Chewy, Chunky Blondies

I much prefer blondies to regular brownies. It's likely because I'm just not that big of a chocolate person. I had a craving for blondies and went straight to Dorie Greenspan for my fix. It has been a while since I've made anything from her book, since I left TWD in late 2008 (wow, was it that long ago?). I figured I was due for some quality time with Dorie. 

I was feeling pretty confident that there were a few ingredients I could change without screwing up the final results, and I was right! The Earth Balance butter, sucanat, evaporated cane juice and whole wheat pastry flour all played their parts flawlessly. These are a wonderful treat that I could feel a little less guilty about... until adding a scoop of ice cream, that is!



Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Source: Slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours p.109

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) Earth Balance butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sucanat
1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan with baking spray and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

BB: Outrageous Brownies

I've heard a lot about this brownie recipe, as it is a favorite of many fellow bakers. For over a year, I have loved the Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies from my copy of Baking Illustrated, and have been afraid to try anything new. I guess having brownies as the next Barefoot Bloggers recipe helped give me the chance to make them!


I used them in my husband's favorite brownie concoction - Caramel Butterscotch Brownies. I cut the recipe in half to have enough for the layered brownies, and ended up with enough leftover to make 6 lil' muffin brownies. I have to admit, this brownie recipe wasn't up to the challenge. Part of it is my fault, as I certainly underbaked them, but they definitely had too much butter. We'll be sticking with our favorite brownie recipe from here on out!

Outrageous Brownies
Chosen by: Eva of I’m Boring
Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook on page 172

* 1 pound unsalted butter
* 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
* 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
* 6 extra-large eggs
* 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
* 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Light Butterscotch "Blondies"

Cara shared a recipe for blondies by Marc Bittman, indicating some substitutions she made to make it a bit more healthy. I set out to try them, but along the way made a number of substitutions myself! I decided that chocolate brownies shouldn't be having all the fun, so I wanted to make blondies that incorporated some white beans (I picked on the can on navy beans in the cupboard). I then subbed out some of the AP flour for ground oats. I also included some of my usual subs - unsweetened applesauce for oil (though here I guess it is replacing butter - thanks to Cara for trying out this particular substitution!), and wheat germ for more of the flour.

The end result, while very tasty, was slightly more fluffy than I wanted... it wasn't quite as dense as I expected, and therefore, I'm not quite sure if it is really a blondie. It's a cross between a blondie and cake. Whatever you end up calling them, they sure are good! And NO, you can't taste the beans!
Light Butterscotch Blondies
Makes 16

~2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
~1 cup brown sugar (I actually meant to do 3/4 cup, and think you'd be fine that way, but I misread my own notes!)
~1 can navy beans, pureed
~1 snack size container of unsweetened applesauce (111g or 3.9 ounces)
~1 egg
~1 tsp vanilla extract
~1/2 cup oats, ground
~1/4 AP flour
~2 Tbsp wheat germ (or use an additional 2 Tbsp AP flour)
~1 tsp baking powder
~pinch of salt
~heaping 1/2 cup butterscotch chips (I weighed out 130 g)

Combine butter, brown sugar, and pureed navy beans, beat until smooth in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Beat in applesauce, then egg, the vanilla, incorporating each before adding the next. In a separate bowl, combine ground oats, flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to mix together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing with a spoon just until combined. Pour batter into an 8x8 pan that has been lined with parchment paper or sprayed with a baking spray such as Baker's Joy. Top with butterscotch chips. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool on a wire rack in the pan. Cut into 16 pieces once fully cooled.

Nutritional Information per blondie:
Calories - 135; Fat - 4 g; Sat. Fat - 2.7 g; Cholesterol - 17 mg; Sodium - 110 mg; Potassium - 53 mg; Carbohydrates - 23.6 g; Fiber - 1.3 g; Sugar - 18 g; Protein - 2.2 g

TWD: French Chocolate Brownies

I couldn't WAIT to make these brownies, after all the buzz about them. Since I can't leave well enough alone, I wanted to doctor up the recipe. I finally decided on adding little York Peppermint Patty Baking Chips to the middle of the batter (which subsequently sunk to the bottom, btw). In case those were bad, I still wanted the original recipe, so I split it in half and used two load pans. I don't know if it was the way I cooked it (semi-burnt) or just the recipe itself, but I did not care for it, at all. Oh, hi butterscotch caramel brownie recipe, you are still my fav!

French Chocolate Brownies
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
See more TWD bakers here!
Makes 16 Brownies

~1/2 cup all-purpose flour
~1/8 teaspoon salt
~1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
~1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
~1 1/2 tablespoons water
~1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
~6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
~1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
~3 large eggs, at room temperature
~1 cup sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Caramel Brownies - Revisited

So a while ago I featured Caramel Butterscotch Brownies - which have turned out to be my hubby's favorite dessert. I tried once to use a homemade brownie recipe, but it didn't really pan out so I went back to the cake mix. Last week I received my very own copy of Baking Illustrated and came across their Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies. I instantly knew I'd have a winner with this recipe! These are TO DIE FOR! It's the perfect brownie recipe for this!

Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies
Source: Adapted from Baking Illustrated, from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated
Yield: 16-25 brownies, depending on how you cut them!

~5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
~2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (recommended: Hershey's. I couldn't find that, but did find Nestle "Choco-Bake" pre-melted unsweetened chocolate and that worked fine!)
~8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) cut into quarters
~3 tablespoons cocoa powder
~3 large eggs
~1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) sugar
~2 teaspoons vanilla extract
~1/2 teaspoon salt
~1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
~1/3 cup evaporated milk
~35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped (or those mini caramel balls - they make life so much easier!)
~2 cups (11-oz. pkg.) butterscotch morsels

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Fold two 12-inch pieces of foil lengthwise so that they measure 7 inches wide. Fit one sheet in bottom of greased pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; overhang will help in removal of baked brownies. Fit second sheet in pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. (Because we are dealing with caramel here, I think parchment paper works best... my foil started tearing when I was taking it off and NOTHING is worse than foil in your brownies!!)

2. In medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, melt chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour with wooden spoon until just combined. Spread half of batter baking pan, spread into corners, and level surface with rubber spatula; bake about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat caramels and evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture. Spread as gingerly as possible to connect as much of the top layer of brownie as you can. It will cook up a little and heal itself if you get it most of the way there. (Don't worry about picking up a little of the caramel. It's aaaaaaaaall goooooood.) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs (or caramel!) clinging to it. Cool in pan on wire rack to room temperature. Cut into 16-25 squares, depending on how big you want'em!




*sigh* Now I want BROWNIES!

Requested Each Weekend....

While my fiance claims not to have that much of a sweet tooth, I stumbled across a brownie recipe that he just can't get enough of. Literally. Each weekend, I ask, "What do you want me to bake for you?" The answer is always "Brownies." I found the recipe on the Nestle site, after he made a request for caramel brownies one weekend. Through his preferences, I've tweaked the recipe a bit, so I'll post it here, along with my advice on dealing with this batter.

Chocolate... no, Butterscotch Caramel Brownies

• 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix (I use German Chocolate cake mix)


• 1 cup chopped nuts


• 1 cup evaporated milk, divided (I find one 5 oz can is the perfect amount)


• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted


• 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped


• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I use one 11 oz bag of butterscotch morsels)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. (I use my 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. I try to place portions of batter around the pan, then use my hands to even it out and cover the bottom.) Bake for 15 minutes. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture. (I take portions of it in my hand, flatten it out as if I am making a burger, then place them around the pan, covering as much of the surface as I can). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 24 squares. (Since I am working with 8x8, I cut it into 16 squares).

After making them so many times, I am starting to think the top of the brownies needs something, so I think I'll start experimenting with some sort of topping. :-)

Blondies!

I LOVE blondies. I'm not so big on chocolate, and typical brownies have no allure for me, but give me a blondie and I'm set. I decided to make this recipe from Baking Blonde, as it was recommended by many. I was hesitant when removing them from the oven (the recipe stresses not to overbake them) because they seemed too gooey to be "done", but I wanted them to be right because I planned on sharing them with friends. I was assured that 'gooey' is just what they are supposed to be. mmmmmmm :-)




Basic Blondies
Source: Baking Blonde

• 8 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla or 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• pinch salt
• 1 cup flour
• Add ins: ½ to 1 cup of: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, chopped up candy bars, etc. (I used about 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup white chocolate morsels, 1/3 cup butterscotch morsels)
  

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x8" pan. Mix melted butter with brown sugar-beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, Stir in flour. Mix in any additions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (err on the side of caution, do NOT over bake these babies) or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting.