The details
They may look deliciously messy, but don’t be fooled, these Gooey Browned Butter Blondies pack a powerhouse of complex and balanced flavor. They are gooey, buttery, toasty, and loaded with notes of burnt sugar, butterscotch, and caramel. First we start with a base blondie made with browned butter, brown sugar, and lots of vanilla. Then, we make a cream cheese/vanilla bean custard which bakes on top and gives these gooey brownies textural variety and a light, creamy flavor. I love to serve these when we have friends over for dinner, still warm with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream and a drizzle of salted vanilla bean caramel. It’s not for the faint of heart, yet somehow every bite gets eaten!
These blondies were inspired by a restaurant in Dallas, TX called The Porch. I lived in Dallas while attending grad school and I couldn’t get enough of this place’s gooey butter cake. It was rich, warm, butterscotch-y, and just sinfully indulgent. If you aren’t familiar with gooey butter cake, just wait, you will love it. With this recipe, I wanted to capture that same flavor profile and take it up a notch by making it more dense and adding some browned butter magic.
Browned Butter
Now, about browned butter. This ingredient is absolutely necessary for this recipe. Luckily, browning the butter is actually very simple and can be done on your stove right before you bake these browned butter blondies. See my video and instructions below for a quick master class.
Browned Butter! IYKYK.
- Melt butter over medium heat in saucepan.
- Watch and wait for approximately 5-10 minutes, mixing consistently.
- Turn heat off immediately once amber specks begin to form at bottom of the sauce pan, and mix mix mix until they turn a nice toasty brown.
- Enjoy! Keeps well in fridge.
I hope you love this recipe! Oh, and don’t forget the ice cream and salted caramel. So worth it.
Bake to this music
Gooey Browned Butter Blondies
These blondies are rich and indulgent, with notes of burnt sugar, butterscotch, and caramel. The dense, browned butter base is topped with vanilla bean/cream cheese custard. Serve warm and they are heavenly.
Ingredients
For the blondies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, browned and melted
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
For the custard top layer:
- 1 egg, room temp
- 6 tbsp cream cheese, room temp
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 baking square baking dish or pan with parchment paper, or grease well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix melted browned butter and sugars on medium-high until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl in between each addition. Add in vanilla extract. Beat well for several minutes until batter is homogenous.
- Whisk together flour. cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Turn mixer speed to low and slowly add in flour mixture to wet batter. Mix until just combined or flour streaks disappear. Batter will be thick like cookie dough.
- Scoop and spread blondie batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to spread it evenly. Set aside.
- Make the cream cheese custard. Beat the cream cheese on medium-high until smooth. Add in the egg and beat until combined. Add vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt, beating until smooth.
- Add sifted powdered sugar. Beat on medium until smooth. Pour mixture on top of blondie dough in baking dish, using a spatula to ensure it is distributed evenly.
- Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until custard begins to lightly brown around edges. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire cooling rack. Serve while still warm.
Notes
- Serve a la mode and with salted vanilla bean caramel to really take it up a notch!
- Store in refrigerator and consume within the week. Freezing is not recommended.
- Category: brownies, desserts, cake
Keywords: blondies, brownies, gooey butter, browned butter