Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

Everyone already ate the Tagalongs. They’re gone. Cue my sad face.

Luckily, I baked a bunch into these peanut butter blondies before they were totally gone, so we got to enjoy them in a different form. Oh, the love.

Known as Peanut Butter Patties in other parts of America, Tagalongs are my number one favorite Girl Scout cookie. Who can argue with peanut butter and a cookie drenched in chocolate? Stick all that into a dessert bar and we’re just talking pure joy.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

This week we’re looking at three days of 70-degree temps in DC, which is a little weird considering that just two days ago, there was snow everywhere. If you’re still in denial about climate change, then give me a seriously good explanation of why the temps are yo-yoing up and down in this disconcerting way.

What’s weird to me is that people have turned climate change into a political issue. Years ago, when Al Gore made An Inconvenient Truth, his point of view got lumped in with his political party affiliation, and global warming became an issue that was supposedly liberal.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

While I get how that probably came about, what I don’t understand is why climate change continues to be ignored or disregarded in the face of increasingly overwhelming evidence that we need to pay attention or else face the reality that this world might not remain too livable for future generations. I don’t think that’s a political statement; I think it’s a practical one.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

It’s glaringly obvious that we’re a severely divided nation. Every morning I open up my Washington Post and read about debates, town halls, polls. With those news stories come endless strings of op-eds about the state of our election this coming year. So yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a lot of division. But can we not drag climate change into that? So far it hasn’t come up a whole lot, but you never know.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

That said, I am never one to look a 70-degree gift horse in the mouth, so I plan to spend lots of time outside and in frozen yogurt shops this week. When I can’t get my fro yo, you can be sure I’ll be sitting on a bench somewhere with one of these Tagalong peanut butter blondie bars.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

If someone invented a bar for me, it would be this. Oh wait, I just did that. But seriously, this hits all my happy spots. It’s a peanut butter blondie, which means the bar is both chewy and soft. I was very generous with the Tagalong chunks, and those bursts of peanut butter chocolate explosion are the bee’s knees.

Speaking of bees, I’d better not be seeing any until summer. Climate change is scary for a lot of reasons, and we don’t want the critters coming early this year. I’d like to eat my Taglongs in peace!

 

Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (I used Jif Natural)
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package Tagalongs, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, leaving enough to overhang the sides, and coat in cooking spray.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Take a larger bowl and mix the brown sugar, melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until just blended. Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix until incorporated. Fold in the Tagalong pieces.
  4. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are browned. The middle might jiggle slightly, but it will harden as the bars cool. Do not overbake. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container
http://justaboutbaked.com/tagalong-peanut-butter-blondies/

Mir

I fulfill many roles in life: wife, mother, teacher, everlasting learner. This site is dedicated to one role that expresses my creativity in ways that I find consistently challenging and rewarding: baker. Inventing new ways to enhance food, especially if that food involves chocolate or peanut butter (or both!), is a passion of mine. I look forward to sharing my ideas with you.

This Post Has 32 Comments

  1. Jessica @ Citrus Blossom Bliss

    Yum yum yum yummmmm! I know America loves the Thin Mint cookie more than anything, but this girl is a diehard tagalong fan. When Dairy Queen came out with the Tagalong Blizzard, I lost my cool and immediately needed one. I think I’m going to immediately need one of these blondies…and about 7 boxes of tagalongs! I love the Girl Scouts creations, Mir!
    Jessica @ Citrus Blossom Bliss recently posted…Blogging Photography BasicsMy Profile

    1. Mir

      That sounds like the BEST DQ Blizzard in the history of all things DQ. I want one!

  2. Megan - The Emotional Baker

    “Practical issue” is the perfect way to describe climate change! Maybe we could convince everyone of this with lots of these blondies 😉 This is the perfect use of tagalongs – love!
    Megan – The Emotional Baker recently posted…Chocolate Matcha Swirl LoafMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Dessert can save the world, Megan!

  3. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy

    I have never heard of tagalongs before, but anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate has to be a good thing, right?!
    Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy recently posted…Comment on Giveaway: Health and Activity Bundle by ajMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Always a good thing, Dannii!

  4. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    Tagalongs are my favorite! I’m sad that I didn’t get a chance to buy any Girl Scout cookies this year, so I’ll just have to dream of eating these delicious bars!
    Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Brownie Bites with Nutella Frosting {Plus a Video!}My Profile

    1. Mir

      Oh no. Find a Girl Scout before it’s too late, Gayle!

  5. Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom

    Mir, tagalongs are my fave too!!!! and yes, absolutely agree with you re: politics and climate change etc. . and yes, go out and enjoy that 70 degree weather! woot woot!!!
    Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom recently posted…Celebrating National Cereal DayMy Profile

    1. Mir

      I knew I liked you, Alice. Tagalongs are totally the best, no question. And I can’t wait for 70 degrees!!!

  6. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary

    The climate change is very concerning, Mir, so I’m right there with you thinking we need to start making a change! Maybe if you handed out some of these blondies it would be incentive enough for people to give a damn? 😉 Tagalongs were my father’s favorite GS cookie and they were mine way back in the day before my cocoa allergy, so I know these blondies taste legitimately delicious! You truly are the bar queen, my dear! Keep on rocking out delicious bars! I know I never get tired of drooling over your creative genius! Pinned! Cheers!
    Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Brown Sugar & Pecan Baked Cake Donuts with Bourbon-Maple GlazeMy Profile

    1. Mir

      So you know how they taste. Dang, that sounds rough. Put something else in the blondies! Like the Do-Si-Dos!

  7. Amanda

    Yeah, climate change freaks me out. I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be sweating in Minnesota in March. Yikes.
    Tagalongs and Samoas-those are the cookies that always get me into trouble. Having Tagalongs in a blondie sounds like the best decision I’ve heard in a while.
    Amanda recently posted…Cremè De Menthe Hot ChocolateMy Profile

    1. Mir

      I know. It’s going to be nearly 80 here in a few days. Whaaaat!

  8. Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks

    The weather has definitely been weird and I’m not one to complain about warm weather, but I agree that climate changes and global warming are concerning! Now, the only concern I have about these bars is whether I can still find any Tagalongs. I love those dang things and I can never decide if they are my favorite or those other ones that are the peanut butter sandwich cookies. I need a GS troop at my door STAT!

    1. Mir

      I’m for these because they have the chocolate too. But both are really delicious!

  9. Manali @ CookWithManali

    love how fudgy these blondies look! I wanna eat one right now, too bad they are all gone 🙁
    Manali @ CookWithManali recently posted…Fruit & Nut BarsMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Yeah, Tagalongs are cookie crack!!

  10. annie@ciaochowbambina

    These bars are precisely what I need to get through the politics of the day…soft and chewy peanut buttery splendor. I can get behind that. I’m certain these would clean up in the polls! 🙂
    annie@ciaochowbambina recently posted…Soul SnacksMy Profile

    1. Mir

      I think all parties can agree on cookies, if not on politics!

  11. Veru

    Never heard of Tagalongs but they seems amazing! 🙂

    1. Mir

      They really are!!

  12. Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust

    Serious heaven right here!! I haven’t bought any girl scout cookies this year – something is wrong with me!
    Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted…No Bake Lemon CheesecakeMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Whaat?! Dorothy, are you okay? Aaaah. Get some boxes STAT!

  13. Medha @ Whisk & Shout

    I love Tagalongs! They look delicious in these bars. I’m home on break now, so I’m quite enjoying the sunny weather, but it is definitely cause for concern. While I agree that politicizing climate change makes it easier to deny, I do think there’s a lot of value in including climate change in political discourse, so that environmentall-friendly legislation can (maybe???) make its way through Congress. The real question is, can ANYTHING make its way through Congress these days!
    Medha @ Whisk & Shout recently posted…Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk MuffinsMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Good point about the legislation. I just hate it when people decide that climate change itself is partisan. So bizarre to me.

  14. David @ Spiced

    Isn’t it funny how your favorite Girl Scout cookies always disappear first? It doesn’t matter which flavor it is…if it’s your favorite, then it’s guaranteed to be gone first! I agree that we are definitely a nation of division now, and I’m thinking the internet has contributed significantly to that…but that’s a conversation for another day. Today it’s all about bars. I want to eat this entire batch while sitting in 70° temps!
    David @ Spiced recently posted…Chicken and Wild Rice SoupMy Profile

    1. Mir

      It’s true that the favorites go so fast! But you’re right, the Internet is the root of all evil. So why do I love it so darn much?

  15. Michele @ Alwayzbakin

    Oh my goodness, Tagalongs are one of my favorite girlscout cookies. These bars are genius!
    Michele @ Alwayzbakin recently posted…Cake Mix DonutsMy Profile

    1. Mir

      They’re the best ones!

  16. Denise

    I like trying new delicious recipes. Thanks for recommending this one for me.
    Denise recently posted…7 Safety Features of Modern Pressure CookersMy Profile

    1. Mir

      My pleasure, Denise. Thanks!

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