Zesty Cook » baking

Zesty Goes Blonde: Butterscotch Blondies

zesty — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:44 +0000

Not my hair silly!

Remember back a while ago, I made these gorgeous squares that literally knocked you over with excitement? Well If you don’t remember I will remind you… I DID. No I didn’t dream up the recipe but I did pretty much eat the whole pan. I had a huge craving for these little packs of sugar again so I thought I would share them with all the new readers that have never seen BUTTERSCOTCH BLONDIES.

What I strongly suggest is that you review the ingredient list before you go home tonight, stop in at the grocery store on the way home and prepare to make this on the weekend. After you make them, and eat a whole bunch of them – pop back on the blog and let me know in the comments if you liked them or not. I am pretty confident you will LOVE them.

Now on with the post from previous…

I have been dying to make these Butterscotch Blondies for a while now. I have had a few requests and have seen them around the food blogs everywhere so I decided to take the plunge.

The result? Very successful! I chose the recipe from one of my favorite food blogs – smitten kitchen. They seemed so easy – I was actually surprised just how easy they actually were.

Here is the lowdown on how to make ‘em.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup butter (melted)
1 Cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tsp. vanilla
3/4 Cup butterscotch chips
Pinch salt
1 Cup all-purpose flour

Method

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees°F.
Butter an 8×8 pan.

Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth.

Beat in egg and then vanilla.

Add salt, stir in flour.

Add butterscotch chips – stir together.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle.

Cool on rack before cutting them.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When preparing your pan for brownies/blondies such as these, be sure to select a light-colored, shiny pan, which will conduct heat evenly. Glass or dark-colored pans can cause the edges to over bake or even burn. Always grease the pan thoroughly with shortening, softened butter, or cooking spray (do this even if the recipe doesn’t specify).

Question of the day: What is your favorite addition to the traditional blondie?

I hope you have a great Friday and weekend! For all of you people in the Northeast, Can you believe that the snow is actually melting and spring is on it’s way?

Take care

zesty

Finally A Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

zesty — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:00:27 +0000

The finally portion of this post title is for me. I have been telling myself what feels like years that I am going to make a gluten free cookie to share with you and my family. Finally the time has come where I did it and I was totally surprised by the results. Not that I thought they would taste terrible but I was not expecting that they would be this yummy.

To put it in perspective, they lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes. zesty juniors, Mrs zesty and a couple of zesty in laws popped over after the cookies made their way out of the oven and every one gave the thumbs up. I had to improvise slightly with the recipe as I found it was a little dry prior to adding the chips. That is when I went with the yogurt addition. As I said earlier, the results were very positive.

When I took them out of the oven I was a bit skeptical. They were very delicate and I thought maybe I made them too thin. Zesty junior was the first tester and my biggest critic. His face said it all and as he placed the cookie on the counter and immediately placed “two” thumbs up – I knew we had a winner.

I am not gloating by any stretch but I seriously suggest to try these cookies. For the recipe, I had put a number of recipes together based on the ingredients I had on hand. In the end I used this recipe as a guide and modified a few ingredients based on taste and added in the yogurt.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup butter (softened)
11/4 Cup rice flour
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Plain Yogurt
1 egg
1/2 Tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Baking powder
1 Bag chocolate chips

Method

In a bowl beat butter,flour, sugars, egg, baking soda and powder with an electric mixer until well blended.
Add yogurt and mix until thoroughly combined.
Add in chocolate chips and mix with a fork.

Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet ( makes about 24 normal size cookies – I made 16 ) I also flattened them down a little so they would be thin and chewy.

Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I added sliced almonds to the second batch and made them slightly larger. They puffed up slightly higher but still had the soft texture. The almonds added a nice crunch and texture. In the future, if no one was looking I would add the almonds every time.

Have a super Wednesday! I cannot believe the week is half over already. Stay tuned on Friday as I announce the final arrangements for the Disney World trip and a very special thanks to a fellow blogger. Talk to you on Friday.

Take care

zesty

Old-Fasioned Baked Beans

zesty — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:00:09 +0000

The end of the week is upon us. Can you believe it? It flew by for me that is for sure. Remember on Wednesday when I had the pork chop pork roast and I mentioned that I had some left over pork for today and a special dish. Old-Fashion Baked Beans.

One of my favorite comfort foods on a cold winter evening. When ever you have some white beans that are calling your name… try this recipe and I am pretty sure you will be happy.

Ingredients

454g ( 1 lb. ) White Pea Beans
5 Cups Cold water
1/2 Tbsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 Tsp. Prepared mustard
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/2 Cup Tomato ketchup
Pinch black pepper
2 Left over pork chops ( chopped)

Method

Sort and rinse beans.
Soak beans overnight in cold water ensuring the water is high enough to cover by 2 inches
Drain in the morning when you wake up and then add 5 cups of cold water, cover and heat to boiling, than simmer for 30 minutes until tender ( beans will not become softer once placed in the oven)
Drain after the 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients ( except the pork ) in a separate bowl and mix together thoroughly and then add to then beans. Transfer to a casserole dish and add enough water to cover the beans and place the chopped pork on top.
Cover the dish and cook for 8 hours on 250F.
Add water as needed to keep the beans covered. One hour before serving, remove the lid to darken up the beans
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: One little trick I used was in the last hour I topped with a little glaze of molasses and maple syrup to add a hint of extra flavor and aide in the darkening process.

I hope you enjoy both the beans and your weekend. Have a super Friday and see you on Monday!

Take care

zesty