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We’re finishing our month of chocolate desserts with an insanely delicious one from Monique of Ambitious Kitchen. Rich chocolate chip cookie dough, gooey Nutella and sea salt come together to create the ultimate dessert. Here’s how to whip up these blondie bars…
Brown Butter Nutella Blondies
by Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen
My recipe for Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies, which I published over four years ago, is still one of my most popular holiday treats. I can think of five delicious reasons: brown butter, brown sugar cookie dough, Nutella, sea salt and chocolate chips. They’re everything a cookie should be and so much more. They were also the first cookie I ever baked my boyfriend and one of the reasons we fell in love (cookies can do that, you know!).
This year, I wanted to share an updated — and easier — version of those cookies, this time in bar form. This recipe requires no chilling of the dough, so you don’t have to wait around forever to enjoy it.
I made these last week and they topped all holiday cookies out there. Enjoy!
You’ll need:
1 cup butter
2 cups dark brown sugar (light brown sugar works too)
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
16 tbsp Nutella (1 cup)
Sea salt for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper. (A 7 x 11 inch pan will also work well.)
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. The butter will begin to crackle and foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. It is VERY important to let the butter cool. Please do not skip this step.
With an electric mixer, mix the brown butter and sugar until thoroughly blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined, smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
Divide the cookie dough batter in half. Spread half of the dough onto prepared pan, patting towards the edges. Try to make sure that the batter is evenly distributed; it’s going to seem like a thin layer but they will bake up and be glorious.
Drop Nutella by tablespoonfuls on top of first layer of cookie dough. You’ll want to do this all around the pan, leaving a small amount of space on the edges. Next, spread Nutella with a spatula so that it’s in an even layer on top of the cookie dough. Top Nutella with remaining batter, making sure Nutella is completely covered. Tip: I drop a handful of cookie dough in different areas on top of the Nutella, then use my hands to pat the cookie dough into an even layer.
Bake for 23 to 27 minutes, or until edges begin to turn a slight golden brown. I like to underbake mine a little so they stay gooey and soft in the middle. Sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before cutting into bars.
Thank you so much, Monique! We can’t wait to make these.
P.S. More sweet recipes, including four-ingredient fudge and Nutella brownies.
(Recipe and photos by Monique Volz. Thanks to Stella Blackmon for helping with this series.)
