Description
Brown butter pistachio cookie bars deliver pure comfort straight from your kitchen to the plate. Nutty, rich layers melt together with a golden-brown butter base that turns simple ingredients into something seriously delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
Primary Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups kataifi
- 1 cup pistachio cream
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Supporting Ingredients:
- 9 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Finishing Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Melt 9 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, swirling constantly until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk ½ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar into the browned butter until fully incorporated.
- Add 1 room temperature egg to the sugar mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour in 1 tbsp heavy cream and 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1 ¼ cups flour, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt.
- Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in ¾ cup chocolate chips.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 22-27 minutes until edges are golden and center is set.
- Let cookie base cool completely in the pan at room temperature.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add 3 cups kataifi and toast until golden, stirring frequently.
- Cool kataifi for 10 minutes, then mix with 1 cup pistachio cream until well blended.
- Spread pistachio mixture evenly over cooled cookie base.
- Heat 2 cups heavy cream until it just starts to boil. Pour over 1 cup chocolate chips in a bowl.
- Let chocolate sit for 5 minutes, then stir until ganache is completely smooth.
- Pour ganache over pistachio layer and smooth with a spatula.
- Sprinkle chopped pistachios across the top for garnish.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into bars.
Notes
- Brown the butter slowly and watch carefully to achieve a deep golden color without burning, which adds rich, nutty flavor to the cookie base.
- Use room temperature ingredients like eggs and butter to ensure smooth mixing and consistent texture throughout the bars.
- Toasting kataifi creates wonderful depth and crunch, so stir constantly while browning to prevent burning and achieve an even golden color.
- When making ganache, let chocolate sit undisturbed in hot cream for exactly 5 minutes to create a perfectly smooth, glossy finish without stirring prematurely.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Category: Dessert Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 330 kcal
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 130 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg