Spoon & Shutter

Lee Bailey's Blondies (a la Susan)

From Susan: Ted made a terrific dinner last night – boneless chicken thighs sauteed in a cast iron skillet in a bit of duck fat (try this sometime, it adds amazing flavor and crispy-ness), cauliflower mash with smoked Gouda and garlicky Swiss chard. When all that good eating was over, however, everyone was hankering for something sweet. In no mood to fuss, I turned to my many-times-tried-and-true source for simple, luscious desserts, Lee Bailey’s Country Desserts. (Bailey died in 2003, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful, inspiring cookbooks, many of which are out of print but of course available on Amazon, eBay, etc. and are worth adding to your library.)

Not craving the full-on chocolate punch of brownies, but wanting the ease of bars, rather than cookies, Bailey’s Blondies fit the bill. The recipe calls for cake flour, which I had, but if you use regular, all-purpose flour, the result will be just a bit denser. Bailey also lists walnuts, but I opted for pecans. The recipe could be easily doubled to fill a 9 x13 pan.

The recipe - and good chocolate is a must!

In the pan goes the yummy goodness

Lee Bailey’s Blondies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and salt and beat until well mixed. Fold in the pecans and then the chocolate pieces. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife stuck into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan before cutting.

While I love to create more elaborate dessert when time allows, this kind of baking offers nearly instant gratification. An hour after I pulled the cookbook off the shelf, I had filled the house with a delicious, butterscotch-y aroma and made the men in my life very happy. Domestic bliss!