Butterscoth Brownies or sometimes called Blondies

I might be the only person I know who is not fond of chocolate. I do like it in small quantities such as in tiramisu, café mocha, or maybe a small square of dark chocolate after dinner.  Marcel on the other hand LOVES chocolate so I am always trying new recipes that use chocolate but not too much of it. Here is one I tried recently from the Joy of Cooking book. I expected it to be a little bit more dense and less chewy but mine came out with loose crumbs and breaking apart. I can only blame the white whole-grain flour I used, and maybe the lack of corn syrup? Let me know if you have a good recipe for it or have any advice.