Duff Goldman's #1 Tip To Totally Transform Your Blondies

If you've never made blondies before, you're possibly missing out. Often compared to brownies, blondies are likewise typically baked in a large square or rectangle before being cut down into single servings. The texture is very similar, too, with chewy or crispy edges and soft, moist center pieces, depending on the recipe you use. Most blondie recipes include a mixture of your standard brownie ingredients — flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil — but they always leave out the chocolate and sometimes add in some white chocolate in its stead. However, the real difference between blondies and brownies also comes down to quantities and specific ingredient choices. You'd typically use brown sugar in a blondie, for example, but granulated sugar in a brownie.

However, no matter how you make your favorite blondie recipe, there's one key ingredient that Duff Goldman says will set your blondies apart in a big way, taking a mere average or good blondie into amazing territory — and Martha Stewart agrees with him.

As Duff Goldman told People, brown butter will transform your blondies by adding a real depth of flavor that's a game-changer. Goldman uses 12 ounces of salted butter for his brown butter blondies. Martha Stewart likewise agrees that brown butter is a must for creating a butterscotch-esque, nutty flavor that truly sets blondies apart from brownies. Luckily, making brown butter is easy. Martha Stewart goes on to explain that all you have to do is slowly heat your butter on the stovetop, until it darkens and develops that characteristic brown butter, nutty aroma. (After you make brown butter once, you'll get the idea of exactly what it should look and smell like.)

However, brown butter isn't the only addition that Duff Goldman recommends for your blondie recipe. He also says that raisins are a secret trick for getting gooey soft blondies if you don't want to add other gooey mix-ins like chocolate or white chocolate chips. As he told a fan on Twitter, all you have to do is soak the raisins first, before mixing them into your batter. Gordon Ramsay does something similar. His unexpected ingredient that he adds to blondies? Dried cranberries — though he also adds in chopped white chocolate, for even more gooey goodness.