Brown Butter Blondies with Cherries, Chocolate, Cashews and Pecans

I know browning butter is old news in the culinary world, but it's definitely a trick we should all have up our sleeves. It's an easy way to elevate both sweet and savory recipes and I love using it to give cookies, crusts and bars a deep toasty flavor. For this recipe I combined it with dark brown sugar, a hefty dose of salt and a splash of bourbon because I couldn't resist. Then I packed the already rich batter full of all kinds of good stuff, but feel free to switch up the additions to your taste, just keep it to about four cups. When all was said and done these blondies were wrapped up and sent away to a good friend out West and while I was sad to see them go, I was happy they weren't parked on the counter taunting me to eat them for every meal.

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to pop into one of your local farmer's markets. The first strawberries and rhubarb are trickling down to New York and people are going crazy for them, myself included.

Brown Butter Blondies with Cherries, Chocolate, Cashews and Pecans
yield 9x13 pan, cut into 16-24 pieces

1 cup butter
3 cups dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoon bourbon (optional)
2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup roughly chopped cashews
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º and line a 9x13 baking pan with foil and grease well

1. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until all of the milk solids turn golden and the butter has a nutty fragrance being careful to not let it burn. Remove from heat and stir in the dark brown sugar, set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, bourbon and salt. Whisk in the cooled butter, sugar mixture then fold in the flour and baking powder.
3. Stir in the nuts, cherries and chocolate, but make sure the mixture is cool enough that the chocolate won't melt. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35min or until the top is shiny, set and slightly cracked around the edges. Place on a wire rack to cool completely then cut into squares.

Edible Holiday Gifts Part II: Squash Harvest Bread

These squash loaves are one of my favorite fall and winter treats. They are super hearty from the chopped nuts and seeds, perfectly spiced and stay most and delicious for days on the counter. This recipe makes two, nice sized loaves which makes it perfect for gift giving. I like to bring one along to holiday parties as a hostess gift, so my generous friends don't have to worry about cooking breakfast for themselves the next morning. This recipe also bakes up beautifully into paper baking molds, which makes it an even cuter gift to give (I have included some resources down below).

Squash Harvest Bread
adapted from the Macrina Bakery Cookbook
yield, 2 9x5 loaves or 6-8 smaller loaves

2 cups roasted squash purée (butternut, red kuri, or kabocha work great and canned pumpkin puree is just fine here too)
1/2c walnut halves
1/2c pecan halves
1c pepitas
2t baking soda
2t baking powder
3 1/2c flour
1/2t nutmeg
1 1/2t cinnamon
1 1/2t salt
1 1/2c light brown sugar
1 1/2c granulated sugar
1c canola oil
4 eggs
3/4c buttermilk

To Toast the Nuts and Seeds

Spread them on a baking sheet in an even layer and bake in a 375º oven for 10-15min or until they are nice and toasty. Cool the nuts completely and chop them medium/fine.

For the Loaves
Turn the oven down to 325º

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir in the chopped nuts and seeds, reserving a few tablespoons to sprinkle over the top of the loaves.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the oil and sugars. Mix on medium high for 4min. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the squash puree and mix for another 2 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined.
3. Alternate adding the flour (3 parts) and the buttermilk (2 parts) and stir gently to combine completely, being careful to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl.
4. Pour the batter into oiled loaf pans, filling them 2/3 full, and sprinkle with the reserved nuts. Bake large loaves for 60min, smaller loaves for 25-35min depending on size. They are done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 20min before unmolding.

Notes

- For gift giving, paper loaf pans like these can be found locally in NY at Bowery Kitchen Supply or New York Cake and Baking Supply where the service is pretty surly and the selection is unbeatable. They can also be found at many specialty cook shops like Sur la Table.
- Here are some online resources make sure to search for "paper baking molds".
- Here is a link to food52's easy peasy squash roasting technique and video.
- For 2 cups of squash puree, you'll need about a 1 lb squash

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Nuts and Cherries

Last weekend, when I heard that two of my best pals were heading upstate to their beautiful cabin I couldn't help but invite myself along for the ride. After a week long heatwave it was high time to get the f out of the city and into the woods to take a dip in the swimming hole and breathe some non-conditioned air. Luckily my generous pals don't mind sharing their special spot, so to thank them for their never ending hospitality (and to ensure they invite me back) I brought a little treat. I wanted to bring something along that would be equally tasty for breakfast before hitting up the u-pick farm nearby and as a snack by the creek later in the afternoon and these hearty muffins fit the bill. They utilize lots of zucchini which is ever so plentiful this time of year along with toasted nuts, seeds and some dried cherries for a nice tart zip, but feel free to switch up the additions to suit your personal preference.


Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Nuts and Cherries
adapted from 101cookbooks
yields about 24 muffins

2c whole wheat flour
1c all purpose flour
1 1/2t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1t salt
1t cinnamon
1/4t nutmeg
3/4c olive oil (or canola oil)
1c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
3 large eggs
2t vanilla extract
zest of 2 lemons
1'' piece of ginger, grated with a microplane
3c finely shredded zucchini (about 3 medium), squeezed gently to remove excess liquid
1 1/2c mixed chopped nuts, toasted (I used half pecans and half walnuts)
1/3c poppy seeds
1/2c dried cherries roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350º and line 2. 12 cup muffin tins with liners

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then stir in the chopped nuts and poppy seeds, making sure to reserve a few tablespoons to sprinkle on the top of the muffins.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugars, eggs, lemon zest, ginger, and vanilla extract.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Fold in the zucchini and cherries.
4. Fill your muffin liners 2/3 full, then sprinkle the reserved nuts over top. Bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 min.

Big thanks to the folks over at The Kitchen Generation for mentioning the Baking Co. last weekend and thanks to everyone on twitter and facebook who have been so friendly and supportive of my bloggy-blog recently.