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Brown Butter Blondies

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Drool.

INGREDIENTS

Gooey part
½ cup unsalted butter
1 large egg
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅓ cup flour

Blondie
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more
2¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more
1½ cups pecans, coarsely chopped
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¾ cups (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gooey Part
Cook butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Transfer brown butter to a medium bowl; let cool slightly. Add egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until mixture is light and falls back onto itself in a slowly dissolving ribbon, about 3 minutes. Fold in flour.

Blondie
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 13×9” baking dish and dust with flour. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until slightly darkened and fragrant, 8–10 minutes. Let cool.

 

Whisk baking powder, salt, and 2¼ cups flour in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar and 1 cup butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating between additions; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla.

 

Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients. Fold in half of pecans. Scrape two-thirds of batter into prepared baking dish; smooth top, pushing batter to edges. Alternating, dollop brown butter mixture and remaining batter on top. Smooth and sprinkle remaining pecans over.

 

Bake until blondie is golden brown and firm (a tester will not come out clean), 30–35 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

I used this recipe.

 

Cherry Frangipane Tart

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Cherries and Almonds are a match made in bakers heaven.

INGREDIENTS

Tart Dough:
1cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
¼cup/45 grams granulated sugar
⅛teaspoon salt
6tablespoons/86 grams chilled unsalted butter, in small pieces
1egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

Filling:
4 ounces raw almonds
1tablespoon flour
½cup grams sugar
4ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
2eggs
1teaspoon almond extract
12ounces pitted cherries
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

PREPARATION

Make the tart dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in butter thoroughly. Stir in egg yolk mixture and knead briefly until dough is smooth, then form into a flat disk.

Roll dough to a large circle and lay it in a 10-inch/23-centimeter fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press in well (patch any cracks with extra dough). Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Blind bake tart shell until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. (You do not need to cover the shell or use pie weights.)

Meanwhile, make the filling: Put almonds, flour and sugar in work bowl of food processor and grind to a rough powder. Add butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use ground almonds and make batter with a mixer instead.)

Pour almond batter into prebaked shell and smooth with a spatula. Press cherries into batter in a single layer. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a rack and remove outer rim of tart pan. Place tart on a serving dish and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I worked with this recipe.

Toasted Coconut & Pecan Shortbread

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photo 3I am obsessed with shortbread.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2  teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut and chopped nuts. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll out and use whatever shape cookie cutter you desire. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. Dip in melted chocolate if desired.

Dark-Chocolate Cherry Brownies

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IMG_0706

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil cooking spray
1 1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons finely ground coffee
2 eggs
2 tablespoons half-and-half
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar and coffee with an electric mixer on high until crumbly, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time; beat on medium until a thick mocha-colored mixture forms. Add half-and-half, vanilla and chocolate chips; beat on low until just combined. Add flour mixture; beat on low until a thick batter forms. Pour into baking dish and top with cherries. Bake until edges are slightly firm but center is soft, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 30 minutes; cut into 12 pieces.

I got the recipe here.

Morning Cherry Cake

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Nina brought me some cherries so I made a cherry cake.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 pound fresh sweet cherries, divided
1 cup flour
1/2 cup ground almonds (or almond meal)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter, or spray with a non stick cooking spray, an 9 inch spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Rinse, dry, and pit all the cherries. Then take about 14 cherries (about 1/3), cut them in half, and set them aside (place on a sheet of paper towel, cut side down) to be placed on the top of the cake during baking. To the rest of the cherries, cut into quarters (to be folded into the cake batter).

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until thick and light colored (about 3-5 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract and almond extract (if using). Then fold in, with a rubber spatula or wire whisk, the melted and cooled butter and milk just until incorporated. Next, fold in the flour mixture just until moistened. Gently fold in the quartered cherries (not the cherries that you have halved for the top of the cake). Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or back of a spoon.

Bake for 15 minutes then remove from oven. Quickly arrange the remaining cherries, cut side down, on the top of the cake. Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean. If you find the cake over browning, cover with a piece of aluminum foil.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly (about 10-15 minutes).

I worked with this recipe.

Rainy Day Chocolate Cake

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photo 2

The rain kept me from going for my walk today so I made chocolate cake.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup  unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup  buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted chocolate (whatever leftover chips or scraps you may have)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, espresso powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix. Fold in melted chocolate. Scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure everything is mixed in.

Pour the batter into loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes before you turn out.

I got the recipe here.

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Whole Wheat Banana Bread

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This is supposed to be the recipe of the year.  Let’s see.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups thoroughly mashed banana; about 4 or 5 medium ripe bananas
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Topping

1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Lightly grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  3. Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts into the banana mixture. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
  4. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter.
  5. Bake the bread for about 60 to 75 minutes, until the bread feels set on the top, and a paring knife (or other thin knife) inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs (but no wet batter). If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 15 to 20 minutes of baking. 
  6. Remove the bread from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 15 minutes, then loosen the edges, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

I worked with this recipe.

Roasted Hazelnut Flutes

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Karen loves these at Le Pain Quotidien so I thought I would make them for her.

INGREDIENTS

Starter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cool water
pinch of instant yeast

Dough
2 1/3 cups skinned hazelnuts
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup cool water
2 teaspoons instant yeast 
2 cups golden raisins

DIRECTIONS

To make the starter: Combine the starter ingredients, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature overnight, until expanded and bubbly.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the hazelnuts in an ungreased 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake them for 24 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown. Set them aside. As they cool, the skins will come off easily.

To make the dough: Combine the starter, flour, salt, water, and yeast, mixing and kneading to make a soft dough.

Knead it for several minutes. The dough will be sticky, but try to avoid adding more flour.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.

Gently deflate the dough, turn it over, and let it rise an additional 45 minutes.

Knead the nuts and raisins into the dough. It might take a while. 

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.

Working on a floured surface, stretch and roll the pieces 10″ long. Place the flutes 2″ apart on two lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, six to a sheet.

Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the flutes for 10 minutes.

Gently lay a sheet of aluminum foil over each pan. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) midway through the baking time. The finished flutes will be set and barely beginning to turn golden.

I used this recipe. 

Niner’s Lemon Birthday Cake

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IMG_0454

Happy Birthday, Niner.

INGREDIENTS

Cake
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
finely grated rind of 2 medium lemons

Glaze
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Icing
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy and lightened in color. 

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides as necessary.

In a separate bowl, whisk the baking powder into the flour. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three parts alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. The batter may look slightly curdled when you add the milk. That’s OK; it’ll smooth out as you add the flour. Mix until everything is well combined; the batter will look a bit rough, but shouldn’t have any large lumps. Stir in the grated lemon rind.

Thoroughly grease a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, leveling it and smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake the cake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the lemon juice and sugar. Heat briefly to dissolve sugar but do not boil. 

Remove the cake from the oven, and let cool for 15 minutes before turning out.

Brush the glaze all over the hot cake, both top and sides. Let it sink in, then brush on more glaze, continuing until all the glaze is used up.

Once cake is cook, make the icing by mixing the sugar and salt, then mix in 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, adding just enough additional juice to create a thick glaze, one that’s just barely pourable. Drizzle it artfully over the completely cool cake..

Black & Blueberry Muffins

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IMG_0447

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted & browned butter, cooled
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries (reserve one blackberry for icing)
1 cup powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk for icing

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter muffin pans. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour; the batter should not be smooth. Fold in berries. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes each.

Mash blackberry and milk together.  Add powdered sugar and whisk well until smooth.  drizzle on muffins.