Pistachio 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.
Brown Sugar: This recipe uses all brown sugar. Either dark or light will work.
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.
Pistachio Butter: I've made pistachio butter from scratch, but it's easier sometimes to just buy it. I got mine off Amazon.
Pistachios: Chopped up pistachios. It could be salted or unsalted, whatever you prefer.
Chocolate: I like using chocolate chunks, but you can use chocolate chips as well.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Pistachio 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 Pistachio Blondies

Mix the batter: In a medium bowl, add cooled brown butter and sugar and mix using a spatula until combined. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add ⅔ of the pistachio butter directly into the batter and mix. Add the salt and flour and mix until incorporated. Lastly, add the chocolates and pistachio pieces and mix until just combined.

Bake the Blondies: Pour the pistachio blondies batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out, then add dollops of the remaining pistachio butter and spread it out with a knife, or just drizzle it on top. Then top with some extra chocolate and pistachio pieces, and bake for 20-25 minutes. You'll see the sides get a little light brown and the middle will have puffed up some. Don't over bake.

Hint: Use a light colored metal baking pan. This will allow the blondies to bake evenly.

Substitutions & Variations

Chocolate: You can switch up the chocolate and use white chocolate instead. White chocolate and pistachio go well together.
Espresso: I love adding espresso to anything that has chocolate. I left it out of this recipe, but if you like, you can add a little and it will enhance the flavor of the chocolate and give hints of espresso.

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 pistachio blondies at 20 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.

High quality chocolate: I like using Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Guittard because I know they all taste wonderful in recipes. Here's more info on baking with the right chocolate.

FAQ

What does brown butter do to the blondies?

Brown butter instead of regular or melted butter creates a deep and nutty flavor that gives off notes of caramel.

How can I get pools of melted chocolate in my blondies?

To achieve those delicious pools of melted chocolate, use high quality bars of chocolate that you chop. Since chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter, they are made to keep their shape and they don't melt very well in a cookie.

How do I get a gooey blondie?

To achieve a gooey blondie, this recipe uses an extra egg yolk, brown butter, chocolate chunks, and no leavening agents (to avoid cakey texture).

What is pistachio butter made of?

Pistachio butter is made of pistachios, sugar, vanilla, oil, and milk.

What is the difference between pistachio butter and pistachio paste?

Pistachio butter is made of several ingredients like pistachios, sugar, vanilla, oil. Whereas, pistachio paste is just pistachios and sometimes salt.

Pistachio Blondies

Why You'll Love this Recipe

Ingredients