• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C.).
• While the oven is preheating, prepare your 8-inch square baking pan. Grease it thoroughly with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Make sure all inside surfaces of the pan are well coated to prevent your blondies from sticking.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the ⅓ cup of melted butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar. Stir them together until they're fully combined.
• Next, add in the 2 large eggs and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir the mixture well to ensure that the eggs and vanilla are fully incorporated.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ¾ cup of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix these dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the baking powder and salt throughout the flour.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine them but avoid overmixing. The mixture should be smooth and free of lumps.
• Add the 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter to the mixture. Stir it in until it's evenly distributed throughout the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan.
• Sprinkle the ¼ cup of salted peanuts over the top of the batter. Make sure the peanuts are distributed evenly.
• Place the pan in the preheated oven. Bake the blondies for about 30 minutes. The blondies are done when the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• After baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow the blondies to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes.

Notes

• The salted peanut on top really make these amazing! The texture of these bars is so good, it's dense like a brownie but it isn't chocolate. You are going to love them.
• You can use creamy peanut butter if you don't have chunky though the texture of the chunky is nice in these peanut butter bars.