Brown butter white chocolate blondies

• 170 g unsalted butter
• 200 g light brown sugarpacked
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 190 g all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 150 g white chocolate chips
• ½ tsp flaky sea saltfor finishing

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Line the 23x23cm baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides for easy lifting. Lightly grease the exposed sides.

2. 2

   Cut the butter into pieces and add to the saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the butter foams, then turns golden with toasty brown specks on the bottom and smells deeply nutty, about 5-7 minutes. Watch carefully once the foaming starts — it goes from brown to burned quickly. Pour into the large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes (it should be warm but not hot enough to scramble the eggs).

   Tip: The butter will foam aggressively before it browns. That's normal — just keep swirling. The color change happens fast once the foam subsides.

3. 3

   Add the brown sugar to the warm brown butter and whisk vigorously until smooth and glossy, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each — the batter should look thick and ribbon-like. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

4. 4

   Sprinkle the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder over the batter. Use the spatula to fold gently until just combined — stop as soon as you don't see dry streaks. Fold in the white chocolate chips, reserving about 2 tablespoons for pressing into the top.

   Tip: Overmixing makes blondies tough and cakey instead of chewy. A few tiny flour pockets are fine — they'll hydrate in the oven.

5. 5

   Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with the spatula. Press the reserved white chocolate chips into the surface. Bake until the top is set and golden, the edges are pulling away slightly from the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter), about 22-25 minutes.

   Tip: These firm up significantly as they cool. Pulling them out when they look slightly underdone in the center is the secret to chewy blondies.

6. 6

   Sprinkle the flaky sea salt evenly over the surface while still warm. Let the blondies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack — at least 30 minutes — before lifting out by the parchment overhang and slicing into 16 squares.

   Tip: Keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They're even chewier on day two as the brown butter flavor deepens.

• saucepan (2-liter (2-quart))
• mixing bowl (large)
• whisk
• baking pan (23x23cm (9x9 inch))
• parchment paper
• spatula

Per serving

Nutritional values are estimates only.