I mean, perhaps you might be interested in another type of chewy bar cookie other than chocolate. Personally I have never met anyone who didn't like brownies, and they can get very upscale indeed if you follow the many recipes and variations on the Internet. You can put things into them--nuts, raisins, chips--and you can put things on top of them--caramel sauce, frosting or marshmallows.
The best-know alternative to a brownie is a blondie, a bar cookie made with a general resemblance to a brownie but with the notable lack of chocolate. There isn't any reason why blondies shouldn't be as scrumptious as brownies, however, so as I looked at many recipes I came up with the following as something to serve at a party alongside the chocolate.
By the way, maple chips can be bought in some specialty stores and also ordered online from the King Arthur Flour Company. In addition, if you need one, you can get a 1/8-teaspoon measuring spoon along with various other hard-to-find quantities (such as 3/4 teaspoon) in stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond in Tucson, or online as well.
GOLDEN BLONDIES
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup maple sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup coarsely-chopped pecans
1/4 cup maple chips or bits
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, and treat it with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk the dry ingredients other than the sugar together in a mixing bowl and set them aside.
Beat the egg and the maple sugar together in another mixing bowl until they are light, and then beat in the butter. Fold in the dry ingredients gradually, and finally mix the nuts and chips quickly.
Turn the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is no longer moist. Remove from the oven and allow the blondies to cool for 20 minutes before you turn them onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
But the blondies into squares and serve either warm or at room temperature.
The reason that you should develop the habit of allowing baked goods to cool when you take them out of the oven is simply to wait until it is no longer dangerous to handle them. I kicked myself a few times when I noticed this type of instructions in some recipes. It became clear to me that some chefs know about this and others don't.
As a general rule, don't attempt to handle cooked or baked food until it is safe to handle, drop, splash, etc. This doesn't hold true for soups, stews, spaghetti, etc., that are served from stove top, but the general idea is sound.
It used to be hard to find maple sugar in Tucson's stores, but that is no longer true; although it usually comes in relatively-small quantities, like a pound at a time, most health-oriented stores carry it now.
These blondies can also be made with a cup of packed brown sugar, and your choice of light or dark-brown sugar will have an effect on the finished blondies. I suggest starting with light-brown sugar and see how you like that, and then you can try darker sugar.
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