Brown Butter Blondies
Chewy vanilla blondies made with nutty brown butter, with crisp edges and a soft, dense centre.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Browning the butter takes five extra minutes and is the entire difference between a blondie and a sweet vanilla traybake.
- One saucepan and one bowl. No mixer, no creaming stage.
- Brown sugar does the heavy lifting on texture, which is why these stay chewy rather than drying out on day two.
Recipe
Brown Butter Blondies
Chewy blondies with nutty brown butter and crisp edges.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Heat the oven to 175 C / 350 F. Line a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
- Step 2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Keep cooking, swirling often, until the milk solids at the bottom turn amber and the butter smells nutty. Pour it into a bowl, scraping in every one of the browned specks, and cool for 10 minutes.
- Step 3. Whisk both sugars into the warm butter until no lumps remain.
- Step 4. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk hard for about 30 seconds, until the mixture turns glossy.
- Step 5. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate chips if using.
- Step 6. Spread evenly in the pan and level the top.
- Step 7. Bake for 22 to 27 minutes, until the edges are set and a skewer in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Step 8. Cool completely in the pan before lifting out and cutting into 16 squares.
Notes
- Cool the browned butter for the full 10 minutes. Added to hot butter, the eggs start to cook and you get scrambled threads through the batter.
- Scrape the browned solids out of the pan and into the bowl. Those specks are where nearly all of the flavour is — leaving them behind gives you melted butter with extra steps.
- Fold the flour in only until it disappears. Overmixing develops gluten and turns a chewy bar into a tough one.
- Take them out when the centre still looks slightly underdone. Blondies firm up considerably as they cool, and a fully set centre in the oven means a dry bar.
Brown Butter Blondies — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/brown-butter-blondies/
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter
- Use a light-coloured pan so you can see the milk solids change colour. In a dark pan you are working blind, and brown butter goes from nutty to burnt in well under a minute.
- Light brown sugar
- The molasses in brown sugar holds moisture, which is what makes a blondie chewy rather than cakey. A batch made entirely with white sugar bakes up drier and paler.
- Eggs
- Room temperature eggs blend into warm butter more evenly. Cold eggs can seize the butter into visible flecks, which does not ruin the bake but makes the batter look curdled.
- Chocolate chips
- Genuinely optional. Left out, the brown butter and vanilla come through much more clearly, which is the point of the recipe.
Equipment
- 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Light-coloured saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
Substitutions
- Light brown sugar
- Dark brown sugar works and gives a deeper, more caramel flavour. The bars will be a shade darker.
- All-purpose flour
- A cup-for-cup gluten-free blend containing xanthan gum works here. Let the batter rest 10 minutes in the pan before baking so the flour hydrates.
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, butterscotch chips, or a mix. Keep the total to about 120 g so the batter still holds together.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They firm slightly overnight and the brown butter flavour deepens.
Freezing: Freeze the cut bars, separated by parchment, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know when butter is properly browned?
The foaming subsides, the colour under the foam turns amber, and the smell changes from buttery to distinctly nutty. Specks of toasted milk solid will settle on the bottom. From that point it burns quickly, so take it off the heat as soon as it smells right.
Why are my blondies cakey instead of chewy?
Usually too much flour, or overmixing after the flour goes in. Spoon flour into the cup and level it rather than scooping, and stop folding the moment the streaks disappear.
Can I make these in a 9 x 13 pan?
Double the recipe for a 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for roughly 25 to 30 minutes. Baking a single batch in the larger pan gives a very thin, dry bar.
Why did my blondies sink in the middle?
Underbaking, or opening the oven early. A slight dip is normal and disappears once they are cut. A deep collapse means the centre needed a few more minutes.
Do I have to brown the butter?
No, melted butter works and the bars will still be good. You lose the nutty depth that gives the recipe its name, so it becomes a plain vanilla blondie.
Why are my blondies greasy on the bottom?
The butter separated, usually because the batter was mixed while the butter was still hot. Cooling it for 10 minutes and whisking the sugars in properly keeps the emulsion together.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
