I recently start a full-time bootcamp, studying UX Design. I’ve been going downtown every day as if it were going into an office, and have been learning a lot and doing lots of work (we’ve just started working with clients!). My class is pretty small, with only 6 of us. It’s a great size to learn in, and the group is all great people. But it also means people have gotten closer faster, and since I listed this blog in the About Me part of my portfolio, it was discovered much faster than it usually is. And as soon as word gets out that you’re a baker… the requests start coming in. So for Valentine’s Day, I decided to take advantage of having a willing group of people to eat my baked goods and bake these GF Brown Butter Blondies.

One of my classmates in this course has celiac disease, so I wanted to make these gluten free for us all to enjoy them. And while I wouldn’t want my French bread to be gluten free, there’s not a huge difference when you make certain desserts gluten free. Cookies, blondies, and brownies, all generally don’t require gluten to form their texture as much as something like bread does. Obviously gluten is a bit necessary, but the substitutes for it are a little bit easier to disguise in some baked goods, like these.

Or like, flourless chocolate cake? Who needs gluten.

This recipe uses King Arthur Flour’s measure-for-measure gluten free flour, which I am looking forward to experimenting a bit more with. Most gluten-free stuff I’ve baked just leaves the flour out entirely, or uses something like almond or oat flour and xanthan gum. I want to test the measure-for-measure idea and see how well it does. There may be some gluten free Baked brownies pawned off on my class before the course is over.

Speaking of pawning them off – I always enjoy baking for other people. In part because it means that they get eaten a lot quicker and I don’t have to eat them all. In part because Sharing is Caring. And… also largely in part because I like hearing complements. There’s not many complements I’ll accept, whether due to Midwestern modesty or my own belief that I don’t have many developed talents. But I’ve been baking my whole life. I know I’m pretty good.

Everyone had glowing reviews of these blondies, wanting to go back for seconds, asking for the recipe, and saying things like, “These are dangerously good!” Can’t get tired of that.

The distinguishing element of these blondies is the brown butter. It subtly elevates everything that it’s in, and it works really well when paired with brown sugar and the nuttiness of peanut butter. It rounds it out and adds some depth to the taste. And a hack that I picked up a while ago is that if you want to add brown butter to something that doesn’t have melted butter, or a liquid fat, you can just brown the butter and then put it back in the fridge to firm up again. Just make sure to include all the browned milk solids when you use it in your recipe.

I was also glad I was able to photograph these in the morning before bringing them in to class. This course has been good for keeping me on a schedule and forcing me to plan out my days a bit more to fit in everything I want. I’m finally seeing what the 9-5 grind is. I go to the gym with all the other 9-5ers. I sit in traffic on my commute. I have the schedule of an adult. It’s easier to accept than I thought.

So whether you’ve got a 9-5 or not: cheers to starting new things, cheers to learning, and cheers to having a group to share baking with!

GF Brown Butter Blondies (with chocolate and peanut butter chips!)

Author: Audrey

Ingredients

1 cup Gluten Free Flour (King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips (I used Lily’s for extra gluten-free insurance)

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Instructions

In a saucepan, brown your butter on the stovetop. Once it’s got brown flecks and is giving off a nutty aroma, remove it from heat and pour into a heat-safe dish, and put in the fridge to cool. Once it’s solid again, you can proceed.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8″x8″ baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the browned butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla during last minute of mixing. Turn mixer speed to low and mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Remove from standing mixer and fold in chocolate chips.
Place dough into baking dish and smooth using the back of a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center of the dough comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into 9 squares!