Brown Sugar Brownies

16 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Blondies are rich, chewy brown sugar brownies with no cocoa powder. Easy blonde brownies with lots of brown sugar taste like vanilla butterscotch heaven!

A classic fudgy Chocolate Brownie is hard to beat! If you are looking for something less chocolatey but just as rich and delicious, you’ll love this blonde Brownie Recipe.

Brown Sugar Brownies in stack

BROWN SUGAR BROWNIES (BLONDIES)

This vanilla brownie may seem like a brand new idea, but it’s actually been around a long time. According to Mental Floss, the first brownie recipe that appeared in a cookbook back in 1896 had zero chocolate!

The original blondie recipe was a cookie recipe adapted to bake in a pan. For over 120 years this sweet dessert recipe combines chocolate chip cookie flavor (minus the chocolate chips) with all the gooey chewy texture of a fudge brownie.

Lots of brown sugar is what gives these chewy Blondies their rich, caramel-y butterscotch taste. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, depending on how much molasses flavor your want your Brown Sugar Brownies to have.

Brown sugar also makes these Blondies soft and gooey. They may look underdone, but as long as an inserted toothpick comes out clean, with moist crumbs, they are perfect. As they cool, they will get firmer. But if you want a cobbler type dessert, scoop out Blondies right from the oven and serve with Vanilla Ice Cream!

Use melted butter to make these a one bowl Blondie recipe. Combine the melted butter with the sugar and then whisk in the eggs one at a time. Continue to whisk in the dry ingredients, no need to use a hand mixer or stand mixer. Easy Blondies and easy clean up? Yes please!

Just because there’s no cocoa powder in these Brown Sugar Brownies, doesn’t mean you can’t add chocolate! Get the best of both brownie worlds by adding chocolate chunks, drizzle with Chocolate Ganache, or frost with Dark Chocolate Frosting. Serve these brownies with Whipped Cream and some Strawberry Topping for a fresh, summer dessert!

MORE DELICIOUS BROWNIE RECIPES:

Brown Sugar Brownies in baking pan

VARIATIONS ON BROWN SUGAR BROWNIES (BLONDIES)

  • Cake Blondies: For a lighter cake-like texture, use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. For every cup all-purpose flour, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour.
  • Chocolate Chips: Fold in a ½ cup chocolate chips like dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or semi-sweet chocolate chips for melty chocolate bites.
  • Baking Chips: Add more butterscotch or caramel-y flavors to these Blondies with ½ cup butterscotch chips, caramel chips, or toffee bits.
  • Nuts: You can fold in a ½ cup of chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, peanuts, or macadamia nuts for some earthy crunch.
  • Coffee: For a subtle espresso flavor, add 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or powdered coffee.
  • White Chocolate Blondies: Melt baking white chocolate and half the butter together in a double boiler. Drizzle the melted chocolate mixture to the creamed butter vanilla mixture and finish recipe as usual.
  • Brown Sugar: Want to make your own brown sugar? Simply combine 1 cup granulated sugar with 1-2 teaspoons molasses, rubbing mixture with your fingers until completely combined.

MORE MOUTHWATERING BROWN SUGAR DESSERTS

HOW TO STORE BROWN SUGAR BROWNIES (BLONDIES)

  • Serve: These Brown Sugar Brownies are best at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • Store: You can refrigerate your Blondies up to a week in an airtight container, but serve at room temperature. 
  • Freeze: Cool the Blondies completely before freezing in a freezer safe bag or sealed container for up 3 months. To keep Blondies from sticking, freeze 1 hour on a baking tray before transferring them to container or bag.

Brown Sugar Brownies in baking dish

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Brown Sugar Brownies (Blondies)

Blondies are rich, chewy brown sugar brownies with no cocoa powder. Easy blonde brownies with lots of brown sugar taste like vanilla butterscotch heaven!
Yield 16 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 2 cups brown sugar , packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray.
  • To your stand mixer add butter on medium high speed until creamy.
  • Add in brown sugar, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
  • Add in eggs and vanilla until well blended.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Turn on stand mixer on lowest speed setting and add in flour mixture.
  • Stop mixing as soon as flour is combined.
  • Press mixture into baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is just golden brown and the middle is set.

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 384IU | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Brown Sugar Brownies (Blondies)

Brown Sugar Brownies collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. Very easy recipe. I added walnuts & chocolate chips. The cook time in my oven was between 20 to 25 minutes. Waiting for it to cool some before tasting, smells marvelous.

  2. Had just made for the second time. Used a delicious vanilla paste. Were eaten right out of the oven almost after a minute with aluminum foil placed on top. So very good and healthy. The recipe is even better the next day!

  3. Mixed everything together with a spatula and my hands. I added coconut and dark chocolate chunks — delicious!

  4. Looks like an interesting take on brownies. Will be sharing with my daughters who love to bake!

    1. I would suggest going online and googling your elevation and starting with those suggestions as it can be different and I am by no means an expert on the subject. Good luck!

  5. Hi! Making this right now. Im confused, am I supposed to use baking powder or soda? You mention powder in the ingredient list but then change it to soda when explaining what to do.

    1. Baking powder! I am so sorry the wording got mixed up as I test multiple times and write myself notes. Sorry about that. Fixing it now.

  6. I am getting ready to make these right now. As I’m prepping, In ingredients you say 2 t baking powder and in the instructions you say baking soda. Which is it??? I know it can make or break a recipe. Thanks

  7. Sabrina your recipe for brown sugar brownies says baking powder in the recipe, but the instructions say baking soda..which is right?Judith