Maple Strawberry Blondies

HAPPY CANADA DAY WEEKEND!

I love Canada, I love Canada Day Weekend. We often head up to the cottage this weekend.  What better place to spend Canada than on a beautiful lake enjoying the great Canadian landscapes.  Sometimes we head into town to watch the fireworks, which I love.  I am still a kid when it comes to fireworks.  I was so excited to see the fireworks at Disney, probably more than my niece and nephews.  Must just be the big kid in me. 

I am so happy to live in this great Country.  Great people, beautiful places and many social benefits.   I say this as I enjoy my 1 year maternity leave.  Pretty great, EH?   Hope all my Canadian friends and followers enjoy this great long weekend. 

I decided to make today's treat full of delicious Canadian items.  Maple syrup and local Ontario strawberries.   I went strawberry picking the other day with a friend and our two little ones.  We just sat them off to the side and they just sat there stealing each others toys and then eating many strawberries.  Then later that after what seemed like hours of chopping I still wish I had more.  They are so fresh and juicy.  I am in love. 

Biscoff Caramilk Egg Blondies

I FINALLY got my hands on some biscoff spread.  I saw it in the grocery store when we were in Florida and I got so excited.   As soon as we got home, I opened it and swirled my finger in.   Heaven.  How can us Canadians be deprived of this tasty spread.  If you don't know what this is, it is a spread like peanut butter but made from cookies, Belgium Biscoff cookies.  To me it tastes like butterscotch in a jar.  I don't think I could spread this on toast like peanut butter but the baking possibilities are endless.

On a completely side note, Michael Buble's new album "To Be Loved" came out last week and as usual, it is fantastic.  There is something about his music that just makes me happy.  My wedding song was actually a Michael Buble original and myself and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle to two Michael Buble songs.  Too much?  Ha, my husband didn't really have a choice.  The songs just worked out perfectly, so we had to go with them. Although I did want to walk down the aisle to the awards march song from Star Wars but he quickly put a stop to that.   Anyway I suggest you go buy it, make some of these blondies and have yourself a beautiful day.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate & Cherries

So I am nesting.  I did some serious cleaning and organizing this weekend and I am not done.  My list of items to get organized is still about 3 or 4 long but I am happy with the progress.  This past weekend I cleaned out my pantry and cleaned out my car.   I really should have taken some before and after pics to show you.   Even the hubby couldn't believe the pantry cupboard,  all organized in nice little rows.  The only sad thing was the amount of stale items that hit the garbage.  And my car feels like new again, I dusted, vacuumed and shampooed the seats and mats.  I was a machine this weekend.
Funny leave it to a new baby to force a clean and purge considering the amount of new baby stuff will probably be twice what I threw out but could you imagine the madness if you didn't go through nesting.

My next stop will be closets, clothes and the dreaded office. A dumping ground for papers, books and anything else we don't know where to put.  Scary!  This won't be the first time we have tackled this room but after a year it just makes its way back to madness.   I will keep you posted on that madness.

I will continue with the fall blogger pumpkin obsession because frankly pumpkin desserts are so delicious.  I can honestly say this won't be my last pumpkin item this year.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cherries. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries

Icing:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temp.
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temp
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar (give or take)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter a 8 inch square pan. 

2) In a medium bowl, add flour, cornstarch, baking powder/soda, cinnamon and salt. 

3) Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl or mixer bowl and beat until creamed together.

4) Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. 

5) Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low until almost combined.

6) Fold in chocolate chips and dried cherries.

7) Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes,  outside will be starting to brown on edges and tooth pick will come out clean. 

8) Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Cut into squares and serve.
9) Make the icing : In a large bowl or mixer bowl beat together butter and cream cheese.  Add sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and beat together until just combined.  Adding more sugar if you want a stiffer icing.

This post is also on the Have the Cake blog with a lot more wonderful pumpkin recipes.

MEG's RATING : D-EEEE-LICOUS

Brown Butter Malt Blondies

Other than baking cookies for my breast cancer cookie sale my baking for the month has been limited and I have been slacking.  Sometimes there is just not enough time in the day.    Time has finally come back to me and I can go back to the baking wish list.  I have wanted to bake with malt powder for quite some time now.   I was never quite sure how it would change or enhance the flavour.   I love malted milk balls (whoppers/maltezers).  Crunchy, airy and creamy milk chocolate. Drool. I figured I couldn't go wrong.  I also love blondies,  People say blondies are white brownies, but I think blondies are chocolate chip cookies in bar form. They really don't taste that different if you think about it.  What is just a good as a thick and chewy chocolate chunk cookie?  A thick and chewy malt ball blondie!

Brown Butter Malt Blondies

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp malt powder
• 1/2 corn syrup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup chopped/crushed malt balls

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Melt butter in a medium saute pan, adding walnuts, while butter is browning.  Nuts will toast as butter browns.   Mixture is done when the butter is getting browned, about 15 minutes. 

2) Strain the walnuts from the butter and chill the butter until firm but slightly soft.   Set walnuts aside

3)  When butter is ready preheat oven to 350F.  Spray with non stick spray and line with parchment a 9x13 pan. 

4) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and malt powder. Whisk together. 

5)  In a large bowl/mixer bowl beat the butter and brown sugar together until light and creamy.  Add corn syrup and mix until just incorporated.   Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined. 

6) Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low until half combined.  Then add malt balls and walnuts and mix on low until flour just combined. 

7) Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes, until top is just golden and toothpick comes out clean.   Let cool in pan. Slice into squares. 

These blondies were so wonderfully nutty, soft and chewy with some malt ball crunch.  These were my treat for a very busy October and they were well worth it.  This might be the fastest I have ever turned around a recipe.   I feel a blondie crush coming on.  I will resist blog blondie overload, but next time you are craving some brownies try some blondies instead. 

MEG's RATING: D-EEEEE-LICIOUS. 

Layer it on me

My co-workers have definitely been benefiting from my love to bake, blog and photograph.   I think I almost get some tears when I don't show up with anything Friday mornings.   When it's someones birthday I like to bring in a dessert based on their request or at least something close to it.   This person's request was something with mars/twix, apparently my cookies a few weeks back made a lasting impression.   I wanted to the dessert to resemble a cake since it was a birthday and the brownie-cookie layer cake was born.   Layer 1 - brownie, Layer 2 - chopped mars/twix, Layer 3 - Skor blondie.   This is not a dieters dessert.   It is chocolate heaven.

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie Base (Adapted from Chef at Home)

• 6 oz dark chocolate
• 3/4 cup (6 oz) butter
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate/semi-sweet chocolate chips

Middle Layer

• 2 cups chopped twix/mars or any chocolate bar you like

Blondie Layer (Adapted from William Sonoma Baking)

• 1 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (6 oz) Butter
• 1 cup (7 oz) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup skor bits

INSTRUCTIONS:

Brownie Base

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler.  As it begins to melt, whisk until smooth, let cool.    Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.   

2) Combine the chocolate mixture, eggs, sugar and vanilla and whisk together.  Fold in the flour mixture, when half incorporated at the chocolate chips

3) Pour batter into a 10 inch round spring-form pan, lined with parchment and sprayed.  Bake for 25 minutes. 

4) Add the chopped twix/mars at the 18 minute mark of baking

Blondie Base

5) While the brownie is baking make the base. In a small bowl combine the first 4 ingredients.   In a large bowl or mixer bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.   Add the dry ingredients and skor bits and mix on low until blended.

6) After you have added the chopped bars at the blondie base on top and lightly spread over the bars.   Bake another 25 minutes.
7) I had left over icing from the chocolate cupcakes so I piped some stars on top of the center of the cake.

What actually happened...
I added the chopped twix/mars after only 10 minutes of baking. This was too early.  The brownie wasn't nearly set so when I added the chopped bars and the blondie layer in sunk a little and then it took forever to cook. The blondie top started to get very brown so I had to cover the pan for the last 20 minutes of baking (which took 20 min longer than it should have) so that it wouldn't burn and the middle would set.  I still removed the pan before it was completely set, this however was a bonus, as it cooled the brownie base became fudgy and thick.

Despite the long baking time this turned out very well.   I mean it was a brownie, chocolate bar and cookie baked together to make a layered cake.  This isn't the type of cake you could have a big piece of,  it was very rich and sweet.  If I let the brownie bake longer it would have been a lighter and fluffier and not so intense.   The top edges were crunchy with the inside soft and chewy.   This dessert was just layered with greatness.  The birthday boy took two pieces.


MEG's RATING : D-EEEE-LICIOUS!

ALL GONE!