Blondies - Alice Medrich recipe

Blondies

Blondies are so often overlooked in favor of their cousin the Brownie. But blondies rock! Without all the chocolate, you really taste the brown sugar and nuts. I might get pelted for saying this, but sometimes you need a break from chocolate (well, not a big break because this blondie has chocolate chips)!

Do you have a copy of Alice Medrich's Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies? It's very well written, like all her books, and this Blondie recipe is a winner. In the back of the book, she has helpful lists - such as lower fat cookies, dairy-free, cookies that keep at least 2 weeks, and cookie doughs that freeze well. Love that she took the time to make these lists for the reader. I just wish that the publishers used grams as well as ounce measurements. I like "counting" in grams because it is easier to halve recipes. In addition, the book uses decimal measurements (my Salter scale uses fractions) such as 6.125. I love math, but I have a hard time remembering that .125 is 1/8 of an ounce at 4 am in the morning. :)

Super duper easy to make. Melted butter is combined with brown sugar and many basic ingredients - you probably have everything you need in your pantry right now. Don't need a mixer...just a wooden spoon. Can't get easier than that. Make some today and your family and friends will thank you.

Recipe:
Blondies
From Alice Medrich's Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies, page 174 (find it in your library)

1 cup (4.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 T (6.125 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp dark rum or bourbon (optional, I did not use it)
2/3 cup walnut pieces (I used Trader Joe's Walnut baking bits)
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 8 x 8 pan by lining it with parchment or foil.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar. Use a wooden spoon to beat in the egg and vanilla. Gently stir in the flour mixture followed by half of the walnuts. Spread the batter in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts and the chocolate chips evenly over the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the nuts look toasted, the top is golden brown, and the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in the pan on a rack. Lift the ends of the parchment or foil and transfer to a cutting board for cutting.

Meyer Lemon Bars

Meyer Lemon Bars

My folks have a Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard. Thus, lemons galore! When life gives you lemons, you need to make some lemon bars!

I adapted a recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich. Oh, by the way, the FTC says I'm supposed to disclose that the link to Alice's cookbook goes to Amazon. I'm in the Amazon Affiliate program where I get a few cents if you click through this link and buy stuff on Amazon (don't worry, I never know who buys what so you can add that Fifty Shades of Grey to your cart too). Anyway, I have to tell you this with all the links now! Oy vey. And what do I do with those few cents? I plow them back into Amazon buying cookbooks...so the cycle of Amazon is complete.

I really like the crust. It'll be my go-to lemon bar crust from now on. It uses melted butter and is super easy to assemble. The "blob" (yes, I think that is a baking term) of dough gets pressed into the bottom of the pan. Because it is "wet", you can get a really smooth surface. I used an off-set spatula to spread and smooth out the crust. The crust is on the thinner side...if you like a big, hardy crust, then this one may not be for you.

Here's a photo of my mom and dad last year holding their Meyer Lemons!

I increased the amount of lemon juice from 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup. I like a big, thick layer of lemon on my lemon bars!

Meyer Lemon Bars
My yield was 25 bars (cut 5 x 5)
Adapted from by Alice Medrich's "Very Tangy Lemon Bars 2.0" (page 182) of her book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies


Crust:
7 Tbsp unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
¾ tsp  vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1 cup (4.5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

Topping:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (I used 7 ounces of sugar because Meyer lemons are milder than regular lemons. Alice suggest using 4.375 ounces but I missed that note in her recipe!)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I didn't measure my zest...used zest from two Meyer lemons)
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, strained (Alice Medrich's recipe calls for 1/2 cup juice, but I just kept squeezing my juicy Meyer lemons and just threw all the juice into the bowl!)

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil or parchment (create a sling for easy removal).

Crust: In a bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the pan (I used a small offset spatula). Bake 25-30 minutes until fully baked and golden brown.

Topping: While the crust is baking, stir together sugar and zest until damp. This will release the lemon oils. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the eggs. Add lemon juice and zest and stir until combined.

When the crust is baked, turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees. Slide the rack out and pour the filling over the hot crust. Baked for an additional 20-25 minutes until center no longer jiggles. Let cool completely in pan before slicing. (I tightly wrapped and refrigerated my bars overnight)