Butterscotch Blondies

When I was a little girl, my mom would occasionally make Butterscotch Brownies (Blondies) out of her old red and white Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  (This is the original recipe.)

They were magnificent. This recipe differs slightly in that it has more flour so they are more like chewy cookies instead of candy. Mom’s Butterscotch Blondies would get hard and chewy, so they were best eaten warm.  If I close my eyes, I can still smell them baking.

My kids love these bars too. You can’t beat the flavor of brown butter and brown sugar together. The dough is almost better than the bars. My kids don’t love nuts in their cookies, so I left out the pecans or walnuts that make these even better. We’ve also made them with studded with chocolate chips and coconut, or with added cinnamon. (Think: snickerdoodles. I can’t take credit for that one. I saw it on Whitney’s blog a few years back.)

We had our dear friends over for dinner on Sunday night and served these with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and fudge sauce.  The rest quickly disappeared as they became breakfast for three little kids whose mom was suffering from post-Daylight Savings Time Alarm-itis. :)

Butterscotch Blondies
adapted slightly from the Better Homes and Gardens red and white cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line a 9 by 13″ baking pan with parchment paper–to come up 1/2″ on each side.

Melt butter in a small pan over medium high heat. After the butter bubbles up and foaming subsides, let butter cook until it turns golden brown. Immediately remove from heat. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir. Let cool to room temperature. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Add the dry ingredients. Mixture will be crumbly, keep mixing until it comes together. Press the dough evenly on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 22-25 minutes, checking after 20. Insert a toothpick into the center. It should still be slightly gooey, but not wet. Damp crumbs should stick to the toothpick. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Pull the bars out of the pan using the parchment as handles.

Cut into 24 bars.

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90 Comments

  1. Blondies are my all time fave! And, i’m kinda sorta in love with the idea of Butterscotch Blondies. I can’t wait to try that recipe. I think it just may be the perfect combo.

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