My Mom’s Blond Brownies
I can’t say my mother was much of a baker…
Why bake if Sarah Lee could provide your freezer with pound cake, or when Entenmann’s golden fudge cake was so readily available (and which by the next morning invariably had the chocolate frosting missing)? Pepperidge Farm Chessman were also a staple (sometimes topped with jam) and in her later years her cupboards were never without Le Petit Ecolier, buttery biscuits topped with a plank of chocolate. She even kept one of the foil packages next to her bed, in case she got hungry in the night.
So, yes, that’s why my home baking was encouraged and also why I cherish the few recipes my mother did make.
Her blond brownies were a recipe from a work colleague some time in the 1960s, maybe from her days at Our Wonderful World encyclopedia, or The New Book of Knowledge. Hard to compete smarts-wise with a parent who actually wrote encyclopedias. Ours was the kind of house where a request for homework help, say on gerrymandering, would end up a long discussion about the life of Elbridge Gerry.
I digress.
These brownies are super-quick to make. It’s takes about the length of an in-depth Ari Melber interview. I’ve brought the recipe into the 21st century with brown butter replacing the margarine, and the addition of more vanilla extract to boost the caramel flavors. Feel free to substitute whole wheat flour for half the all-purpose. Add nuts if that’s your kind of thing. The end result is a chewy, toffee-flavored blondie.
Do whatever makes you happy. My mom was a firm believer in that.
Ingredients
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (57 grams) brown butter (method below)
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (90g) chocolate chips
How to
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 8 x 8 inch baking pan. (I use Baker’s Joy for ease.)
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Put the brown sugar in a large bowl. Make the brown butter. When golden and nutty smelling, pour it over the brown sugar and mix with a big ol’ wooden spoon.
Add the eggs and vanilla (you know, rum might be nice instead) and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and toffee-colored.(Put some effort into it. There is a reward for this hard work.)
In two additions, add the flour and blend. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts if that’s what you like doing.
Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.
Eat warm or let cool. No judgements.
To make brown butter:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once it melts, stir constantly, as it bubbles away. Milk solids will form and fall to the bottom of the pan. The goal is for the solids to turn a nutty brown, without burning them. This is not the time to check Twitter. Stir and watch and as soon as it looks like you’re close to the desired color, pour the butter into the bowl.
