whopper blondies...

who doesn't love brownies?  they are pretty much the bomb.  i don't think everyone shares the same love of everything chocolate, however.  there are a few soles out there that don't necessarily love that rich, dense, chewy treat…for these people, blondies may be the answer.  basically a brownie sans chocolate, blondies have that brownie texture and are oh so dense and chewy. 

second question: who loved whoppers as a child?  i loved the milk carton container that they used to come in and the crispy, airy texture when you bit into one.  this may seem off topic but ties in well with the treat of the week.  my brother required a lil' snack while he was doing my taxes - seems like a fair trade to me!  i get my taxes done by someone else and all i have to offer is some baking in return.  i had ample ingredients at home but wanted something uncomplicated and quick…blondies!  he loves cookies, and well, these are cookies but in bar form.  then i stumbled upon some Ovaltine and Maltesers in my baking cupboard that i was saving to make Whopper Blondies…perfect!

the beauty of this recipe is that you can substitute in so many different fun ingredients - for the purists, chocolate

chips are great but for the adventurous, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and toffee bits are divine…any combination of dried fruit and nuts create a dense granola bar.  i was inspired by the Brewer's Malt Blondies from my new fave cookbook 'Baked' but didn't want soooo many blondies (last thing I need is leftovers!).  i just grabbed a simple blondie recipe off of www.marthastewart.com and tweeked it a lil'.  the result was just as I had hoped…chewy, not too sweet and a bits of crunchiness from the whoppers. 

the recipe:

adapted from www.marthastewart.com

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp Ovaltine (preferably chocolate flavour)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup crushed Whoppers or Maltesers

* prepare 8x8 baking pan by lining with parchment or brushing with melted butter

* combine melted butter and both sugars

* whisk in egg and vanilla

* fold in flour, salt, Ovaltine, chocolate chips and Whoppers

* spread into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees C for 40 minutes or so, until the point of a knife comes out clean

* allow to cool to room temperature and cut into bars, store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months

gevuld koek...

this is me...circa 1980 - before blogs existed and when holly hobby was super cool.  i recently fell in love blogs. i really, really, really do love 'em.  i read countless design, cooking and wedding blogs each and every day. they offer endless inspiration.  i figured i would give this whole blog idea a shot, not realizing how nervous i would be to publish my very first post.  i have been literally sitting on this for weeks! it's ridiculous...but here you go, my first crack at it...

it only seems fitting that i offer a little lesson on gevuld koek seeing as it's the cookie in the picture/header for 'treat of the week'.  my bf often reminisces about dutch cookies from his childhood, this one seemed especially intriguing and easy...

gevuld koek are basically to two sugar cookies sandwiched together with an almond filling.  the recipe requires few ingredients and the delicate, simple result is delicious.  it just involves a little stirring, chilling and rolling.  it's that simple!  

before you jump right in, there is one ingredient you might not have on hand - almond meal.  i can't say it's readily available in grocery stores BUT you can find it in health food stores and you can even make your own by just whizzing blanched almonds in your food processor until they are fine and crumby.  

i always start with room temperature ingredients...not everyone has enough foresight to pull the butter out of the fridge and allow it to come out of it's chilled state BUT warm ingredients (not melted) do produce the best results, i promise.  

the dough comes together simply - just cream butter and sugar, combine the 1/2 egg and gently stir in the dry ingredients.  my first try resulted in dry dough...i panicked and cursed a little but added a few drops of milk and it came together quite nicely.  throw it in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap and take a coffee break, not too long though.  i find if you leave it to chill too long, it takes an equal amount of time to come to a 'rollable' temperature.  

in the meantime, you can also prepare the filling - again, a quick stir and it's ready to be piped. now, i must admit something...i'm not a big fan of doughs that you have to roll out, they are my arch nemesis.  they are a great source of frustration - until i stumbled upon these cookies.  they roll out beautifully!   cut out a few rounds with a biscuit cutter, lay on the cookie sheet and pipe a swirl of aromatic almond filling.  i did let out a few inappropriate words when i laid the top cookie over the filling and some oozed out the side, making it seemingly impossible to seal the edges but a little firm pressure and coaxing seemed to do the trick.  

a pastry brush now comes in handy as well.  if you don't own one, i highly recommend it.  you don't have to go to those fancy foodie shops to get one either - most grocery stores carry them...my bf and i found insanely cheap brushes at Lina's on Centre St., a great Italian market (i use mine for baking, he uses his for painting his smaller woodworking projects!). anywho, give the cookies a brush with the egg yolks and top with a whole almond.  pop in the oven at 350 degrees, bake 12-14 minutes 'til brown on the edges.  gevuld koek keep well too...don't feel the need to eat every last one the first day, unless you really want to!  until next week...

the recipe:

adapted from cooking diaries blog 

1/3 c + 2 tbsp butter, room temperature

3/4 c    white sugar

1/2 egg (you'll see...)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 c all purpose flour, sifted

pinch salt

pinch  baking soda

2 egg yolks, beaten for tops

12 whole almonds, for tops

filling:

1/2 c almond meal

1/2 c + 2 tbsp white sugar

1 1/2 eggs

2 drops pure almond extract (feel free to add more if you like, i did!)

directions:

* cream butter + sugar until light and fluffy

* add 1/2 egg + lemon juice

* gently stir in dry ingredients until dough comes together

*  tumble dough onto plastic wrap, press into circle and chill for 30 minutes

* combine all filling ingredients and fill piping bag (or you can spoon onto dough circle)

* roll out dough to 1/2 cm thick on lightly floured surface...cut out circles

* place half the circles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment...pipe or spoon filling

* top with other circle and press to seal edges...brush with egg yolks and top with almond

* bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees C