Want to learn how to make the best blondies? The secret is browned butter! These brown butter blondies are so rich, nutty, chewy. And the best part? You only need 9 ingredients to whip up a batch of these tasty treats.

Hello friends! If you ask me what I spent the last week of February 2021 doing, the answer is that I was baking lots of pans of blondies to find the perfect recipe. Yes, I baked blondies during my lunch break, after work, at 6am on Saturday…I went through so much butter. I had to make emergency trips to the grocery store just to buy butter and chocolate chips. There is a worker there now who probably recognizes me as the ‘girl who buys a lot of butter’.

What can I say? As a food blogger, you just make a lot of trips to the grocery store. 😉

So Are These the Best Blondies?

I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but I really love these blondies! Here are a few reasons why:

• They’re super chewy and gooey: the edges are crisp just like a perfect pan of brownies, the middles are chewy, and the melty chocolate chips make these super gooey.
• They’re made with browned butter: browned butter makes everything better. It lends these blondies a wonderfully nutty and rich flavor.
• You only need 9 ingredients: These blondies are super easy to make–nothing fancy needed here! Just a couple pantry staples like butter, flour, sugar, etc.

What You’ll Need

First and foremost, in terms of equipment, you’ll need:

• An 8×8 inch square baking pan
• A heavy-bottomed skillet for browning butter
• A large mixing bowl

For blondie ingredients, you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter: cut it into slices before browning
• 2 large eggs: make sure they are at room temperature. I like to let the eggs soak in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes to bring them to room temp.
• Dark brown sugar: you can sub light brown sugar if that’s what is available to you
• Granulated cane sugar
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking power
• Fine sea salt
• Chocolate chips: I love using dark chocolate chips since they’ve got that rich, deep chocolate flavor.

How to Brown Butter

Browning butter is super easy and only takes 5-10 minutes! Using browned butter is my favorite way to elevate any dessert–or even breakfast. Have you tried brown butter lemon poppyseed muffins yet? It’s a game changer. Here is a step by step:

1. Start by cutting your butter into slices to ensure that it melts evenly, then place it in a single layer in a skillet on medium heat.
2. Begin melting the butter, stirring frequently. After the butter has melted, it will begin to sputter and crackle. Continue stirring.
3. After the crackling subsides, the butter will start to foam up. Continue stirring and keeping a close eye on it. Be on the lookout for a nutty aroma, an amber color, and brown flecks.
4. Once you see brown flecks and smell the amazing nutty scent, remove the butter immediately from heat and pour it into a heatproof bowl to prevent burning.

Make sure to let your butter cool down to room temp or just warm to the touch before you start baking these blondies! If you leave it out to cool too long and it hardens, no worries–just throw it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to melt it back to a liquid.

Recipe Tips

Top with flaky sea salt: top the blondies with some fancy sea salt such as Maldon–the salt offsets the richness and sweetness of the blondies and makes them taste even better. Also sea salt + chocolate chips? Perfection.

Add in extras: something that’s great about blondies are the endless ways you could customize them! Some of my favorite blondie add-ins are toffee chips, crushed cookies, a pinch of cinnamon, or rainbow jimmies.

Light vs. Dark brown sugar: This recipe uses dark brown sugar, which yields a richer taste and more moist texture. If you prefer a lighter blondie, then swap it out with all light brown sugar. You could also use a combination of both if you want to meet somewhere in the middle!

How do I know when blondies are done? When in doubt, trust your best judgement here. It’s better to under-bake than over-bake the blondies.

How to store blondies: store blondies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.

Did You Make This Recipe?

If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating and/or comment to spread the love and help others find this recipe.

Also feel free take a picture and share it with me on  Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your decadent browned butter chocolate chip blondies.

If you’re not ready to bake yet, no problem! Simply hover over any image in this post (pick your favorite), or tap if you’re on mobile, and click the pin icon in the corner to save for later.

Have fun baking and check out similar recipes here! 

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies