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Overhead shot of pile of brown butter shortbread cookies.

Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

These Brown Butter Shortbread Bars are deliciously nutty, buttery, and flaky. The combination of the browned butter, vanilla, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and flour makes for perfectly tender shortbread with such depth of flavor. They're great for any time of year, but especially the holiday season with a cup of tea or hot chocolate.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients

  • 8 oz unsalted butter (Kerrygold)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 325°F.
  • Brown the butter. In a light colored medium saucepan or pot (so you can see the browning), melt butter on medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until you see brown flecks. Once browned, pour into a medium bowl to cool for at least 10 minutes. Make sure you get all the brown bits out of the pot.
    BROWN BUTTER CUES:
    Visual cues – as the water evaporates out it’ll sizzle, and then once it starts to foam and get frothy, stir it constantly as this is when the browning happens. The milk solids (dots) on the bottom of the pan will start to turn a light brown and continue to get deeper in color. You’re looking for an amber color.
    Smell cues – the butter will go from a very overtly buttery smell, to having a nutty smell.
  • Pour the vanilla into the bowl with the browned butter. Mix together using a spatula or wooden spoon. 
  • In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and salt. 
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix together until fully combined and the dough forms. 
  • Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer the shortbread dough into the pan and press into an even layer. 
  • Bake at 325°F until golden brown on top, 30-35 minutes.
  • Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cut into pieces using a sharp knife.

Video

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 261mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brown butter, browned butter, cookie, shortbread
Author: Haley