I’d never heard of Brown Sugar Brownies, AKA Chewies, until I moved to Charleston, SC in 2007. I was invited by the girls at my work to participate in a cookie exchange around the winter holidays. I can’t even remember now what I brought to the exchange but I do remember the Chewies. Luckily, the lady that brought the Chewies also provided us with the recipe. (Oh Yeah!)
Toasted Pecans vs Toasted Sesame Seeds
After later trying Benne Wafers, I knew I wanted to turn my Brown Sugar Brownies, which are traditionally made with toasted pecans, into a real Charleston treat by using toasted Sesame Seeds (benne) instead. I brought the chewies to my coworkers and they couldn’t get over the flavor change, how closely they tasted to the benne wafers — and how delicious they were. I was pretty pleased with the results.
Check out my other Blondie Recipes:
Charleston Chewies: A Brown Sugar Brownie
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg , beaten
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract [paid link]
- Confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch square pan with vegetable oil and set aside.
- In a small saucepan [paid link], melt the butter and add the sesame seeds. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until light brown. Remove from the heat and add the brown sugar and stir until smooth.
- Next, stir in the egg. Stir together the flour and baking powder and stir into the brown sugar mixture.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and allow the pan to cool on a baking rack.
- When cool, remove the brownies from the pan and lightly dust the top with confectioners' (powdered) sugar.
Brown Sugar brownies are amazing! A definite Charleston treat!
Can i omit the sesame seeds.
Absolutely.
I had not had these in so long and couldn’t remember what they were called! Thanks for the recipe – hard not to eat the whole batch myself!
A very popular recipe in our family.
This was really good. The sesame seeds add a whole new flavor dimension.
Thanks! We really like it, too.
Sounds great!
Thanks, Theo. I hope you give them a try!
I’ve never had a brown sugar brownie. I’ve got to try this out.
They’re really different.
thanks for stopping in Virginia, I do hope you enjoy them. Did you use the toasted sesame or the pecans in yours?