Blondies are one of the easiest bakes around. Just combine a few simple pantry ingredients in one bowl with whatever chocolate you have around, spoon the batter into a pan, and bake. The brown butter and vanilla give these a rich and delicious flavor so don’t skimp on either.

One Bowl Brown Butter Blondies

Makes one 8x8-inch pan

10 tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter

1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar

1 large egg, cold from the fridge

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt (diamond crystal)

1 cup (128g) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (170g) chocolate chips or m&ms plus more to sprinkle

Flaky salt, to sprinkle (optional)

Heat oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper

Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until all of the milk solids turn golden and the butter has a nutty fragrance being careful to not let it burn.

Add the butter to a large bowl, then add the brown sugar. Whisk to combine then whisk in the salt and vanilla. Whisk in the egg.

Fold in the flour and baking powder. When a few streaks of flour remain, fold in the chocolate.

Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top then sprinkle with more chocolate and a bit of flaky salt if desired.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set on the edges and still soft in the center. Let the blondies cool in the pan set on a rack.

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I know browning butter is old news in the culinary world, but it's definitely a trick we should all have up our sleeves. It's an easy way to elevate both sweet and savory recipes and I love using it to give cookies, crusts and bars a deep toasty flavor. For this recipe I combined it with dark brown sugar, a hefty dose of salt and a splash of bourbon because I couldn't resist. Then I packed the already rich batter full of all kinds of good stuff, but feel free to switch up the additions to your taste, just keep it to about four cups. When all was said and done these blondies were wrapped up and sent away to a good friend out West and while I was sad to see them go, I was happy they weren't parked on the counter taunting me to eat them for every meal.

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to pop into one of your local farmer's markets. The first strawberries and rhubarb are trickling down to New York and people are going crazy for them, myself included.

Brown Butter Blondies with Cherries, Chocolate, Cashews and Pecans

yield 9x13 pan, cut into 16-24 pieces

1 cup butter

3 cups dark brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoon bourbon (optional)

2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup roughly chopped cashews

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/2 cup dried cherries

2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º and line a 9x13 baking pan with foil and grease well

1. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until all of the milk solids turn golden and the butter has a nutty fragrance being careful to not let it burn. Remove from heat and stir in the dark brown sugar, set aside to cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, bourbon and salt. Whisk in the cooled butter, sugar mixture then fold in the flour and baking powder.

3. Stir in the nuts, cherries and chocolate, but make sure the mixture is cool enough that the chocolate won't melt. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35min or until the top is shiny, set and slightly cracked around the edges. Place on a wire rack to cool completely then cut into squares.