Brown Butter Blondies

Sheer bliss.


That's all I have to say.



I don't know why I ever even bothered with all those other brownie recipes.  And brownies from a box?  Bite your tongue.



These were so, so, very good that I almost passed out on the floor in sheer bliss when I tasted them..... but then I pulled myself together and ate two.  Immediately.  And I wasn't sorry.  Not one bit.

Brown Butter Blondies
Recipe from Williams-Sonoma 'Essentials of Baking'

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup clarified unsalted butter (see Notes)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter an 8 inch by 8 inch baking dish or pan.  Line dish with parchment paper for easy removal and cooling, once blondies are done baking.

Add flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl.  Mix to combine.

In a small saute or frying pan, over low heat, heat the clarified butter until light brown and fragrant, about 6 minutes.  Remove pan from the heat, pour butter into a bowl, and let cool.

In a second bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter when cooled.  Stir to combine with a wooden spoon.  Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and stir until smooth.  Add dry ingredients in 2 batches and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish or pan.  Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out either clean or with crumbs...not batter.  If using parchment paper, gently lift blondies out of baking dish or pan and let cool on a wire rack.

If desired, dust with confectioners sugar after blondies have cooled.  Then cut them and eat them right away for heavens sake!!!

Notes:
To make clarified butter:  Slowly melt at least 1 cup (or 2 sticks) of unsalted butter in a small pan over low heat until it is foamy on the surface.  Tranfer butter to a bowl to cool.  Once butter has cooled, using a spoon, carefully scoop foam off of the surface of the melted butter.  Once foam is removed pour butter back into pan, being careful to leave solid particles that have settled to the bottom, in the bowl.  Heat now clarified butter in a small pan over low heat until light brown and fragrant.  Immediately remove from heat.  If this whole 'clarification' process is not necessary, please, someone let me know..... cause I am not sure. 

2 sticks of butter made just a little over 2/3 cup of clarified butter for me.  Perfect.