Chewy, Chunky Blondies

I’m sorry I have been neglectful of my blog lately. My neglect did help me come to a realization that although, Tuesday’s with Dorie sounds like a fun group to join, I just can’t face having one more thing I have to do. And, I can’t kid myself, as fun as it sounds, I won’t always have the time to devote to the recipe of the week. That would take some of the fun out of the project. I will still be baking recipes from the book, and I will let you know my results.

Since I am not going to join the TWD group, I can post this recipe for Chewy, Chunky Blondies out of order. If you like baking at all, I do recommend buying Baking From My House to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The recipes are beautifully photographed and the recipes I've tried are delicious. The Chewy, Chunky Blondies were a big hit in my household. They were sweet and chewy, and just plain delicious. And, in an effort of full disclosure, I have to tell you we enjoyed these brownies without the coconut. I would like to say I left the coconut out on purpose, but that would not be true. I was proudly placing the blondies into the oven, when I turned around and saw the package of coconut on the counter unopened. AUGH! The blondies were good despite my mistake, but I can't wait to try them with the coconut.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Recipe by Dori Greenspan Baking From My House to Yours
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325° F, and butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan, and put it on a baking sheet. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, and then add the eggs one by one beating for 1 minute after each egg. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients mixing just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, toffee bits, walnuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. Once baked, transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool for about 15 minutes. Turn the blondies out onto another rack and cool completely. Makes about 32 2¼ by 1½ inch bars.

Parisian Apple Tarts

I am trying to decide if I should join the Tuesdays With Dorie Group. This blogging group bakes something every week from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan and posts the results on their own blogs. Each blogger chooses one recipe on a rotational basis, and the TWD site posts the recipes for the month. The rules are simple. You must bake and post twice a month, and they ask that you don’t post the actual recipe on your blog. I’m not sure if I need the added pressure, but it could be fun to be part of the group. Let me know what you think.

This week’s recipe was the Parisian Apple Tartlet on page 319, and can I tell you this was a great recipe to start with. It was easy and impressive. The only hard part was finding the all butter puff pastry. I heard that Trader Joe’s has some, but it was sold out when I stopped by, so I went to Whole Foods and got the Dufour puff pastry that Dorie recommends. The Dufour was a bit pricey at $10.99 for one sheet compared to $3.99 from Trader Joe’s. But, the Dufour was fresh tasting and buttery.

I will make this tart again. The results were delicious with very little effort. But I will make one change; I will cut the apples into smaller pieces. I found the large pieces of apple difficult to eat. Check out Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan for some great recipes!