Blondies have always been popular at my bakery, but for the longest time, I didn’t get what the big deal was. To me, blondies always tasted overwhelmingly sweet – and that’s all! I always preferred a good ‘ol fudge brownie over a traditional blondie, which is loaded with brown sugar in place of the cocoa.
I decided that there must be some truth to the hype, so I took matters into my own hands and tinkered with the recipe until I came up with a version that my palette approved. The result was a chewy, rich and decadent bar that had just the right amount of sweet molasses flavor.
My secret? Brown the butter, use dark brown sugar, and toast the walnuts before adding them to the blondie batter.
Toss in some semi-sweet chocolate and Skor toffee bits, and you’ve got a winner!
On a side note, for the Holidays, I like to substitute chopped smokehouse almonds for the walnuts, white chocolate chips for the chocolate, and dried cranberries for the toffee. We enjoy these Holiday blondies at our Christmas gatherings at the family beach house. Nothing quite like enjoying a blondie (or two!) with a mug of warm milk while watching the sun set over the horizon.
If you enjoy this recipe and want more like it, check out my cookbook Beach House Baking. 🙂
Browned Butter Blondies
Ingredients
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- ¾ cups dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chunks semi-sweet
- 1.4 oz SKOR® Toffee Bar chopped into bits
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan and line it with two criss-crossed sheets of parchment leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Set aside.
- Toast the walnuts on a sheet tray for 6 to 7 minutes until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Brown the butter:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil the butter stirring constantly until browned, about 2 minutes. Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the browned butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add the flour, salt, walnuts, chocolate chunks and toffee bits. Mix on low until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out relatively clean. Do not overbake. Let cool completely at room temperature before cutting.