Loaded Butterscotch Blondies + Salted Chocolate Glaze

There are not many weekends when I have free time. So when Shaun had a live fantasy baseball draft on Saturday, which took up most of the day, I got my bake on. I usually don't bake unless it's with a purpose. In fact, I hate having baked goods around the house since Shaun is not a dessert fan so guess who ends up eating most of it?! I swear, I have the too-tight jeans to prove it.

But I was looking for a calming activity. Whenever I feel stressed, I find baking to be super therapeutic. With a photo like that, can you blame me?

So with nary a party or gathering to speak of, I got a hankering to get a little creative. The end result? Blondies filled with butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and walnuts. A glaze worthy of my permanent recipe collection. And the tiny hit of sea salt on top? There aren't words. This tiny touch ties the entire dessert together in a sweet, salty and savory little package of spectacular deliciousness. Seriously. Just look at those sweet little flakes of salt! Ahhh I just want to devour one right now. I probably will. Please don't judge me.

Loaded Butterscotch Blondies + Salted Chocolate Glaze
*Adapted from America's Test Kitchen
For the blondies:
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C brown sugar
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 C walnuts, chopped
1/3 C butterscotch chips
1/3 C white chocolate chips
cooking spray
For the glaze:
1 C confectioners' sugar
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
2+ tbsp boiling water
kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9" baking dish with foil, one sheet lengthwise and one sheet the opposite way, making sure to leave some overhang. Coat with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk the brown sugar and melted butter together. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

Fold in the flour mixture. I used a rubber spatula. Add the butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and chopped nuts and fold until just combined.

Pour into the baking dish and smooth into an even layer.

Bake for about 22-25 minutes until the top is slightly firm. Let the blondies cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, grasp the foil to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a wooden cutting board. Cut into squares and drizzle with chocolate glaze.

To make the glaze, melt the chocolate (I used the microwave, at 15 second intervals. It cooks quickly so be sure not to burn it). Melt the butter and whisk together with the sugar and hot water. If the mixture is too thick, add another splash of water to thin out into drizzleable consistency. Get your drizzle on over the blondies. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt or kosher salt over the top. Devour multiple bars immediately.

Isn't it pretty? It's calling your name.

About half the tray called mine. Those jeans aren't fitting anytime soon.

So there you have it. The tale of how I spent my solo Saturday afternoon. Oh this and watching Bethenny Ever After. Yep, it happened. 3 episodes worth. So what do you think? What is your best therapy? How do you unwind?

Getting Our Cookie Bake On

Happy Monday to all! Though I'm typically not a fan of the Monday, I do love having my apartment clean and pretty to start the week. Oh and the Giants game tonight doesn't hurt either. Meanwhile, we finally finished our tree last week. You may notice that there's no topper on the tree. Well, that's because I purchased a pretty star for the top but it was dwarfed by the size of the tree and just looked...well...dinky. So for now, it's going topless.

I spent Saturday getting my holiday baking on with my mom. Though it's usually an event for my sisters, my mom and me, the two of us got the party started since Kimberly and Christine are busy with wrapping up end of semester school things (Kim's in law school and Stine is in undergrad!). We made some old favorites, along with some newbies. On the list? Cherry kisses, mint chocolate snowcaps, thumbprints, and butter cookie cutouts rounded out the oldie-but-goodie list.

 The pink color of the cherry kisses just makes me happy. Here's Mom flattening them out...

 

 I think the mint snowcaps are just about the prettiest cookie ever! Here's hoping they freeze well for Christmas!

 One taste of the thumbprints, and I knew it was Christmas. We never have these cookies the rest of the year. The nutty, brown sugary flavor with raspberry jam just screams Christmas morning - my favorite time of the year to eat cookies. They never taste as good as on Christmas morning, in flannel jammies with a big glass of milk! Santa style!

Since the cutouts are a family (and fan) favorite, my mom and I did one little bit of them since I just couldn't resist. (Fear not, sisters, there are still like 5 more rolls of dough - in red/pink and green - to be done!).

 

In addition to some of our favorites, I also tested out some cookies from our virtual cookie swap! The recipes we've gotten thus far have been so mouthwatering, that I just had to give 'em a whirl. First up, I made Barbara's Seven Layer Italian Rainbow Cookies. It all started with this delightfully scented ingredient:

 

We had some trouble getting in there. I layered the finished product together...

 

...and then packaged it all together with a heavy book on top to sit in the fridge overnight.

 

Who knew that coffee table books doubled as baking tools?

I also got my frosting on with Lauren's red velvet cookie sandwiches with white chocolate buttercream. Oh my lord, these were delicious. Not that I would know, since I saved all of them for Christmas.

Ok, I may have sampled one along with my Dad who also cannot resist a good buttercream. These were unbelievably decadent and delicious. The cookie was soft while the buttercream was silky smooth and sweet. The perfect combo.

Even Chloe got into the baking fun. Or she may have been not-so-subtly telling us that it was dinner time.

By the end of the day, my mom's beautfiul kitchen looked like this:

But it's all in the name of baking. I can't wait to do more with my sisters in the coming weeks! Now I'm just wishing I had a little plate of cookies for lunch today. So what I want to know is: What is your favorite classic holiday dish that you look forward to each year?

Cookie Swap: Almond Sweets

If you want to try my holiday sweets, be sure to head over to Carrots 'n Cake this morning where you can bid on my - and many more bloggers' - baked goods for a great cause!

It's flurrying here in Manhattan this morning, and there really isn't anything better. This weekend, Shaun and I got our Christmas tree! Though the decorating is still a work in progress, I'm happy to say that it's up and almost fully lit. Though Christmas tree hunting in an urban area isn't quite the Griswold Family Christmas, we still had a blast! For the past three years, we've gotten our trees at 14th Street Garden Center in Jersey City - classically located just outside the Holland Tunnel. We highly recommend this nursery if you live in the area. We got a nice sized tree and snapped up a poinsettia to boot. Here's Shaun scanning the aisles:

Once the tree is completely decorated, I'll share a pic with you! Meanwhile, I got to baking yesterday. Though I'll be baking with my mom (stay tuned for lots of recipes and ideas for holiday baking!), I just couldn't wait to try some out on my own and share a recipe for our virtual cookie swap! After scouring many cookie books and magazines, I chose to start with Almond Sweets, a crumbly Italian cookie ball coated with sweet almond frosting. Oooooh mama.

Though the frosting is very sweet, the cookie is hardly sweet at all, making it the perfect cookie balance. And have I ever told you of my obsession with extracts, particularly almond? I really just cannot get enough of the pure and delightful scents of extracts and Shaun will sometimes find me just sniffing them while I bake. Please don't judge me.

Anyhow, the point is that these sweet treats are delicious and super simple to boot. So try them. Immediately.

Almond Sweets
*Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens 100 Best Cookies
Makes 60 cookies
For the cookies:
3 C all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla
For the almond icing:
1 C confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, oil and vanilla.

Beat in the flour. Once combined, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, frost 'em!

To make the frosting, mix or whisk together the sugar, extract and milk until completely combined and no lumps. Frost and coat with sprinkles. Note: Since the frosting hardens very quickly, I added sprinkles after every third cookie that I frosted. Any more than that and it was too late! Instead of the sprinkles sticking, they merely bounced off the top of the cookie.

Luckily, since sprinkles are of the utmost importance to me, I learned my lesson quickly so I could end up with treats that look like this:

 

Say it with me...mmmm. So there you have it. My first recipe for the virtual cookie swap! What do you think? Do you already have your bake on this holiday season? If so, what have you been up to? And bonus question: Do you also have a weakness in the kitchen that you'd rather not share with the world (but will anyway, since I told you mine!)?

For more cookie ideas, check out our Cookie Swap page!