TWD: Chewy, Chunky Blondies

This week's recipe just may be the dessert bar to end all dessert bars: chewy, chunky blondies. They're a lot like chocolate chip cookies, but amped up with toffee bits and coconut and cut into thick squares. I could eat these all day. If someone doesn't take the bowl of them away from me soon, I just might.

Thanks to Nicole of Cookies on Friday for choosing such a stellar recipe! I know my fiance will be begging me to make this one again - assuming I don't cave to my own lack of willpower and make it again tomorrow.

Visit Nicole's blog for the recipe - you won't regret it.

TWD: Lots of Ways of Banana Cake

I've never been known for being patient. So this week's Tuesdays With Dorie pick, Lots of Ways of Banana Cake (chosen by Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities), was a bit of a challenge for me.

When I want to bake something, I want to bake it now. Banana cake requires waiting for bananas to over-ripen. I don't like baking according to the whims of produce. So after four days of waiting for my bananas to show their spots, I was thrilled to finally make this cake tonight after work.

It was well worth the wait. This cake is light and moist with an irresistible banana-coconut flavour. The added texture of the toasted coconut, present in every bite, elevates the dish for me. It's not often that I go back for seconds of a banana bread (or cake), but I made an exception for Lots of Ways of Banana Cake.

For the recipe, visit Kimberly's blog.

SMS: Chocolate Walnut Brownies

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick, Chocolate Walnut Brownies (chosen by Tiffany of A Spoonful & a Heap), was a bit of an experiment for me. I've never liked nuts in brownies, but thought I'd give them a try - you know, just in case my palate had changed. Of course, I didn't forge ahead that bravely - I made just half of the recipe, pouring it into mini muffin tins.

Unfortunately, I overcooked the brownies, but was impressed by their rich nutty flavour, if not their texture. I was slightly less impressed with myself for not having enough willpower to avoid scarfing these down like I hadn't eaten in days, but it was worth it. After all, I overcame a food aversion that I've carried since my childhood.

Thanks to Tiffany for this great, classic pick! Visit her blog for the recipe.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Butterscotch Pralines

Sometimes it's fun to bake something completely foreign to you. This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick, Butterscotch Pralines (chosen by Tess of The Cookin' Chemist), is the perfect example of that.

Pralines are a southern dessert, and I am not a southern gal. True, I grew up in Canada's southernmost area. But although, if the stereotypes are true, they are both home to good, kind people, Canada's south and The Deep South couldn't be more different.


Point being, I had no idea what pralines were prior to making this recipe. But after realizing the recipe involved candy-making, I was sold. I love making baked goods that require the use of a thermometer, like toffee. Maybe it's because they're usually pretty easy, or maybe it's the fact that they produce goods so sugary they instantly satisfy my sweet tooth.

These pralines were a big hit - creamy, sweet, and nutty, they tasted just like fudge. Maybe I'll tip my hat to southern Canada next time and add maple extract. Thank you, Tess, for such a lovely choice! Visit her blog for the recipe.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Apple-Apple Bread Pudding

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Apple-Apple Bread Pudding, chosen by Elizabeth of Cake or Death?, couldn't have come at a better time for me.

You see, I've been sick since last week. Not deathly ill, thankfully, but the kind of ill that makes life pretty unpleasant nonetheless. It started out with a sore throat, shortness of breath, and an overwhelming urge to lie down on any flat surface - a desk, the floor, a book trolley at work. Then it mutated into the kind of cough that has prevented me from sleeping more than 20 minutes in a row for the past five nights. Five nights!

After five sleepless nights - four when I made this recipe yesterday - my brain is positively fried. Simple logic? Can't do it. Common sense? It's temporarily flown the coop. So this week, I needed a Tuesdays With Dorie recipe that was easy, and also soothing. Very soothing.

Enter apple-apple bread pudding. There were quite a few steps, sure, but they were all very methodical and pretty straightforward. I can slice apples. I can melt butter with sugar. And I can make a custard, especially when it doesn't involve tireless stirring over the stove top. And I can do all of these things - well, not in my sleep, but with a severe lack of sleep.

This recipe was a huge success, and makes a wonderful dessert or breakfast (hey, there are eggs and fruit in it, and I used whole wheat bread). Creamy custard, caramelized apples, texture from the bread, and an inviting complexity from the apple butter. Dorie, you've done it again.

Thank you Elizabeth! For the recipe, visit her blog.