Blondies are good for a Quickie.

Quickie dessert, that is. I can't speak to the other thing your dirty/dirty minds thought of. A batch of them are in the oven as I type and I seriously can't wait 'til they're done. While I was mixing up the batter, the overwhelming smell of melted butter and brown sugar nearly did me over. Review to follow.

SIMPLE EASY BLONDIES

• 1/2 cup of butter, melted
• 1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup of butterscotch chips (chopped walnuts and chocolate chips are equally tasty)

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix it all together. Add the butterscotch chips or other mix-ins.

4 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 9 blondies.

Should I make this PB Bundt?

Peanut Butter Pound Cake

Recipe from Taste of the South. Read and see more at Bake or Break.

1 cup butter, softened 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 large eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 10 ounces swirled milk chocolate and peanut butter morsels confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside. Beat butter, sugars, and peanut butter at medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to butter/sugar mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, until done. If necessary, cover top of cake with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Garnish, if desired.

Martha's Lamb Cupcakes - DONE! SUCCESS!

Ingredients

Makes 24

• Billy's Vanilla Frosting + 1/2 scraped vanilla bean (easier than her recipe for this cupcake)
• 24 cupcakes (used my own fave vanilla recipe)
• 2 ounces mini marshmallows, halved crosswise
• 6 full-sized marshmallows, halved lengthwise, then diagonally to create lamb ears

Directions

1. Frost the cupcakes.
2. Arrange the halved mini marshmallows around the perimeter of each plain-buttercream cupcake, in two concentric circles. Leave room for ears on the edges, and an empty circle in the center for the face. Place halved full-sized marshmallows in reserved spots for the ears. I piped pink frosting for the nose and chocolate eyes instead of bubblegum and chocolate drops that Martha called for.

AWESOME - Martha's soft chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen - I DOUBLED RECIPE TO MAKE IT WORTH MY WHILE

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup milk-chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with sour cream, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Cover, and freeze for 10 minutes.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until centers are set and cookies are pale golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Made 2 dozen for my sister (freshman in college). Mailed in a care package with some cupcakes for her and the other dorm kids!

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Apple Cider Doughnuts
adapted from Diana’s Desserts
serves 24



SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: You will need a mini bundt baking pan with 6 or 12 cavities or a 6 or 12 cavity doughnut baking pan.

approximately 3 tbsp sugar for baking pans
hazelnut oil* for baking pans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup apple puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp hazelnut oil*

ICING (optional)
1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

*Hazelnut oil is basically oil that is pressed from hazelnuts that possesses a delicate nutty and buttery flavour. If hazelnut oil is not available, you can substitute with macadamia oil or vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 190ºC.
Brush cavities of a mini bundt pan or doughnut pan with hazelnut oil.
Sprinkle with sugar, shaking out excess.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yoghurt and hazelnut oil.
Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Divide the batter among the prepared mini bundt pan or doughnut pans, filling only about halfway up the pans.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly.
Loosen edges and turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool.
If required, clean the pans then re-coat it with oil and sugar.
Repeat with remaining batter.

TO MAKE THE ICING
Combine the icing sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk in a small bowl.
Mix until the icing is of a drizzling consistency. If not, add more milk.
Turn over the doughnuts into the bowl of icing and dip for about 5 seconds until the tops are completely covered.
Return to wire rack to allow icing to set.

Martha's Monkey Cake - DONE! SUCCESS!

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped pecans, optional
• Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
• 2 black-licorice drop candies
• Black-licorice rope, for decorating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.
4. Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
5. Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
6. Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
7. Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

First published: May 2006

Marbled Banana Bundt Cake

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.
Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Serve plain, or dusted with powdered sugar.

Serves 12-16.