SRC CHEWY CHUNKY BLONDIES

Secret Recipe Club is upon us again for the month of September.  I got so much enjoyment looking around Lynn's Blog, it is a must look at. She had so many recipes I didn't know where to start.   Her photography is beautiful, mouth watering, and done with style and class.  I ending up making the Blond Brownies, that was made with her group of "Tuesdays with Dorrie".  These brownies are delicious, a thin layer of crunch on top, the chocolate, pecans and coconut.  I thought the recipe I had on my blog for Blonde Brownies was good but it's not as good as these.  This recipe is a make again for sure.  I think I will remove my post and replace it will these!  I also made from Lynn's blog Teddy Bears Breads, and Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti which we had for dinner one night, then I froze some of the meatballs and made meatball sandwiches another night.  So good,  I am so excited to work off her blog this month. All three recipes that are approved by me!   Happy Baking everyone..........................Andi 

Chewy Chunky 
cafelynnylu chewy-chunky-blondies

Teddy Bear Bread  from Simple Sweet Dough 

Lynn's Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chewy Chunky Blondies

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
6 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into chips or 1 cup store bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan and place on a larger rimmed baking sheet. Center the oven rack to the middle of the oven.

In one bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk this together to combine all the ingredients.

With your stand mixer, add the butter and mix. Then add the light brown sugar and mix for about 3 minutes. Scrape bowl to combine the ingredients. Add the large eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add the vanilla. Carefully at a lower speed on the mixer add the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to incorporate the flour mixture. Hand stir in the nuts and the chocolate pieces and the shredded coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and using a off set spatula to even the top of the bars.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies may start to pull away from the side of the pan and the top should be a nice golden honey brown. Remove the baking dish from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack to cool. Cut into squares. Happy Baking, Andi


To see other great recipes from this month's Secret Recipe Club, follow the links below!

1. Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie	2. Mississippi Mud Brownies	3. Chocolate Peanut Butter & Oat Snack Bars
4. Creamy Cucumber Salad with Dill	5. Slow Cookers Jambalaya	6. Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs, Summer Rolls
7. Orzo with Sausage, White Beans and Spinach	8. Red Velvet Cupcakes	9. Chicken Enchiladas Verde
10. Rustic Peach Galette	11. Southwestern Chicken Casserole	12. Baked Mashed Potatoes w/Parmesan Cheese
13. Frosted Zucchini Spice Cake Cookies	14. Bourbon Chicken	15. Banana Cake with Orange Icing
16. Chicken Tortilla Soup	17. Rosemary Thyme Chicken Breast	18. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
19. Aloo Bhaji	20. Pumpkin Cookies	21. Tzatziki
22. Raw Chocolate Oat Breakfast Cookie	23. Banana Pudding with Nilla Wafers	24. Breakfast Braid
25. Pumpkin Scones and Honey Cinnamon Butter	26. Mexican Rice	27. White Chocolate Cookies & Cream Fudge
28. Caribbean Jerk Pizza	29. Butternut Squash Gnocchi w/Moroccan Sauce	30. Marble Cake w/White Chocolate Glaze
31. Avocado Omelet	32. Turkey Sloppy Joes	33. Bacon & Feta Pasta
34. Pesto Potatoes	35. Hearty Corn Chowder	36. Spiced Vegetarian Lentil Soup
37. Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce	38. Citrus & Blueberry Baked Muffin Donuts	39. Peanut Butter Cookies
40. Sopapillas	41. Cheddar Jalapeno Beer Muffins	42. Falafel
43. Plum Crunch	44. Pumpkin Seed Crusted Tilapia	45. Garlic Dill Salmon
46. Maple Ginger Pork Loin	47. Pretzel Rolls	48. Tomato Basil Chickpea Salad
49. Baby Bok Choy w/Shitake Mushrooms	50. Honey-Balsamic Chicken Thighs w/Cranberry Wild Ric	51. Vegchiladas
52. Chewy Chunky Blondies	53. Watermelon Feta Salad	54. Rosemary Butternut Squash Soup
55. Squash & Kale Pizza	56. Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins	57. Vegan Snickerdoodles
58. BBQ Sauce	59. Molten Lava Cakes	60. Cinnamon and Sugar Doughnut Muffins
61. 5 Minute Chocolate Cake	62. Balsamic Vinaigrette Coleslaw	63. Fruit & Nut Cookie Bars
64. Scratch Gooey Butter Cake	65. Bacon Chedder Cheese Bread	66. Pumpkin Pie Spiced Snack Mix
67. Whole Wheat English Muffins	68. Chicken and Sesame Noodles	69. Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons
70. White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies	71. Soft Pretzels w/Herbed Sea Salt	72. Brioche Bread

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES

A big Happy Birthday to Kathy, I am her Auntie.  So when one turns 50 years old then we must celebrate.  I can't think of anything better then with cupcakes.  Being the sugar addict that I am I sent her a e-mail giving her about 6 recipes to choose from and this is what she picked.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  What a treat, they were fun to make.  I made the cupcakes and froze them, made the filling and placed in the refrigerator overnight.  Then a couple of hours before the gathering I made the icing and competed the task.  I kept wondering, this is a chocolate chip overload, these are not going to go over well,  Guess what, they are wonderful, the cupcakes puffed up high with a golden brown edge when I took them from the oven. They looked like a cookie but then they sunk.  The filling is sweet but not overpowering, and the icing is a sweet combination of cookie dough.  A keeper for sure.  The recipe came from Annie's Eats, and she has many amazing recipes.    

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes
annies-eats


Cupcakes:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups ap flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet) I used mini chips
Cookie dough filling:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp ap flour
7 ounce condensed sweetened milk (about 3/4 cups)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Icing:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk or a little more to get the right consistency
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Decorations:
mini chocolate chips
tiny chocolate chip cookies (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin pans with paper liners. Using your large mixing bowl combine the butter and the light brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Scrape bowl a few times. Add one egg at a time and continue mixing well after each egg. Scrape the bowl as needed.
In another bowl add the dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternating with the milk, begin with the flour and end with the milk. Mix this until just incorporated. Blend in the vanilla and fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Divide the batter evenly between the 24 cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before moving the cupcakes to a cooling rack.

Making the cookie dough, combine in a medium bowl the butter and the light brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla Mix until smooth. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until the mixture has firmed up. About 1 hour.

The finished product, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake using a small sharp knife. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough. I used a small ice cream scoop and made 24 dough balls. Then I pressed one in each cupcake center.

Making the icing: This recipe makes plenty of icing to put a good swirl of icing on top of each cupcake. Beat the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix, scraping the bowl often to incorporate the butter into the brown sugar. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and blend till smooth. Add the flour and salt. Then slowly add the milk and vanilla. The recipe calls for 3 tbsp of milk I added a little more only a few drops at a time. The icing is thick, I filled my decorator bag with the icing and swirled each cupcake with icing. Sprinkle each cupcake with mini chocolate chips or top each with a small chocolate chip cookie and some mini chips.

Happy Baking,   Andi

Sharing with
wellseasonedlife

9/24/2011  Kim at A Well-Seasoned Life choose this cupcake as her number 2 spot for the week.  Check out her blog  A big thank you to Kim and a Happy Birthday to her also........

BLUEBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Blueberry Upside-Down Cake
Cooking from Quilt Country
Amish and mennonite Kitchens
copyright 1989 by Marcia Adams

Another gem of a cake that is made with those little wild blueberries that I picked and froze back in July.  This blueberry upside down cake is not the most attractive cake that I have ever made, but it surely tasted wonderful.  Topped with fresh whipped cream with a nice hint of the orange rind added to the batter.  The body of the cake is mosit, tender and very soft.  Serves about 8-10 depending on the size you cut each piece.  Just make sure your serving platter is a little bigger then the cake pan.  The blueberries did fall down the sides.   This is a keeper for sure.   Happy Baking everyone


Blueberry Topping:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 1/2 cups blueberries
dash of salt
1/2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water
Cake batter:
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup 1 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup orange juice
Sweetened whipped cream for topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 inch baking dish with oil.

Prepare the topping first. In a medium saucepan combine the first 4 topping ingredients, the butter, brown sugar, blueberries and the salt. Bring this mixture to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Combine the water and the cornstarch in a small dish and add to the blueberries and bring to a boil. Set this aside, but keep warm while you are mixing the cake batter.

In a medium bowl add the sifted flour, salt and baking powder together and set this aside. In another mixing bowl cream the butter then add the sugar, orange rind, and vanilla. Mix this well. Blend in the egg until the mixture is smooth. Add the sifted flour mixture alternately with the orange juice and end with the flour mixture. Mixing a little while adding a little of each.

Pour the blueberry mixture in the 9 inch oiled baking dish. Oil the sides and the bottom of the baking dish. The cake batter is very thick so using a small spoon drop several dollops of the batter over the blueberry mixture. Then using a off set spatula gently smooth each mound into each other to cover the blueberry and make a smooth top of the cake batter. You will have some blue streaks but don't worry its ok. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the center springs back when touched with your finger. Having your cake platter ( little bigger then the cake pan) ready immediately invert the cake to the serving tray. Top with sweetened whipped cream while the cake is warm for the best flavor.

I have shared this recipe with      bizzybakesb

CRACKER JACK POPCORN

Do you remember Cracker Jack in the box? They have been around longer than me.  In my younger days Cracker Jack were a real treat.  And then to get a prize inside.    I cut this recipe in half so I only used 3 quarts of popped corn.  I suggest one ask for some help in the stirring, that caramel sauce is hot and a bit hard to pour and stir at the same time.  Some of my popcorn didn't get coated as well as it should have.   This was a fun recipe to make, fairly easy and a inexpensive treat .  Not real sticky or overly sweet.  Next time I will add some peanuts.  A keeper.  Enjoy      


Cracker Jack
Cooking from Quilt Country
Marcia Adams
copyright 1980

6 Quarts of unseasoned popped corn
2 cups of light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Pop the popcorn. Measure and divide between 2 good size bowls. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease 2 rimmed baking sheets with oil. Set these aside.

In a medium size saucepan add the brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup, salt and cream of tartar. Insert a candy thermometer. Bring this mixture to a boil and cook stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or until the mixture registers 260 degrees on the thermometer. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda. This mixture will foam up. Get someone else to help to stir while you pour the hot mixture evenly over the 2 bowls. Spread the covered popcorn onto the two greased rimmed cookie sheets and bake for about 1 hour. Stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. You could spread this on waxed paper and break up the larger pieces.
Store in airtight containers or in large zip-lock bags.

SHARING WITH     flourmewithlove

GARDEN FRESH SALSA

It's bright and summer harvest in a bowl. Take a trip to the farmers market or local farm stand and you should be able to find all the ingredients for making salsa.  Making your own salsa is much better and tasty then any store bought salsa.  Yes, it takes time to chop all the ingredients but that is when the food processor comes in useful. I prefer to use my knife and cutting board. I can control the size of the cuts.  The heat in the salsa comes from the seeds in the peppers so add a few, lot or none at all.  You control how much heat is in this salsa.  You can deseed the tomatoes, and if less liquid is wanted you can strain the tomatoes before adding the remaining ingredients. . 

Garden Salsa

5 cups chopped tomato's  (you can deseed the tomatoes, and for less liquid you can strain the chopped tomatoes)
3 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 red chiles, chopped fine
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 small green pepper, chopped fine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Chop all the ingredients and mix and place in refrigerator for at least one hour to blend flavors.

LEMON FILLED CUPCAKES FOR MORGAN

These lemon cupcakes were made for Princess Morgan, my daughter who lives in Texas.  She and Mr. Ray came to Maine for a short visit, of course the days flew but the time was enjoyed. Always sad to see her leave. It was a pleasue to meet Mr. Ray.  And hope to see them both soon.  
The cupcakes take on a hint of the added lemon and with the lemon filling it takes them over the edge.  A lemon pie in a cupcake!  I think she approved.
 

Lemon Cupcakes
from a friend makes 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and continue mixing. Scrap bowl often during the mixing of the ingredients. Add lemon peel, vanilla and lemon juice. In another bowl add the dry ingredients and whisk together. Alternately add the flour mixture along with the sour cream beating well after each addition. This batter is thick. Line your cupcakes pans with papers and fill each with 1/4 cup batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in pans and then remove to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Filling
The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook

*Depending on the amount of filling used in each cupcake you may want to double this filling recipe.

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
juice and zest from one lemon
2 tbsp butter
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups water

In a medium size saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water, lemon juice and zest and mix. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil and appears clearer. Stir in the butter. Place the mixed egg yolk in a small bowl, then add some of the hot filling and mix. Then add this egg mixture to the hot mixture and continue to whisk. Bring this to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove the pan from the heat source. Stir and allow to set until cool.

To prepare the cupcakes
Make sure the cupcakes are room temperature and the lemon filling is at room temperature also. Using a small paring knife cut a good size or a smaller circle into the top of the cupcake, using the knife to pull this part out. Fill a pastry bag with the lemon filling or spoon some filling into the cavity of each cupcake. Then replace each cupcake with the center that you cut out, by pushing down on this it will squeeze some of the filling around the cut out part of the cupcake. Sprinkle the tops of each with confectionary sugar.

shared with Something Swanky,   CRAZY FOR CRUST