Brown butter bourbon blondies. This is real life. Do you love it?
Brown butter, walnuts, and chocolate chips are always a good idea. You just can’t go wrong. Bourbon on the other hand… you can go wrong with bourbon. I’ve learned that lesson once or twice (or more). However, you have no need to fret in this situation. There are two tablespoons of bourbon across 16 bars. I think (and hope) you can handle that.
On the other hand if you pour yourself a glass of bourbon (or two) whilst you bake, that is a different story. You may want to be careful. Just saying.
Now I feel that I need to clarify that I was not drunk (nor was I even drinking) while baking these bars.
The mix of the brown butter, brown sugar, and bourbon give these blondies a nice caramel-y, nutty flavor. The walnuts help with the nutty flavor as well (for obvious reasons). The chocolate chips are there, because, well, chocolate. No need to explain further.
If you don’t want chocolate and nuts to get in the way of your butter and sugar you can go ahead and decrease the chocolate chip and walnut quantities from 1 cup to ½ cup. If you want to get crazy you can skip the measuring cup altogether and just throw in a handful or two of each. Do what you’re in the mood for.
I know the recipe below is 10 bullet points long, but it is so, so easy. Once the butter is browned the remaining steps take approximately 2 minutes. You just keep adding things into the butter and stirring.
Then you bake. Then you wait. Then you eat.
Brown butter bourbon blondies. If you don’t make them for your love of brown butter and bourbon, make them for your love of alliteration.
Also, share them with your friends. They will love you.
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 ice cube
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of foil and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease foil with butter or oil.
- Spread the walnuts on a baking pan and toast in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they don’t burn. Once toasted, set aside.
- To brown the butter: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the melted butter until brown specks appear at the bottom. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. This should take about 5 minutes. Place brown butter in a large heat-proof bowl and whisk in an ice cube.
- Mix in the brown sugar until smooth.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and whiskey.
- Stir in the flour until just combined.
- Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips (feel free to save about a ¼ cup of each to sprinkle on the top).
- Place batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts and chocolate chips on top (if you remembered to save them) and pat down slightly.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes.
- Cool completely before removing bars from the pan. Then cut and enjoy!
In other exciting news, it is my little sister’s birthday today! Jaci is… so many things: beautiful, intelligent, creative, hilarious (especially when crabby), and amazing in every single way. She is one of my favorite people on the planet. We fight. We laugh. We talk/text/email/snapchat everyday. We take a lot of sister pictures. We have a lot of fun. I love her so very much.
The whole family is gathering in Sioux Falls today to celebrate Jaci’s birthday. We’re going to go to a beer festival. It’ll be funnnnnn.
I hope you have a great weekend!
PS – makes these blondies.