Lovin' From the Oven

Heath Bar Blondies

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First of all, six days of work in a row? Really now? I just want to stay home and cuddle in this gloomy weather with the smell of something pumpkin baking in the oven. Before you think that I had disappeared again, I did bake apple crisp last week but it was all gone before I had decent lighting to take a picture of it. That’s what happens when you don’t have fancy lighting equipment and have to wait for the sun to rise the next morning for light (I hate taking food pictures at night while depending on the regular light bulbs as a natural light source). I definitely used the word “light” a million times in that last sentence. I apologize.

I searched through my cabinets and managed to find half a bag of Heath toffee bits.. how wonderful! I bookmarked a recipe from the blog: “3 B’s.. Baseball, Baking, and Books” and finally had the chance to try it from my list. These blondies were a hit! The middle of the pan were nice and chewy, while the edges were a bit more crisp. I can only imagine the possibilities you can do with this basic recipe.. you can sub in white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, coconut.. anything your heart desires! Here is the recipe with my minor tweaks. I also baked it in a glass pan so the baking time took a bit longer for me.

1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped Heath Bars (I used 1/2 cup Heath toffee bits and 1/2 cup choco chips)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Cream together the brown sugar and melted butter. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until blended.
3.) Stir in the Heath Bars (or whatever addition you prefer) and pour into a greased 8×8 pan.
4.) Bake for 30-35 minutes.
5.) Let the blondies completely cool before cutting. Enjoy!

Dorie Greenspan’s Chewy, Chunky Blondies

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I told you I’d be backkkk (with a really good recipe, too)! As always, when I have no idea what to bake, I turn to my trusty Dorie Greenspan. This time, these blondies caught my eye because they had toffee and chocolate! Score! Blondies are basically brownies, but more of a cookie texture and blonde instead of brown. 🙂 I always thought the name was so cute.

These tasted amazing, straight out of the oven and after they’ve cooled. I can only imagine how good they’d be with a bowl of ice cream. Mmm.. that’s definitely pizookie status! I left out the coconut and nuts, just because I wasn’t feeling either at the moment, but feel free to add them in to your liking. Heck, add whatever you want it… it’s just one of those recipes that can be easily adapted. Enjoy!

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p.109)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
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 (I left this out)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I left this out as well)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan 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, nuts and coconut. 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.

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

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I’ve definitely tried my share of fudge recipes. One of my best friends is fudge connoisseur and always insists on having fudge. For him, it’s always the same thing… plain chocolate fudge- no add ins, no extra flavoring, no toppings. How boring, right? Well, my boyfriend’s cousin graduated the other day and I decided to make some fudge to add into his celebration basket that I was giving him. Luckily for me, he’s not a picky one so I could add whatever I wanted. In my opinion, fudge isn’t fudge without some walnuts.. so that’s exactly what I made.

This is my favorite fudge recipe so far out of the 3298209384 fudge recipes that I’ve tried. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com a while ago with over a thousand reviews, so I knew I had to try it. With the many times that I’ve made this recipe, I’ve come to edit it myself and create my perfect fudge. I put the marshmallow creme in the end instead of the beginning and use all semisweet chips instead of a mixture of milk chocolate and semisweet (that’s really up to you). The 5 minutes of boiling is the most important part! You must let the ingredients boil for that long, but stir the entire time! Fudge is really easy/fast to make, it’s just a bit tedious and tiring because you have to stir so much. The end result is totally worth it, I promise!

  • 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

  1. Line an 8×8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
  2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Remove from heat and pour in marshmallow creme and semisweet chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

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