Butter-Nut Blondies

I adapted this recipe from a King Arthur Flour recipe. The biggest difference is that I used AP (all purpose) flour instead of whole wheat. Whole wheat is a better grain but the instructions said the dessert had to sit for 24 hours to reduce the grittiness of the flour. I would have used whole white wheat since it lacks that grit but didn't have any. You can use whole wheat or whole white wheat in place of the AP flour. I have to say this was an amazing cookie/whatever (blondies aren't brownies but they aren't really cookies either). We served them topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was a perfect end to our BBQ on Sunday.

Butter-Nut Blondies
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups dark brown sugar
molasses, optional
3 eggs
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 TB Buttershots
1 teas baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup walnuts

Pour melted butter into bowl (or melt butter in bowl). Add brown sugar. If using light brown sugar, add molasses to taste. You want a fairly strong molasses flavor. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add vinegar, buttershots and baking powder. Stir until fairly smooth. Add flour and mix until flour is completely wet. Add walnuts.
Pour into 9x13 greased pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 26-28 minutes.

Irish Cream Bars revisited

I was able to find time last week to make this recipe. I changed it and actually found I could make a dairy free version that didn't feel dairy free.
The original recipe is in a post from last week for those who want to look at it.
These are rather simple. I bought irish cream extract from Watkins but it's seasonal so only available in the winter (if they carry year to year). I did find that King Arthur carries irish cream extract but I can't comment on the taste.

Irish Cream Bars
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup nucoa
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1 12.3 oz block firm tofu
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup non-dairy milk with 1 teas irish cream extract
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Heat oven to 350ºF. In medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup flour, nucoa, powdered sugar and cocoa with spoon until soft dough forms. Press in ungreased square pan, 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inches. Bake 10 minutes.
In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with wire whisk until blended. Pour over baked layer. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool slightly; refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting.

I used a whisk on the tofu before I added the other ingredients.
I made a double batch in 2 seperate 9x9 inch pans and I noticed that it took longer to cook than the 15-20 minutes and actually having it cook a little longer meant a better texture.
These are better cooked the day before instead of the day of.

Irish Cream Brownies

This is another Betty Crocker recipe. I plan on making it without a mix and will post that recipe soon.

Irish Cream Brownies
Brownies
1 (1 lb. 3.8-oz.) pkg. fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
2 eggs
Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
Glaze
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1.Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan. In large bowl, combine all brownie ingredients; beat 50 strokes with spoon. Spread in greased pan.
2.Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownies are set and begin to pull away from sides of pan. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 45 minutes or until completely cooled.
3.Beat 1/2 cup butter in small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in all remaining frosting ingredients, adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies.
4.Place glaze ingredients in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds; stir until melted and smooth. Drizzle over frosted brownies. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars.
Makes 48 bars

Bee's Knees Brownies

These brownies are a creation by my friend Michele over at Blue Hive journals http://bluehivejournals.blogspot.com/. She raises her own bees and has so many great posts about her bee adventures. She created this recipe for her local fair and I have to say it's a really good recipe. I have a bunch of creamed honey left over from Scout fundraisers so I thought this would be a good way to use some of it. I will warn you - it's a lot of honey. I was actually surprised how much honey it was but the brownies were amazing. Of course we don't work with butter but the recipe worked great with margarine. (I didn't have unsweetened chocolate but semi sweet worked great - giradelli makes a good DF semi sweet chocolate chip).
A slightly bigger pan will make thinner brownies. I was really surprised by these treats - the batter's flavor was very vanilla-y but the end result was a light chocolate-y flavor. Though it's a lot of honey, the brownies are not overly sweet and made a nice accompaniment to ice cream (soy or coconut would work great).
I am really grateful to Michele for sharing this recipe and look forward to trying it with some of the fruit flavored honey that I have left over (I think we've used up all the "normal" flavors).

Bee's Knees Brownies
1 cup butter, the real stuff
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cup honey from happy bees
1 tsp good vanilla
3 large eggs from a local farm
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup of pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350' and grease a 9x12 pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in a water bath (for me that is a glass bowl nestled in a small pot with water it). Mix until very smooth. Add honey and vanilla and let cool. Whip the eggs until frothy and add a small amount of the chocolate to temper the eggs. Then add the remaining chocolate. Add cocoa and flour and stir until just moistened. Pour in to pan and top with nuts.

Bake 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting and use a very sharp knife when you do.