Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
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If you invite me to any party, potluck or get together, I am for sure bringing these chocolate chip blondies!
They have the most delicious crunchy tops, chewy centers, and the toasted flavor of the brown butter is a total game changer.
I’m kind of in love with brown butter. I love it in cookies and in frostings and I’d probably drink it if that were an acceptable thing to do. ?
Traditional blondies already have a caramel-y flavor thanks to the brown sugar but I’ve found adding the brown butter gives it a rich, nutty flavor and simply elevates the entire dessert.
These chocolate chip blondies are essentially a blank canvas. Like my chocolate chip cookies, you can add nuts, dried fruits or use different chocolate chips the same goes for these blondies.
Feel free to fold in walnuts or pecans, dried apricots or white chocolate chips into the batter before turning over into the pan. Use whatever you have or feel like adding in – you really can’t go wrong!
Thin and chewy, buttery and soft in the middle and the best crinkly tops and edges – I know you’re going to love them!
Ingredient Notes
There isn’t much you need for these chocolate chip blondies other than a little time (to brown the butter)…yay for minimal ingredients and big on flavor! Scroll down to the recipe card for the full list and measurements.
- Flour: All-Purpose Flour is perfect for this recipe! I haven’t tried any alternative flours but I am sure a gluten free 1-1 replacement flour would work well.
- Brown butter: Don’t overthink it. Brown butter is simply taking a stick of regular butter and then melting and toasting it on the stove until the milk solids turn brown. The end result is magical, nutty, heavenly brown butter. Once you start baking with brown butter you won’t be able to stop! Plus, melted butter as opposed to softened butter gives these chocolate chip blondies a soft and chewy texture.
- Brown Sugar: I recommend using all light brown sugar. You can always use a combination and use 1 cup dark and 1 cup light. Dark brown sugar adds more of a rich, sweet taste and I found it can distract from the brown butter flavor which is why I opt for light brown. However, you can’t mess these up and whatever you choose will be perfect!
- Eggs: Adds structure, fudginess and the combination of the sugars and eggs gives the bars their beautiful crackly tops!
- Other ingredients: milk chocolate chips, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt
Step by Step Directions
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Brown the butter and whisk in vanilla bean paste. Full details on how to brown butter can be found below and in the recipe card.
- Whisk brown sugar into the slightly cooled brown butter.
- Whisk in eggs, one at a time.
- Stir in vanilla.
- Fold in dry ingredients.
- Spread into a 9×13 pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
- Bake ~23 minutes.
- Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top. Allow to cool slightly then cut into bars. YUM!
Tips and Variations
- Fold in walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, dried fruit, white chocolate chips, etc.
- Making the brown butter is an extra step but it’s worth it and I wouldn’t recommend skipping! 🙂
- I love baking my blondies for ~23-24 minutes for a chewy, gooey blondie. If you like a more cakey blondie, baking a few additional minutes. Keep in mind they will continue to bake as they cool in the pan.
- Be sure to line the pan with a parchment paper sling so it’s easy to remove the bars when you’re ready to cut.
- Choose a high quality vanilla extract. You can also play around with adding in a little almond extract too!
- Store blondies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Make Brown Butter
It may sound intimidating, but it’s really easy, only takes a few minutes and is the backbone of these cookies. The nutty flavor compliments the caramel beautifully and I love it’s culinary use in baking so much! Let’s do it:
- Use a stainless steel skillet. This is best to easily monitor the butter’s color and gauge when the butter has browned.
- Place the unsalted butter in the cold, stainless steel skillet. Unsalted is truly best because salted butter foams more.
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally to help the butter melt evenly. As the butter melts, it separates into butter fat and milk solids. The milk solids will naturally sink to the bottom of the pan and begin to brown as they heat up.
- You’ll notice the butter begin to foam. This is good! The foam will begin to subside.
- Use a heat resistant spatula to continually gently stir the butter. You’ll begin to see tiny specks at the bottom of the pan, constantly stir and scrape so these don’t stick. (These are the milk solids that give brown butter its yummy flavor.)
- As soon as the butter turns chestnut brown and omits a nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat and scrape the brown butter and all of the yummy brown bits into a heat proof bowl. It’s important to remove to a bowl immediately so the residual heat from the pan doesn’t burn the butter.
- Depending on your heat setting, this process should only take less than 10 minutes.
FAQ
Can I simply use melted butter instead of brown butter?
Yes, you can. BUT I think they are so much better with the brown butter!
Can I make these in a 9×9 or 8×8 pan?
I haven’t tested the recipe in a smaller pan so I cannot advise. I think it would work, you’d just have to adjust the baking time.
Can I double the recipe for a thicker blondie?
I haven’t doubled the recipe myself yet, but once again I think it would work out. Adjust baking time as needed.
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste (optional)
- 2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose-flour
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Brown the butter: For a detailed tutorial, see this post on how to brown butter. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste (if using) and set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes.12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste (optional)
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.2 cups all purpose-flour, 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt
- In a large bowl, combine the slightly cooled brown butter and brown sugar.2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.2 large eggs
- Add in vanilla and stir until combined. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Batter will be quite thick.2 tsp. vanilla extract
- Spread batter into prepared pan into an even layer. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for ~23-25 minutes. Edges should look browned and middle slightly underdone (but will continue to cook as it cools).3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt on top and once cooled, cut into diagonal bars or squares. Be sure to use a clean, sharp knife and clean the knife in between cuts to get pretty bars!flaky sea salt
Video
Notes
- Fold in walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, dried fruit, white chocolate chips, etc. as desired.
- I love baking these blondies for ~23-24 minutes for a chewy, gooey blondie. If you like a more cake-y blondie, bake a few additional minutes. Keep in mind they will continue to bake as they cool in the pan.
- Be sure to line the pan with a parchment paper sling so it’s easy to remove the bars when you’re ready to cut.
- Choose a high quality vanilla extract. You can also play around with adding in a little almond extract too!
- Store blondies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Made these cookie bars for a welcome back treat for teachers. They all loved them and can’t wait for me to make more.
Amazing! Thank you so much:)
The metric conversion for the flour and the brown sugar are off, unfortunately! I ended up with a mess of buttery sugar. Everything recipe I’ve made of yours have all been wonderful and delicious, but this was a fail for me!
Oh no, I am so sorry. The system I use is an automation, so sometimes it’s not always reliable. i will update this post immediately. I am so sorry once again!
Update: I had to make these again, and did it w/ customary measurements instead…Omigosh, are these ever delicious!! Browned butter definitely kicks these up notches!
I am so glad they worked out this time!! thank you soo much 🙂
These are amazing!!!! Such a simple step to brown the butter and it makes them so flavorful!! The whole fam devoured them and I still have a bunch left over to take to work. Also, shout out for putting the measurements of ingredients underneath the steps of the recipe that contain them!!!! I didn’t have to go back and forth to check my measurements, such a saving grace.
Absolutely delicious! I received so many compliments. I folded in the chocolate chips instead of leaving them on top and also added chopped walnuts. LOVE everything with brown butter!!!!
I love the cookies and decided I needed try something new. These did not disappoint! I followed the recipe and baked it at 23 minutes. I was worried that they were under cooked but after letting them cool for 20 minutes they were perfect!
Love your recipes!
I meant to take a picture, but forgot as it smells so good I couldn’t wait to eat it!! OMG I was NOT disappointed! Absolutely delicious! We are it with a cilantro lime rice and broccoli! YUMMMM!