Birtday (Oreo) Blondies

One week my grocery store had those birthday cake oreos on sale and I wanted to try them, but I also didn't want them sitting around the house. 

So, I found a recipe that K and I could use them in.  These cream cheese blondies were great...and eaten quickly by the folks at work.

 K had a BLAST breaking the oreos into pieces.  She giggled the whole time. 

Birthday Cake Oreo Cream Cheese Blondies adapted from Teenage Taste who:
Adapted from That’s So Yummy and LemonPi; originally from Dam Good Sweet by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel
Inspired by Sally’s Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature (I used reduced fat.)
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.2 teaspoon salt
• 2.5 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 24 Oreo cookies, broken into about quarters

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a 13 x 9-inch square baking pan with foil, grease with nonstick spray, and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, wisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute.  Increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 15 seconds.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg.  Blend on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add the dry ingredients and combine on low-speed until just a few dry streaks remain.  Add the chopped Oreos and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Press the batter into a smooth and even layer in the pan and bake until lightly golden and puffy around the edges (the center should still feel quite soft), about 18–22 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes and then run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake.  Cool for at least 4 hours before turning the cake out of the pan and onto a large plate.

Peanut Butter Treats

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try a new recipe for my "on call" snacks.  I haven't actually been on a normal call this month...just "swing" call.  We take this when we are on the heme-onc service as it is one of the busier services...usually getting at least one new admit a night.  On our swing nights, we stay late, anywhere from 6:30-9pm depending on how busy we are and how busy the on call team is.  So, I took these days as my treat taking day.

  Abby made these blondies a while back, pondering as to whether they are brownies or blondies.  So philosophical!  ;-)  These were good, but I felt like they didn't have very much peanut butter flavor after baking (for some reason, that seems to happen a LOT with peanut butter baked goods).  They also had a lighter texture, i.e., more cakey, than a blondie or brownie should be.  I think blondies and brownies should be pretty dense and fudgy.  Overall, however, they were good!  Just about anything you take to the lounge goes away very quickly!   

Peanut Butter Brownies
Sources: Bakespace; Southern Living

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Combine peanut butter and butter in large bowl, blending well.
3. Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, beating well. Stir in vanilla.
5. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl. Add to creamed mixture, stirring well.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, but be careful not to overbake. Bars can become hard quickly.

Dangerous Layers

When summer begins it gets kind of sad in the college department. Most of the students are either home for the summer or doing summer missions somewhere. However, we do have some people who stick around for summer school or come home from other colleges. So, a few weeks ago we had a summer kick-off grill out. The church provided the hamburgers, etc but teachers we asked to bring dessert. I knew that there would be chocolate chip cookies and brownies, so I decided to take something a bit different. There was a brownie that I have had before that is kind of a rocky road brownie but it has a chocolate base. Well, I found this slightly different recipe on Peabody's site (for full recipe, click on the word recipe) and combined the top of that with the browned butter blondies from cooking light. Turned out great! First off, the blondies don't EVEN taste like they come from CL. The browned butter really deepens the flavor. They combined perfectly with the peanutbutter, chocolate, marshmallow topping. PLEASE, just be sure that you label these are having peanut butter. I walked in from somewhere else and found one of the ladies checking her son's stomach...he's allergic and had taken a bite of these! He was fine, benadryl allergy fixed it. I felt horrible but she said they knew there was peanut butter b/c they smelled it, just didn't realize what it was in. Yikes! SO glad I didn't have to pull out my doctor's bag...they had an Epi-Pen Jr. in case it was needed. Despite that, these are a great treat and I recommend them!

Butterscotch Blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup egg substitute
Cooking spray

Topping Ingredients (from Peabody):
7 ounces mini marshmallows
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 ½ cups Rice Krispies

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Place butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Pour into a small bowl, and cool for 10 minutes. Combine butter and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Pour butter mixture over flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; smooth top with spatula. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serving size - 2 squares (1/24 of recipe) Calories:170 (without topping)

Remove the blondies from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted (or melt all in the microwave using 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between...that's what I did). Remove from heat, add the cereal,and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.
Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting. Makes 12 3×3-inch bars.

From An Expert

In the medical field, there are many times that you consult someone to deal with a specific problem because they are an expert on that problem. As a general (most likely) pediatrician, I have to be knowledgeable about most areas of a child's health; however, I won't know the intricate details of how to deal with specific heart problems or neurological issues. I'll call an expert for that. Well, the blogging world has it's experts. If you've ever stopped by Peabody's site, you know that she is an expert at desserts. She makes some of the best looking confections EVER. If I had a question about a dessert, she would be one of the first people I'd ask...in fact, if I'm looking for a dessert recipe, her site is one of the first graced by my fingers. A few months ago I spied these snickerdoodle blondies of hers. Now, who doesn't like snickerdoodles? I don't know but if it's you, there must be something wrong! Anyway, I decided to whip these up one day (don't remember why). I made a small change to her recipe (because of supply) but it still turned out fabulous...nice and moist with that perfect blondie texture. Try them out sometime soon!

Snickerdoodle Blondies adapted from Peabody

8 ounces (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
3 ounces cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
¾ tsp cream of tartar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar for coating (about 1/3 cup)

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch pan.* Sprinkle cinnamon sugar and move pan around to make sure that the bottom and sides are coated. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.

Using an stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat for three minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the cream cheese and beat until fully incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.
On low speed add the sifted flour mixture. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. This will be hard as it is a thick batter. As Peabody suggests, it is easiest to just wet your hands a little and press the batter into the pan. Then even it out afterwards with a spatula. Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

*I'm almost positive that I halved this recipe...and it worked out just fine.

Ooey, Gooey, Sticky!

Well, I've done 3 interviews, one more to go. That's really not all that many. Lots of the people that I've been interviewing with are doing between 10-15 interviews. I am so thankful that I'm not doing that many. My next one is in Louisville, KY. THEN, I'll be ready for Christmas and home for a bit before my medicine rotation, that last major one of my school career.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, we had a Pediatric Interest Group meeting. I was asked to bring a dessert to add to the lunch. I wanted to do something different and went in search of something with caramel! I found several but decided on this swirled blondie from Kraft. When I put it in the oven, it had a wonderful swirled look to it; however, when I took it out of the oven all the lovely swirls were gone! Boo! I don't know why it melded together but it did. Despite not looking swirled it tasted great. Along the edges, some of the caramel got hard and tasted like those graham cracker toffee things that people make at Christmas. I'd make this again and recommend that you try it...especially if you're looking for something ooey gooey! If you want to try another recipe with caramel, Anna posted one today; it's a traditional chocolate brownie instead of a blondie with chocolate inside.

Swirled Caramel Blondies
1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts (optional)
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels
1/4 cup milk
Make It


PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Lightly grease foil. Mix brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, walnuts and chocolate in large bowl until well blended; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to brown sugar mixture; mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the batter for later use; spread remaining batter into prepared pan.

BAKE 15 min. or until firm. Microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2-1/2 to 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring every min. Pour over baked layer in pan; spread to within 1/2 inch of edges.

SPOON reserved 1 cup batter over caramel layer; cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect. Bake an additional 15 to 18 min. or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift dessert from pan, using foil handles; remove foil. Cut into 24 bars to serve.

Back with Blondies

Hello faithful readers! I assume that if you're still here, you must be faithful because I have been slacking in the posting department. This Q4 (every 4th night) call schedule is horrible for this blog. However, today is my day off...the first in more than a week. I am SO excited. Anyway, the recipe today is from Dorie Greenspan, so you know it has to be good (even though the pictures are horrid!). Honestly, I haven't made it completely how she recommends, but it was good, nonetheless. It is a blondie recipe chock full of goodies. I've made this twice with different goodies. The first time, I used chocolate chips, toffee, pecans, and coconut. The second time (basically because this is what I had!) I used chocolate chips, white chips, pistachios, and coconut. The first batch was better but both times good. I also changed up the base just a bit. Instead of using a full cup of butter, I used one stick (1/2 cup) of butter and 1/2 cup of applesauce. I must tell you that I think this still produces a rich and delicious blondie without detriment to the end result. So, try it out...especially if you have residents to please! Yes, I took this to one of my Q4 calls! :-) So, enjoy Dorie's Chewy, Chunky Blondies (as I made them)

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce (I used one individual container)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup toffee pieces
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream butter, applesauce, and sugars; add vanilla. One at a time, mix in the eggs. Reduce speed and add dry ingredients. Stir in the chips, toffee, nuts, and coconut. Spray the bottom of a 13X9 pan and spread the batter in the pan. Place in an oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting OR if you can't wait, use a plastic knife or lettuce knife to cut. Enjoy!