Sunday, August 3, 2008

Blondies!

Baking & desserts are two things I’m fairly new at.  Growing up my older sister was always baking cookies, cakes, bars, & candy.  I never really had to learn, because if I wanted something sweet she was bound to make it.  She’s the same way today, always making desserts.

During all my time ogling food blogs I kept seeing lots of blondie recipes.  That is one thing I honestly didn’t remember my sister ever baking.  After attending the  Hot Chicken Festival on the 4th of July, TB had to go into work (one of the downfalls of working at a television news station). I went home to relax on my day off (one of the pluses of working in post production & not live!). I started reading all the blogs again, and one of my favorites is Yumsugar . I saw this recipe and decided I had nothing better to do, I had all the ingredients except the chocolate (I don’t trust myself to keep THAT in the house!!), and I REALLY wanted to bake because I had just purchased REAL vanilla extract.  I had previously been using the Always Best brand of imitation.  I know… horrible right?  Up until now, it’s all I knew.

No chocolate, no problem. I have a grocery store right across the street. I walked over there, to pick up the white chocolate only to discover they were closed! What!?! Grrr…. By this time I already had it set in my mind I was gonna bake this goshdarnit! Luckily Walgreens is up the street on the other corner. I spent about 10 minutes (I’m really indecisive) trying to determine the best chocolate to put in the blondies. They didn’t really have anything like white baking chocolate. But I did discover….

It just so happens TB loves toffee flavored anything.  These chocolate bars were buy one get one free.  So I was off with my purchase ready to begin baking.

Print
Print

Toffee Peanut Crunch Blondies

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 bar Dove Peanut Toffee Crunch (or whatever chocolate you want)

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high. Using an electric mixer or mixing by hand, beat together the sugar and egg until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and butter and beat to mix well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Using a spoon, stir in the chocolate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and use a flat metal spatula or a butter knife to smooth the top. Bake the blondies for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is dry and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached (not wet, but not perfectly dry). Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut the blondies into 2-inch squares. The blondies can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days (these seem to get better as they sit) or frozen for up to 2 months (thaw before serving).




  Pin It

One Response to “Blondies!”

Leave a Comment