jam bars.

This past weekend, I spent so much time eating outdoors.  A slice of pizza standing on a NYC street corner.  Salads and asparagus flatbread by the pool.  Focaccia sandwiches of roasted zucchini, kale pesto, and mozzarella in a hidden corner of Liberty State Park.   It was the kind of weather that beacons you outside.    Slight breeze, warm sun, freckled shoulders, bare feet.   

Come summer, I like making food that can travel well.  The kind of cooking that allows for spontaneity and spur of the moment park meet ups or alfresco dinners with friends.  As a natural introvert, I’m trying to set myself up to be more comfortable with asking people to do something on a really nice Sunday afternoon.   If the food can be flexible and adaptable, I like to think it’s possible I can be as well.  

To prepare for all of these impromptu picnics, I plan on having a batch of these bars in the freezer at all times between now and Labor Day weekend.  They are a dream – crispy and kind of cookie-like, filling but not heavy.  The right amount of sweet.  I filled them with a homemade cherry rhubarb jam (I cleaned out the freezer!) but I think they would be amazing with a strawberry jam or apricot jam come late summer.   

Jam Bars 
From Tartine All Day by Elisabeth Prueitt

1/2 cup/110g unsalted butter or coconut oil (vegan!), at room temperature
1/3 cup/85g smooth almond butter
2 Tbsp brown rice syrup or maple syrup
1 1/2 cups/150g rolled oats
1 cup/120g almond flour
1 cup/120g oat flour
6 Tbsp/90g granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp/340g jam 
1 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt
Sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a 9 by 13-inch/23 by 33cm baking pan with parchment paper. Combine the butter or coconut oil, almond butter, and brown rice syrup or maple syrup in a large bowl and, using a wooden spoon, mix well.

Add the rolled oats, almond flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, and cinnamon to the butter mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough into thirds. Press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and reserve the remaining one-third for the topping.

Stir together the jam, lemon juice, and salt and then spread the mixture evenly over the bottom crust.

Crumble the remaining one-third dough over the jam filling. If desired, scatter slice almonds on-top.   

Bake the jam bars until golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes (push it a little bit, you don’t want them pale). Let the pastry cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

The jam bars will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days (or in the fridge, which is kind of nice too).  Wrapped well, they will last for weeks in the freezer.  

cherry shortbread bars.

Everyone has a food that conjures images of summer.  Or perhaps they feel as if it isn't summer until they consume said food.  For some its a toasted almond bar from a Mr. Softee truck.  For others it may be a lobster roll and a lemonade.  I imagine some feel nostalgic for a BLT made with the first heirloom tomatoes of the season and then there is the camp that feels it isn't summer without something made on a grill. Namely a good burger best served with a cold beer.

For me, it's cherries.  And not sour cherries.  I am talking about big old bing cherries.  The kind you eat my the handful while sitting outside preferably at a beach though on a bench isn't necessarily a bad thing. I eat cherries until my fingers turn pink and then I keep going because I love them.

So it's easy to imagine that come July, I am looking for every recipe possible that incorporates cherries. There are salads of micro greens, blue cheese, and cherries.  There are porkchops with cherry salsa.  And then there are desserts.  Cherry pie, cherry crumble, cherry clafoutis (such a classic) cherry brown butter bars (here's hoping I get to make those again next week), and now for the newest addition, cherry shortbread bars.  

These are the new unsung hero of picnics but they work just as well consumed at the beach or straight from the fridge after a long day at work.  It's summer in a neatly packed, handheld, and portable square.

Cherry Shortbread Bars

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The original recipe calls for peaches and while the peach version is insanely delicious, I couldn't help adapting this to work with cherries because I am a cherry-aholic.   I changed the spices around (and added a little almond extract) just because.  The resulting bar is sublime.   

I cut mine into 24 2 x 2 1/2-ish squares. You can halve this and bake it in a 8 x 8 pan instead.

1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (can replace 1 cup with graham flour aka my new favorite thing)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Couple of gratings of fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups cherries pitted and halved (quartered if really large) 

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter, almond extract, and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly.

Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Pour the cherries over the base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over cherries and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Keeping: I’ve kept mine in the fridge and they’ve held up great. These would freeze well, between layers of waxed paper, with the container sealed well in plastic wrap.   

brown butter apple pie bars.

I don't need to tell you that only an insane person decides to make brown butter apple pie bars when they are less then 2 months out from their wedding.   (Because fitting into your wedding dress is overrated, am I right?)

Now that we've discussed my current state of mind, let's discuss how these bars came to be.  

Apple pie has been on the brain for a couple of weeks now.  It started when we went apple picking and from there I began scouring cookbooks and the internet for the apple pie recipe.  During this obsessive search I realized that while pie is AWESOME it's not easy to share - How do you slice it to bring in for coworkers?  What do you do if not everyone has plates?  I knew if I was going to make a pie, I needed to make a pie that I could share. 

(While I am insane, I am not completely illogical.  Only an illogical person would keep an entire pie in their fridge with less then 2 months to their wedding.)

These bars are a result of necessity but they also came about because I am just really in love with hand-held portable desserts as of late since it's fun is to offer people things like "apple pie bars" . Tyler commented that these are is if an apple pie and apple crisp had a baby and I find this description to be rather apt.  A brown butter shortbread base gives way to layers of cinnamon spiced apple slices.  And the topping? That's a generous layer of strussel deliciousness.  Are these rich, over-the-top, and amazing?  Yes, yes they are. They are also really, really, good.  

Happy first day of fall. 

Brown Butter Apple Pie Bars

Recipe adapted (barely) from Apt. 2B Baking Co.

I don't need to tell you there is a decent amount of butter in these.  You have eyes, you can see it.  But!  These make A LOT of servings.  And a lot of healthy servings.  This is the kind of thing you should only make when you have a crowd to feed.  You've been warned.  

Yield: one 13''x9'' pan, 24-30 bars  (You can also halve this if you want to make a more manageable amount.)

For the Brown Butter, Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust

12 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
½ cup brown sugar (I used light)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup whole wheat flour

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (you can also do a full 2 cups of all-purpose flour though the whole wheat is lovely)

Preheat your oven to 350º and line a 13''x9'' baking dish with greased foil or parchment paper. 

Brown the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn light brown and the butter has a nutty fragrance. Set aside to cool slightly. 

When the butter has cooled a bit add it to a medium bowl and add in the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir. Add the flour and mix until completely combined. Press it into the prepared pan and bake it until it is golden, about 20 minutes. Set the baked crust aside to cool.

While the crust is baking and cooling prepare the filling.

Apple Filling

¼ cup brown sugar (I used light though dark would work well)
6 large apples, peeled and cut into thin slices (Any pie apples would work)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl toss the sliced apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Set aside.  

Crumb Topping

1 ½ cup oats
½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
8-9 tablespoons butter, softened

In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, then add in the butter (start with 8 tablespoons and add the extra one if your mixture isn't coming together) and mix with your hands until it holds together in clumps.

To Assemble

Spread the apple mixture evenly over the prepared crust, then top with the crumble mixture and press down lightly. 

Bake the bars at 375º for 30-40 minutes until the crumb topping is golden. Cool completely before cutting into 24-30 squares.

peach shortbread.

Last night marked the start of the Lovely Lady League aka the Fantasy Football league I am part of.  If you know me, you will know I spent the majority of the college football games that I attended reading the latest fashion magazines rather then actually paying attention to what was going on.  The fact that I am part of a Fantasy Football league is as shocking to me as it probably is to you.  I still don't watch the games (I find the sport rather dull) but Fantasy Football is like a really fun game and I can always get behind really fun games.

Getting a group of girls together on a Monday night to draft their football teams means plenty of snacks will be provided.  And good snacks! Nothing like what I imagine a group of guys would put together (namely cold pizza and even colder beer). Girls bring things like kale salads, smoky eggplant dip, lots of hummus and peach shortbread bars which was part of my contribution.

Peach shortbread bars beg to be served to a crowd and this particular recipe is a real crowd-pleaser. Tender subtly sweet and barely spiced shortbread provides the perfect base for juicy-at-the-peak-of-ripeness peaches.  The whole thing is topped with some of the remaining crumbled shortbread which makes this bar like a peach crumble pie/cookie hybrid which may be the best kind of hybrid out there.  

Peach Shortbread

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

You can halve this and bake it in a 8 x 8 pan instead.  If you do halve it, you can still use the full egg or just a yolk.  

1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (or you can measure 3 cups and remove 2 tablespoons flour) (you can also do a combo of all-purpose and whole wheat like I did!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Keeping: I’ve kept mine in the fridge and they've held up great there since Monday. I imagine that these would freeze well, between layers of waxed paper, with the container sealed well in plastic wrap.

cherry brown butter bars.

July only means one thing.

Cherries.  (!!!)

Beautiful Bing cherries eaten by the handful.  Sour cherries thrown in pies.  

(It's and incredibly wonderful time of year.)  

These cherry brown butter bars are here to kick off the next couple of weeks of cherry recipes and I can safely say these are the best thing I've made in a long time.  (Really, truly!)

These bars manage to taste like everything I want this time of year. Plump Bing cherries are paired with a brown butter custard that is reminiscent of a clafoutis filling (and anytime clafoutis can be transformed into a handheld dessert I become one happy girl).  The cherries and custard sit a top a shortbread crust which makes these perfect for toting on a picnic or to your friends.  

But trust me, they will be very hard to share.  

Cherry Brown Butter Bars

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

Makes 16 2-inch square bars 

Crust

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Filling

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 pound sweet cherries, which will yield 12 ounces of pitted cherries, which yielded some leftovers, perfect for snacking (alternately, you can use 12 ounces of the berry of your choice)

Make crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut two 12-inch lengths of parchment paper and trim each to fit the 8-inch width of an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Press it into the bottom and sides of your pan in one direction, and then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, perpendicular to the first sheet. 

Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl, or if you’re Deb, in the bottom of the small saucepan you used to melt the butter. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to your prepared pan, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 18 minutes (it will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

Make the filling: Cook butter in heavy small saucepan (a lighter-colored one will make it easier to see the color changing, which happens quickly) over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often and watching carefully, about six minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup to cool slightly.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange pitted cherries, or the berries of your choice, in bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake bars until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (please check starting at 30 min and watch your baking times carefully). Cool bars completely in pan on rack.

Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully remove cooled bars from pan and place them on a cutting board and cut them into squares with a very sharp knife. The cherries, if they fall over your slicing lines, will want to give you trouble but if you saw a sharp knife into them slowly before pressing down, they’ll cut neatly and with minimum carnage.

Do ahead: Can be made at least a day ahead, and stored at room temperature. Any longer, keep them cool in the fridge.

blueberry shortbread bars.

As someone who is getting married fairly soon (less then 5 months ech!), I've had many people asking me about gifts and what we want.  I am terrible at answering such a question because I don't like telling people to buy me things.  Doing so feels entirely too awkward.  But then people insist which is extremely generous of them to do and then I am left trying to come up with something that is both practical and meaningful and awesome.  

(I am not someone who should be left in charge of picking practical presents.)

Tyler and I have lived together for just about 7 years (where did time go?) and during that time we amassed a lot things. Many of the traditional items that couples register for don't really apply to us.  Sure there are things we could upgrade (a new non-white bath mat would be pretty awesome since we have manged to destroy ours), but other then that we are pretty content with what we have. So I've decided the best thing we can be given is food because as far as I can tell we will always need to eat. Preferably a flat of Maine wild blueberries (or if you can't get your hands on wild blueberries I will settle for regular blueberries), sour cherries, and/or blackberries.  I will eat this fruit by the handful, then I will make pie, and then I will make jam, and then I will make a plethora of these shortbread bars that I will store in the freezer and save for when we have run out of fruit. Best. Present. Ever.

Blueberry Shortbread Bars 

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The original recipe called for peaches and the peach version is awesome but blueberries are in season now so blueberries I will eat.  As you can tell, this can be adapted with any old fruit, I have visions of cherries (with some almond extract!) next.  God I love this time of year.  

For the bars

1/2 cup (3.5 ounces or 100 grams) white sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking powder
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons (6 1/2 ounces or 180 grams) cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup all-purpose and 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons rye or whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces or 113 grams) cold unsalted butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg

For the berries

2 cups blueberries

1 teaspoon cornstarch
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

In a bowl toss the blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, and ginger.  Set aside.  

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 8×8 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, spices, salt, and lemon zest with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Pour the blueberries over the crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

rye-rhubarb bars.

Saturday morning I woke up early to go to the DMV to finally turn myself in an official New Jersey resident (this moment is seven years in the making).  

Let's just say it was an epic fail.  

The morning would have been considered an utter waste if it wasn't for the fact that my favorite farm returned to the farmer's market in our park.  He also brought the most beautiful stalks of rhubarb that I have ever seen.  

I squealed and then I proceeded to purchase three pounds.  In hindsight I wished I had purchased 5 pounds but I imagine there will be more this weekend.  (I hope.)  

I knew after seeing these posted on Smitten Kitchen, that the second I got my hands on some rhubarb, they would be the first thing I made.  That promise held true as I set to work early Sunday morning to bake them.  As Deb mentions on her blog, these somehow manage to be both breakfast and dessert at the same time which is a win-win in my book.  I adapted these a little to suit my current tastes.  Swapping the white flour for rye flour since I love a extra level of nuttiness is fruity desserts, omitting the strawberries if favor of only rhubarb since I like allowing rhubarb to shine with out the crutch of strawberries, and adding in some spices (cinnamon! ginger!) since spices are always a welcome addition. The final product is something that is absurdly appropriate for spring. Served with vanilla ice cream it would make for a mighty fine dessert and if served with yogurt you have my kind of breakfast which means rhubarb can be consumed morning, noon, and night.   

Rye-Rhubarb Bars
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 9 bars

1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (80 grams) rye flour
1/2 cup (95 grams) light brown sugar
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon table salt
Heaped 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, but helps firm up the filling)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (250 grams) small-diced rhubarb (from about 5 medium stalks)
1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. For easy removal, line bottom and two sides of 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. No need to bother (and no greasing needed) if you plan to serve them right in the pan, as I did.

Place the rhubarb, cornstarch, lemon juice, and granulated sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.  Allow the mixture to macerate while you make the crust.

Place oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger, in bottom of baking pan and mix. Pour melted butter over, and stir until clumps form. Set 1/2 cup of this crumble aside. Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan.

Dump the fruit over the crust and spread it out so it’s in an even layer. Scatter reserved crumbs over fruit, sprinkle with the dark brown sugar, and bake bars for 30 to 40 minutes (firmer fruits will take longer), until fruit is bubbly and crisp portion is golden and smells toasty and amazing.

Let cool in pan and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Store leftovers in fridge.

brown butter blondies.

When I was a wee child, I participated in an after-school cooking program. The actual cooking was rather minimal (how much can a 6 year old really do) but it was a nice excuse to cover the front of my denim overalls in a flurry of flour (something I am still prone to doing as a 28 year old) and return home with the stickiest of fingers (now I have no excuse).  The highlight of the class was the discovery of the blondie, the most wonderful cousin to the brownie and the newest obsession of my 6 year old self.  Since that most exciting day of discovery, I have stuck with my tried and true recipe (because why mess with a childhood favorite) but sometimes (only sometimes) it's time to try something new.  

This new iteration is awesome.  A rather adult version of a childhood favorite (though I can't imagine any child turning them away). The browned butter transforms them into something multi-dimensional (so much extra flavor develops when you cook the butter). Normally I am a proponent of the center when it comes to bar cookies but here the edges (and especially the corners!) reign supreme. Somehow they end up with a deep caramel flavor the kind of thing that would normally take hours of cooking to achieve. The addition of instant espresso powder only heightens the flavor and the chocolate well that's because we needed to keep one element of the original. My inner six year old is extremely happy with the results.  

Brown Butter Blondies 

Recipe adapted from Not Without Salt

I halved this for fear I would eat them all.  Halving an egg is not the easiest thing to do but I usually just break the egg into a bowl, scramble it with a fork, and eyeball half (or if I am being anal, I weigh it and halve that way).  A little more or less won’t harm anything.  If you do halve it, bake the blondies in an 8x8 pan. 

1 ¼ cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter and flour parchment paper.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown. The butter will bubble up to stay with it and watch closely. Turn off the heat when you see a nice golden color. It will continue to cook a bit as it cools. Stir it around a bit to see the color underneath the foam. Remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder.

In the bowl, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add flour mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined, then stir in chocolate chips, pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with sea salt if using. 

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. (Do not overbake so start checking at 30 minutes.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days – but seriously, they won’t last that long.  

sweet and salty brownies.

A couple of years ago, I went to a holiday party where a charming, adorable, clearly talented boy brought these brownies.  I ate one.  And then I ate another one.  And then I stationed myself next to the plastic container of brownies giving evil eyes to everyone that dared to take one of my brownies.  At the end of the night I stuffed all the remaining brownies into my purse and coat pockets and brought them home (no shame).  

I waited all of 12 hours before asking for the recipe. After getting it, I waited all of 24 hours before I set out to make them myself. (I can't believe I waited that long.)

These brownies are addicting (I think I demonstrated the truth of this statement based on my aforementioned behavior).  They are dark, rich, dense and fudgey (aka my dream brownie).  Coupled with a caramel that's sweet, salty, and subtly tangy (you can thank the sour cream for that) and you basically have a recipe for the best brownie ever.  I adore baking them around Valentine's Day because everyone loves chocolate, caramel, and salt (if you didn't I would question your sanity), they store incredibly well (so you can make them today and share with your loves on Friday), and they ship brilliantly which means your Valentine's both near and far can taste the love. 

But might I suggest you hand out the recipe as well.  Everyone will thank you.  

Sweet and Salty Brownies

Recipe from BAKED: Explorations 

A couple of things to note.  You do not want to touch/remove/eat these brownies until they are 100% cool.  They will fall apart and you will be sad about this.  I recommend letting them cool in their pan and then placing them in the fridge for a couple hours (or overnight which is ideal) before cutting them.  Doing so makes slicing them a breeze.  Everyone will think you are a professional and you will be very happy.  This recipe makes a lot of brownies.  I freeze the extras and have been known to eat them straight from the freezer.  They are magical when cold.  Also, this recipe makes more than enough caramel for the brownie assembly. Use the extra to serve with the brownies or to make awesome brownie ice-cream sundaes (Best. Idea. Ever.). 

For the Caramel 

1 cup sugar 
2 tablespoons light corn syrup 
½ cup heavy cream 
1 teaspoon fleur de sel 
½ cup sour cream 

For the Brownies 

1 ¼ cup flour 
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 teaspoon fleur de sel 
11oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used Valrhona) 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes 
1 ½ cups sugar 
½ cup packed light brown sugar 
5 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla 

To Finish 

1 ½ teaspoons fleur de sel 
1 teaspoons coarse sugar (i.e. Demerara  or Turbinado sugar) 

Make the caramel: In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, ¼ cup water and stir together carefully. Cook this mixture over high heat until an instant read thermometer reads 350F OR until the mixture is dark amber in color (6-8 minutes). Watch this carefully as it will go from amber to burnt in a matter of seconds.  Remove from heat and slowly add the cream (be careful it will bubble up), then the salt, then the sour cream.  Set aside to cool. 

Note: This recipe makes more than enough caramel for the brownie assembly. Use the extra to serve with the brownies or to make awesome brownie ice-cream sundaes. 

Preheat oven to 350, line a 9x13 glass or light colored metal baking dish with buttered parchment .

For the brownies: In a medium bowl whisk the flour, salt and cocoa powder 

Put the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler set over simmering water and stir occasionally until chocolate and butter are melted. Take the bowl from the heat, add both sugars and whisk until thoroughly combined. 

Add three eggs to the mixture and whisk until just combined, add the remaining eggs and vanilla. 

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and fold to combine, do not overbeat or your brownies will be cakey instead of fudgy. (Trust me, you do not want this.) 

To assemble: Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Drizzle about ¾ - 1 cup of the caramel over top while being careful to make sure the caramel doesn't come into contact with the edge of the pan. Gently spread the caramel into an even layer using your offset spatula. Finish by topping the caramel layer with big dollops of the remaining brownie batter and gently smooth the top. 

Bake the brownies for 30 – 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. (Mine took about 38 minutes.  I started checking at 30 minutes and continued to check every 2 -3 minutes after that). 

After removing the brownies from the oven, sprinkle them with the fleur de sel and coarse sugar. 

Cool completely before cutting and serving.