These Brown Butter Almond Frangipane Blondies are chewy, buttery, and taste just like an almond croissant. You'll fall in love at first bite!
Almond croissants have always been a favorite, but lately, they've been popping in just about every form: almond cookies, almond croissant blondies, almond cinnamon rolls, and more. These Almond Frangipane Blondies are everything you want in a croissant....except, of course the actual croissant itself. They're elevated with the addition of brown butter in the blondies and the frangipane, and it makes it SO much better. These are truly the best almond frangipane blondies you'll try!
If you're a fan of frangipane, be sure to check out my Chocolate Almond Rolls that feature bits of chocolate and frangipane filling, or this delicious Peach Almond Tart.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Brown Butter: This almond frangipane blondies recipe is elevated by browning the butter. It gives the blondies a nutty and toasty flavor and it pairs great with the frangipane and almonds.
Chewy texture: These almond croissant blondies have a fudgy and chewy texture that lasts for days.
Easy & Quick: The recipe is straight forward and pretty easy. It also doesn't take much time to put together.
Frangipane: Almond paste is heavenly and can probably be eaten by the spoon if you want. It makes these blondies so fudgy and delicious!
What is Frangipane (Almond Paste)?
Frangipane is a French spreadable filling consisting of almond flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, and typically used in various baked goods like pastries and tarts. In this recipe, the addition of brown butter gives the blondies a nuttier, deeper flavor.
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Ingredients
These almond croissant blondies have few staple ingredients.
Almond Frangipane Blondies
- Butter: For this recipe, I use brown butter, which is melting the butter, then continuing to cook it until it browns. This gives the blondies a rich and nutty flavor.
- Sugar: Both brown sugar and granulated sugar are used. For the brown sugar, you can use either dark or light.
- Eggs: I use one whole egg and one egg yolk.
- Vanilla extract: for flavor.
- Salt: balances out the sweetness and adds more flavor.
- Flour: All purpose flour works best with this recipe.
- Almond flour: Adds a little more almond flavor in the recipe.
- Almond slices: To top the blondies
- Powdered sugar: Sifted on after it's baked all up
Frangipane
- Almond flour: I use superfine almond flour because I feel like it does well with mixing and incorporating. I buy mine from the grocery store, but you can always make your own if you like.
- Sugar: Using sugar to sweeten the mixture.
- Butter: This recipe uses butter to brown the butter to make it all toasty and nutty, which yields a delicious deep flavor.
- Egg: Used as a binding agent and to bring it all together.
- Vanilla extract & salt: For extra flavoring.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Almond Frangipane Blondies
For the Brown Butter
Brown the Butter: Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Stir the butter to make sure it melts evenly. Once the butter is completely melted, it will start to foam up. Continue stirring the butter. As it cooks, it will start to change into a deeper color. This could take 6-8 minutes. You'll start to notice a nutty aroma and the butter will begin to have brown specs at the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring and remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl and let cool slightly before continuing with recipe.
- The entire process of browning butter from start to finish should not take more than 10 minutes on medium heat.
Hint: Let the brown butter cool before adding the brown sugar and egg, otherwise the egg could scramble.
For the Frangipane
Mix the batter: In a small bowl, add the cooled brown butter and sugar and mix using a spatula. Then add the egg, vanilla extract, salt and almond flour and mix until combined. Set aside while making the blondies batter.
For the Almond Frangipane Blondies
Mix the batter: In a medium bowl, add cooled brown butter and sugars and mix using a spatula until combined. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the salt, almond flour, and all purpose flour and mix until incorporated.
Bake the Blondies: Pour the almond frangipane blondies batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out. Then add the almond frangipane layer and spread it on top. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the layer of frangipane. Bake for 30-35 minutes. You'll see the sides get a little light brown and the middle will have puffed up some. The frangipane layer should look cooked and not raw. Don't over bake.
Hint: Use a light colored metal baking pan. This will allow the blondies to bake evenly.
Substitutions & Variations
- Butter: If you're really not a fan of brown butter, you can just use melted butter. Reduce both elements by one tablespoon.
- Almond extract: I didn't add almond extract to these almond croissant blondies because I don't consume alcohol in any form, but you can add some if you like. You can even add an almond emulsion, which I would have, but I didn't have any on hand.
- Raspberries: Almonds go so well with raspberries, you can add some frozen raspberries to the blondies batter and bake them up.
- Orange zest: add a touch of orange zest to the frangipane and blondies for a fresh citrusy taste.
Storage
To store, wrap up in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Pro Tips
Measure Ingredients Correctly: As always, with any recipe, use a kitchen scale, as it is the best form of measuring your ingredients. If you don't have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour, scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off.
Don't burn the brown butter: Once the brown butter starts to pop, foam, and form specs at the bottom of the pan, remove it. Otherwise you could burn it and it will end up tasting bitter.
Don't over mix: Using a spatula instead of a hand mixer reduces the chances of over mixing, but once your ingredients come together, stop mixing.
Don't over bake: Start checking the almond frangipane blondies at 25-28 minutes.
Cool completely: Make sure you let the blondies cool completely.
Parchment paper: To avoid sticking, make sure to line the pan with parchment paper.
Light-colored pan: Use a light colored metal baking pan. They help cook evenly and doesn't cook too fast.
FAQ
Brown butter instead of regular or melted butter creates a deep and nutty flavor that gives off notes of caramel.
Keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. They'll stay nice and chewy and delicious.
More blondies recipes to try:
- Biscoff Blondies
- Brown butter chocolate chunk blondies
- Caramel Oatmeal Bars
- Brown Butter Apple Blondies
- Salted Caramel Apple Bars
📖 Recipe Card
Almond Frangipane Blondies
Ingredients
Almond Frangipane
- 5 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (64g) almond flour
Blondies
- 10 tablespoon (140g) unsalted butter see notes
- ⅔ cup (133g) brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cup (150g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (24g) almond flour
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- Powdered sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line an 8x8 light colored baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
For the Brown Butter
- NOTE: You can combine and brown all the butter at once. For the blondies, you'll need about 110-115g once browned, and for the frangipane, you'll need about 56-58g. If you have a little more or a little less, that's ok.5 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter, 10 tablespoon (140g) unsalted butter
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Stir the butter to make sure it melts evenly. Once the butter is completely melted, it will start to foam up. Continue stirring the butter. As it cooks, it will start to change into a deeper color. This could take 6-8 minutes. You'll start to notice a nutty aroma and the butter will begin to have brown specs at the bottom of the pan. The entire process of browning butter from start to finish should not take more than 10 minutes on medium heat.
- Once butter is browned, divide brown butter into two bowls (making sure you weigh out correct measurements for both elements). Set it aside to cool for about 5 or 10 minutes.
For the Almond Frangipane
- Mix the batter: In a small bowl, add the cooled brown butter and sugar and mix using a spatula. Then add the egg, vanilla extract, salt and almond flour and mix until combined. The mixture will be pretty loose and liquidy, but don't fret. It's ok! Set aside while making the blondies batter.⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅔ cup (64g) almond flour
For the Blondies
- Mix the batter: In a medium bowl, add cooled brown butter and sugars and mix using a spatula until combined. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the salt, almond flour, and all purpose flour and mix until incorporated.⅔ cup (133g) brown sugar, ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar, 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, 1¼ cup (150g) all purpose flour, ¼ cup (24g) almond flour
- Bake the Blondies: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out. Then add the almond frangipane layer and spread it on top. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the layer of frangipane. Bake for 30-35 minutes. You'll see the sides get a little light brown and the middle will have puffed up some. The frangipane layer should look cooked and not raw. Don't over bake.¼ cup sliced almonds
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. Sift powdered sugar on top, slice, and enjoy.
Notes
- Once butter is browned, it should measure out to about 110-115 grams.
Hana says
These Almond Frangipane Blondies are incredible! The rich brown butter and almond flavor come together so perfectly. I may have had like 4 in one day....
Hakima says
These are one of my favorites! So glad you loved them. Thank you for the review, Hana! 🙂