Vegan Brown Butter Blondies

I’ve never been a big brownie person.  There. I said it.

Brownies, for me, feel like an all or nothing game.  Either you love them, can’t get enough of them, gotta have them, or you just feel “eh” about them. For me, it was just too much of the same soft textured, chocolate fudge overload.

Enter the blondie. For a non-brownie lover like myself, the blondie is a perfect compromise. You still get the fudgy brownie part, but with a crispy top and the perfect balance of chocolate to vanilla.  I found this recipe for brown butter blondies on one of my favorite food websites, Food52.com.  I was intrigued by the promise of a nutty, buttery flavor and gooey marbled chocolate.  It doesn’t disappoint.  I made these vegan with a chia egg and non-dairy substitutes.  Hope you like it.

The only time I prefer blonde to brunette.

Vegan Brown Butter Blondies (via Food52.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Earth Balance
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 heaping teaspoon of salt
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons of whole chia seeds
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

• 1 8×8 baking pan

Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 350.  Prepare your 8×8 pan by pressing a piece of aluminum foil into it, leaving some to hang over the sides.  Set aside.

2. Prepare the chia eggs:

In a Vitamix, blender, or grinder, combine the 6 tablespoons of water with the 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. This equals 2 eggs. Blend until fully combined: the chia seeds will break down, the mixture will be gray, and the consistency is gooey.  Set aside.

3.  On top of the stove, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Swirl it around a few times.  The butter will foam and spatter.  Cook on medium heat until the butter starts to smell nutty and brown, about 3-5 minutes.  The Earth Balance takes a bit longer to brown than regular butter, so stick with it and watch it carefully. The butter is ready when the sizzling quiets down and becomes foamy, and you see brown bits in the butter.  Remove from heat and carefully pour the butter into a large bowl.

4. Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.  In another bowl, mix chia eggs and vanilla. Set both aside.

5. Add brown sugar to the butter. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add the chia egg/vanilla mixture to the butter/sugar. Mix until combined and shiny.

6. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/chia mixture.  Mix until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips.  Mix until combined, but be careful not to overmix. Pour dough into baking pan and spread out evenly with the back of your wooden spoon.

7. Bake for 25-35 minutes.  According to Food52: “You can’t do the toothpick test with this because it will always come out clean.  Instead, look for a crispy top that’s just starting to crack [and] firm slightly-browned edges. And when you press on the center, you don’t want it to feel really soft.  Don’t stress.  You can always throw it back in later.  Just know that once it’s cool, it will firm up quite a bit.”

8. Remove from the oven. Cool completely before removing from the pan.  You can lift the aluminum foil right out.

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Tagged: allergy free, bakery, baking, blondies, brownies, Cake, chocolate, chocolate chip, dairy free, dessert, vegan