Blondies with Brown Butter

c A good recipe for Blondies is this recipe from the Chow web site. I did change a few ingredients to suit our family and We thought they tasted like toffee and the texture is good and they are moister than some I have made.

 The browned butter gives them a great flavor, what isn’t better with browned butter?

It will foam up as it melts and browns so be sure you have a deep enough pan. I used my deeper frying pan and browned until it smelled nutty. You will know by the aroma as quickly as by the color. While it is cooling, you can chop the nuts and measure out the dry ingredients. No mixer, one bowl, easy to make. I did toast the nuts while the oven was preheating, then they had time to cool.

 Browned Butter Pecan Blondies     

Makes: 24 (2-inch) bars

INGREDIENTS
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) butter, cut into large pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole pecans toasted and coarsely chopped

 Heat the oven to 350°F.  Line a 13-by-9-inch glass or metal baking dish with foil and set it aside.

Golden Brown

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Continue to cook, stirring and occasionally scraping the sides with a rubber spatula, until the butter turns amber in color, smells nutty, and the solids are browned, about 7 to 10 minutes. 

Immediately transfer the butter to a large heatproof bowl, making sure to scrape in the browned solids from the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.    Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl combined; set aside. Chop toasted nuts.

Add the brown sugar to the browned butter and stir to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Using the rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix. (The batter will be very thick.) Fold in the pecans. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, push it to the edges, and smooth it into an even layer.

Bake until the edges are starting to brown and a cake tester or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 30 minutes.

To remove the blondies, lift the foil and pull it out of the baking pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 24 (2-inch) bars. Remove any foil before serving.