Snickerdoodle Blondies {Rebake} (★ ★ ★ ★ ★)

Well, my world has officially exploded.

I'm not even exaggerating.

Now, I'm not saying I'm in a deep pile of ruins and I can't see the light ahead.  

...At least, not today anyway.

But the world I knew...I know.  Is over.  

I live with a bunch of dreamers.  

And just to make sure we're on the same page here:

Dreamer - n. person with exceedingly fantastic ideas and goals who is often plagued with "too much 

talk-ie, but no walk-ie" disease.  They change their minds faster than a college freshman gets drunk, but when they are serious - watch out! Because ain't nobody gonna stop that. It's shear awe-inspiring power.

I am a realist. 

Don't worry, I'll be fair:

Realist - n. person who tends to believe things are "just the way they are" and who strives to live in contentment because even if things aren't as they should be, they know how things will be, and that's pretty comforting. They can complain about circumstances, and yet still be resistant to change. However, I'd challenge you to find someone who one gives better sound advice.

Of course, I am not Webster and these definitions were tainted by my own bias, but I still think they are pretty accurate!  (Please use proper citation if referenced in your research paper...I prefer MLA format).

So when there was the usual unrest and murmurings around here a few months ago, my realist self thought, "Chill.  Remember the talk-ie no walk-ie?  Ya, happens all the time."

Only, this wasn't the "diseased rumblings" time.  Oh, no.

This was the full blown.  Dreamer on a rampage.  Gonna-make-it-happen-time.

[Insert World Explosion]

Boooommmppppaaawwwwssshhhhh!!!!

So what is a girl to do when all that she knows is about to get real foreign, real quick?

Well, rebel of course!  

By rebaking my trusty favorite - Snickerdoodle Blondies.

Because no one else gets to control what I bake, but me!  

And today I bake comfort!

I bake cinnamony!  Brown sugary!  Buttery!  Chewy!

I bake amazing 5 star, solve-all-your-problems bars!

Last time I shared these, I didn't have my wonderful camera and I barely wrote about them at all because I was sick.  So this seemed the most opportune time to present them to you again.  

These. are. incredible.  

One of the few things I have actually given five out of five stars.

Think "snickerdoodle cookie meets always chewy, never dried out goodness."  

I've probably baked these at least six times in the last year.  And that's saying something!  

I'm a food blogger!  

I can't waste my time whipping up something I've already made!

They are just that amazing. 

So now when my new world constists of:

-A best friend who lives in Santa Cruz,

-A family who plans to relocate to Texas or Oregon or Anticoch or Texas again (Make up your minds already!),

-And a 'me' who lives on her own,

At least, I'll still have these blondies.

I'm excited for the changes ahead (as much as any analytical, slightly pessimistic young lady could expect to be), but my goodness, I sure am glad some things stay the same!

Snickerdoodle Blondies
Brilliance by Dozen Flours

• 2 2/3 Cups Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup (2 Sticks) of Butter, Room Temperature
• 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla 
• 2 Tbsp White Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees
Needed: Greased 9x13in Pan
Makes Approx: 15 Bars

1) Using a sifter, sift flour and baking powder over a medium sized bowl.  Set aside.
2) In another medium sized bowl, beat brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
    About 2 minutes.

3) Slowly add in the flour mixture.  Beat until well combined.

4) In a greased 9x13in pan, spread batter evenly with a spoon or spatula.  Batter will be pretty thick so 

    just keep working it.  

5) Once batter is spread, prepare white sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Sprinkle across the top.

6) Bake at 350F Degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Surface should be dry to touch and sort of "spring" back 

    when done.  

7) Cool bars on rack.  You can cut these when still slightly warm.  

 Save the butter.

Save the sugar.

 Save the world. 

This post was featured here:

         

Pumpkin Cheesecake White Chocolate Brownies (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

"Hey, uh, did you know your title is a mouthful?"

Um, ya, I did.  Sorry about that.

"Oh, oh no problem.  But it's just really long...borderline tongue twister.  My two year old couldn't even repeat it back to me."

...uh ...  Sorry?  ...mm ...  You probably shouldn't be feeding these to your two year old.  Maybe start with something more simple - like cheerios ... -and counting to 5?

Yes, readers.  That WAS random. 

But so was how this "thing" (bar...brownie...whatever you want to call it) happened.

I made these the same day as my Pumpkin Truffles.  I was, honestly, just trying to get rid of the rest of the canned pumpkin I had and this is what happened.

It was like the "Attack of the Living Baked Goods" night in my kitchen. 

-----

I have to back track a little bit.

October was the month of the pumpkin.

Pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin donuts, even pumpkin cereal.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm as "over the moon" excited as the next guy about Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks...but those are in September. When the novelty hasn't worn off.

In September, blog posts like this seem fun, light-hearted and fresh. (Okay it still kind of excites me...but that's beside the point!).

I became the Pumpkin Grinch.

I follow a lot of baking blogs and every one, every day was offering me some other shade of pumpkin.

Muffins, ganache, whipped cream, butter, foot scrubs, and toothpaste were presented to me on a big fat pumpkin platter.

And like all things, it seems good at first...

Oh yeah!  Ideas for fall baking!

But eventually we reach that "special" point.  The one I like to call "overboard."

Suddenly, what once used to bring me joy, now was just plain annoying. 

I was annoyed at having to see the same color food every day.

Annoyed that I had to think about pumpkin in ways I'd rather not - pumpkin seed guacamole??

But mostly I was annoyed that everyone had caught the pumpkin train, but me.  The market had been saturated.  Closed. Full.  Done.    

Okay, I was bitter and jealous!

I couldn't stand another pumpkin recipe, so I grumpily swore I would find "other" more "interesting" things to bake.  

But who am I kidding?  

It's November.  It's fall.  Thanksgiving is near.  

Now's the time we all start dreaming in pumpkin Technicolor.  

My intention was to only do one pumpkin recipe - because I had self-control - but like I told you, my kitchen had a mind of its own.  

The truffles took all of a measly third of a can of pumpkin. 

What on earth was I going to do with the rest?

Being a regular baker, I:

1) Hate wasting things I spent money on and

2) Enjoy double backing my baking efforts. (Bake two similar things in one night means no more baking for the week!)

After the whole truffle "ordeal," I wanted to make something that was drastically easier and a little more my forte - enter the brownie/bar.

I suddenly had visions of pumpkin cream cheese swirl atop a fudgey brownie.  But not a chocolate brownie...oh no - been there - done that.  Pumpkin and chocolate do NOT mix.  Don't argue with me, it's a fact. 

Sure that pumpkin pancake with chocolate chips tasted fine, but how many chocolate chips were in there?  5?  Ya, you act like it's chocolate and pumpkin, but it's really not.  That's the kind of thing you do to your cat when he needs to take medicine.  I'll just crunch a little in his food.  Mix in a couple treats and voila!  Medicine that no longer resembles medicine!

Enter: White chocolate.

Oh that glorious, fatty, un-chocolatey chocolate.

That would go stupendously with pumpkin!

I tore through my pinterest page, and found the white chocolate brownies I had been dying to try.

The stage was set.

But my own eagerness got in the way.

In my attempt to finish off the entire can of pumpkin, I doubled the cream cheese recipe thinking nothing of it.  I'll just have to cook it a little longer.  Sound familiar? (Cake in A Jar, anyone?)

Of course, this is not so. I had to cook them so long that the bottom got a little too brown and the top never quite set all the way. 

But for once, my own independence did not fail me.  Sure the texture was a little off (I fixed the proportions in the recipe below so you can make amazing, sanely proportional P.C.W.C. Brownies), but they tasted pretty good. 

I'm very critical of my baking, but just to paint you a picture of how good these are my mom kept RAVING about these. 

I mean RAVING.

This is the same mom who rolls her eyes every time I tell her I'm going to "veer" from a recipe.

The same mom who looks at me with the perfect amount of disapproval and acceptance of the fact that I'm an adult, when I come home with a huge bag of Hot Cheetos, Animal Cookies, and Thai Bubble Tea and tell her I'm going to go watch a movie.

Ya, that mom.

That mom ate half the batch.

And that's gracious estimating right there.

Pumpkin Cheesecake White Chocolate Brownies (or P.C.W.C.B for short)
adapted from  Nook and Pantry

White Chocolate Brownie Base

• 1/2 Cup of Butter
• 5oz. of White Chocolate Chips (Use Nestle)
• 2 Eggs
• 5 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 3/4 Cup of Flour
• 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp of Salt

Pumpkin Cheesecake Top

• 8oz of Cream Cheese (Use the Block Type)
• 2/3 Cup of Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp of Vanilla
• 1 Egg, plus one yolk
• 2/3 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree

Preheat oven to 325F

Makes approx. 15 good sized brownie/bars

 Brownies:
1) Measure out 5oz of white chocolate chips.  You can also use chopped white chocolate if you'd like.
    I bought Ghirardelli, but I was pretty disappointed in the texture.  I've only ever eaten Nestle White
    Chocolate before.  Of course, I figured Ghirardelli would be the best of the best, but I won't be
    buying this brand again...at least in white chocolate chips.

 2) Get 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter and cut into small pieces to help it melt faster.

 3) Melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring frequently.  Take off heat when just
     completely melted.  (You can use a microwave instead.  Just start with 1 minute then continue
     with 15 second increments until just melted.  Stir well between each heating).

 4) In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs and sugar together.

 5) Beat until fluffy...almost "meringue" like.  Add white chocolate mixture.

6) In a sifter add flour, baking powder, and salt.  Sift over the wet ingredients, mixing occasionally in-
    between adds.

 7) Add vanilla.

 8) Put into a greased 8in x 11in pan (you can use the standard 9in x 13in pan, but just remember they
     will be thinner and will need to cook less).

 Cheesecake:
A) In a medium sized bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat until fluffy.

 B) Add eggs, mix well.

 C) Add pumpkin, beat until just combined.  Pour mixture on top of white chocolate brownie base.
     *Optional: Take a knife and "cut" criss-crosswise the brownie/cheesecake batter in the pan.  This
     will mix some of the elements together and create a "swirl" design on top.  However, because the
     white chocolate and pumpkin are both pale colors the distinction will be slight.  Also if you don't do
     this, the brownie part will be more of a crust instead of a sort of "mixture."  Either way works.  I cut
     mine across a few times, but it didn't work too well as you can tell by the two layers clearly shown    
     in the pictures.

  D) Bake in oven at 325F for about 35 minutes or until cheesecake top is set.  You can test this by
       inserting a toothpick two inches from the edge.  It should come out relatively clean, with no wet
       batter.

[Cue music]

Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream

I love you so and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream

Snickerdoodle Blondies (★ ★ ★ ★ ★)

This week I'm making amends. 

For all of you who came back saying, "That last post was pushing it.  One more off-the-wall idea and I'm done!"

This is for you.

The Snickerdoodle Blondie.

I'm going to cut right to the chase because this recipe is so good there really are no words eloquent or accurate enough to describe all the pure cinnamon, brown-sugary, buttery, chewy goodness that these bars are.  You just need to gawk at them in all their glory. 

Well that...and I'm fighting off a cold and really just need to go to sleep.

But seriously, this is a "go-to."  One of my top five favorite things I have ever made.  And it's so so so so so so easy.

-------------

And now...enjoy the show.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well, if that is true then this is my wordiest post yet. (Is that even possible?)

I guess that would make this a Double Amends Post.  

Reading and avocado haters - this is my peace offering.  Please love me. 

Make 

the 

camera

love

you.

Yyyaaaaa... 

Treating a snack like a pin-up says it all. 

Photo Credit For: #1, #5, #7

Travis Howland Photography

Brown Butter Brownies (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

I'm not really sure how much explanation these require.  

Fudgy.  

Chocolately.  

Buttery.  

Delicious.  

                                     Almost too delicious.  

I follow this blog--Ice Cream Before Dinner.  And one amazing day, these showed up: Brown Butter Brownies

I just knew I had to try them.  They looked incredible!  

As sacrilegious as this might sound, I've never liked homemade brownies.   

Wait.    Stop.     Hear me out...

All of the ones I've been given have been either too dry or too cake-like.  I want fudgy, slightly gooey brownies...the likes of which I've only ever found in a box.  But when I saw the words: "brown butter"...I thought, maybe this is it, the from-scratch recipe that will finally meet my lofty expectations. 

And you know what?  ...These were pretty good!  Probably the most intense brownie I've ever had, but they had the moist chewy goodness that I require.

Problem though.  These suckers are not just unhealthy...they should be banned.  

Five sticks of butter...  Five!!  

I felt bad just doing it. With every new stick added to the saucepan, my arteries closed a little more.  Who invents recipes like this?!?!

My advice: Let these pictures be enough for you.  I couldn't, in good conscience, make these again.  They were delicious, I'll give them that.  But for now, I'll just stick with the box.  

The search for the ever elusive brownie recipe continues.