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Small Batch Baking
Recipe
1 hr 15 min

Small Batch Browned Butter Blondies

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Small Batch Browned Butter Blondies
Author: Andrea Geary

Recipe By Andrea Geary

Published on August 6, 2024

For a blondie that's chewy but not too sweet, we found that you can't simply swap in a cookie dough or brownie batter.

Time

1 hr 15 min

Yield

Makes 6 bars

Why This Recipe Works

For a blondie that's chewy but not too sweet, we found that you can't simply swap in a cookie dough or brownie batter. Using melted rather than creamed butter made for a blondie that was dense and chewy instead of cakey. To boost the blondie's bland flavor with nutty complexity, we browned the butter first. Using brown sugar was a must for its underlying caramel notes, and its moistness contributed to a chewy texture. To tone down the sweetness, we replaced a portion of the sugar with corn syrup. A full 2 teaspoons of vanilla brought more complexity to the bars, and a generous amount of salt in the batter and sprinkled on top brought all the flavors into focus. Chopped pecans and milk chocolate chips complemented the butterscotch flavor without overwhelming it. Due to the greater depth of batter and the high sides of the loaf pan, our small batch of blondies bakes for just as long as our full batch.

Ingredients

¾ cup (3¾ ounces/106 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 tablespoons packed (4⅓ ounces) light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarse
2 tablespoons (¾ ounce) milk chocolate chips
⅛ teaspoon flake sea salt, crumbled (optional)

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Lightly grease parchment. Whisk flour, table salt, and baking powder together in medium bowl.
    Recipe Tip
    Leaving an overhang of parchment paper on either side of the pan will make it easy to lift the blondies out after they’re baked.
  2. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling skillet and stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer browned butter to second medium bowl.
    Recipe Tip
    Be careful not to overbrown your butter! Sadly there’s no fixing this, but remembering to transfer your browned butter to a clean bowl will both stop the cooking process and lock in the toasty, nutty flavors of the brown butter that make these blondies so delicious.
  3. Add sugar to hot browned butter and whisk until combined. Add egg, corn syrup, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Bake until top is deep golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed, about 40 minutes (blondies will firm up as they cool).
  4. Let blondies cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour. Invert blondies onto cutting board, remove parchment, and reinvert. Cut into 6 bars and serve. (Blondies can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.)
    Recipe Tip
    An hour of cooling time may seem excessive but it’s necessary to ensure that the bars set up enough to be cleanly sliced.

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Small Batch Browned Butter Blondies

Recipe By Andrea Geary

Published on August 6, 2024

Time

1 hr 15 min

Yield

Makes 6 bars

Small Batch Browned Butter Blondies

Ingredients

¾ cup (3¾ ounces/106 grams) all-purpose flour½ teaspoon table salt¼ teaspoon baking powder4 tablespoons unsalted butter10 tablespoons packed (4⅓ ounces) light brown sugar1 large egg2 tablespoons corn syrup2 teaspoons vanilla extract⅓ cup pecans, toasted and chopped coarse2 tablespoons (¾ ounce) milk chocolate chips⅛ teaspoon flake sea salt, crumbled (optional)

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Lightly grease parchment. Whisk flour, table salt, and baking powder together in medium bowl.
    Recipe Tip
    Leaving an overhang of parchment paper on either side of the pan will make it easy to lift the blondies out after they’re baked.
  2. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling skillet and stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer browned butter to second medium bowl.
    Recipe Tip
    Be careful not to overbrown your butter! Sadly there’s no fixing this, but remembering to transfer your browned butter to a clean bowl will both stop the cooking process and lock in the toasty, nutty flavors of the brown butter that make these blondies so delicious.
  3. Add sugar to hot browned butter and whisk until combined. Add egg, corn syrup, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Bake until top is deep golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed, about 40 minutes (blondies will firm up as they cool).
  4. Let blondies cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour. Invert blondies onto cutting board, remove parchment, and reinvert. Cut into 6 bars and serve. (Blondies can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.)
    Recipe Tip
    An hour of cooling time may seem excessive but it’s necessary to ensure that the bars set up enough to be cleanly sliced.
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