chocolate chip blondies

I am a relative newcomer to blondies, so I have yet to find a standby recipe. I found a promising recipe in Bon Appétit’s July 2009 issue, for Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies. Knowing the qualities that I desire in a blondie, I decided to tweak the recipe a bit; I roughly doubled the recipe to ensure thickness, I added bread flour to increase chewiness, and I substituted white chocolate and butterscotch chips for the peanuts to achieve my ideal flavor combination.

These are one-bowl (well, one-pot) blondies, so the batter comes together very quickly. What takes much longer (close to forever, according to my family) is waiting for them to cool once they come out of the oven. For a chewy texture, the blondies must not be overcooked; I took them out of the oven a couple minutes early, with consideration of carry-over cooking.

The height and texture of the blondies were perfect; they were almost two inches tall and were soft and chewy. The flavor wasn’t exactly right, though. The blondie itself was delicious, but the chips (especially the butterscotch and white chocolate) made it far too sweet.

Update, July 16: I made the blondies again, with the suggested chocolate chips and roasted peanuts, and they were really great. The recipe below reflects these improvements.

Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies
Adapted from Bon Appétit, July 2009

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. bread flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 c. packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove, add sugar, and whisk until smooth. Cool mixture 2 minutes. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Using spatula, stir in flour mixture, then chocolate chips and peanuts. Spread into pan.

Bake blondies until edges just begin to pull from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.

graduation cake

Today, some family and friends came over to celebrate my graduation from college and my sister’s graduation from high school. I made a chocolate cake, frosted it with chocolate buttercream, and then decorated it with vanilla buttercream.

chicken with tomato pancetta white wine sauce

Last night, my family and I went out to dinner to celebrate my sister’s graduation from high school. I ordered chicken in a tomato and white wine sauce. It was so good that I tried to create a variation of it tonight. I made a heartier sauce so it could be served over pasta.

2 to 3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
flour
olive oil
6 oz. pancetta, chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 to 1 1/2 c. white wine
1/2 to 1 c. chicken broth
28 oz. canned peeled plum tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
dried oregano
dried basil
red pepper flakes
sugar

Thinly slice chicken breasts. Season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour. Heat small amount of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until browned but not entirely cooked through. Transfer to a platter.

Cook pancetta in pan until crisp. Remove fat except 1 to 2 tbs. Add garlic to pan, and cook until barely light golden. Add white wine, and let boil and reduce for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomatoes, turn heat to low, and let simmer until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, and let simmer. Season with oregano, basil, red pepper, salt, pepper, and 1 tbs. sugar. Let simmer, adding water if getting too thick. Add chicken back to the sauce and let finish cooking.

caprese pasta salad

This simple pasta salad is great for a light dinner. Cook rigatoni in salted boiling water. Meanwhile, saute 5 to 6 cloves of minced garlic in 1/3 cup olive oil, until very light golden. Add 2 pints of halved grape tomatoes, and heat just until warmed through. Season generously with salt and to taste with crushed red pepper. Toss garlic-tomato mixture with cooked pasta and basil chiffonade, adding more olive oil, if necessary. Once cooled slightly, add diced fresh mozzarella or bocconcini.

garlic herb bread twists

I came across these Garlic Herb Bread Twists in the latest issue of Gourmet magazine. My family loves garlic knots, and these seemed like a fun variation of our old standby.

Note: I omitted the rosemary and thyme tonight.

Garlic Herb Bread Twists
From Gourmet, July 2009

1 tbs. finely chopped rosemary
1 tbs. finely chopped thyme
1 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
1/4 c. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. pizza dough
1/4 c. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil 2 large baking sheets.

Stir together rosemary, thyme, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. peppers in a small bowl. Stir together oil, garlic, 1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper in another bowl.

Divide dough in half. Gently roll one half a 15 x 10 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Sprinkle with half of herb mixture, then fold dough in half corsswise and roll lightly to form a roughly 10 x 8 inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 9 strips (less than 1 inch wide) with a pizza wheel or a sharp heavy knife. Twist each strip from both ends and place on baking sheets, arranging twists 1 inch apart. Brush with 1 tbs. garlic oil and let stand while forming remaining bread twists.

Roll out and form more bread twists with remaining dough and herb mixture, then arrange on other sheet. Brush with 1 tbs. garlic oil and let stand 5 minutes.

Bake bread twists, until golden, 20 to 25 minutes total.

Meanwhile, stir together parsley and remaining 3/4 c. cheese in a shallow baking pan. Immediately after baking, brush bread twists with remaining garlic oil, then roll in parsley and cheese until coated. Serve warm or at room temperature.

hamburger cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes on Bakerella a few days ago, and I thought they were so cute that I just had to try them myself! They would be great for a burger enthusiast’s birthday or on April Fool’s Day!

mrs. hopping's apple cake

Mrs. Hopping lived next door to my mom when she was growing up. She made this wonderful apple cake and generously provided the recipe to my mom. I have adapted the recipe slightly, by adding a touch of vanilla and a cinnamon-sugar swirl. And, while I have served it in the past with a dusting of powdered sugar, I decided, this time, to apply an apricot jelly glaze over the top instead. The glaze adds a shiny finish and a nice, sweet taste.

Mrs. Hopping’s Apple Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbs. apricot jelly

Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine 2 tbs. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and blend well. Add flour mixture, and mix just until combined. Use an offset spatula to spread batter evenly into baking pan. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter. Use a knife or skewer to swirl cinnamon-sugar into batter. Arrange apple slices in five columns, on top of cake (see picture below).

Bake until cake is light golden, about 25 minutes. While cake cools slightly, heat apricot jelly over low heat until thinned. Use a pastry brush to apply glaze over warm cake. Let cool in pan on wire rack.

cherry crumb tart

The cherries lately have been really tasty, so I decided to make a cherry crumb tart. I pressed a shortbread cookie crust into the bottom of a tart pan, poured in the cherry filling, and covered it with brown sugar crumbs.

Cherry Crumb Tart

For cookie crust:
From Bon Appétit, February 2002
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 stick chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbs. chilled whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

For filling:
2 c. cherries, pitted
1/4 c. sugar, or less, depending on sweetness of cherries
1 tbs. lemon zest

For crumbs:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 stick butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make crust: Combine flour and sugar in food processor. Add butter and cut in, by pulsing, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and vanilla. Pulse just until moist clumps form, adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dough is too dry. Gather dough together. Press dough over and up sides of tart pan with removable bottom.

Make filling: Combine cherries, sugar, and lemon zest in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, cooking for about 10 minutes, total. Let cool slightly. Pour filling into tart crust.

Make crumbs: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter, until large, moist crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over cherry filling.

Bake tart for 30 to 35 minutes, until crumbs are golden. Let cool in pan, on wire rack. Remove tart pan before serving.