brown butter cherry chocolate blondies
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).
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 in under 10 minutes, making them the perfect choice for laid-back summer days.
Brown Butter Cherry Chocolate Blondies
- Yield: 12 blondies
Ingredients
Blondies
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 cup Bing cherries, pitted and quartered
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Topping
- 1/4 cup Bing cherries, pitted and quartered
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
- flaky salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. 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 to room temperature.
- Add brown sugar, egg, extracts, and salt to bowl and whisk until smooth. Fold in flour just until incorporated, then fold cherries and chocolate into batter. 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 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; let come to room temperature before serving.
Keywords: cherry, chocolate, blondies
26 comments
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.
These look totally perfect Laura! I love the chocolate cherry combo! And brown butter…YES!
These remind me of a delicious cross between chocolate chip cookies and jam bars (with those cherries!) So yummy- can’t resist a good blondie 🙂
OMG I dreamed about browned butter last night and then I wake up to this. It’s a sign!! 😀
Brown butter and cherries! Yes please!:) Loving the sound of these, Laura!
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!!!
I love that you’ve used fresh fruit in these Laura, I think that’s so much more appealing than dried, and the combo of chocolate and cherry is always a hit!
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!
I’m ready to dig into to these beauties and I also can see this as a perfect picnic treat 😉
I have never tried blondies, Laura, but these could convince me!
Chocolate and cherries, a wonderful combination. Your blondies sound irresistible.
I tried to make blondies once and they were a total failure and way too sweet! They stuck to the greaseproof paper and I don’t think I cooked them enough.
I’ll have to try these, they look fantastic!
Absolutely lovely Laura. Love the fresh cherry with the chocolate. Perfect! 🙂
Oh my word I love love love this! Cherries and chocolate might be just the perfect combination ever.
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
3Thank you! I made these and they were very tasty, easy and well received!
So glad you liked the blondies, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Ooh yum! Cherries + brown butter… yes, please!
Such a great flavour combination! Love everything about these bars!!
I love this so much! I love cherries and chocolate together! Bet these blondies taste sublime !! 😀
Laura I made these today and OMG!! Whatever I have made from your site turns out amazing.
Thank you so much! 🙂
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! 🙂
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! 🙂