When I had a hankering for a batch of blondies the other day, I was kind of surprised that I hadn’t previously investigated bringing together the mouth-watering magic of brown butter and a chewy blondie. My bad. Oversight most excellently rectified.
(Also, hello! Hi! Sorry I’ve been gone so long. Am trying to kick 2018 into gear by getting back to blogging.)
Um, these blondies are ridiculous. I’m not allowed to make them again unless I have an upcoming event. The recipe makes a 9×13 pan, and I have eaten SO MANY of these this week. It’s one of those situations where you cut off an inch or so every time you walk by the pan – just a nibble! – and then suddenly it’s half gone and you’re wondering why you had this massive burst of cleaning-the-house energy followed by a headache…
The recipe is a bit involved. I should point that out before we move forward. You essentially make two separate batters, so it’s not the simple one-bowl, mix and drop batter that most of my favorite bar cookies involve.
I also totally under-baked them (it’s really hard to tell when they’re done), but since they’re supposed to be gooey anyway, I didn’t sweat it. Well, I did a little bit when I cut into them while still warm and the brown butter batter started oozing… so, definitely wait to cut them until their fully cooled. And/or pop them in the fridge if you under-bake them, too. They’re great cold. Almost fudgy.
Gooey Brown Butter Blondies (from Epicurious)
Grade: A
Brown butter batter:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Blondie batter:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9×13″ baking dish.
Toast the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet for 6-8 minutes until slightly darkened and aromatic. Set aside to cool.
Then, make the brown butter batter: cook the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, 5-8 minutes. Transfer brown butter to a medium bowl so that it stops cooking (you don’t want it to burn), and let it cool slightly (5 mins or so). Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat with an electric mixer until mixture is light and falls back onto itself in a slowly dissolving ribbon (about 3 minutes). Fold in flour.
For the blondie batter, whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. Set that aside. Using a stand mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar and 1 cup butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions. Mix the batter until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.
Reduce the speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients just until no pockets of flour remain (a minute or two – don’t over-mix). Fold in half of the pecans.
Scrape two-thirds of the blondie batter into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the top, pushing batter to edges. The batter is thick and sticky, so won’t pour/spread easily – I sprayed my hands with cooking spray and just patted it into place.
Then, alternating between the two batters, dollop brown butter batter and remaining blondie batter on top. I used my cookie scoop to plop evenly sized balls of each batter on top. Smooth the top out a bit, but don’t fret about making it totally regular. Sprinkle with the remaining pecans.
Bake until blondie is golden brown and firm on top (a tester will not come out clean), 30-35 minutes. I took mine out at 30 because the top looked done, but they were on the under-baked side. Definitely let cool before slicing, as the brown butter batter is meant to be gooey and won’t be solid until fully cooled.
Baker on the Run 