Congo Bars

They're blondies with a bunch of stuff in 'em!  Normally when I hear "blondie," I normally think "ok, I'll eat it because I love sugar but I wish this were actually a brownie."

But these blondies hold their own.  Texturally, they're just like a brownie- dense, chewy, and a crackly crust.  But they've got a wonderful mild caramely flavor and they're stuffed with chocolate chips, nuts and coconut.   Allllllll the good stuff.

Watch out brownies.  Blondies wanna fight ya'.  

Ok, I have to stop right here.  The Bachelor is on and Tierra is just too much crazy to handle and Sean is a plain ol' doofus.  Can someone please talk about this at length with me?  I have so many feelings.  Are all men as blind as Sean?  Please say no.  I'll lose faith in humanity.  

Between my Paczki incident  and Sean's decision to keep Tierra around, I'm convinced that there's no good in the world.  Food and TV is what I base my values on, by the way.  

I think maybe these Congo Bars can keep my faith alive.  

Here's the recipe!  

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans (or walnuts), chopped coarse
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

• 
  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
  
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside set aside.
  
  3. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using rubber spatula, carefully fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined.  Do not overmix.  Fold in chocolate, coconut, and nuts until just combined.  Spread batter into prepared pan.
  
  5. Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes.  Careful not to overbake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. When cooled, slice and serve.  
  Enjoy!
  Recipe barely adapted from America's Test Kitchen.  

Whopper Blondie Bars

Hey, remember the last time you ate some Whoppers? Yeah, me either. No one does. Nobody at all. So when I saw this recipe for the first time, I thought to myself, "Yeah but where's the peanut butter? Or caramel? Or peanut butter?" And I think that's how most people feel about Whoopers too. Who cares about malt and where's the good stuff?!

It turns out, the good stuff happens when you put some Whoppers in the oven with some flour, sugar, and butter. It's magical. The malted center lends to a wonderful....maltiness? The bars take on an almost toffee-like flavor with a slightly chewy texture. The lowly Whopper finally has its day!

The original recipe for these bars calls for malted milk powder, which I didn't have on hand. And when I say "didn't have on hand" I mean "I have no idea where to find that and I'm kinda lazy." I decided to give it a try without the powder because life is all about taking risks guys. I definitely loved these bars even without the malted milk powder but I would imagine the powder would add even more malty depth and caramel-y flavor. Mmmmm... depth.

Do Whoppers a favor and make these beauties. Here's the recipe:

Whopper Blondie Bars (yields 18-24 bars)

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks (14 Tbsps) unsalted butter, room temperature, and cut into cubes

1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 cup of Whoppers, coarsely chopped

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 Tbsps malted milk powder (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt and (optional) malted milk powder

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until combined. Scrape the bowl and add eggs and vanilla and beat again until completely combined.

4. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add in the Whooper and chocolate chips and mix on low until evenly incorporated. The batter is thick and somewhat sticky.

5. Turn batter into the prepared pan and press evenly into the pan. It helps to dip your fingertips in water combat the stickiness.

6. Bake 25-30 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

Yum!

recipe adapted from Smells Like Home