blonde ambition

First of all, I'm about as far from blonde as you can get. Further, when given the choice between two fellas of different hair color, I typically go for the darker-haired one. That being said, there is one instance when I prefer light to dark--in my bar-type desserts. For some inexplicable reason (given my love for chocolate), I like blondies better than brownies.



I felt the itch to bake yesterday, and even though I got home late and had other things that needed to be done, I fired up my oven and raided my cabinets. What can I say--I've got distorted priorities (although some would argue that my priorities are perfectly in order).

My cabinets were pathetically bare. I was able to come away with a couple things begging to be used--some orange-flavored dried cranberries and a chocolate power bar left over from the Naturals Expo. Hmm. After rummaging through my myriad of recipes, I found this one from Smitten Kitchen. Deb always does good work, so I knew it would be a winner.


Here's her recipe with my additions:

Blondies by a Brunette
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup orange-flavored dried cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Spray an 8×8" pan. (Sadly, I don't have an 8x8" pan, so I used a 7.5x11.75" pan instead. What a random size. Anyway, that's why my blondies are a bit thin.)
Mix melted butter with brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in cranberries and chocolate.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle.



Are they delicious? Definitely.

What's my next purchase? An 8x8" pan.

Did that other stuff get done? No. No, it didn't. Whoopsidaisy. :)