Brown Butter Blondies

Does it bug you that food-scented candles don’t actually smell like the real food?

Maybe things with cinnamon are close or gingerbread, but chocolate? No way.

I’ve smelled every chocolate-y candle and they just smell like….fake chocolate wax. And I don’t want to smell fake chocolate when I could just bake cookies and save my money instead of buying the candle.

Is it really that hard to make a candle that smells like chocolate chip cookies or brownies or – my new obsession – browned butter?

I made some browned butter yesterday and it was the best batch I’ve made so far. I think the secret was using Kerrygold butter. It seriously smelled like I was making toffee, which meant I had to taste it.

And then I couldn’t stay out of the cookie dough.

This is why it’s trouble to bake when you’re the only one in the house. No one can see how many spoons you used to taste the cookie dough because you keep throwing each one in the sink, thinking that will keep you from taking another bite. PS: That strategy doesn’t work.

I think if I was a scientist and could figure out how to inject a candle with the toasty toffee smell of browned butter, I would be a millionaire. Who wouldn’t want that smell in their house without even having to turn on the stove?

Maybe I could just make a giant batch of browned butter, let it cool, and add a wick. Think that would work? Nick is scientific – I’ll have him look into it.

Until I can start cranking out cookie and butter scented candles, I’m pretty sure I’ll be in the kitchen, browning butter every chance I get.

Cookies are awesome.

Blondies, I think, are even better for (at least) 4 reasons:

1. More edges! Crispy, buttery, golden, crumbly edges.

2. 1 blondie = 2-3 normal cookies. But it’s still just 1 blondie. Trickiest way to eat more dough in just one serving.

3. Eating blondies with a fork makes it feel fancier, which means you forget that you’re basically eating 3 cookies in that one square.

4. I’m pretty sure all this brown butter is making my skin softer.  Brown butter lotion? Yes, please.

 

Brown Butter Blondies

Makes: 9-12 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter is completely melted, lower the heat and keep the butter at a low, steady simmer, stirring constantly, until the butter foam cooks off and it starts to smell like toffee and is beginning to turn golden.
  2. Remove the butter from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and white sugar.
  3. Let the butter and sugar mixture cool for 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  5. Pour the browned butter and sugar mixture into a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer for 2-3 minutes until it is thick and creamy.
  6. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
  7. Add the salt, baking soda, and flour to the butter mixture until all the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Press the dough into a greased 8×8 baking dish, smoothing out into an even layer.
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the blondies are golden around the edges and the center is set.

15 comments

  1. Chocolate candles do smell awful! These,on the other hand, must smell amazing. Blondies are so much more delicious than brownies

  2. I love brown butter in anything and I’ve made brown butter blondies a couple of times – they’re just so good and have almost replaced normal brownies as my baked good of choice!

  3. omg – Browned Butter Incense.

    PATENT PENDING. I SAID IT FIRST.

  4. Those sound DELICIOUS!!!! I need to make those ASAP!!!

  5. I love brown butter and I think you are right…the kind of butter makes a difference. I’m such a fool for blondies too. These sound wonderful, can’t wait to try them!

  6. Simple ingredients… fantastic results! I’ll have to try brown butter with my next batch of blondies.

  7. Cookie bars (blondies…whatever you call them) – are my favorite dessert ever. I like them more ANYTHING. And here you are adding BROWN BUTTER to them…oh heavens.

  8. haha, i could’ve told you that spoon in the sink strategy doesn’t work :) love browned butter, i need to do something with it soon! maybe with pumpkin…

  9. Brown butter blondies are my favorite! I love it’s nutty flavor…yum!

  10. Yum! These blondies look delicious! But then again, anything made with brown butter has to be delicious! :-)

  11. These look so amazing!! I’ve never tried to make blondies before, I’m getting settled into a new house so as soon as we get our kitchen unpacked these are going in the oven :)

  12. Pingback: » Brown Butter Blondies Brownies and Zucchini

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