Brown Butter Blondies
For a very long time, I found blondies to be uniformly disappointing. I wanted to like them, I liked the idea of them. Blondies are basically chocolate chip cookies in bar form, what’s not to like? But, without fail, they failed to impress. They were cakey, or bready. They were dense (but not in a good way) and dry. The flavor was bland and they lacked sufficient chocolate. And just to be clear, these were blondies that I was making myself from a wide array of recipes. It got to the point where I actively avoided any and all blondie recipes. But I’ll tell you a little secret…all of that changed with this Brown Butter Blondie recipe!
This recipe delivers exactly what you imagine and hope for when biting into a blondie. The flavor is rich, buttery and nuanced with notes of caramel and butterscotch from the brown butter and brown sugar as well as warm, comforting notes of vanilla. Then you get a nice hit of sea salt and plenty of dark chocolate to balance out the sweetness.
So, they bring the flavor, but what about texture? Well, when we get right down to it, what I expect from a good blondie is exactly what I expect from a good brownie. I want a fudgy texture, I want crisp chewy edges and I want a crackly top. Yes, yes and yes – again these blondies deliver!
When I began working on this recipe, I considered how blondie recipes typically differ from brownie recipes (aside from the obvious inclusion of melted chocolate and/or cocoa powder in brownies).
- Blondies typically include a chemical leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda. This is intended to lighten the texture, attempting to make the bars less dense. Brownies typically avoid chemical leavening agents.
- Blondies typically incorporate fewer eggs than brownies. Eggs are one of the primary ingredients providing moisture in both blondies and brownies, having fewer eggs makes for a dryer batter and a dryer end product.
- Blondies typically have a higher ratio of flour than brownies which can also contribute to a dryer and more cakey or bready texture.
After reading too many blondie recipes (and reviews) to count, comparing them to my favorite brownie recipes (like my Fudgy Brownies) and baking off several test batches, this is where I landed, a recipe that keeps the butter and flour ratios high (more reminiscent of cookies and typical blondies), removes the chemical leavening agents (brownie all the way), and increases the ratio of eggs (brownie again!). The end result speaks for itself with a texture that says brownie, but a taste that 100% says blondie. This is now my go-to blondie recipe, and, much like my go-to brownie recipes, this recipe makes the perfect base for endless variations from simple mix-in swaps to decadent over the top blondie creations.
Brown Butter Blondies
Equipment
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.9”x13” baking pan
- saucepan medium
- mixing bowl large
- electric mixer
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.kitchen scale (or measuring cups and measuring spoons)
Ingredients
- 454 g butter unsalted
- 32 g milk powder
- 600 g brown sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 30 ml vanilla
- 10 g sea salt
- 480 g all-purpose flour
- 255 g bittersweet chocolate chips
- 255 g semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a 9”x13” baking pan with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
- Place the butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir constantly until the milk solids are toasted golden brown and the mixture smells nutty, pour into a large mixing bowl.454 g butter, 32 g milk powder
- Add the brown sugar to the mixing bowl and stir to combine and dissolve the sugar. Allow the mixture to cool and then beat until creamy.600 g brown sugar
- Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition until well combined.5 large eggs
- Add the vanilla and salt and beat until incorporated.30 ml vanilla, 10 g sea salt
- Stir in the flour and chocolate chips just until combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan480 g all-purpose flour, 255 g bittersweet chocolate chips, 255 g semisweet chocolate chips
- Bake in the preheated oven for ~34 minutes. The edges will be set, there may be some cracks in the top, the center will have a slight wobble. Set aside to cool completely before cutting into 40 small or 24 large bars.
Notes
- This recipe is written with a classic chocolate chip mix-in, but feel free to use whatever mix-ins you prefer – experiment with different flavors of baking chips, toffee, nuts, dried fruit (I would avoid fresh fruit as it will add too much liquid to the recipe), etc.
- If you don’t want to brown the butter (although I strongly recommend that you do!), you can use regular butter, but you will need to reduce it to 397g, or 1 3/4 cups, to account for the increased amount of water present in the butter when it is not browned. You’ll also omit the milk powder.
- You cannot use the toothpick test to determine if these blondies are done baking, if a toothpick comes out clean you have over baked them. Look for the visual cues mentioned in the recipe and trust that they will set properly as they cool.
Nutrition
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