These browned butter blondies are studded with butterscotch caramels. These Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels are rich, chewy, and packed with pockets of melty salty butterscotch caramels. ´Nuff said. Originally published January 28, 2014. Nuff said.
Table of Contents
Five of my fingernails are hot pink right now.
Look. SEE? I’m girly! I’m so put together! Well. At least halfway girly. I still haven’t painted my other hand. Wanna know why? Diapers. That’s why.
Every time I think “I should paint my fingernails,” the rational part of my brain chimes in: ain’t NOBODY got time for that! I’ve got faces to wipe, pigtails to comb, and pins to pin toilets to scrub.
But guess what, you guys. Something’s going on with this little bloggy-thing of mine. This month, I’ve gotten 30x the amount of traffic that I got last January. And 3x the amount of traffic I got even just last month.
With traffic comes feedback, which I LOVE. Listen to this: “I just found your site today and have spent over two hours here so far.” This is from Linda. Linda, I love you. Come to my house. I will make you these blondies. You think I’m joking.
But along with all the stars-and-rainbow comments come the reality checks. The other day, someone called me out on the photos of my atrocious chipped nails. Alright, ALRIGHT, I’m super tacky, I KNOW! Try not to hate me.
So here’s me making an effort. Valentine’s Day is coming up, so I thought pink. (False. I only have 5 shades, one of them is clear, and the others are getting kinda crusty, so the choice was limited.)
I’m surprised there is no pink nail polish on these blondies. I literally stopped in the middle of my shoot, slapped some paint on my nails, blow-dried them for about 30 seconds, then came back. Don’t lick chocolate and caramel off your fingers 3 minutes after you paint them. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Browned butter blondies with sea salt butterscotch caramels: insanely delicious
So are you guys ready to Super Bowl it up? (Probably now is a bad time to mention that I found out on Friday that the Super Bowl wasn’t this last weekend. Yes, really.)
But the good news is that there is still time for you to make these blondies! Now, if you have been reading my blog recently, you’ve probably heard me gush about these Brown Butter Sea Salt Butterscotch Cookies. And with good reason. They are my favorite cookies, ever. But…the recipe’s a bit time-consuming because you have to chill the dough. Which means there is at least a couple of hours between “I want cookies” and “Kill me now, these are amazing.” These blondies are the answer. You can have these in your mouth in 35 minutes flat. No frilly refrigeration required. Just git ‘er done.
These are my regular Browned Butter Blondies (which are anything but ordinary) with the butterscotch caramels added instead of chocolate chips. The result is a chewy, tender, soft, and rich blondie filled with little nuggets of butterscotch-y caramel goodness. I discovered this recipe last summer and have probably made it 7 or 8 times. I made it 3 times with these caramels. The first time I tried cutting each caramel in half like I do for the cookies, but I actually prefer them when they are added whole. And it’s faster. Like I said. Git ‘er done.
Featured Comment
“This is hands down the best dessert bar I have ever made, compliments all around every single time I make it! It is my go-to for any party!” – Tennille
Key ingredients
- Sea salt butterscotch caramels from Trader Joe’s are a MUST. If you live within 5 hours, 3 hours, or 1 hour <— that’s my final answer) of a Trader Joe’s, you need these in your life. Seriously. I could go on all day, but I’ll just tell you that I’ve made many, many trips to the store for no other purpose than buying these little butterscotch caramels.
- If you can’t find my beloved sea salt caramels from Trader Joe’s, you can use any store-bought chocolate-covered caramels. One of the easiest to find will probably be these Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel squares that Ghirardelli sells. Chop them up and use as directed in the recipe!
How to make these blondies
Browned butter really brings this recipe together. Start by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then keep it going until it turns golden and smells nutty. Make sure your butter has those little brown bits in it, and cook it a little longer.
As soon as it’s ready, pour it into a mixing bowl right away so it doesn’t keep cooking in the hot pan.
Stir in the brown sugar, then the vanilla and egg until everything is smooth.
Now add the dry ingredients, then mix it all together until it’s almost combined before folding in the butterscotch caramels. Stop as soon as the flour disappears so you don’t overmix.
Line your pan with parchment or foil, give it a quick spray, and spread the batter evenly. Bake for about 20–22 minutes, until the top is golden and set.
Let them cool for at least 10–20 minutes before lifting them out…if you can wait. They’re incredible once cooled, but truly next-level when still a little warm.
Pro tip: if they’ve cooled completely, pop one in the microwave for about 10 seconds and thank yourself later.
They’re just so beautiful. I love you, sea salt butterscotch caramels.
How to store and freeze
These blondies keep beautifully, if they last that long. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If your kitchen runs warm, you can pop them in the fridge, but just know they’ll firm up a bit.
To bring them back to life, a quick 10–15 seconds in the microwave makes them soft and gooey again.
These blondies also freeze really well. Let them cool completely, then wrap them individually or store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat, thaw at room temperature or warm straight from the freezer in the microwave.
More salted caramel desserts
Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 7-oz package Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Keep it on the heat, stirring or swirling occasionally, until the foam starts turning golden and the mixture smells nutty. If you’ve never browned butter, go here.
- Remove from heat and pour immediately into a mixing bowl or stand mixer. (Hurry, otherwise the heat from the pot could burn this precious stuff.)
- With a wooden spoon or using the mixer, stir in the brown sugar, then the vanilla, then the egg.
- Add the flour, but don’t mix it in. Spoon the baking soda and salt onto the flour, and stir with a small spoon to blend it with the flour.
- Stir in the flour until almost combined; add the butterscotch caramels and stir just until there are no more streaks of flower.
- Line a 9×9 or 8×8 inch pan with foil or parchment paper, then spray with nonstick spray. Spread the batter evenly into the pan.
- Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until golden on top and set. Let them cool in the pan for at least 10-20 minutes before lifting them out. These blondies are amazing when they have cooled…but they are OUT OF CONTROL when they are warm. I always stick mine in the microwave for 10 seconds if they are cool.
Utterly DELICIOUS!! 😄
Hello, I’m new here! But I just want to start with, THESE CARAMELS ARE AMAZING!!! Now I cannot wait to try these bars and cookies with the caramels! Thanks for the recipes!
They are so irresistible right Michelle?? They never last long!!
***2023 update*** the caramels are back at TJ’s! I just picked up a bag so I could finally try this recipe!
I know, I need to re-update this post!! I bought out the store when I saw them!!!!
Couldn’t I make the batter, press it into a mini cupcake pan, top with a sea salt butterscotch caramel, and then bake? Mini Sea Salt Butterscotch Blondies! Christmas Platter!
This is hands down the best dessert bar I have ever made, compliments all around every single time I make it! It is my go-to for any party!
I’m so happy to hear that Tennille! This is an old favorite of mine. So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing!
Then there are those of us who live in the middle of nowhere with no Trader Joe’s for miles and miles! I was excited with the picture and total, but…..😟
Hey! These look great. I have salted caramel sauce on hand I’ve been wanting to use up. Could I add this into the recipe and if so when would you suggest incorporating and would cooking time change? Let me know. Thanks!
Hey Paige! Funny you mention this, my sister was just experimenting with this recipe and used a caramel sauce. she said it turned out VERY soft, like barely set up. So if you are doing that in place of the Butterscotch caramels, just be aware that the blondies might not set up as much. As for cook times, no idea! You are venturing into experimental unknown territory. Embrace it! :)
Thanks for the comment back! I wanted to use the butterscotch caramels and caramel sauce so good to note. Any other recipe ideas to use the caramel sauce in?
Hi, could you recommend what to do if mine are coming out like cakes and not a chewy, brownie-like consistency?
Hi Ashley! The only thing I can think of would be if you are adding too much flour. Instead of scooping the flour with your measuring cup, use a spoon or other cup to spoon it into the measuring cup. then level it off. Let me know how it works if you try it again!
Karen, I want to pluck these right out of the screen!! They look amazing. It’s times like these that no matter how much I love baking, I just wish I had someone living with me that liked to bake as much as us food bloggers do so that they could surprise me with something like this!! xo
Thank you Beeta! I agree. Surprise goodies are always better than slaved-over goodies. (actually. that’s not always true. But most of the time it is :)
I just pulled these out of the oven A-MAZ-ING!!! I am now obsessed… THANKS!!
Hooray! I’m glad I’ve made another butterscotch caramel convert. It’s pretty much my mission in life. Thanks for coming back to comment Rebekah! You rock.
Oh how I wish I could buy sea salt caramels in England :)
I know right Alison? Trader Joe’s seriously needs to start an online store. You can buy them on Amazon, but they are a little pricey…
Fyi, you can make these blondies with dark chocolate and they are still pretty freaking amazing.
Thanks for the heads up – don’t worry about the nails goes with the territory in my job – horses :)