Name: White Chocolate Brownies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed; 6 oz high quality white chocolate bars, like Ghirardelli or Lindt + more for garnish; 1 cup granulated sugar; 3 eggs, at room temperature; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt

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What are white chocolate brownies, you ask? The delicious love child of dark chocolate brownies and vanilla slice - rich, fudgy, and bursting with melt-in-your-mouth vanilla flavors.

Three white chocolate brownies on a small, rectangular, wooden cutting board with a white bowl, a bottle of milk and a small bowl of white chocolate in the background.

I first came across white chocolate brownies while searching for another recipe. And, at first, I was like "But... why?"

Rich, fudgy, deeply chocolaty brownies (like these creme egg brownies or s'more brownies) are my favorite kind of dessert. And the thought of substituting white chocolate for dark just seemed... wrong.

But wow, was I the one who was wrong. So, so, SO wrong.

These white chocolate brownies are just as rich and fudgy as their dark chocolate counterparts, but taste like vanilla slice.

They were so good my partner and I ate a half pan the first night I made them. Need I say more?

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Getting that perfect crinkle top
Step-by-step instructions
Substitutions
Expert tips
Storage
Recipe
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Getting that perfect crinkle top

My ideal brownies have a perfectly crinkled, shiny layer of flaky goodness on top. And while there's more than one way to get that crinkly layer, this is my favorite, tried and true technique:

Important step #1 - Whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, just like you would for meringue. This serves two purposes: It dissolves the sugar, which is what leads to the crust, and creates a soft, fudgy texture. No cakey brownies here.

Important step #2 - Melt the chocolate and butter together. Combining these two ingredients and melting them together keeps the chocolate from seizing and it makes it easier to mix it into the meringue without over-mixing or deflating it.

Step-by-step instructions

Before we embark on this sweet, brownie bedazzled journey, let's talk about a problem you may run into.

In this recipe, we're going to melt the chocolate and butter simultaneously. Because of the water content in the butter, you may find that as it melts, the butter and chocolate separate and the chocolate starts to seize (this is particularly common for white chocolate).

Don't panic. This is totally fixable, promise. Leave the bowl over the pot of simmering water, switch to a whisk, and stir vigorously until the two combine. The mixture may appear a little rubbery, but that's ok for these brownies.

Close up of melted white chocolate and butter.

Combine the butter and white chocolate in a bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Stir continuously until melted.

Overhead view of chocolate and egg batter next to a bowl of white chocolate coarsely chopped and flour.

In a bowl, whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (3 minutes). With the mixer on low, pour the chocolate/butter into the egg mixture, beating until just combined.

White chocolate brownie batter being poured into a parchment paper lined silver square baking pan.

Fold in the flour, salt and vanilla extract.

Pour into a parchment paper lined 8"x8" pan. Garnish with chocolate chunks if desired.

Overhead view of baked white chocolate brownies with a lightly browned, crinkled layer on top.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes. The brownies should be just starting to brown but set in the middle. Allow to cool in the pan and then drizzle with melted white chocolate if desired.

Six slices of white brownies spread out in front of a white kitchen towel, a bottle of milk and a bowl of white chocolate.

Substitutions

White chocolate: While I highly recommend using high quality bars of white chocolate, you can substitute with white chocolate chips in a pinch. Doing so will result in a less rich brownie, won't taste as good and any chips sprinkled on top as a garnish won't melt.
Salted butter: If you don't have unsalted butter on hand, you can substitute with an equal amount of salted butter and omit the salt called for in the recipe.

Expert tips

Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
Not sure if your brownies are done? With white chocolate brownies, it's important to not let them get more than just lightly browned. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with gummy bits of crumbs but no raw batter, they're done. If in doubt, it’s better to under bake brownies than over bake them.
Easy slicing: Brownies are easiest to slice when they've been refrigerated for at least a few hours and up to overnight.

Storage

These brownies are best when eaten within 3-4 days and can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container.

They can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.

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