If you walk into a kitchen in the Lowcountry, you might encounter this special homemade treat. When a scent of caramel-y brown sugar and butter wafts through the air, you know there are Charleston Lowcountry chewies baking away. While the precise origins are murky, the dessert is closely tied to the Gullah Geechee community in the Lowcountry region. It is served on Sunday as a small treat after a big meal. 

The process of making Lowcountry Chewies is closer to that of candy than that of a brownie. In the batter, the flour is almost negligible to the ratios of butter and sugar present. 

When the butter is melted and rested, add the brown sugar into the saucepan alongside almond and vanilla extracts. A single egg binds the batter together alongside the flour. A bit of baking powder provides levity to the chewies and a pinch of salt contrasts the sweetness from the brown sugar.

Fold the chopped pecans into the batter and pour the batter into the pan.

These Lowcountry Chewies only cook for twenty minutes before being taken out of the oven to cool completely. As tempting as it is to bake them until more firm, don’t! The loose batter in the center will firm up as it cools. 

Once cooled, the chewies get cut up into squares and dusted with powdered sugar.

Lowcountry Chewies have a fusion taste and texture. On one hand, they have the firm but tender chewy texture of a blondie but on the other hand, they have a taste of a homemade crunchy meringue on top and a chewy cookie on the bottom. 

This fusion is the best of both worlds.

What makes these Lowcountry Chewies even better is that they are perfect to make for a crowd. The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled to feed a lot of people. 

It’s the perfect treat to make a normal day and a holiday feel special!