A number of years ago I baked a recipe for Blondies with lots of yummy stir-ins. Over the years I made variations on that recipe and named them things like Dirty Blondes and California Blondes. This week I made a variation of Raspberry Blondes for a tea party and they were as yummy as that first batch so long ago. This variation had fresh raspberries, but it also had pecans, white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and both almond extract and vanilla extract. I've grown weary of finding new names for each variation, so let's just call these Bohemian Raspberry Blondes, since that's the first thing that came to mind.
Here is the full recipe using the 9" x 13" pan:
Bohemian Raspberry Blondes
makes 24
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 - 1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush) (use enough to cover batter with about an inch between berries)
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)
Stir the nuts, coconut, and white chocolate chips and chunks into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula.
Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 30 – 35 minutes. Start checking at about 28 minutes. A wooden skewer inserting into the batter should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.
Note: if you line the pan with foil (by taking the empty pan, turning it upside down, and molding foil over the whole outside, then turn right side up and fit the foil into the pan, smoothing, especially at the corners) it will make it easy to remove the baked and cooled cookies for cutting. If you do this, be sure to coat the foil with the cooking or baking spray once it is fitted into the pan, before adding any batter.
Smaller Batch
Since I made the recipe for a small tea party and since I've been working on reducing my sugar intake (and temptations full of sugar) I actually also reduced the recipe by half and baked it in an 8" x 8" square pan, lined with foil, then given a coating of baking spray. I thought that it would bake more quickly than the larger pan, but I think that changing the pan size meant that the batter was a bit deeper, so the baking time was only about 5 minutes less. I say 'about' because I had to keep adding time and, frankly, I got confused by the last time I added, so I'm guessing on the timing. You can still count on testing it with a toothpick. When inserted in the center, the toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Give it a try at about 28 minutes and keep trying every couple of minutes until you get those crumbs. Sorry I can't be more exact.
Bohemian Raspberry Blondes
makes 16
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or non-dairy butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried lightly with a paper towel (don't crush)
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray to lightly coat a foil lined 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
Melt the butter and sugar together in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar are blended and completely melted and starting to bubble gently. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and salt. Slowly whisk the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the eggs just until combined. Whisk in the flour and baking powder to form a loose batter. (Make sure the batter is cool before stirring in the remaining ingredients, otherwise the chocolate will start to melt before the bars are baked.)
Stir the nuts, coconut, and white and dark chocolate chips into the cooled batter. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Distribute the raspberries over the batter as evenly as possible. Pour the remaining batter over the berries and smooth with a spatula. You may sit a bit of some of the berries above the batter.
Bake until the top is shiny and slightly crackled and feels firm to the touch, 28 – 35 minutes. A wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the batter in the middle should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then cut into bars and serve.
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