Salted Caramel Brownies

This is probably the best mistake I've ever made.

These were supposed to be Salted Caramel Swirl Brownies.  But, as it is apt to do, the caramel sauce liquified in the heat of the oven.   To be honest, I had a feeling it wouldn't swirl (though I hoped it would magically defy science), and I luckily thought to use unsalted butter as a precaution.  As you can see in the picture above, all the caramel rose to the top of the brownies, forming a pool of sticky goodness on the surface and infusing the brownie batter with its glorious burnt sugar flavor on the way.

These brownies came out perfectly.  While they are a bit of a melty mess right out of the oven, once they cool, they are dense, fudgy, amazingly chocolate-y, and in the words of David, "fantastilicious".  The edges were a bit crispier than they normally would be, due to the caramel bubbling up around the edges, but David and I enjoyed it.  I kept the brownies in the fridge to keep the caramel firm, and I have to say, these brownies were amazing on the second day, straight out of the fridge.  On the third day, David said, "These brownies get better every day.  Like wine, or something." 

Salted Caramel Brownies

Adapted from David Lebovitz

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

6 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 cups salted caramel sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9x13 inch with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan.

Drop one-third of the caramel, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining caramel in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the caramel slightly.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

The other day, I had just settled into my desk at work when my coworker, A- who is in charge of our facilities and maintenance, walked in and asked me if I knew I had a flat tire (I didn't).  Apparently, I had accidentally driven over a nail on the way to work, and while the tire still had enough air at the moment to make its way to a mechanic, it would have been completely deflated by the time I took my lunch break.  My coworker, who often runs errands around town as part of his job, offered to take my car to a mechanic to see if they could plug the hole.  I was surprised at the generous offer, and accepted, giving him my car keys.  Later, I got a call from him, saying that the mechanic couldn't plug the hole and that my car would need a new tire.  I told him to have them put in the new tire, and that I would send David (who is on summer break) over to the mechanic to take care of the bill.  A- told me that it wouldn't be necessary to call David, as he had enough cash on him to take care of it, and I could just pay him back whenever I had the money.  He brought my car back good as new - he even had the mechanic rotate my tires!

I don't think I've received such an extraordinary act of kindness before.  I hate dealing with car problems, so A- dealing with it for me, even though it may have seemed simple to him, was a huge blessing.  To express my gratitude, I made these snickerdoodle blondies for him. 

I was stuck on snickerdoodles, because I don't think I know a single person who doesn't like them.  However, I wanted them in bar form so that I could cut them into the perfect size to fit into the little treat boxes that I keep on hand (I like to fill the boxes as full as possible, which is hard to do with round cookies). 

These cookies are delicious: they're dense and chewy, with crispy edges (which, in my opinion, are the best parts of brownies and blondies) and are full of yummy vanilla flavor.  The dough is very simple and quick to make - it probably took me 5 minutes.  This recipe makes a small batch, but it was the perfect amount for us.  We had enough to give away and still had a couple bars left to snack on, whereas a larger batch would have left us with too many cookies.

Snickerdoodle Blondies
Adapted from Baking Bites

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8x8 pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light.  Beat in salt, egg, and vanilla.  Add flour and mix until there are no traces of flour left.  Pour dough into baking pan, spread evenly, and smooth the surface.  Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle evenly over the dough. 

Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool before slicing.

Giddy with Glee: Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Every Tuesday night, David and I host a Glee party, when our friends come over to our apartment to watch Glee and eat dessert.  Glee is far from our favorite show, but it's definitely a show that's better when you watch it with friends.  Even at it's most tonally inconsistent, the show is a lot of fun to watch, and last night was no exception.  The theme last night was "theatricality", which, in the eyes of the show, is synonymous with Lady Gaga. Even though I dislike the show's weekly themes (they usually lead to after-school-special moments, and the characters say the title of the episode every five seconds), I love Lady Gaga songs, even though I sometimes have a hard time admitting it to my friends.  Don't judge me - they're really catchy!

I try to test out a new dessert every Glee night, mostly so I can get honest feedback. My friends aren't afraid to tell me when a dessert is "just okay", or if a cookie is too cakey or too sweet.  Yesterday afternoon, I was having trouble deciding what I should make for Glee night.  Luckily, the first thing I spotted when I walked into the grocery store was a display of strawberries for 99 cents a carton (apparently, they were super cheap all over. It's officially strawberry season, guys). As soon as I saw them, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: Strawberry Lemonade Bars.  I had seen the recipe on Baking Bites last fall and had been itching to make them ever since, but wanted to wait until strawberries were in season.

These strawberry lemonade bars are essentially lemon bars with strawberry puree added. They are the perfect blend of sweet and tart, and trust me when I say that they are addictive. They remind me a lot of the strawberry lemonade at Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes, depending on where you live).  These bars are super fast and simple to make if you have a blender or food processor - but even if you don't, they're well worth the extra effort.  You can eat them cold or at room temperature, but I prefer to eat them after they've been in the fridge overnight.  Next time, I might double up on the crust - not because I think the ratio was off, but just because I really, really liked the crust.  And really, what more of a reason do you need?

Strawberry-Lemonade Bars

Adapted from Baking Bites

Crust:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

1 cup fresh lemon juice

2-3 tsp lemon zest (I zested two small lemons and got about 2 1/2 teaspoons)

1/2 cup pureed strawberries

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Make your crust first.  Cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Mix in flour and salt until crumbly.  Press into pan in an even layer.  Bake for 17 minutes.

While your crust is baking, make the filling.  Combine lemon  juice, zest, strawberries, sugar, and eggs in a blender.  Blend until combined.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt, and blend until combined.  Pour filling into baked crust.  Bake for 23 - 26 minutes until filling is set.

Cool completely before cutting.  Store in the refrigerator.