Brown Butter Butterscotch Blondies

I've done brown butter before, and that was my first mistake. There's something almost intoxicating about the smell of caramelized brown butter wafting through the air. And baked into a blondie...somebody hold me back! No, seriously. I have issues with self control.

And to top it all off, these things are so easy to make and they don't have any weird ingredients so you can probably whip up a batch right now! Unless of course you don't keep bags of butterscotch chips stashed away in your freezer...

So go ahead and pour yourself a tall glass of icy cold milk to go along with your blondie stack. Just trust me on this one.

Brown Butter Butterscotch Blondies [click to print]
makes about 16 bars

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1/2 lb. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 c. flour
• 1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. butterscotch chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 F and line 9x9 pan with parchment paper or coat generously with nonstick cooking spray. 

2) Melt butter in small saucepan, stirring continuously, until browned. The butter will start off bubbly and loud, then quiet down. Watch closely as it turns to an amber color and starts smelling like caramel; immediately remove from heat and pour into mixing bowl. Allow to cool about 10 minutes. 

2) Add sugar, eggs and vanilla, beating well until completely combined. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in butterscotch chips. Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into squares. 

Chocolate Chip Magic Bars

It's official. My parents are moving! They just heard back from the bank (finally!) and they're approved and will hopefully be loading a truck next week! And the really cool thing is, they'll be moving to a house where they'll actually have a yard and trees, which I wished for pretty much forever growing up, and nobody hooked to the side of the house and, drumroll please...a pool! What! There are so many reasons to go home.

And so, in the midst of finding out this exciting tidbit and my currently unexplained overemotional state, I find myself reminiscing an awful lot lately. I'm pretty lucky because my family is so awesome. When I was little, my brother and I would hang a sheet over the front of our bunkbeds to create a curtain-like backdrop, distribute tickets to all our family and steal cushions from the living room couch (seats for our spectators, of course). We'd line them up along the wall and perform the greatest magic shows on earth!

I'm sure no one ever figured out that the reason we disappeared through the toy refrigerator is that it didn't actually have a back to it and we could slide up onto the top bunk sneakily without giving away our position. We got skills in the magic department.

Doesn't it just seem perfect to end an evening of magic with Magic Bars? Oh, but these aren't your ordinary bar cookies. These are amped up with a chocolate chip cookie layer beneath all that Magic Bar goodness...oh, yeah!

Chocolate Chip Magic Bars [click to print]
Makes about 40 squares


For the cookie crust*

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1-1/4 c. flour
• 1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla 
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips

For assembly

• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1 c. butterscotch chips
• 1 c. toffee bits
• 1 c. sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

*For this deadly concoction, store-bought cookie dough is also totally fine. Just smoosh it all out flat and press into baking dish and skip the cookie dough instructions below. But just so you know, these cookies are delicious so you probably wanna make them.


Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

Melt butter in saucepan; add brown sugar and mix well. Remove from heat and cool about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. 

Pour butter mixture and vanilla in mixing bowl. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, incorporating well between each addition. Add flour mixture in 2-3 additions. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and spread batter evenly in baking dish. 

Bake crust about 10 minutes and remove from oven. Evenly sprinkle chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee bits and coconut over top. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over everything. Bake 16-20 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting...or dig in with a spoon right away!

Source: Cookie dough from my dear mother; Inspired by Cookies and Cups