Tag: #barcookies
Want A Bakehouse Pecan BLONDIE – CALL ME

Want A Bakehouse Pecan BLONDIE – CALL ME

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I can see the light at the end of the tunnel…Cookie #11 and it’s a good one. Bakehouse Pecan Blondies from Zingerman’s Bakehouse Cookbook.

Ipso Fatto posted her review of these delicious Pecan Blondies which then began the usual dance in my head I like to call the Cookbook Tango.  Like mental Pong, do I or don’t I, should I or shouldn’t I?  Really, I don’t need another cookbook… but it looks so good. Well, I could “kick the tires” so to speak beforehand, try some of the recipes, see if I like it.  Okay, I’m gonna be tough and really scrutinize the book before getting it. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Who am I kidding, it took one recipe and I caved.

In my defense, Bakehouse Pecan Blondies are absolutely fabulous and justifies my quick surrender.  Why?  You take pecans, toast them in butter and salt, then toss them in a simple sugar-water caramel.  Once the pecan-sugar mixture cools and hardens it literally turns into pecan crack. Chop it up and fold the pieces into the blondie batter and shazam, deliciousness is born!  Pecan praline the zinger in Zingerman’s blondies.

Zingerman's Pecan Blondies

The batter is simple and comes together quickly-melted butter, eggs, brown sugar (you can use dark brown sugar for the Muscovado brown sugar) and flour.  Fold the pecans in, bake, dunzo.  It’s not as dense as a brownie and not as airy as a cake.  It’s just right.

Let’s get busy baking!

This is a beautiful book, filled with great stories about the bakery and the folks that are or have been a part of Zingerman’s tradition.  This is not cutting edge, new wave fou-fou food, more like all-American homey food, desserts and artisanal bread done really well and with love. Photos for most recipes are included and informative crib notes on the side.  The recipes are organized well and include both volume and metric weight measurements (yay!). Definitely making more treats out of this book soon!

 

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Want A Bakehouse Pecan BLONDIE – CALL ME

Ingredients

Praline

  • 2 Tbs 57gm unsalted butter
  • 1 cup 115gm pecan pieces
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 Tbs 27gm water
  • 1/2 cup 115gm granulated sugar

Blondies

  • 1 cup + 3 Tbs 230gm packed Muscovado brown sugar
  • 1 cup 230gm unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1-1/2 cups 200gm all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

For the praline

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees, spray a 9x9 square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray
  • Brown the butter: Haven't done that? Serious Eats step by step is really good
  • When butter is browned, remove from heat and add pecan pieces, salt and vanilla and toss to coat nuts.
  • Toast the pecan mixture on a sheet pan at 325 degrees for approximately 12 minutes until they are toasty brown. Start checking at 8 minutes. Set aside.

Caramelize the sugar: Stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until it is caramelized to a rich reddish-brown. Careful not to burn or go to dark, it will take on a bitter taste. Immediately add the pecans and stir to combine and then spread pecans evenly in the prepared 9x9 pan. The praline will start to harden so work quickly and spread as thin as you can. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove pecans from pan and chop into small irregular pieces, 1/4-1/2 inch size. The praline can be made ahead and stored in a cool, dry spot.

    Blondies!

    • The easy part of this recipe
    • In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir to combine and set aside.
    • In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until mixture is homogenous and thick.
    • Add dry ingredients to butter-sugar mixture and stir to until it is homogenous. Add the chopped pralines, stir to combine.
    • Pour batter into prepared 9x9 pan, spread evenly and bake for approximately 45 minutes until puffed in the middle and golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
    • Cut into rectangles and serve with ice cold milk, coffee, tea..just about anything and wait for the smiles.

    Mui-road trip to Ann Arbor from Minneapolis is on the bucket list!

     
    Super Apricot-Orange Shortbread Bars (Super Bowl, Super Easy)

    Super Apricot-Orange Shortbread Bars (Super Bowl, Super Easy)

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    I was going to post last week right after the Super Bowl but I needed to recover from the game’s crazy finish before penning a full critique of the game, the commercials, and the food (best part). I admit I was rooting for the Atlanta Falcons and for a while I thought just maybe the underdog would win. In the end, it was not meant to be, Brady and Belichick worked their magic and pulled off the greatest Super Bowl comeback in history.  Ugh.

    What a Game

    Of course, I volunteered to bring munchies and dessert to my friend Sarah’s house for the game.  Since Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts are my “flavor of the month” munchie, it was an easy choice.   For something sweet, I found a recipe on Epicurious for Apricot Orange Bars that sounded so scrumptious I jumped at the chance to make them.  A shortbread crust topped with apricot jam and finished off a delicious almond crumb topping, yep, making them.

    The recipe is straightforward.  The shortbread crust is made first by creaming the butter & sugar, adding the dry ingredients, and mixing just until it comes together.  Reserve 1 cup for the crumble topping.  The dough is very easy to work with.  The tricky part was incorporating the almond paste into the dough for the crumble.  I ended up putting the mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes before lightly pulsing it in my food processor.  This created a uniform crumble and broke up the almond paste.  I also decreased the almond extract in the crust. One teaspoon seemed like a lot so I used half.

    An hour seemed like a long baking time.  But you aren’t pre-baking the crust so it worked out fine.    The 3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier seemed like a lot, it gives the filling a nice punch but surprisingly isn’t overbearing.  My friend Stephanie, an avowed hater of Grand Marnier, liked these bars quite a bit..so there you go.

    These are SUPER delicious and easy to make.  You can find almond paste at most supermarkets.  Do not mistake marzipan (which is sweetened) for almond paste.  The bars were a hit at the Super Bowl party regardless of which team people were rooting for.

    Finally, props to AirBnB for their commercial, awesome. Budweiser’s and Audi’s equal pay (GoAudi).  I liked Cam Newton’s Big Game Buick, Melissa McCarthy’s Kia, and Squarespace’s John Malkovich for chuckles.

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    Apricot-Orange Shortbread Bars from Epicurious

    Course bar cookies
    Cuisine American
    Keyword apricot almond bars, bar cookies

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup apricot preserves
    • 3 tablespoons orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier
    • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 cup packed almond paste (from 7-ounce roll), crumbled
    • 1/2 cup sliced almonds divided

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan; line bottom and sides of pan with parchment paper, extending over sides. Butter parchment. Mix preserves and orange liqueur in small bowl; set aside.
    • Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in almond extract. Add flour and salt; beat just until blended. Transfer 1 cup of dough to another small bowl; add crumbled almond paste and mix with fingertips until small clumps form. Mix in 1/4 cup sliced almonds; set aside for topping.
    • Press remaining dough evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Spread preserves mixture evenly over. Using fingertips, coarsely crumble topping over preserves, then sprinkle 1/4 cup almonds over. Press topping lightly into preserves.
    • Bake shortbread until top and crust edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool completely in pan on rack. Using parchment paper as aid, lift shortbread from pan. Cut shortbread into 4 equal strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 small bar cookies. (Can be prepared ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.)