Tuesday, July 27, 2010

TWD—Chewy, Chunky Blondies

I’ve made Dorie’s Chewy, Chunky Blondies numerous times and didn’t even realize they hadn’t been picked in the TWD line up before.  But Nicole of Cookies on Friday chose them just so I’d have an excuse to bake them up again. ;)  I would not say I’m any sort of an expert on blondies (like I would probably say I am with chocolate chip cookies, hehe), so I can’t really compare, but these are great.  I will probably just stick with this recipe when I need a blondie recipe.  They are great for any add-ins.

So for TWD this week, I did a couple different things this time.  When I told Kevin this week’s recipe was for blondies, he kind of curled up his nose and said he doesn’t really care for blondies.  (It’s a sweet thing, he just doesn’t like things that are too sweet and I will say, these are.)  Well, I showed him.  Without even telling him, I used the dough for this recipe and made COOKIES instead of blondies.

IMG_2190 These had milk chocolate chips (2 cups) and toffee bits (just 1/2 cup is all I had).  Kevin had no idea these were really blondies and actually aet a number of them.  They are good and super toffee-ish.  Since the blondies already have a lot of brown sugar, they are already caramel-ly sweet.  I chose to leave out the coconut and used milk chocolate so they boys would eat these.  I have a few picky “I don’t like dark chocolate” kids.  I felt like an ice cream sandwich was in order with these cookies.

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But still wanting to play the TWD Blondies game, I also made 4 mini blondies using some smaller pans I have.

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I actually like the blondies better than the cookie.  They were more chewy and a little gooey.  The cookies are really good, but are more crisp/chewy.  I played around a little with the heart shaped blondie, I mean, that wouldn’t really be fair if only the cookies got ice cream.

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Mmmm, stay tuned for that chocolate ice cream!!!

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Nicole will have the recipe on her blog for these fabulous, versatile blondies.  Check out the hundreds of other blondies creations over at TWD.

A couple other posts I’ve done with Dorie’s blondies recipe in the past--

Heavenly Peanut Butter Blondies

Chocolate Orange Almond Toffee Cookies

Dorie's Chewy, Chunky Blondies w/M&M's

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Check out the corn I froze a few days ago.  I bought four dozen ears of corn on the cob at a roadside stand last Saturday.  I spent a bunch of the day shucking the corn and cutting it off the cob.  I only got 34 ears done, but that ended up being 19 bags with 2 cups each in them!  This just might get us through the winter with all the fresh/frozen corn off the cob we’ll need.  (But maybe not, maybe I’ll get more in the next few weeks.)  Here’s a delicious recipe I’ve made 3 times in less than a week with fresh corn for a tasty Basil Corn and Zucchini Saute.  (I have left out the beans each time and used shallots instead of onions twice and haven’t yet had it with salmon yet as originally posted.  But this tastes so great.   Tonight (Monday) for dinner I made fajitas with homemade salsa.  So I sautéed up some corn and added salsa and butter to it and it was also really good.  I’m hoping to get the salsa posted soon.  It was, in my opinion, the best salsa I’ve ever made. 

Kevin and I are off for a weekend away this Friday.  For Mother’s Day, he got me ticket to go see Clay Aiken in concert in Reno, NV.  I know, you’re all thinking, “Clay Aiken, really?”  I think he is a fabulous singer, that’s all there is to it.  Clay is doing a tour this summer with Ruben Studdard.  (American Idol 2003)  Excited for our weekend away, Kev!  Thanks.

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Check out our neighbors just a few houses away and how close that fire was last week came to their property!  It’s amazing to see the fire line and hear about how the neighbors all worked together to help each other.  While we are certainly grateful that all was well, we were a little bummed to have not been here to help and be a part of this trying time with our new neighbors.

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30 comments:

Emily said...

This is a loaded post and I LOVE it! I've missed your blog.

The blondies look great. I love the toffee-milk chocolate addition. Which kids don't like dark chocolate?? We need to change that!

That's a ton of corn. Make corn casserole! Mmm.

I need to go read about the fire because I didn't read that post. Glad you are safe!

Hindy said...

I love all those additions to your blondies! I'm having an ice cream-deprived summer and your photos are so tempting.

Pamela said...

Wow...that fireline was super close. Thank goodness everything turned out okay. Seems like you are moving into a neighborhood full of amazing people.

And you've totally inspired me with the corn! I may have to do the same thing this weekend. :o) Nothing quite like some fresh corn, right?

I was curious to know how these might bake up as cookies. I'm a sucker for these as blondies, though. Love 'em! The ice cream looks incredible!

Pam said...

Lots of good things here! Those cookies are a heavenly thing, they look delicious!

The corn, I will be doing that soon. It looks great.

Glad you were safe from the fire, that's surely scary!

I'm new here and so glad to find your great blog! I will enjoy following to see what's next!

Lisa Ernst said...

The blondies look great! Glad you're happy with this recipe. I think ice cream sandwiches are perfect right now. Our heat wave in the East makes ice cream ever more desirable! Have a great time on your getaway.

chocolatechic said...

When I tasted the dough, it tasted just like cookie dough.

These were fabulous.

Kayte said...

I knew you would find a way to chocolate all this up in a spectacular way and I was right! I don't let my boys see your blog anymore as they always want me to make everything in it. Wow, that corn looks great...and that photo of the fire line is scary!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Haha! That is funny that you tricked your hubby with the blondie cookies. :) Glad you are back. That is scary that fire came so close to your neighbors house!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Amazing - that fire line is so close! Your cookies and blondies are perfect - love the ice cream sandwich!! :)

Unknown said...

Great idea on shaping them and seving with icecream

Fallon said...

I've never really had a blondie before and the Dorie ones look great. I like the toffee addition.

Can't wait to see your ice cream recipe. Looks VERY creamy!

Mindy said...

I am always on the look out for a good blondies recipe, I will have to give it a try! And very jealous of your corn!

Bella Baker said...

That is an insance amount of corn! But on to the blondies! Oh how I love these! Your cookies and your hearts look out of this world! I made hearts too! I heart blondie hearts!

Plain Chicken said...

Holy Cow - that is a lot of corn! I love corn too.

The blondies look great. Love the toffee with them.

Unknown said...

great way to handle the blondie/cookies. my hubs also turned up his nose at the idea of blondies, but i just decided that he didn't get any!

Anonymous said...

First, I am catching up on some old posts and your house looks amazing!! I hope you are all settling in.
Second, love the heart shaped blondies and I know what you mean about catering to the kiddos. I had M&Ms in mine!
Third, we are not really getting out of the heat. we are going to Savannah, GA (free place to stay) but will spend a couple of days at the beach as well.

Megan said...

I was thisclose to making the blondies - but alas, I ran out of time. They are good but very sweet, just like Kevin said!

CORN! I see a corn casserole in your future. If not, you can make it and send it to me.

Have a fabulous time in Reno - and just think - someday we might actually get to meet because we are so close now!

eatme_delicious said...

It's been way too long since I've made these blondies! They're soooo good. Though I'd have a hard time leaving the coconut out! Brilliant idea to make them into cookies.

Lisa said...

I am a total blondie fiend - I always choose a blondie over a brownie (yep..people stop and stare lol). Your blondies look incredible, and I love the heart shapes with the ice cream on top! Awesome job - gotta try the peanut butter version!

That said, your new neighborhood looks beautiful..so scenic!

Nickki said...

So many delicious variations in one post! I love how you made cookies with the batter. And next time I make these gorgeous blondies I'm going to use my heart shaped pan!

That is a lot of corn! Have you tried Dorie's corn muffins? They are so good!

Unknown said...

That's a LOT of corn!!! Can you believe I've never eaten a blondie???

Paige said...

Hey Katrina, I love your blondie cookies. What a great idea!

Thanks for the link to the corn zucchini saute. I'm so impressed that you took the time to freeze all of that corn when I'm sure you're still busy unpacking!

Mimi said...

Cookies were a great idea. My kids take was that the blondies were just a bar form of CC cookies.
It may seem like a lot of corn, but come January you wonder where all of that corn disappeared to.
Mimi

Tia said...

great take on these. the best of both worlds - cookies and bars!

i wanted to apologize for not commenting on your blog more. I love your blog but haven't been able to view it for the past few months because our spam won't let me view it for some reason. I am not tech savvy enough to know how to fix that, so I've not been visitng :(

Your bakes look dee-lish (as usual) and I miss your blog. take care
tia @ buttercreambarbie

Valerie Gamine said...

Wow! You really were creative with this recipe. I bet the cookies were amazing! May I please have one with some ice cream on top? :D

Nicole said...

Nice ice cream sandwiches, yum! I'm glad these worked out as cookies and so typical that your husband would like them in cookie form. Thanks for baking along with me this week!

Leslie said...

Umm, is there any corn left in town now that you went on your corn rampage? And how come I'm not smart enough to have figured out you can cut it off the cob before you cook it? I've been buying flats of strawberries and cleaning and freezing them, peaches from our tree, but not corn. You are so sneaky with the blondie cookies. And you know I super heart the ice cream. Have made it dozens of times it seems. Have already made it again for the post, but will probably make it again before the post. Third time this month. Enjoy your weekend trip!

TeaLady said...

WHAT a great idea. Have to make these as cookies.

Wish we had gotten corn out of the garden this year. Only about 10 ears. Next year - more.

Stephanie said...

Blondie cookies are genius! In fact, everything you did is genius!

Have fun on your weekend getaway :)

Susan said...

Great looking blondies!

We planted corn this year and I was so looking forward to a freezer full, but, alas, the deer came and ate everything in our garden. :(