Saturday, November 12, 2005

A Baking Frenzy

I'm just in the mood.

The mood to bake. Yesterday I used some expired bananas to make a chocolate chip banana bread. Yum. Then I used some past their prime apples to make pie. Yum. Today I went and cleaned the church and found that no one is signed up for tomorrows after service munchies. Not a problem. So I made a huge pan of pumpkin bars and right now a pan of Blondies are in the oven. More yum. The pumpkin bars are pretty standard, but I love them. I don't think I've ever made them though, now that I think about it. But I like that the recipe makes a full half sheet pan- that's plenty of bars for hungry people. The blondie recipe I used is my Grandma's recipe that my Mom always made for us. It is my favorite bar cookie ever. It doesn't contain white sugar- just brown, and it has a fabulous caramel flavor that just can't be beat. They are smelling really good. I may have to give them a little nibble before tomorrow. :-)

Pumpkin Bars

1 c. oil
2 c. sugar
2 c. pumpkin
4 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients together. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350. Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. neufchatel cheese, softened
4 Tbs. butter, softened
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spread on cooled bars. Top with finely chopped walnuts, if desired.


Grandma's Blondies

2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix melted butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla and eggs, mix well. Add dry ingredients. Toss walnuts and chocolate chips with 1 TBS flour and fold into batter. Spread into a greased cake pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

those blondies sound great, and I love a real strong caramel flavor

I was wondering what size pan you suggest? Would love to give them a try.

Thanks,

Erika W. said...

Hey anon-

Sorry, I missed that, I just use a standard 9x13 pan. Although if I had not had my half sheet full of pumpkin bars last night, I was tempted to double the recipe and make a half sheet pan. So you could do that too if you wanted a lot of them. :-)

Anonymous said...

hi erika,

I printed out that blondie recipe to try and then went through all of my dozens of T&T blondie recipes to see if I have made one similar. turns out that the awesome Raspberry Pecan Blondie recipe from Epicurious is very similar. I love that recipe, so I am happy to have this one of yours as a more traditional blondie recipe (ie one without raspberries).

val

p.s. here is that epicurious recipe. they call for a 9 inch squre pan which was too small!

Raspberry Pecan Blondies

Makes 16

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (about 3 oz)
1 ½-pint basket fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350. Line 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan with aluminum foil, extending foil over sides by 2 inches. Butter and flour foil.

Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in chopped pecans. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle raspberries over top.

Bake until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Cut into 16 squares and serve.
Epicurious

Erika W. said...

Thanks for sharing that recipe Val! So interesting with the raspberries on top. I will have to try them very soon, as it has been a long time since I made blondies, and now I feel like I can't have enough. :-)

Anonymous said...

you might want to check the epicurious reviews to see what everyone did about the pan size and baking time. I made them a long time ago, myself, and can't recall exactly what I did. all I know is that was a LOT of batter for a 9 inch pan.

I have printed out your blondie recipe with the intent to try it soon!