These Christmas Brown Butter Blondies are a real crowd-pleaser, ideal for holiday gatherings or as a cozy treat with a mug of hot cocoa. With the addition of colorful chocolate candies and a buttercream Christmas tree, these treats become a holiday delight.
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Why use brown butter?
Browned butter infuses these blondies with a rich, caramel-like nuttiness that elevates their classic flavor. The result is a festive treat featuring a perfectly chewy center and delightfully crisp edges.
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Ingredients
These Christmas Brown Butter Blondies are simple to make and require just a handful of ingredients. Before diving into the recipe, make sure to gather everything you'll need.
Blondie dough ingredients
- All-purpose flour - sift flour if necessary to remove any lumps
- Salt
- Brown sugar - use light or dark brown sugar
- Eggs - bring eggs to room temperature before starting recipe
- Butter - use unsalted butter
- M&Ms - use red & green M&Ms (found during the holiday season at your grocery store)
See recipe card for quantities.
Decorating ingredients
- Powdered sugar - sift powdered sugar if necessary to remove any lumps
- Butter - use softened, unsalted butter
- Food coloring - use green and yellow food coloring gels
- Water - may substitute with milk
Instructions
Follow the steps below to whip up these these holiday brown butter blondies:
Prepare baking pan
This recipe is baked in an 8x8-inch square pan. Follow the pan preparation steps below to ensure the blondies are easy to remove after baking:
- Make two strips of 8" x 14" parchment paper.
- Lightly grease the pan with melted butter or baking spray; this will help parchment adhere to the pan.
- Place one sheet of parchment over the pan and press it into the bottom and sides, creasing the paper where the edges of the pan meet.
- Lay the second sheet of parchment crossed over the first sheet and extending up the sides of the pan.
- Make sure parchment paper hangs over sides of the pan. These will act as handles to lift out the blondies
Blondie dough instructions
1 - Place chunks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir occasionally. Once the butter has melted, it will begin to foam. Keep cooking and stirring. The foam will subside, and the butter will start to sizzle and bubble.
2 -The milk solids in the butter will start to brown. You’ll notice a nutty aroma and see the butter turn golden brown. Keep a close eye on it to prevent burning and continue stirring. When the butter has turned a deep golden brown and you see browned bits (milk solids) at the bottom of the pan, remove it from heat immediately. This process takes approximately 4 - 6 minutes.
4 - Pour the browned butter into a heat-resistant bowl. Let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with remainder of recipe.
4 - Add brown sugar to bowl with cooled brown butter. Whisk until smooth. Add eggs to bowl and whisk until smooth.
5 - Add flour and salt to bowl. Stir until smooth and no dry pieces of flour remain.
6 - Add M&M's to mixing bowl. Stir until evenly distributed.
Baking instructions
1 - Add dough to prepared baking pan. Use your hands or an offset spatula to smooth dough evenly.
2 - Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 25 - 30 minutes. Top will be evenly browned and slightly risen.
Decorating instructions
1 - Cool for one hour. Pull up on parchment to remove blondies from pan. Cut to desired sized pieces (note: I cut mine into 20 even pieces).
2 - Make buttercream: Place softened butter in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth (2 - 3 minutes). Add powdered sugar and water to mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed and slowly increase speed to medium-high. Mix until smooth and creamy.
3 - Remove ⅓ cup of buttercream and place in a separate bowl. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring and stir until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip. Add a few drops of green food coloring to remainder of buttercream and stir until combined. Continue adding more green drops until you achieve your desired color. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.
4 - For the Christmas trees, pipe a squiggle of green icing down slices of blondies (start with a small squiggle at the top and increase size of squiggle as you go down). Pipe a yellow star at top of each Christmas tree. Enjoy!
Equipment
You need the following equipment make the Christmas Brown Butter Blondies recipe:
- Mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons
- 8" square baking pan (at least 2" depth)
- Parchment paper
- Heavy-bottomed saucepan
- Heat-spatula
- Hand whisk
- Hand- or stand mixer
- Pastry bags and piping tips
Storage
Place the holiday brown butter blondies in an airtight container to keep them soft and prevent them from drying out. You can layer parchment or wax paper between them to prevent sticking. Keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.
To freeze, wrap well in plastic or foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
Top Tip
Be sure to keep an eye on your butter as you are browning it. It can go from perfect to burned in seconds, so don't leave it unattended.
FAQ
Can I make these Christmas brown butter blondies gluten free?
More holiday recipes
Looking for more dessert recipes for your holiday table? Take a look at these:
Make your holiday gatherings extra special with these Christmas Brown Butter Blondies. A festive treat with a rich, caramel-like flavor.
📋 Recipe
Christmas Brown Butter Blondies
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed saucepan
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Heat-Resistant Spatula
- Parchment paper
- Bowls, measuring cups and spoons
- 1 8" x 8" square cake pan (at least 2" depth)
- Hand or stand mixer (to make buttercream)
- Pastry bags
Ingredients
Blondies dough
- 1 Cup Butter Unsalted
- 1 ¾ Cups Brown sugar Light or dark brown
- 2 Cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Large Eggs Room temperature
- 1 Cup M&Ms M&Ms, Reese's, chocolate bars, etc...
Decorations
- ½ Cup Unsalted butter softened
- 2 Cups Powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Water or milk
- Gel food coloring yellow and green
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Place chunks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir occasionally.1 Cup Butter
- Once the butter has melted, it will begin to foam. Keep cooking and stirring. The foam will subside, and the butter will start to sizzle and bubble.
- The milk solids in the butter will start to brown. You’ll notice a nutty aroma and see the butter turn golden brown. Keep a close eye on it to prevent burning and continue stirring.
- When the butter has turned a deep golden brown and you see browned bits (milk solids) at the bottom of the pan, remove it from heat immediately. This takes approximately 4 - 6 minutes.
- Pour the browned butter into a heat-resistant bowl. Let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
Prepare Baking Pan
- Lightly grease an 8" x 8" square cake pan with baking spray or melted butter.
- Make two pieces of parchment paper that are 8" x 14".
- Place one sheet over the pan and press it into the bottom and sides, creasing the paper where the edges of the pan meet.
- Lay the second sheet crossed over the first sheet and extending up the sides of the pan.
- Make sure it hangs over two opposite sides of the pan. These will act as handles to lift out the blondies.
Blondies
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃)
- Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Sift flour if necessary to remove lumps. Set bowl aside.2 Cups All-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Add brown sugar to bowl with cooled brown butter. Whisk until smooth.1 ¾ Cups Brown sugar
- Add eggs to bowl. Whisk until smooth.2 Large Eggs
- Add flour and salt to bowl. Stir until smooth and no dry pieces of flour remain.
- Add M&M's to mixing bowl. Stir until evenly distributed.1 Cup M&Ms
- Add blondie dough to prepared baking pan. Use your hands or an offset spatula to smooth dough evenly.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Top will be evenly browned and slightly risen.
- Cool for one hour. Pull up on parchment to remove blondies from pan. Cut to desired sized pieces.
Decorating
- Place softened butter in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until butter is smooth (2 - 3 minutes).½ Cup Unsalted butter
- Add powdered sugar and milk (or water) to mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed and slowly increase speed to medium-high. Mix until smooth and creamy (2 - 3 minutes).2 Cups Powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons Water
- Remove ⅓ cup of buttercream and place in a separate bowl. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring and stir until combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip.Gel food coloring
- Add a few drops of green food coloring to remainder of buttercream and stir until combined. Continue adding more green drops until you achieve your desired color. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.Gel food coloring
- For the Christmas trees, pipe a squiggle of green icing down slices of blondies (start with a small squiggle at the top and increase size of squiggle as you go down).
- Pipe a yellow star at top of each Christmas tree.
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