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Hi Bold Bakers!
NOTE FROM GEMMA: Welcome back Vedika! She’s here again with a truly inventive recipe for us — Lemon Blondies. Make sure to check out her Salted Caramel Fudge, Dirty Chai Brownies, and Cinnamon Roll Muffins too!
We were struggling to name this recipe. They’re not quite cookie bars, nor are they cake bars. They melt in your mouth, they’re chewy, a little fudgy, and packed with flavor. They’re served in little squares. But these have no chocolate, which means that the name ‘lemon brownies’ is slightly misleading. Blondies? Perhaps. Lemonies? Also perhaps. They’re sort of their own thing.
So I took to Instagram, asking my followers whether to call these ‘lemon brownies,’ ‘lemon blondies,’ or ‘lemonies.’ 12% for the first, 55% for the second, and 33% for the third. Whatever you choose to title this recipe, it is delicious. So good, that each time I make these, they are demolished, lasting no more than a day.

The base is infused with brown butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. It’s sort of like a cake, but denser, like a brownie. They become even more dense and chewy if you store these in the fridge.
A layer of lemony glaze adds an elegant, sweet, and tart finish that takes these to the next level and makes them addictively good.
Lemon Blondies Ingredients
This recipe requires the basics: flour, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract. These also contain both, lemon zest and lemon juice. I also toss in a touch of baking powder to add a little aeration. Here are a couple of key things to keep in mind.
Brown butter. I always use brown butter in cookies because it adds an extra depth and flavor that you don’t want to miss. Browning the butter in these lemon brownies took them to the next level as well.

Granulated sugar. Regular granulated sugar suffices for this recipe and helps the lemon flavor shine through, something that the molasses from the brown sugar may get in the way of.
Lemon zest and lemon juice: Why do we add lemon juice? Well, brown the butter which means that the butter loses some of the water. We need to re-add that so that the blondies retain their moisture. And what better way than with lemon juice, which adds an extra lemony flavor? The lemon zest is necessary and gives these blondies a whole of lemon scent and flavor, without which they wouldn’t be what they are.
The glaze is super simple: vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, and more lemon juice.
How To Make Lemon Blondies
The process of making these lemon blondies is akin to the creaming method used to make cookies. We start with butter, then we add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and finally the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt). The difference is in the tweaks and additions – the brown butter, and all the lemon flavors. Finally, the glaze brings this recipe to life. Don’t skip it, it really elevates these.

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Make Gemma’s Blondies & Lemon Bars
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