Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

Brown butter shortbread bars are what I make when I want something sweet and buttery but don’t feel like scooping and rolling a whole tray of cookies. You press the dough into one pan, bake it low and slow, and cut it into bars. Browning the butter first takes about six extra minutes and gives the bars a toasty, caramel-like taste that plain shortbread doesn’t have.

Why Make This Recipe

There are no eggs, no mixer and no chilling the dough overnight. Butter, sugar, flour, a little vanilla and salt. That’s it.

It’s also very forgiving. Shortbread doesn’t rise much, so you don’t have to worry about it spreading, puffing unevenly or sinking in the middle. If you can melt butter and stir, you can make these. That makes them a good first baking project for a beginner, or for kids who want to help. Just keep the browning step for the adults, because hot butter spits.

If you like eggless cookies, my easy eggless sugar cookies use almost the same pantry list. These bars are the lazier version, in a good way.

How to Make Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• Flaky salt for the top (optional)

Directions:

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 45 minutes to cool the butter. Cook time: 35 to 40 minutes. Makes 16 bars from an 8×8-inch pan.

1. Put the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. A light pan lets you see the color change. Stainless steel is better than black nonstick here.
2. Let the butter melt, foam and crackle. Keep swirling the pan. After 5 to 7 minutes the crackling goes quiet, little brown specks show up on the bottom, and it smells like toasted hazelnuts. Take it off the heat right away.
3. Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl, specks and all. Those specks are where most of the flavor is. Chill it for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it’s opaque and about as soft as room-temperature butter. It shouldn’t be liquid or rock hard.
4. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line an 8×8-inch metal pan with parchment and leave some hanging over two sides so you can lift the bars out later.
5. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the cooled butter. Stir hard with a sturdy spatula for about a minute, until it looks creamy and a bit lighter in color.
6. Add the flour and stir until there are no dry streaks left. The dough will look crumbly at first, then come together when you press it with the spatula. Don’t keep mixing after that.
7. Tip the dough into the pan and press it into an even layer. The flat bottom of a measuring cup works well. Get the corners as thick as the middle.
8. Prick the dough all over with a fork, about every inch. Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top.
9. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center has gone from shiny to matte with a pale golden color. A dark pan may be done closer to 32 minutes.
10. While it’s still hot, run a knife through to score 16 bars, and add a pinch of flaky salt if you’re using it. Let it cool completely in the pan, at least an hour, then lift it out and cut along the lines.

How to Serve Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

I usually serve them plain with coffee or tea. The brown butter flavor is the whole point, so I don’t like covering it up.

If you want them a little fancier, dip half of each bar in melted dark chocolate and let it set on parchment. They also go well next to a bowl of berries and lightly sweetened whipped cream, and they’re sturdy enough to crumble over vanilla ice cream. Put them on a cookie plate with something chocolatey, like the perfect chocolate chip cookies, and the two balance each other.

How to Store Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Shortbread actually tastes better on day two, once the butter flavor has had time to settle.

For longer storage, freeze the cut bars in a single layer, then move them to a freezer bag with parchment between the layers. They keep for about 3 months. Thaw them on the counter for 20 minutes. If you dipped them in chocolate, store them in a cool spot so the chocolate doesn’t get soft and streaky.

Tips to Make Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

• Watch the butter closely. Brown turns to burnt in about 30 seconds. Black specks and a bitter smell mean it’s gone too far, and you should start again.
• Don’t skip the cooling. If you mix warm, liquid brown butter with the sugar and flour, the bars bake up greasy and hard instead of tender. Read more about beurre noisette if you want the science behind it.
• Weigh the flour if you can. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes dry, sandy bars. 250 grams is the goal.
• Bake low. 325°F gives you an even golden color without dark edges. A hotter oven browns the outside before the middle is done.
• Score while it’s warm. Fully cooled shortbread cracks when you cut it. Scoring early gives you clean lines.
• No tasting the dough. It has no eggs, but raw flour can still carry bacteria. The FDA explains why, which is good to know if kids are helping.

Variation

A few easy swaps work well. Rub the zest of one lemon or orange into the sugar before you add it to the butter, and the bars come out bright and citrusy. Or stir in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips with the last bit of flour. For a cinnamon-sugar top, mix 1 tablespoon sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and use it instead of the plain sugar sprinkle. Whatever you add, don’t go over 1/2 cup of mix-ins. Shortbread is a dense dough, and too many extras make the bars fall apart. If you want something more classic and gooey, my easy chocolate chip skillet cookie also bakes in one pan.

Brown Butter Shortbread Bars

Buttery shortbread bars made with browned butter for a toasty, caramel-like flavor, pressed into one pan, baked low and slow, and cut into bars. They need no eggs, no mixer and no overnight chilling.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Butter cooling time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 16 bars

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup unsalted butter 226 g
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 g, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g, spooned and leveled
• flaky salt for the top, optional

Method

 

1. Put the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. A light pan lets you see the color change. Stainless steel is better than black nonstick here.
2. Let the butter melt, foam and crackle, swirling the pan the whole time. After 5 to 7 minutes the crackling goes quiet, little brown specks show up on the bottom, and it smells like toasted hazelnuts. Take it off the heat right away.
3. Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl, specks and all. Chill it for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it's opaque and about as soft as room-temperature butter. It shouldn't be liquid or rock hard.
4. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line an 8x8-inch metal pan with parchment, leaving some hanging over two sides so you can lift the bars out later.
5. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the cooled butter. Stir hard with a sturdy spatula for about a minute, until it looks creamy and a bit lighter in color.
6. Add the flour and stir until there are no dry streaks left. The dough will look crumbly at first, then come together when you press it with the spatula. Don't keep mixing after that.
7. Tip the dough into the pan and press it into an even layer. The flat bottom of a measuring cup works well. Get the corners as thick as the middle.
8. Prick the dough all over with a fork, about every inch. Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top.
9. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center has gone from shiny to matte with a pale golden color. A dark pan may be done closer to 32 minutes.
10. While it's still hot, run a knife through to score 16 bars, and add a pinch of flaky salt if you're using it. Let it cool completely in the pan, at least an hour, then lift it out and cut along the lines.

Notes

Watch the butter closely: it goes from brown to burnt in about 30 seconds. If you see black specks or smell bitterness, start again. Cool the brown butter before mixing, because warm, liquid butter makes greasy, hard bars. Weigh the flour (250 g) to avoid dry, sandy bars. Score the bars while they're warm so you get clean cuts. Don't taste the raw dough. If you use salted butter, cut the fine salt to 1/4 teaspoon. To double the recipe, use a 9x13-inch pan and add about 5 minutes to the bake time. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week, or freeze for about 3 months. Variations: add citrus zest, up to 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, or a cinnamon-sugar topping (don't go over 1/2 cup of mix-ins).

FAQs

Can I use salted butter?

Yes. Cut the fine salt down to 1/4 teaspoon. Salted butter tends to foam a bit more while browning, so it can be harder to see the color. Go by smell and keep swirling.

Why are my shortbread bars crumbly when I cut them?

Usually it’s one of two things. Either they were cut before they cooled completely, or too much flour went in. Let them cool for a full hour and use a sharp knife pressed straight down instead of sawing. You can read more about how traditional shortbread is meant to be short and tender, but it should still hold together.

Can I double the recipe?

Yes. Use a 9×13-inch pan and add about 5 minutes to the baking time. Brown the butter in a wider pan so it cooks evenly, and expect it to take a little longer to cool.

Conclusion

These are the bars I come back to when the pantry is low and I still want to bake something. Brown the butter, give it time to cool, and pull the pan once the center turns matte and golden. Once you’ve made them, try a version with lemon zest or chocolate.