Just in time for Father's Day, here's a recipe for Brown Butter Bourbon Bars! They're brown butter and bourbon flavored blondie type cookies with white chips, chocolate chips and for extra flare -- toffee chips! The toffee chips make them very chewy.
Why You'll Love Brown Butter Bourbon Bars
- They have sugar
- They have chocolate
- You can drink the bourbon while you bake
- Instant excuse to buy a bag of toffee chips
- Pretty easy as far as desserts go
Bourbon Strength
The bourbon flavor is not too strong. For extra flavor, you can brush a tiny bit of bourbon in with the butter on the bottom of the parchment lined pan or just brush some bourbon over the bars. But really, they are not strong on alcohol flavor. Kids would eat these. Then again, they are supposed to be for Dad so...
Pan Size
This recipe calls for a 9x13 inch pan, but I've successfully made half batches in an 8-inch square pan. You could even get away with making a quarter batch in a small loaf pan or possibly a small (6-inch) skillet. Or make the full batch of dough and just press a small amount into any size pan you'd like.
Sweet William's Spirited Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you like the idea of bourbon in chocolate chip cookies rather than bars and don't necessarily care if there's brown butter or toffee bits, another great cookie recipe is Sweet William's Spirited Chocolate Chip Cookies from Lisa Keyes.
Bourbon Roasted Pecans
Another way to bump up the bourbon flavor would be to candy the pecans quickly over the stovetop.
Recipe
Brown Butter Bourbon Bars
Ingredients
- 8 oz unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 cup very firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs (about 85 to 90 grams total)**
- 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour fluff, then spoon and level or scoop and sweep
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup toffee bits
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (or a mix of milk and semisweet)
- 1 cup white chips
- ¾ cups pecans toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the inside of a 9x13 inch metal pan with foil or parchment. Grease the bottom of the pan.
- Brown the butter in a small saucepan and scrape it into a mixing bowl, getting all of the browned bits. Let cool just slightly (about 3 to 5 minutes).
- Add both sugars and whisk well. Add eggs and whisk just until they are mixed in. Whisk in the bourbon and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl again.
- Thoroughly mix together flour, baking soda and salt and gradually add to batter, stirring just until blended. Stir in toffee bits, chips and nuts.
- Transfer dough to a 9x13 inch baking pan and press down evenly. A trick is to dampen your fingers with a little water (or bourbon) or press down with parchment paper. Bake for about 25 minutes or until bars appear slightly cracked and golden brown.
- Let cool in pan, then remove from pan and cut into bars.
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