These one-bowl brown butter walnut blondies are fudgy, gooey, and light, bursting with a nutty, toffee-like, and roasted flavor. Because of the walnuts, they have a delightful chewy and crunchy texture, making them a decadent and cozy treat.
AUTHOR : KHUSHALI PATEL
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
BAKING TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
*For the best results, read the entire post & follow the instructions.
Blondies and brownies aren’t too different from one another but have two very distinctive differences, which are:
While creating this recipe, I personally wished to prepare blondies that have a gooey and fudgy texture like brownies with a bold nutty flavour.
These brown butter walnut blondies, after a few recipe trials, are just that. They have a chewy crust with a fudgy and gooey crumb coupled with a crunch from the roasted walnuts.
To boost the nutty flavours of the blondies, as they are walnut blondies, I browned the butter which made these blondies a nice cozy and indulgent treat.
These blondies are made with less sugar which helps create a bold flavour that you will not be able to resist.
This is a quick recipe that follows the one-bowl method. The blondies can also be made well in advance and are easy to store. It is a lovely dessert that travels well without getting damaged.
These blondies are made with simple ingredients that you will surely have in your baking pantry. I transformed these simple ingredients, such as butter and walnuts, by browning and roasting them to help boost their flavour.
These brown butter walnut blondies have a nutty, toffee-like flavour with roasted and cozy flavours coming from the brown butter, walnuts and vanilla.
The batter is thick and once baked they have a crinkled and chewy top. The edges are crispy while the crumb is fudgy and gooey. The roasted walnuts add a nice bite to these blondies.
Use good-quality walnuts for this recipe. If you aren’t a big fan of walnuts, you can reduce the quantity of them in the recipe (for more details read the recipe card)
Use good-quality European-style unsalted butter for this recipe because it gives the blondies a better flavour than American-style unsalted butter because of its high fat content. But you can use American-style unsalted butter too in this recipe without affecting its texture. Avoid using salted butter.
As I wished to make these blondies flavourful and fudgy without being dense at the same time, I used a blend of dark brown sugar and castor sugar. The dark brown sugar made them fudgy and gave them a caramel-like flavour.
The small quantity of castor sugar helped prevent them from being dense. If you do not have dark brown sugar then you can use light brown sugar but this might affect the flavour and texture just a bit.
These blondies are made with all-purpose flour to give them structure and even though no leaveners are used, the blondies are light and fudgy.
Use whole eggs for this recipe. Always weigh the eggs before using them.
Use good-quality pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans/paste for the best flavour. Avoid using vanilla essence.
Although it is very easy to prepare brown butter, it requires some practice as it turns from brown to burnt butter in a matter of seconds. For that reason, I have explained the preparation in stages for easy understanding and to ensure you avoid overcooking the butter.
My How to brown butter correctly: An easy tutorial also has special baking tips to help make you become a brown butter expert in no time.
Nuts give the best flavour to desserts when they are fresh. So, always make sure to taste the walnuts before using them as they do go rancid much faster.
Walnuts go bitter if they are roasted for too long so it’s essential to roast the walnuts till they are just golden brown. Always keep an eye on them when they are in the oven. If they are becoming too dark before the baking time is complete, remove them from the oven immediately.
While recipe testing, I found that the more I whisked the eggs and sugar the lesser the crinkle top the blondies had. So, while preparing the batter whisk the eggs and sugar till they are frothy and avoid overmixing even after you add the walnuts to the batter. Mix the batter till just combined.
To have a lovely fudgy and moist crumb, avoid overbaking the blondies. Bake them for 25 minutes and then check the blondies by tilting the pan in one direction, if the centre moves towards that direction bake them for 5-10 more minutes, and keep checking the blondies every 5 minutes till the centre is firm and not moving. Avoid using a toothpick as the centre although it has become firm, will still be gooey.
These blondies even after baking are quite fudgy making them fragile and highly prone to damage if the pan is not lined correctly.
To avoid damage and get sharp edges, download my guide on how to line your baking pans correctly which will not only help you avoid damage but also prevent burnt blondies.
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After baking the blondies, although it has come out of the oven, the blondie is still baking because of the residual heat (you can read more about this here). So, the blondies’ structure is weak at this time making it crucial to let them rest and cool down completely before serving.
If time permits you can rest the blondies’ overnight so their structure firms up (especially the centre) or for a minimum of 1 ½ hours. This will ensure that you can cut them easily without any damage. The flavours will also develop well with a longer rest time.
Yes! You absolutely can. Freeze them for only a month and no longer for the best flavour. I have given freezing instructions in the recipe card below.
The blondies stay fresh for a week at room temperature. For longer storage, store them in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. Before consuming, thaw and reheat them for a few minutes before serving.
Yes, I have included a small-batch recipe that you can prepare in a 5×5-inch square pan. Refer to the recipe card for the recipe.
| Brown butter walnut blondies - ingredients | Brown butter walnut blondies - quantity |
|---|---|
| All Purpose Flour | 25 |
| Eggs | 32 |
| Unsalted butter, browned* | 64 |
| Dark Brown Sugar | 33 |
| Castor Sugar or Superfine Sugar | 33 |
| Walnuts, lightly roasted | 50 |
| Pure Vanilla Extract | 1 |
| Salt | 1 |
Hi! I'm Khushali Patel, a cookie-loving professional pastry chef, recipe developer and content creator whose aim is to guide you to find more happiness in your baking journey every step of the way.
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