Brown Butter Cherry Chocolate Blondies
Brown butter cherry chocolate blondies studded with cherries and semisweet chocolate chunks make the best dessert bar! These easy blondie bars made with melted brown butter are baked in an 8-inch pan and come together in under an hour (no mixer or chilling required!).
A golden, buttery blondie always catches my eye, especially when glammed up with brown butter, fresh cherries, and just enough chocolate to satisfy my cravings.
Studded with sweet-tart jeweled Bing cherries, semisweet chocolate chunks, and finished with flaky salt, these phenomenal bars are ideal for picnics and beach days (just keep them cool until you’re ready to dig in).
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Deeply flavored with brown butter and vanilla, a blondie can’t get any better than this. These are simple to throw together too – aside from pitting the cherries, the batter comes together quickly, making them the perfect choice for laid-back summer days.
New to making brown butter? Check out my easy step-by-step tutorial to make brown butter in 5 minutes!
Tips for the Best Cherry Blondies
- I highly recommend using fresh cherries for this recipe. I’ve never made these blondies with frozen cherries, and don’t recommend it due to the excess moisture.
- Pit fresh cherries with a cherry pitter and quarter the cherries with a sharp knife (or slice them if your cherries are large). Let stand on a sheet of paper towel for about 10 minutes to reduce excess moisture.
- Use a light-colored metal pan for even baking – do not bake these blondies in a glass or ceramic pan.
How to Make Chocolate Cherry Blondies
Pour melted brown butter into a medium bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes, then add brown sugar to the mixing bowl.
Whisk brown butter and brown sugar together until combined. Add one large egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.
Whisk wet ingredients until smooth and combined. Add all-purpose flour.
Gently stir in flour with a rubber spatula just until incorporated.
Add cherries and chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and gently fold in to combine.
Scrape blondie batter into prepared 8-inch square baking pan and top with remaining cherries and chocolate. Bake for 33 to 35 minutes, until golden and set in the middle, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
Sprinkle blondies with flaky salt and cool completely on a wire rack. Just before cutting, chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Cut into bars with a sharp knife.
More favorite cherry recipes:
Did you try these Brown Butter Cherry Chocolate Blondies? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
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Brown Butter Cherry Chocolate Blondies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 to 16 blondies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Golden brown butter cherry chocolate blondies studded with cherries and chocolate chunks make the BEST summer dessert bar!
Ingredients
Blondies
- 10 Tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg (50 g), at room temperature
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) almond extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (140 g) fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
- 3 oz (84 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
Topping
- 1/4 cup (35 g) fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
- 1 oz (30 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- flaky salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Brown butter: Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour brown butter into a medium bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Make blondies: Add brown sugar to bowl with melted brown butter and whisk until combined. Whisk in egg, vanilla, almond extract, and salt until smooth. Fold in flour just until incorporated, then fold in cherries and chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared pan and use a piece of parchment paper coated with nonstick spray to press batter evenly into pan. Top with remaining cherries and chocolate, pressing gently into the batter; tap pan sharply to remove air bubbles.
- Bake blondies for 33-35 minutes, until golden and set in the middle, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Sprinkle with flaky salt and cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Just before cutting, chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Carefully lift parchment to remove bars from pan and place on a cutting board; cut into squares with a sharp knife.
- Store bars in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days; let come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Brown butter: Check out my full step-by-step recipe tutorial.
Brown sugar: You can make these blondies with light or dark brown sugar.
Cherries: I use and recommend fresh cherries for the best texture. Pit fresh cherries with a cherry pitter and quarter the cherries with a sharp knife (or slice them if the cherries are large). Let stand on a sheet of paper towel for about 10 minutes to reduce excess moisture before folding into the batter.
Chocolate: Use a semisweet baking bar, chopped into pieces for rich chocolate in every bite! You can also use semisweet or dark chocolate chips. Milk or white chocolate chips would also be delicious.
Keywords: Blondies, Bars, Brown Butter, Cherry, Chocolate
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These bars were so tasty! I did add 1/2 tsp baking soda, and increased the bake time by 10 minutes. But they are amazing. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, Terry! 🙂
I noticed the recipe doesn’t call for any baking soda. Should I add it?
Hi Beth! That’s correct, there is no leavening in these blondies. Baking powder or baking soda would make the texture cakey instead of perfectly chewy. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can I double this recipe and bake in a 9×13?
Hi Alicia! Yes you can double this for a 13 x 9-inch pan. I recommend a light metal baking pan (not a glass pan). Happy baking! 🙂
Laura I made these today and OMG!! Whatever I have made from your site turns out amazing.
Thank you so much! 🙂
I love this so much! I love cherries and chocolate together! Bet these blondies taste sublime !! 😀
Such a great flavour combination! Love everything about these bars!!
Thank you! I made these and they were very tasty, easy and well received!
So glad you liked the blondies, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Oh these are gorgeous!! Cherries and chocolate are such perfect partners, and in caramel blondie form?! It is going into winter here so not beach day weather, but I think they would be perfect served warm with a scoop of ice cream too… <3
Oh my word I love love love this! Cherries and chocolate might be just the perfect combination ever.
Absolutely lovely Laura. Love the fresh cherry with the chocolate. Perfect! 🙂
Chocolate and cherries, a wonderful combination. Your blondies sound irresistible.
I have never tried blondies, Laura, but these could convince me!
I’m ready to dig into to these beauties and I also can see this as a perfect picnic treat 😉
Local cherries are just coming into season. This is a fabulous way to enjoy their short and vibrant season! Your post has me dreaming about menu planing for a summer picnic at the beach!
Wow, I love EVERYTHING about these glorious cookie bars! I might even add white chocolate and dried cherries to your already stellar recipe—a must make for sure!!!
Brown butter and cherries! Yes please!:) Loving the sound of these, Laura!
OMG I dreamed about browned butter last night and then I wake up to this. It’s a sign!! 😀
These look totally perfect Laura! I love the chocolate cherry combo! And brown butter…YES!
i love cherries and chocolate together (cherry garcia ice cream!!). and the addition of a touch of almond extract sounds like it’d be great for boosting the cherry flavor.