Like many baked goods at the time, Farmer’s recipe was sweetened with molasses, as it was the most affordable option for American bakers in the late 19th century. And just like brown sugar, chocolate was also largely inaccessible to the average American baker, so many early recipes for “brownies,” including Farmer’s, were actually more akin to what modern eaters think of as blondies. Usually made with nuts and molasses, the dessert bars were widely enjoyed throughout the United States in the years after Farmer’s recipe was published. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that chocolate became more accessible to the average home cook in America, giving rise to modern-day brownies. This turns the common notion that blondies are just brownies without the chocolate on its head. In fact, blondies (although they were often called “brownies” at the time) came first and have been enjoyed for well over a century. So where did the name blondies come from? As chocolatey brownies became more popular over the course of the 20th century, people needed a way to differentiate the two recipes. In the 1970s, the term “blondies” came into widespread use to describe dessert bars made with brown sugar (which replaced molasses in most blondie recipes when it became more affordable in the 20th century) and nuts but without chocolate. Today, blondies remain very popular and are appreciated for being sweet, chewy, and easily customizable.