These browned butter blondies are studded with butterscotch caramels. Nuff said.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

Five of my fingernails are hot pink right now. 

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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 choice was limited.)

I’m surprised there is not 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.

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.)

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch CaramelsBut 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 cookie, ever. But…the recipe’s a bit time consuming because you have to chill the dough. Which means there is at least a couple 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.

If you live within 5 hours 3 hours 1 hour <— that’s my final answer) of a Trader Joe’s, you need these in your life:

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

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.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

Mmmmmm browned butter. Make sure your butter has those little brown bits in it, otherwise cook it a little longer.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch CaramelsThey’re just so beautiful. I love you, sea salt butterscotch caramels.

Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch CaramelsIt’s a lot easier to get them out of the pan it you line it with foil or parchment paper. Enjoy!!!

***2022 UPDATE: Sad news my friends! Trader Joe’s no longer sells my beloved caramels! What a tragedy. But the good news is that you can make these blondies with any store bought chocolate-covered-caramel. 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!

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Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

5 from 2 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Cooling Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 9 Blondies
 These browned butter blondies are studded with butterscotch caramels. Nuff said.

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 9x9 or 8x8 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.

Notes

This recipe is written to make a square pan (either 8x8 or 9x9) but it's really easy to double it to make a 9x13 inch pan. See my original Browned Butter Blondies for the 9x13 measurements; just sub the caramels for the chocolate chips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1blondie | Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 345IU | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 244
Keyword: Blondies, Browned Butter, Butterscotch, caramels, sea salt
Did you make this? I'd love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!

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Comments

  1. 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! 

      1. ***2023 update*** the caramels are back at TJ’s! I just picked up a bag so I could finally try this recipe!

  2. 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!

  3. 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!

    1. I’m so happy to hear that Tennille! This is an old favorite of mine. So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing!

  4. 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…..😟

  5. 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!

    1. 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! :)

      1. 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?

  6. Hi, could you recommend what to do if mine are coming out like cakes and not a chewy, brownie-like consistency?

    1. 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!

  7. 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

    1. 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 :)

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

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