Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

These easy brown butter chocolate chip blondies are crispy and gooey in all the right places. Made in under an hour with just 8 simple ingredients, these one pan wonders are a fan favorite for all occasions!

Every home baker, and cook for that matter, has that one knock-your-socks-off recipe that is requested time and time again. That unforgettable sweet or savory dish that everyone asks for at dinner parties, neighborhood potlucks, supper groups and annual holiday shindigs. It’s that one thing that nobody does better and they’ve stopped trying. Your friends and family beg you to show up with it and threaten to turn you away at the door if you don’t.
For me, I have a long list of standouts including Auntie Lisa’s cinnamon rolls {extra frosting, please}, Uncle Jason’s cotija guacamole, Sandy’s Caesar, and Gramma O’s rice ortega {literally nothing like it!}. I’ve got a friend with a mac-n-cheese recipe that should win a blue ribbon, a neighbor that bakes a top-notch, mile high apple pie, and an old co-worker that makes homemade ravioli like nobody’s business. Everyone has a thing and it’s good as gold when you share it.

So what’s MY thing, you ask? For a long stretch there, it was toffee. For years I was known as “the toffee lady” and I’d happily tote boxes of chocolate covered almond toffee all around town like some kind of, well…..toffee lady. Toffee was my jam and I was proud of it. Fast forward almost a decade and my family is lucky to see the sweet stuff once a year at Christmas. If toffee burnout is a thing, I have it. BIG TIME. Once I sold the biz I was so eager to bake anything other than toffee.
But I never did shake my love for that signature brown butter, caramel-y {yes, its a word} flavor that surely was running through my veins given all the toffee I had made through the years. Blondies, as it turns out, are just as addictive as toffee and a whole lot faster to make. Brown butter makes them ever so slightly nutty with a deeper, richer flavor which makes this one pan wonder a real crowd pleaser.

I started making these blondies almost religiously just after hanging up my hat as a small business owner. I was loving every minute of free time I had to throw flour and butter around in the kitchen all day and see what goodness would come from the oven. Next thing I knew, these blondies had made their way to every class party, school luncheon, and block party on the calendar that year. It wasn’t long before I had a new nickname and the seed for what would soon be the title of my blog was planted.

That’s my story, short and sweet. Almost as sweet as a warm batch of these golden brown goodies fresh from the oven. They have fast become my most requested dessert and it’s a little embarrassing to admit on the internet how often I bake these rich and chewy squares. They never get old and I’ll forever be grateful that these blondies have mega fans out there.

These squares are shamefully easy to whip up and I’ll bet you memorize the recipe in no time. With just 8 ingredients they are a cinch to make when the craving strikes. You likely have all the ingredients in your pantry so there’s no trip to the market required which makes these blondies an easy peasy last minute treat. Blondies can certainly be made with regular butter, much like a batch of cookies. But brown butter takes the flavor up a notch and imparts a deep, rich flavor to baked goods. Not convinced it’s worth the trouble?? Sounds cliche, but don’t knock it till you try it.

To make these pan cookies, simply brown the butter on the stovetop and set aside to cool slightly before adding the sugars. Never browned butter before? I gotchu! Check out this post for these crazy delicious Brown Butter Brownies and I’ll walk you through the four easy steps. Next we mix in the eggs and a generous dose of vanilla.
The final step is to add in the dry ingredients and stir by hand until barely incorporated {read: do NOT over mix}.  Go to town with your number one choice of chocolate {I vote for for dark chocolate} and your dough is good to go. Thirty-ish minutes in the oven and you’ve got a dessert that you’ll put on repeat!

TIPS FOR THE VERY BEST BROWN BUTTER BLONDIES

It’s all about the buttah! Sure, you could speed things up and pass on the brown butter, but it’s a real game-changer so stick to the recipe. Browning the butter takes just 5 extra minutes and it’s 100% worth it.
Do not over mix. Blondie batter needs a gently hand so go easy on the mixing and once the flour has been added, only stir until the flour and chocolate are barely incorporated.
Don’t hold back on the chocolate chips. For maximum ooey gooey goodness, go a little crazy with the chocolate chips. I like to add small semi sweet chocolate chips and jumbo bittersweet chocolate chips to my blondies…but you do you! Add milk chocolate, white chocolate, even toffee bits! The possibilities are endless. For an extra gooey texture, mix the dough together while the brown butter is still warm. omg…sooooo good!
Do not over bake. No one, and I mean no one, likes a dry, over baked blondie. So be sure to start checking your oven at the 25 minute mark and keep an eye on your blondies. The blondies will continue to bake once you pull them from the oven so look for golden brown edges and a slighty puffed up center that isn’t quite set. Once they cool, your blondies will be peerrrfect!!!

Sending you love and blondies. Happy baking!!
If you like these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies, you’ll also love:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brown Butter Blondies
The Best Brown Butter Brownies
Browned Butter Caramel Apple Blondies

*Recipe adapted from Food52