Makes 12 blondies

I think that I like thick and chewy butterscotch blondies even better than brownies. These have oatmeal and chocolate chips in them, too giving another couple of old favorites, oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, a run for their money, too. To avoid the aggravation of digging the blondies out of the pan, use my technique for lining the pan with foil--the cookies can be lifted out in one piece and cut without waste. For a simple icing, sprinkle 1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips over the hot blondies when they come out of the oven. Let stand for 5 minutes, then spread the melted chips in a thin layer. When cooled, the chips will harden into an icing.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking oats, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/34 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line the bottom of a 11 X 8 1/2-inch baking pan with a 14-inch length of aluminum foil, pleating the foil lengthwise to make a 8-inch wide strip. Fold the foil hanging over the two ends to make "handles."
3. Process the flour and 1/2 cup oatmeal in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse to combine. Remove the blade and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup oatmeal.
4. Beat the butter with a hand-held electric mixer on high speed in large bowl until the butter is smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in color and texture, scraping down the bowl often, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and pecans. Spread the batter evenly in pan.
5. Bake until the top is golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire cake rack and cool completely.
6. Lift up on the foil handles to remove the blondies in one piece. Peel off and discard the foil. Cut into 12 bars. (The blondies can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.)