Brown Butter Blondies

Happy December! I seriously can’t believe it’s already the last month in the year. Is it really possible that 2016 is mere weeks away?! I feel like I am nowhere close to completing any of my ’15 goals… for example, my Goodreads book goal is 100 for the year and I’ve only read 58! 🙁
Anyways (now that my little rant is over) I am super excited to share this recipe with you. I’ve recently discovered the liquid magic that is brown butter and guys, I have been using it in everything! Oh, your dessert recipe has butter? Brown it and your dessert instantly becomes THAT much better! It’s amazing!
These blondies are super yum! They have that right chewy texture, awesome flavor from the brown butter and touch of cinnamon, and the FROSTING. Oh em gee. The brown butter frosting is simply amazing. My little sister Mia usually hates frosting of any kind, but she actually ate it and then she licked the frosting spoon too! While you can skip it when making these blondies, I really really really recommend trying it. 😉
Hope you enjoy! 🙂

Brown Butter Blondies

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Brown butter makes these blondies even more delicious!

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• BLONDIES:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ⅛ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup finely chopped nuts, optional
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) salted butter
• 1-2 tsp. milk
• ¼ tsp. vanilla bean powder (OR ½ tsp. vanilla paste/extract)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray or butter. (I used my individual blondie pan and it made exactly 12.) You can also line with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan, brown 1 stick of butter. You'll know it's close to done when it starts to foam up and become a light brown color. Take off the heat and add sugar and molasses. Whisk until combined. Let cool slightly, then add egg and mix well. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
5. Add the dry ingredients (and nuts, if using) all at once and fold in gently. Do not over mix- the batter should be pretty thick.
6. Spread in prepared baking dish and bake 15-18 minutes, or until very lightly browned on edges. Try not to overcook! Let cool completely before frosting.
7. For the frosting- in a small bowl whisk the powdered sugar. Brown 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Add to sugar and whisk until well incorporated! Add milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Spread or spoon over cooled blondies. If using a blondie pan, you can cut edges off (I like the crunchier sides personally). If using an 8x8 square pan, cut into squares or triangles on a cutting board. Enjoy!

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Thanks for stopping by Will Bake for Books! What are some of your end of year goals? ♥