Salted Brown Butter Birthday Blondies

My daughter is a blondie girl. ❤ We enjoyed these amazing no-frills blondies as part of her 15th birthday celebration this year.

The original recipe is titled Caramel Canvas Blondies in Midwest Made: Big Bold Baking from the Heartland by Shauna Sever, one of my favorite books. Sever comments that they are known by many other names such as Butterscotch Bars or Toffee Bars in Midwest community cookbooks.

The salted caramel-esque base could easily accommodate any add-in but my birthday girl requested this minimalist version. 🙂 Classic, crowd-pleasing deliciousness.

Yield: about 2 dozen bars

• non-stick cooking spray, for pan
• 384g (3 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt (I used Maldon)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 480g (2 cups plus 2 T, firmly packed) light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, fridge cold
• 1 large (20g) egg yolk, fridge cold
• 1 T pure vanilla extract
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups or 339g) unsalted butter, browned and cooled
• 2 to 3 cups (about 300 to 450g) chocolate chips, nuts, candy bits, or other mix-ins, optional

1. Make the Brown Butter: Place the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Cook until foaming, amber in color, and until the milk-solids brown and separate, about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl to cool.
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 325 F (170 C), preferably on convection.
3. Spray a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) metal baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 opposite sides. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and flaky and fine salt.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla until lighter in color and texture, about 1 minute.
6. Whisk in the cooled browned butter.
7. Fold in the flour mixture just until no dry floury streaks remain.
8. Fold in mix-ins, if using. Stir until just combined.
9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and use and offset spatula to smooth the top.
10. Bake until the blondies are fragrant and golden, with a slightly glossy surface and a raised, wrinkled perimeter beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes in a convection oven or up to 40 minutes in a standard oven.
11. Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
12. Using the parchment paper, lift the blondies out of the pan to transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars of desired size.

Note: Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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