
O nce every two months I bake treats for the volunteers who work with the special needs ministry at our church. It takes a patient and dedicated person to spend their free time playing and working with my son and all of the other special kiddos through young adults that the church ministers to. Due to the high incidence of food allergies these days, all baked treats must be nut free. I never realized how many of the goodies I enjoy have some kind of nut product in them somewhere. I always enjoy the opportunity to try a new recipe and usually have to hunt a little bit to make sure I find a yummy one that is nut-free. Last week's find was Butterscotch Blondies. I modified the recipe to make it a little bit more indulgent, and in my humble opinion, a bit more scrumptious. Truth be told...I made a double batch so I could make sure to have at least a few to keep at home to "try" and make sure they were good enough to sh are! I will be making these again.
Adapted from Cooking Light, January 2007
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup egg whites*
5 oz (approximately half a bag) butterscotch chips
5 oz (approximately half a bag) white chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife or use your kitchen scale to weigh 9 oz. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Place butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook for 6-10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Pour into a small bowl, and cool for 10 minutes. Combine butter, egg, and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Pour butter mixture over flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Helpful Notes:
* I was trying to use some store purchased egg whites I had on hand. The original recipe calls for 3/4 egg substitute. If you don't want to use egg substitute you could use 3-4 large eggs. Doing a mix of egg substitute or egg whites, and whole eggs will save you a few calories.
* If you want thicker brownies, use a smaller pan (for a double batch of dough I used one 8x8 and one 9x13).
* This recipe is from Cooking Light, but reader beware...the original serving size for a 9x13 pan is 48 servings...that is pretty small especially considering that they are on the thinner side if using the 9x13 size pan. I think of this brownie as a treat and have a normal size bar...or two!
Despite babies, little boys, and moving, I cook so posting recipes in these busy times is doable. However, I hope to get back to some Monday Moments and Fuel for Friday posts soon. When you start to see them you will know one of two things, either I'm not as tired at night and can think straight during 3am feeds or the move is complete, the hubby is back to normal working hours, and little boys 1 and 2 have started school!