CONTEST WINNERS

Before I went on vacation to visit my sister in Costa Rica, I held a contest on my facebook "Swim In the Kitchen" page. The deal was that when I got to 50 "like's" I would hold a draw and the winner would get cookies.

Bruce McIntosh won the draw, and asked for a brownie blondie (instead of cookies) for his beautiful wife Laura.

So brownie blondie it is. I have made this for Laura once before, and I have to say, it was INCREDIBLY decadent. Like SERIOUSLY decadent. And totally yum. As usual, it is really easy too.

Preheat the oven to 325. In a stand mixer, dump 2.5 cups of brown sugar in with 3 eggs and a huge splash of vanilla.



Beat until light in color and nice and fluffy. You can see from the picture below just how much lighter in color it should look.



To this add 1 cup of melted butter. Add it slowly, while beating it, so that it is all incorporated. In a separate bowl, Add 1.25 cups of white flour, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 Tablespoon of baking powder. Mix the flour/cocoa mixture so you have a uniform look. This incorporates the baking powder through the entire mixture.

Before whisking:


Add this to the egg/sugar mixture, and beat VERY SLOWLY (otherwise you will get flour all over the place, and it is a BITCH to clean up). I turn the machine off and on, off and on, very quickly and repeatedly to do this. Most of the time I screw it up somehow and wind up covered in flour. So trust me when I say it is a bitch to clean up. ANYWAY. Just beat it enough to incorporate it into a batter.

Butter a 9 inch baking pan, then lay a layer of tin foil on it, pressing it in, and butter that. It makes it MUCH easier to take out afterwards, because this thing poofs up like you wouldn't believe.



In a double boiler (I use a small pot with 2 inches of boiling water and a little silver mixing bowl - its fine as long as the bowl doesn't touch the water) melt about 2-3 ounces of chocolate. I never measure. I just use a few good sized chunks. If you are using one of those foot long Lindt Dark Chocolate bars (like me), use about 3-4 rows. Set aside for a moment.



Pour the cake batter into the foil lined baking pan, and then pour the melted chocolate in a swirly pattern (or just dump it) on top, and use a spoon or a rubber spatula to swirl it in.



Put the whole thing on another baking try (remember, I said it poofs up? It also sometimes poofs over, and it is much easier to clean a baking try then the bottom of your oven. Again, sadly, I speak from experience.

Bake for about an hour. Check it after 45 minutes. If it wiggles too easily, it needs more time. It also depends if you like it super ooey gooey, or more crispy. I like it a bit more crispy, so bake it for the full hour.



You can see how much it poofed.

Today has been my total Kitchen day. I am doing an absolute TON of baking/cooking, and its ALL for other people. I made a ginormous lasagna, grilled chicken breasts with zataar, lemon and garlic, roasted asparagus in a balsamic glaze, spinach salad with a balsamic dressing, cinnamon pecan crispies and the brownie blondie. Recipes and blog posts to follow.

Its good to be back.