We can't get enough of this easy blondie recipe! Made with brown butter, the blondies have a rich, caramel-like taste and perfect chewy texture.
This blondie recipe is one of my new favorite desserts! No offense to brownies, but I might like these blondies…better?
They have a dense and chewy texture and a warm, butterscotch-y flavor from brown butter, brown sugar, and a generous splash of vanilla. White chocolate chips give them creamy pockets of sweetness, and walnuts add delicious crunch.
These blondies are super simple to make (1 bowl! 8 ingredients!), so they’re a great dessert to whip up whenever you’re in the mood for something sweet. I’m also planning to make them for picnics and potlucks throughout the summer. They’re nice and sturdy, so they’re a perfect packable, shareable treat.
What is a blondie?
Blondies are like a cross between brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Like brownies, they’re bars, baked in a pan rather than on a cookie sheet. But they don’t have cocoa powder or melted chocolate in the batter. Instead, their batter is more like chocolate chip cookie dough, getting its rich flavor from butter, dark or light brown sugar, and vanilla.
So what’s the difference between blondies and chocolate chip cookie bars? I say, the chocolate chips! Instead of calling for regular chocolate chips here, I use white chocolate chips to bring out the blondies’ vanilla flavor. I also add walnuts for crunch.
How to Make Blondies
You can find the complete blondie recipe with measurements at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a quick overview of how it goes:
Start by browning the butter. It takes less than 10 minutes, and it adds the BEST toasty, nutty flavor to these blondies. Check out my guide to how to brown butter for step-by-step instructions.
- Don’t feel like browning butter? Feel free to use regular melted butter instead.
Once you brown the butter, transfer it to a large heatproof bowl and allow it to cool slightly. Add the eggs, egg yolk, brown sugar, and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
Then, add the dry ingredients and mix-ins. Sprinkle the salt over the wet ingredients and stir to combine, then add the flour and mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts and white chocolate chips.
- What about baking powder and baking soda? You don’t need them for this recipe! We want these blondies to be dense and chewy—baking powder and baking soda would make them lighter and cake-ier.
Evenly spread the batter in an 8×8-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Top with more walnuts and white chocolate chips.
Bake at 350°F until the edges of the blondies are golden brown and tiny cracks form on top, 28 to 30 minutes.
Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. That’s it!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Variations
I love the white chocolate chips and walnuts here, but they’re not the only mix-ins that would be great!
Here are a few delicious ways to change up this recipe:
- Add dried fruit. Reduce the white chocolate chips and walnuts to 1/3 cup each. Add 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries or cherries to the batter.
- Try another nut. Replace the walnuts with pecans or macadamia nuts. Or skip the nuts—replace them with an additional 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
- Use a different kind of chocolate, like semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. Not chocolate, but butterscotch chips would be great here too!
Best Blondie Recipe Tips
- Brown the butter in a light-colored pan. Using a pan with a light interior will allow you to see the color of the milk solids in the butter as it browns. This will help you take it off the heat when it’s perfectly browned, not burned!
- Spoon and level your flour. Too much flour will make these blondies dry and cake-y instead of moist and chewy. Spoon and level your flour to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Underbake them slightly. Like brownies, blondies are best when they’re slightly underbaked. That way, they’ll set up with a perfect dense and gooey texture once they cool. It’s better to pull them out of the oven a minute too early than a minute too late.
- Allow them to cool completely. The blondies will be a little underdone when you take them out of the oven. To give them time to set up, let them cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
How to Store Blondies
These bars keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
They also freeze perfectly. Seal them in an airtight container or bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months! To thaw, let them sit at room temp for about an hour.
More Easy Cookies and Bars
If you love this blondie recipe, try one of these easy baking recipes next:
- Best Homemade Brownies
- Lemon Bars
- Peanut Butter Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Or any of these 25 Super Fun Baking Recipes!
Blondies Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, 1½ sticks, sliced into pats, plus more for the pan
- 1½ cups light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
- ½ cup white chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the butter smells nutty and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden brown. The butter will foam around the edges in the first few minutes of cooking. The foam will subside slightly before the butter is fully browned.
- Immediately pour the browned butter into a large heatproof bowl and allow to cool slightly.Â
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
- To the butter, add the brown sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle the salt over the mixture and whisk to combine, then add the flour and use a spatula to mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts and white chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it in an even layer. Press more walnuts and white chocolate chips into the tops of the bars and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and small cracks form on top.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
