Trials & Tribulations of Running a Small Business

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Am I Making a Blondie? Really?

So, i'm giving in and making something that is called a Blondie. Don't get me wrong, blondies aren't bad... this one is quite good. They just don't have the bitter punch that a Brownie has. So, I've played around and think that this recipe is worthy. See what you think! And, let me know if you have any recipes you are working on. This blondie is based on one I found on a blog called Loves To Eat - here's the link: http://lovestoeat.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/another-blondie-recipe/ This recipe has only brown sugar so it's really moist & caramely.

For a 9" x 13" pan

6 oz unsalted butter, melted
11 oz brown sugar
2 eggs
7 oz all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
5 oz dark chocolate chunks
5 oz toasted walnuts

-Spray a 9" x 13" pan with pan spray and line the base with parchment. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
-Toast the nuts & melt the butter. Set both aside.
-Sift together the flour, powder & salt.
-In a bowl, combine the melted butter (cooled) and brown sugar. To that add your eggs & vanilla. This is a simple stirring so don't worry about whipping air into it.
-Pour 1/2 the dry ingredients in and stir until barely combined. Pour in the other 1/2 of the dry and stir until barely combined.
-Crunch up the toasted nuts & toss them in along with the chocolate. Stir just until homogenous. No over stirring please!
-Spread the mixture out into your pan. If you have any homemade caramel lying around, drizzle some of that on before baking.
- Bake until the blondie springs back when poked or when a toothpick comes out clean. It should take about 20 minutes. Usually it's a good idea to rotate your pan.

*if you want to amp it up, make a dark chocolate ganache and pour that over the blondie before you cut it. You would need about 8 oz dark chocolate & 8 oz heavy cream. Just boil the cream and pour over the chocolate. Whisk this to combine and you're good to go. Pour the glaze over the bars and let set until firm.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds great! I especially appreciate the baking tips -- maybe I'll actually rotate the pan this time. Where can I find vanilla bean paste? Can't wait to try it!

Annie said...

Blondies are a big hit whenever I make them for my coworkers. The recipe I use has coconut and toffee chunks in it. Love the idea to put ganache on top-will definitely try this version!