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Golden brown butter shortbread bars cut into neat squares on a sheet of crinkled parchment paper, sugar-sparkled tops…

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.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Butter cooling time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
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).