french yoghurt cake
almond and cranberry granola
have a fun weekend.
baked quinoa and millet patties
have a great weekend.
cherry blondies
Could anything sound more cute to begin with than a cherry blondie? Didn’t think so. These are technically cherry + chocolate chip blondies but I didn’t want to mess with such a cute-as-a-button name.
As ever, this is my first experiment with blondies and can I get a whoop-whoop for how ridiculously short the ingredient list is for these and how easy they are to make? How about a what-what for how dee-bloomin’-licious they are?
I’ve seen these all over the food blog world, from Joy the Baker to eat make read; smitten kitchen to Carrots ‘N’ Cake; these puppies are universally lauded. And rightly so. For this recipe I turned to my cherished friend Mark Bittman, since he never fails to disappoint.
Cherry Blondies
adapted from How to Cook Everything
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (other options below!)
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×8 pan
- Mix your melted butter with the brown sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg and then vanilla.
- Add a pinch of salt and stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below). I went with 1/2 cup dried cherries and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into your buttered pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. This part also depends on your desired level of goo. I am a goo girl so less time wins for me. Cool on a rack before cutting them.
Further additions, use one or a combination of:
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavour
- 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
- 1/2 cup mashed bananas
- 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
- Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
- Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting
Now, I’ve never even made brownies before so why blondies? Because I have blonde hair? Nah. I like the idea of something not quite as chocolate-dense and with more room for playing around with additions and the like. The dominant flavour in these is not chocolate but brown sugar, and there is something beautiful about that fact. Make of that statement what you will, but blondies are here to stay.
What additions would you choose from the suggestions above?
I am pretty excited to make walnut + banana blondies as well as peanut butter blondies. Yum.
Category: recipe | Tags: baking, dessert, sweet treats 12 comments »
April 7th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Oh god–drooling here. Boy do I love a rich, buttery blondie
[Reply]
April 7th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Peanut butter blondies sound badass. Imagine if they had PB and chocolate chips in them!!
[Reply]
April 7th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
made these! just now. with coconut and white and dark choc chips.
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Wow! These sound fantastic! I would love the version with espresso. mmm ;)
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 7:33 am
these look amazing! I've never thought of adding cherries.
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 9:43 am
recipe bookmarked. must make a vegan version now…they look and sound RIDIC. amazing.
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 10:46 am
blondies = life. the rest is just details. please tell me you know the t-shirt i am referring to with that statement.
i have my picture to send you too. don't let me forget. and i am in the process of writing you a LONG overdue email. love you and miss you!
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Oh, I have to try these…but I dunno where to get dried cherries! I suppose cranberries would be an ok sub?
I'd love to try a green tea blondie with adzuki beans…mmm…
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
I love blondies. Love love love. I think I could live off them if I could (although I would get very sick!) I love the sound of this recipe though. The dried cherries would be delicious when blondi-fied :)
[Reply]
April 8th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
MMM, I'm not sure which I love more – the mouthwatering photos or the all of the delicious possibilities for customization. These blondies look fabulous!
[Reply]
April 10th, 2010 at 6:35 am
I made blondies for the first time a couple months ago and I have no idea why it took me so long too. Are they popular in the UK? I'd never heard of them until I started reading blogs, and when I brought them into work, none of my coworkers knew what they were either.
Obviously, I need to make whiskey ones next ;)
[Reply]
August 16th, 2011 at 7:10 am
[...] turned out pretty good! They’re not exactly up to par with my other favorite blondies (which I’m very soon going to recreate gluten-free versions of), but [...]