"Anything" Blondies

     What a week. I've started a new job (working with babies and toddlers now. eek!) and feel as if I've been in a whirlwind of change and doubt and fear and whatever else one might feel during such a transition. It's in these times that I so long for familiarity and comfort. This weekend brought respite, thankfully. And, now, I begin this new week with a hopeful and courageous outlook (I've had all weekend to work on this.). I'm forging on---to conquer! In the meantime, it can't go without mention that I'm certainly enjoying my fair share of chocolate, one worldly comfort I put to good use. On Sunday we had another dessert need at church and I knew, immediately, what I would take. I've had my eye on these babies...

     I'm a fan of any recipe you can adapt to your preference. For instance, bran muffins...I love that one day you can add walnuts and raisins. Another, chocolate chips and dried cherries. And another, just bake 'em up plain. All from one base recipe. That's marvelous. Blondies are this way. I've never had a great recipe for them and have actually not made them much. However, I do believe these are the ones. One of my most favorite cooking websites is called smitten kitchen. The author produces consistently creative and yummy foods, along with frequent photos of her a-dor-a-ble little boy. I impatiently wait between posts for her next one. That said, this is her recipe for a fantastic pan of Blondies. I see nothing to change. They're simple, require one bowl, only a few ingredients, offer endless variations of add-ins, and come out pretty much like one giant doughy chocolate chip cookie in a pan. What could be better? 

     *One note I'll add is that I made this batch with half dark brown sugar and half light brown sugar. I thought the molasses taste was a tad stronger than most would want it. So, next time, I'll probably go 100% light brown sugar (the molasses added to the dark brown sugar is what differentiates it and gives it a bolder flavor, by the way). This time around I threw in three different types of chocolate: semi-sweet, dark, and white. I named them "Triple Chocolate Blondies." Um, yeah. They were killer. Next batch I'm definitely mixing in some toasted walnuts. Go crazy.

"Anything" Blondies

borrowed from smitten kitchen

makes about 3 dozen

ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups light brown sugar (unless you love dark, then go for it)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

 try any of these mix-ins (or try some ideas of your own):

-2 cups chopped, toasted nuts

-2 cups chocolate chips (any type!)

-1 cup mashed banana

-4 tablespoons coffee powder

-1 cup dried fruit

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Butter a 9x13 pan.

3. Mix melted butter with sugar and beat until smooth. 

4. Beat in eggs, then vanilla.

5. Stir in salt and flour (stir minimally all along!) and any add-ins you would like.

6. Pour into pan and bake for around 20-25 minutes (mine took 22), or until fairly set in the middle (meaning a toothpick inserted in the center doesn't come out looking like the batter in the bowl. though, you do still want them on the doughy side. at least i do.). Cool on rack before cutting. 

Tomato Soup + Goat Cheese Biscuits

   I've been desperately wanting to make a decent pot of soup lately, but, for the last few weeks have had zero success. This one, though, is wonderful. My Guatemalan-living, food-loving friend, Rachel, came over the other day to have lunch and watch the The Sound of Music cast reunion on Oprah (i recorded it. such nostalgia. we had a few sniffles over the reality that the movie isn't real life and that Gretel isn't nearly so cute now...but no need to dwell on such things. Julie Andrews is such a classic. i so want to be her.).

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/blogs/popculture/2009/04/how_do_you_solve_a_problem_lik.html

   For this such occasion I decided I would make this tomato soup recipe I've had on my list to try for a while. I made a nice big batch of it which I've been enjoying over the last several days (it's even better after the first few). I've decided I'm a chunky soup person. Most of the soups I enjoy fall into this category. I love chili, black bean, french onion, gumbo, tortilla, to name a few...all with a good bit of texture. So, naturally, my tomato soup should follow suit. It was suggested that this one be blended in a food processor before eating, but I held off and am so glad I did. The texture is just right--not too thick, not too runny. It's a fairly light soup (especially if you omit the milk/cream), but the tomato chunks make it seem a bit heartier. It's delicious in every way. Rachel and I loved it. I think you will, too. 
      I also knew I'd need some bread-ish side to accompany the soup (ya gotta have something to dip in it!), so I decided to make the same biscuits Joy the Baker baked with hers (i borrowed both her recipes this time. www.joythebaker.com, that is. she's hilarious and so raw. i love her.). Goat Cheese Biscuits. Yum-my. They were fabulous. I had a healthy portion. I couldn't taste the cheese in them as much as I would have liked, but they were delicious, nonetheless. And, really easy! I actually had never made biscuits before and was delighted at how simple and painless the process was. Delightful, all of it.

 Chunky Tomato Soup

serves at least 10, i'd say

adapted slightly from Joy the Baker

ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced (optional, really. didn't make a huge difference to me.)

1-2 cloves minced garlic

course sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

splash of red wine vinegar (around 1 Tablespoon)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

5 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 dried bay leaf

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried basil

30 ounces low sodium chicken broth

2 cans (28-ounces each) peeled, crushed/diced tomatoes in juice (with basil, if available...i used 1 can of crushed and 1 diced, though i'm honestly not sure there's a huge difference. the crushed had bigger chunks, i think)  

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2- 3/4 cup whole milk or cream, optional

6 ounces fresh spinach, optional (Julie gave me the idea to do this. I love it, Julie!)

directions:

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add oil, carrot, onion, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots become softer, a little over 5 minutes.   

2. Add the vinegar and stir everything up for another minute or so.  

3. Reduce heat to low and stir in flour. Add tomato paste and stir for another minute until well-combined and thickened. Add chicken broth and bay leaf, and stir.

4. Add the tomatoes (juice and all) to the pot, breaking up the bigger tomato chunks with your fingers as desired. Bring to a boil.

5. Stir in Italian seasoning, basil, and sugar, then let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

5. Stir in milk or cream, and spinach. Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Goat Cheese Biscuits

makes about 9 biscuits

borrowed from Joy the Baker

ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the pan

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, to top the biscuits

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled (i used one of the herbed logs sold in stores--yummy.)

1 cup buttermilk

directions:

1. Move an oven rack to the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat as well.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Using your fingers, incorporate the butter and goat cheese until the flour gets a bit crumbly (Joy says it should get pebbly. Mine didn't really, but turned out fine.). 

3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. With a fork, mix together the buttermilk and flour until all of the dry flour is incorporated.

4. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and set aside.

5. Remove the cast iron from the oven and place one tablespoon of butter in it, spreading it around to grease the entire pan, including the sides.

6. Spoon the batter, by the 1/4-cup into the hot skillet. It's okay for the biscuits to touch. They're supposed to. :) Brush them with the melted butter.

7. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until slightly golden in color, and remove from the oven.  Let sit for a couple minutes before serving warm. 

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

 I'm so tired of seeing that shrimp and grits post. An update is long overdue. I have actually been cooking in the last month, and haven't been avoiding posting either; rather, the true story I am sad to report is that I have suffered a series of unfortunately and miserably failed recipes. Just awful: Butternut Squash + Apple Soup, the first attempt with my new food mill...baby food; Basic vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting...flavorless and dry as a bone; Berry Streusel Muffins intended to be eaten in celebration of a coworker's engagement...streusel that ended up more like burnt caramel stuck to the pan. Depressing. A friend of mine mentioned the other day that it bothers her when cooking blogs speak only of successes, so I figured I would lay out my recent failures before you. So, there you have them...The ugly mess-ups. Cooking certainly does a job at trying one's patience. Not everything turns out as you intend, as in life (something i'm slowly and not painlessly coming to terms with). It's just the reality. But, i digress...onto these cookies (which are a success).
   I don't usually love, love Oatmeal cookies (likely because they don't typically contain chocolate), but have tweaked these a bit and think they're lovely. I'm visiting my sweet friend, Karla, tonight, and decided I'd take a treat for her and her family. I made these in two batches: One with chocolate chips (for her kids) and one with craisins and walnuts (for the adults). Both are great. Another option is to stir in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) to the batter before adding the oats...They make a great batch of Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. So, take your pick!

Oatmeal Cookies

yields about 2 dozen large cookies

adapted from Quaker

ingredients:

1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks), softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups old fashioned oats

1-1/2 cup add-ins: any combo of raisins, 

        craisins, walnuts, chocolate chips...

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat well. 

4. In smaller bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt...Add to butter mix and mix well. 

5. Stir in oats and add-ins, mixing well. 

6. Drop by very heaping tablespoons (or using a cookie scoop--my preference) onto ungreased (or parchment paper-lined) sheet and press cookies down with your hand.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are a golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then enjoy with a glass of cold milk (required).