Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [380]
To cool: Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely, at least 1 hour.
To store: Cut the brownies into squares in the pan and wrap each individually in wax paper; store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Variations: Substitute white chocolate chips for the semisweet chocolate chips.
Substitute one of the following for the vanilla: 1½ teaspoons maple extract, 1½ teaspoons rum extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract, or 1 teaspoon coconut extract.
Stir in ½ cup of any of the following mix-ins, or ½ cup total volume of any combination of mix-ins, with the flour mixture: chopped dried apples, chopped pecans, chopped toasted hazelnuts, chopped unsalted cashews, chopped walnuts, dried blueberries, dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, slivered almonds, toasted pepitas, unsalted peanuts.
Buttermilk Blondies
Blondies are the original brownies: a chocolate-studded, buttery cake that’s turned into a bar cookie. Don’t use a glass baking pan; the batter will superheat and turn hard at the edges. Makes 16 blondies
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, plus additional for greasing the baking pan
22/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the baking pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup regular or low-fat buttermilk (do not use fat-free)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; dust it lightly with flour, taking care to coat the corners and the seams. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light, creamy, and very smooth, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is mixed well into the batter before you add the next. Beat in the buttermilk and vanilla until smooth.
Turn off the beaters, add the prepared flour mixture, and beat at very low speed just until a wet batter forms, one without any pockets of dry flour.
Scrape down and remove the beaters. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula until uniform; pour and scrape into the prepared pan, getting the batter to the corners and even across the top.
Bake until golden brown, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour.
To cool: Set the baking pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 1½ hours.
To store: Cut the blondies into individual squares, wrap each in wax paper, and store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Variations: Add one or more of the following spices to the flour mixture: 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground mace, ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg.
Add one of the following flavorings with the vanilla: 2 teaspoons banana extract, 2 teaspoons banana extract, 2 teaspoons maple extract, 2 teaspoons orange extract, 2 teaspoons rum extract, or 1½ teaspoons almond extract.
Substitute butterscotch, milk chocolate, mint chocolate, peanut butter, or white chocolate chips for the semisweet chocolate chips.
Stir in 1¼ cups of any of the following mix-ins, or 1¼ cups total volume of any combination of mix-ins, with the chocolate chips: chopped dried apricots, chopped pecans, chopped toasted hazelnuts, chopped walnuts, cocoa nibs, dried cherries, dried currants, honey-roasted almonds, pine nuts, raisins, or slivered almonds.
Peanut Chocolate Bar Cookies
Here, a light cookie batter is baked in a pan, then “iced” with chocolate and peanuts. For the best taste, use salted peanuts. Makes 36 bar cookies
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan
½ cup