Bars and brownies

Brown butter chocolate chip blondies

“The nice thing about baking alone in the kitchen before dawn is that you can talk to yourself like a crazy person and no one suspects you’re a crazy person.” ― William Alexander


The week’s been dragging on. Have been down with a chest cold and a cough that is more annoying than alarming . And since when is it hot in Bangalore in February? I needed to bake some thing to get me out of my blues. These Brown butter blondies from Ambitious Kitchen have been bookmarked for a while and seemed easy enough to attempt despite the almost balmy weather and my minor ailments.

First , quickly, if you are new to the game …. “Blondies ” are basically brownies without the chocolate , that is bar cookies that can be chewy, fudgy , cakey or even gooey. “Brown butter ” is butter that is melted and heated until the all the water is cooked off and the milk solids brown . It gives this nutty and delicious taste.

These blondies are chewy and ridiculously good. I opted out of the nutella filling in the centre but go ahead with the Nutella to take the indulgence over the top!

You’ll need:

  • 114 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 150 grams or 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence or extract
  • 125 grams or 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 to 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Makes : 16 2x2x2 blondies
Time : 20 mins prep+ 30 mins baking time

Lets get started :

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 inch square pan with parchment or foil . Make sure the parchment is long enough up the sides to pull the blondies out later. Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F

In a saucepan (with a light coloured bottom) melt the butter. Continue heating for few minutes while whisking or stirring.

The butter will crackle and foam and you will see brown bits at the bottom . There will also be a lovely nutty smell. The foaming might not let you see the brown bits to push away the foam at regular intervals to check.

Pour into a mixing bowl to prevent further heating. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the sugar.

Mix in the egg and vanilla well.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt . Mix until well incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spread the dough into the lined pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350 F or 180 C for 25-28 minutes. Cool completely in the pan , remove from parchment and slice with a sharp knife.

Also:

  • The blondies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days .
  • Double the recipe for a 9 x 13 inch or 7 x 11 inch pan.
  • I used dark brown sugar but you can use light brown sugar ( will give you a blonder blondie!)
  • While browning the butter , keep checking the butter and stop heating once there are a few brown bits in the bottom. Immediately transfer to mixing bowl or the heat of saucepan will continue heating the butter and even burn it.

These blondies were good enough to lift up my spirits and more! Although my blondies looked a lot more like their chocolate counterpart thanks to my super dark brown sugar! But the taste was spot on! The browned butter gave them a nutty and toasted yumminess along with a delicious fragrance (can a fragrance be delicious?) . Chewy and irresistible.

Oh. Do check out this brown butter banana chocolate chip cake thats just as awesome !

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