Soft, chewy, and bursting with flavor, these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies are filled with pools of chocolate, nutty flavor, and have a fudgy texture.
I've always been so intrigued by the concept of blondies that it took me years to even make one. I could never figure out the obsession over blondies. It's not a brownie, and not a cookie, but something in between? What? So when I finally tried one, I completely understood!
However, when I first made them, I used melted butter and added leavening to the batter, and I thought it was lacking in flavor and too cake-like, so I went back tot he drawing board. These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies hit every sweet and chocolatey spot for which my heart yearns! They're fudgy, chewy, AND filled with flavor. Nutty, sweet, with hints of espresso!
Jump to:
"I made these for my kiddos while their friend was over our house (friend is a very picky eater). I was surprised when they all came back for seconds, including the friend. These are a huge hit in my house. Absolutely delicious! The brown butter made the flavor phenomenal!"
-Amira
♥ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Gooey & Chewy: The Blondies are filled with pools of melted chocolate and they have a fudgy-like texture similar to a brownie!
Not Overly Sweet: Only using brown sugar and no granulated sugar gives a chewy texture, but without too much sweetness.
Quick & Easy: Aside from the brown butter, this entire recipe is made in one bowl, and bakes up in less than 25 minutes! They're the base for so many of my blondies recipes: Kinder Bueno Blondies, Pistachio Blondies, Biscoff Blondies, and Gingerbread Blondies.
No leavenings: This recipe uses no baking powder or baking soda, and because of that, we achieve more chewy goodness without the cake-like blondies you'll find in other recipes
📝 Ingredient Notes
A full list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions are located in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Butter: For this recipe, I use brown butter, which is melting the butter, than continuing to cook it to brown. This gives the blondies a rich and nutty flavor.
Brown sugar: This recipe uses all brown sugar, which cuts down on the sweetness a little, but it also gives the blondies more of a chew.
Espresso powder: I love using espresso in chocolate treats because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
Semi-sweet chocolate: I use 70% dark lindt chopped chocolate for this recipe. It's pretty interchangeable with semi-sweet chocolate. Feel free to use any brand, even chocolate chips.
Milk chocolate: I like to add milk chocolate along with the semi-sweet to give it an extra flavor and a little more sweetness.
See recipe card for quantities.
⇄ Substitutions
Espresso: If you're not a fan of espresso or don't have any on hand, you can skip this ingredient. It won't make or break the recipe.
Chocolate: You can switch up the chocolate and use all chopped chocolate or all chocolate chips. You can even use all semi-sweet instead of a mixture. But don't use all DARK chocolate because this blondie really isn't that sweet, so if you take away the added sweetness from the chocolate, the blondies will come out a little flat.
✨ Variations
Caramel - Make Salted Caramel Blondies by adding caramel chips!
Biscoff - Add some cookie butter and Biscoff Cookies to make Biscoff Blondies.
Pistachio - Try turning them into a delight by adding Pistachio Cream and pistachio bits like my Pistachio Blondies.
𓎩 Step-by-Step Instructions
A few instruction photos to help you nail this recipe every time.
Step 1
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, pour it into a heat proof bowl and set it aside to cool for about 5 or 10 minutes.
🎩Trick: Watch the brown butter closely so that it doesn't burn.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, add cooled butter and sugar and mix using a spatula until combined. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the salt and espresso powder and mix. Then add the flour and mix until incorporated. Lastly, add the chocolates and mix until completely combined.
💡 Hint: For best results, use a metal baking pan.
Step 3
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. You'll see the sides get a little light brown and the middle will have puffed up some. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Don't over bake.
💬 FAQ
Brown butter instead of regular or melted butter creates a deep and nutty flavor that gives off notes of caramel.
To achieve a gooey blondie, this recipe uses an extra egg yolk, brown butter, chocolate chunks, and no leavening agents (to avoid cakey texture).
💡Pro Tips
Measure Flour 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 chocolate chip blondies at 20 minutes.
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 don't cook too fast.
❄ Storage
Once baked up, they will do quite well at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
📖 Recipe Card
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoon (140 g) unsalted butter see notes
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar packed
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1¼ cup (150 g) all purpose flour
- 3.5 oz (100 g) chocolate, chopped (chips works too) Use 60-70% dark chocolate (or semi-sweet chips)
- ⅓ cup (50 g) milk chocolate chips or chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
For the Brown 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.10 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Once butter is browned, pour it into a heat proof bowl and set it aside to cool for about 5 or 10 minutes.
For the Blondies
- Mix the batter: In a medium bowl, add cooled butter and sugar and mix using a spatula until combined. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the salt and espresso powder and mix. Then add the flour and mix until incorporated. Lastly, add the chocolates and mix until completely combined.1 cup brown sugar, 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon espresso powder, 1¼ cup all purpose flour, 3.5 oz chocolate, chopped (chips works too), ⅓ cup milk chocolate
- Bake the Blondies: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. You'll see the sides get a little light brown and the middle will have puffed up some. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Don't overbake.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Notes
- Once butter is browned, it should measure out to about 110-115 grams.
Great recipe, very easy to make. We have it made every week now.
Love it
Thank you! So glad you liked it! 🙂
These are absolutely delicious, Kima! So chocolatey and gooey. Will be repeating for sure!
Thank you for the lovely review, Jen! I'm so happy you liked the recipe. 🙂
These are easy to do! One bowl really, and the chewy, caramel-y end result is over the top. The chocolate pools don’t hurt either!! 🍫🥰✨
Thank you so much for the review! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Kima, I've become SUCH A FAN of these! Every single one of the flavours is a big yes for me! Plus these are soooo easy and quick to make. I'm going to be making these really often now!
Thank you so much for a lovely review! I'm so happy you loved the blondies. 🙂
I made these for my kiddos while their friend was over our house (friend is a very picky eater). I was surprised when they all came back for seconds, including the friend. These are a huge hit in my house. Absolutely delicious! The brown butter made the flavor phenomenal!
Yay! It always makes me happy to know your kids love the recipe! Brown butter is always a welcome flavor in desserts. Thank you for making my blondies recipe, Amira! Appreciate it. 🙂
super delicious!!!
Thank you so much for trying the recipe, Presley! I'm glad you liked it. 🙂
So fudgy and delicious. Another great recipe I found on tiktok
This is one of my favorite quick desserts to make that satisfy my cravings every time. So glad you found me on TikTok and gave this recipe a try. Thank you!
The best blondies I've ever made. On repeat in our house.
Thank you for the review, Annie! These are on repeat in my house too! 🙂
These were the best blondies I've ever tried. I made a different recipe a month ago and they were tasteless, so I looked for a brown butter recipe and these looked amazing. Everyone has to try this recipe. It was so easy to make. I cut into it before it was cooled down, but it was worth it.
Thank you for the review, Lauren! This is my favorite blondie recipe ever. It's on repeat in my house for the very reasons you mentions. Thank you for trying it out! 🙂
This is by far the BEST blondie recipe. Perfect amount of brown butter, sugar, and chocolate. Fudgy and chewy, and the best texture. I've made this recipe probably a dozen times at this point.
I may be biased, but I agree with you! 🙂 Thank you so much for the review! I truly appreciate it.
THESE. ARE. SO. GOOD!!!!!! A friend shares these with me at work. I immediately asked for the recipe and then proceeded to make them that night. Oh my goodness.
Oh this makes me so happy! Thank you for the review, Lydia! these are by far one of my favorite treats on my blog. So glad you loved them! 🙂