Salted Brown Butter Blondies are rich and gooey with notes of salted caramel, butter, and vanilla. They’re easy to make with just 6 ingredients in 1 bowl in less than 1 hour!
This recipe is a little dangerous.
Only because once you realize how ridiculously easy it is to make and how crazy good it is, you might just not be able to stop yourself from making it a little too often!
Consider yourself warned, friends.
I also love how many different ways you can make these! Basically any flavor profile you can dream up, you can create here.
How about a post-Halloween special using leftover candy? Maybe something along the lines of Peanut Butter Cup Blondies with chopped peanut butter cups and a swirl of peanut butter.
Or perhaps a festive white chocolate, pecan, and dried cranberry rendition for the holidays.
And another one of my favorite classic combinations is butterscotch chips and walnuts, with a few oats sprinkled on top before baking.
You can really let your imagination run wild here!
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The Best Brown Butter Blondies Recipe
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Flaky sea salt
How to Brown Butter
- Add the butter to a small saucepan.
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking until the butter is slightly browned and smells nutty. This takes less than 5 minutes.
- It's done! Don't forget the nice brown bits in the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is!
- Your brown butter is ready to use.
How to Make Brown Butter Blondies
- Whisk together the warm brown butter and brown sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract.
- And give it a good whisk.
- Add the flour and salt.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into an 8 by 8-inch baking pan lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper.
- Bake!
How to Store Blondies
Store blondies in an airtight food storage container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, transfer the container to the fridge for up to 4 days more. Let the blondies sit for 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
Variations on This Recipe
- Extracts. Instead of (or in addition to) vanilla extract, you can use whatever extract you like. There’s a ton of different flavors available, such as lemon, cinnamon, peanut butter, raspberry, coffee, etc. Start with a small amount and work your way up because some flavors are very potent!
- Mix-ins. Mix in up to 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruit before baking.
- Swirl-ons. Swirl in 1/2 cup of jam, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, hot fudge, Nutella, caramel, etc. before baking. Don’t fully mix it in, you want to be able to see the swirls.
- Stuff it. Or add a layer of fun in the middle! Spoon in half of the batter, add a layer of pre-baked cookies (like Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, etc.), spread the other half of the batter on top, and bake.
Tips for Making Brown Butter Blondies
- The butter should be melted and only slightly cooled when you mix in the sugar. This is how you get a gorgeous crackly top.
- Make sure you take the blondies out of the oven when they’re golden along the outside, but still look a touch doughy in the center.
- If you want to get nice clean slices, let the blondies cool completely before cutting.
Blondies FAQs
What’s the Difference Between a Brownie and a Blondie?
Blondies are not just blonde brownies or brownies without chocolate added. Blondies are definitely their own thing!
For starters, all brownies have some form of chocolate. Blondies may or may not have chocolate, usually in the form of chocolate chips.
While predominant flavor of brownies is chocolate, the base flavor of blondies is buttered caramel.
Additionally, blondies are typically chewier than brownies.
What Does Brown Butter Taste Like?
Brown butter tastes like a combination of butter and toasted nuts (especially hazelnuts), with notes of caramel.
What Does Brown Butter do to Cookies?
Brown butter adds complexity to cookies. In this Brown Butter Blondies recipe, brown butter adds a subtle nutty caramel flavor.
With a little bit of flaky sea salt on top, I think these taste like salted caramel blondies!
Are Blondies Supposed to be Gooey in the Middle?
Yes! Blondies will continue cooking in their pan even after they’re out of the oven. They’re ready to come out when they’re golden along the outside, but still look a touch doughy in the center.
If you cook blondies until the middle isn’t gooey, they will be over-baked.
Note that as blondies cool, they will stiffen up. Once they’re completely cooled, you can easily cut them.
More Blondies Recipes to Try
- Patriotic Red White and Blue Blondies
- Funfetti Blondies
- Ballpark Blondies with Salted Peanuts and Caramel Corn
Did You Make This?
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Xoxo, Faith
Salted Brown Butter Blondies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over all 4 sides.
- Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, turn the heat down to medium-low to low. Cook until the butter smells nutty and is slightly browned. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes from the time it’s melted. Cool for 2 minutes.
- Add the warm brown butter to a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly.
- Bake until the blondies are golden along the outside and puffed, but still look a touch gooey in the center, about 20 to 23 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.
- Sprinkle the flaky sea salt on top immediately when you take the blondies out of the oven.
- Cool before cutting and serving.
Faith's Tips
- Optional Add-Ins: If desired, mix in up to 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruit before baking.
Nutrition
Betsy says
My favorite ice cream is butter pecan, so I added pecans to the batter - AMAZING!!!
Melanie says
These were so so yummy! I made them twice in one week. I love the simplicity and the short list of ingredients. The first time I made them I had unsalted butter and probably could have browned the butter longer. The second time I made them I only had salted butter, browned the butter longer (hello nutty and almost caramelly flavor!) but forgot the salt at the end. The second time they were better, IMO. I did miss the salt topping tho. My point in sharing is that I feel the browning of the butter makes the dessert: I also made it ahead and popped it in the fridge. Not sure if that was the best idea because the butter hardened. I let it come slightly to temp and baked them as directed with no poor outcome. Thanks for your recipe! Oh one more thing, the plate has been emptied each time I made these. I love that but sad I can’t have one for later
K.N. says
Easy dessert that doesn’t take very long! It was a hit with the picky people too!
I used unsalted butter and I didn’t have time to run out for flake salt so I used the pink sea salt on top and it was delicious!
Allison says
Can you double this and use and 13x9?
Faith says
Allison, Yes! They may need a little bit longer to bake (5 to 10 minutes or so), but it should work fine.
Rachelle says
The butter separated during baking. Anyone experience this or know why?
Faith says
Rachelle, During recipe testing, I noticed that this can happen if the batter isn't mixed enough. Please see the photos in the post for how the batter should look. I hope this helps!