Browned Butter White Chocolate Blondies

With a name like this what’s not to like?! White Chocolate Browned Butter Blondies ... are really as delicious as they sound. Soft and chewy with a beautiful caramel, nutty undertone. It’ll be hard to stop at one!

My love affair with browned butter blondies first started 15 years ago….

I had my first ever blondie whilst living in Sydney at age 25 whilst backpacking with my bestie. I can picture that café on the beachfront at Manly Beach and without knowing what it was, I ordered my blondie. Literally from that moment I’ve been hooked ever since.

Blondies are a popular café treat in Australia but now we’re back in the UK, I don’t see them being sold, and I miss them. Like really miss them. So this called for only one course of action. Make them myself!

So here we have these deliciously more-ish Browned Butter White Chocolate Blondies. I’m not going to lie ... they are quite naughty but hey, a treat once in a while won’t hurt! You definitely won’t regret it!

Read on to find out what’s the difference between blondies and brownies and how to brown your butter to nutty perfection and how to make these delicious treats.

• 

• 

What are Blondies?

I used to wonder the same thing. So, let me explain.

They are essentially the fairer cousin of a brownie. They are a rich and quite sweet dessert made up of flour, butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and baking powder.

Unlike a brownie, they don’t have any cocoa powder in them. This allows the flavour of the brown sugar to shine through and this gives the blondies a beautiful caramel taste to them.

Often, you’ll find white or dark chocolate mixed in, but also nuts such as macadamia, pecans or walnuts.

The texture of a blondie should be soft, chewy and fudgy and in my version by browning the butter you add an insanely beautiful nutty note to the blondies. Bonus, there’s no nuts in my version … perfect for anyone with allergies. 

Team that nutty flavour with the deep rich molasses flavour from the brown sugar and you have some super tasty blondie bars. I guarantee that you won’t be stopping at just one!

• 

• 

Tips on browning butter

Browned butter is one of those tricks in the kitchen that can seriously elevate your dish. When you bite down into a sweet treat and can’t pinpoint exactly what that rich nutty flavour is … I bet it’ll be from browned butter.

How does the butter brown?

As the butter cooks slowly in the pan, the milk solids gradually caramelise and brown and it’s this browning process that gives the butter a nutty sweetness with the most amazing fragrance.

How to brown your butter

1. Place the butter in a light-coloured saucepan, this way you can see the butter change colour.  Let the butter melt slowly over a low heat.
2. Gradually you’ll see the butter separate as a white foam will form on the top. This is the milk solids separating from the butter. Totally normal, this is meant to happen.
3. As the butter continues to heat, these milk solids start to turn a golden-brown colour. Make sure you stir or swirl the pan continuously so the butter heats consistently and those brown bits don’t burn.
4. Once you have those golden-brown bits on the bottom of the pan, transfer the butter to a heat proof bowl to stop the cooking process. Scrape the bottom of the pan so that you get all that golden goodness- that’s where all the taste lies!

How to make blondies

These are so super easy to make. Even browning the butter is super simple to do. There’s no standmixer required which makes this a great recipe to quickly whip out when you have to produce something with minimum muss but tasty as hell. 

• Turn your oven on to 170C (340F) and grease and line a 23cm (9-inch) square baking pan. I let the parchment paper hang right over the edges so that it’s really easy to pull the brownies out of the tray once they are cooled.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set to one side.
• In another bowl add the brown sugar, browned butter, vanilla extract and eggs and stir until fully combined.
• Gradually stir in the flour mixture into your sugar mixture and stir until a few whisps of flour remain. Then add your white chocolate chips, mix again and you are done! You now have blondie batter. Tell me you won’t lick your spoon!
• Pour into your prepared tray and pop in the oven to cook for 30 minutes or until just golden brown. Make sure not to over-cook them as you really want that soft fudgy texture in the middle.
• Once out of the oven leave them tocool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then using the edges of the baking paper, carefully remove the blondie square from the pan onto a wire rack.

Now if these are cooked how I like it, firm on the outside but soft and chewy in the middle (totally my favourite part!), I suggest leaving the blondies to cool thoroughly before cutting. Then use a knife dipped in hot water to cut your squares- this tip will give you cleaner edges.

How do you store blondies, and can they be frozen?

You can store blondies in an air tight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Or for up to one week in the fridge. 

They also freeze well for up to 3 months

For more delicious snack bars that are easy to make with everyday ingredients found at home, check out my Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars. Recipe found here. Like the blondies, they can be made in advance and then cut up into squares which makes transporting these a breeze.

If white chocolate in blondies aren’t your thing then just add some milk chocolate chunks. Ina Garten makes some fab ones here.