10 March 2010

butterscotch blondies and a bit of postscript.


blondies are a favorite around here for a number of reasons. they have a cute name. dan loves 'em. whenever i am making an array of desserts, these are a good go-to for those non-chocolate lovers. they are quick and easy to whip up (no spoonfuls of dough to labor over or wide cookie sheets to scrub), and are a nice variation from the typical (yet ever beloved) chocolate chip cookie. and have you ever smelled butterscotch bits baking!?! mmm. mm.

Hershey's Butterscotch Blondies

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
11-oz. pkg. Butterscotch Chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in butterscotch chips and nuts, if desired. Spread out in prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 36 bars.

a few tips: are you leveling your flour with a chopstick yet? i keep one in my flour container and stir the flour with it (instead of sifting it, like a good girl) and then use it to level off the scoops. genius. for absolutely easy cleanup, press a sheet of tinfoil inside your 9x13 pan and spray with pam. bake as directed. let cool in pan and pull out the bars & tinfoil, setting onto a cutting board and then cut into squares. voila! i have also baked this recipe in two 9" rounds and sliced them into adorable butterscotch pizza bars. enjoy.

p.s. am getting back into the groove of blogging like a regular person now that the workshop is over. after being on cloud nine with a thousand things to blog about and a million new emails to read, i can see i'm risking a bit of workshop postpartum. (and i realize i should've broken this up into two blog posts, but i'd prefer to stick it right here at the end, since it seems a bit like postscript.) thankfully reality has hit me over the head, so i have real life to think about instead.

i've officially added up all of my official tax stuff. the one time of the year that i turn into a left-brained person, which is good for me. running your own business means running your own business, so i am grateful for opportunities to glimpse into the areas where i succeed and where i struggle. and as a side note, i pay very little for advertising, as it turns out. all thanks to blogland. word of mouth is such a beautiful thing. speaking of which, i'll be sending out a paperfree love the earth e-newsletter to announce a few details for the shop, come springtime. contact me directly if you want in on my email list. i have sent the spring collection of mini diaries to the printshop, so it'll be sooner than later.
oh and there are a couple more days to enter abby's giveaway. she is kindly featuring goodies from my shop. hooray.

today i am tidying the house and folding mounds of laundry and making spinach strawberry salad for a church party tonight. and most of all, giving a lot of love to my sick little one. yesterday i held benji and laid on the couch with him and watched
curious george all day long. i missed his own little monkey ways. so sleepy, so sick. am praying he's back to my bouncing boy today.


21 comments:

amber, TheAmberShow said...

These are one of my favorites, but I never put the butterscotch chips in! I'll have to try that.

Love to Benji! :(

kate reymann said...

Oh I am sorry your kiddo is sick. The only good thing about them being sick is the snuggling on the couch and watching hour after hour of Sesame Street but that is the only good thing. The rest is just hoping they get better soon. Hope he bounces out of bed today!

Marisa said...

I love Abby's blog! So great that you two are collaborating for a giveaway. :)

Travelin'Oma said...

Your workshop is still alive and going strong for me. I love my WORKBOOK! The extra tips were unexpected, and it's so perfectly laid out, with space to collect my ideas.

Thanks for featuring me, and thanks for going the second mile for the workbook. You deserve a day of cookie dough.

[eeny] said...

Hope your little monkey will be better soon. =)

cay said...

My (Chinese) husband has taught me there are endless uses for chopsticks in the kitchen and I was delighted to find a use for a chopstick: leveling flour for baking. Huzzah!!

Keep discovering the joys of chopsticks, it's amazing how useful they really are!

The Schoonmakers said...

Poor Benji! My three loves are sick too. I compiled a list called "the children are sick and we can't leave the house!" I posted it on my blog if you're interested. I hope your little guy feels better soon and I hope you have wonderful, creative, idea-filled day :)

summer said...

get well soon, mr. benjamin!

and marta, thank you for the butterscotch blondies! it is an impossible thing for me to open a bag of those buttery chips without popping 1 or 2 or 20 in my mouth. yumm.

i've never been one to eat those butterscotch candy disks with the gold wrappers, but i've always loved the baking bits. and butterscotch combined with peanut butter has got to be one of my favorite sensations on earth.

love the idea to bake this in rounds, too! very cute.

Hannah said...

I love posts that have more than one thought smooshed in. Poor blog etiquiette? I think not.

My husband doesn't believe in desserts that aren't chocolate, so I rarely get to eat blondies. I do love them. I may make them soon. Thanks for the recipe.

Hannah said...

By the way...

I loved, loved your workshop, but I love posts about you even more.

Am glad to have YOU back. ;)

Katherine said...

Poor little Benji. I'm nursing my own baby back to health today, but he's of the 28 year old sort and not terribly much like a monkey. :)

Those blondies have me aching for some butterscotch chips! Lent is a cruel thing around here. But I can eat strawberry spinach salads. How do you keep the strawberries from wilting the spinach?

talesofahummingbird said...

my hubby has been gone for a month in the middle of nowhere for military training - i am sooo making these for him when he gets home on friday! :) hoping mr. benji feels better and bouncy again asap!

Bianca said...

I love blondies AND I loved the workshop, lots of great ideas. Thanks!

Devon said...

aww.. hope your little guy feels better soon!!

ps--those blondies look scrumptious!!

Crystal Johnson said...

I just happen to have a bag of butterscotch chips in the pantry and a little guy who loves to bake with mommy! Thanks for the idea and tips!

Hope Benji is back to himself soon! Watching Cartoons is a good way to make you feel better.

Anonymous said...

Oh MY, those look good.

And I'm glad to hear your little guy is feeling better!

Cat Sitter in the City said...

Thanks for the recipe. I wish I could snap my fingers and have a tray of these just magically appear before me!

D e g a i n e said...

Looks and sounds delicious!!!


D e g a i n e

http://www.fashiondegaine.com

Miranda said...

Okay well I just got done leveling some flour with a chopstick and I must say, BRILLIANT! Also, I think you should give sifting another try...I find it extremely calming. It is my favorite part of baking.

Michael Wurm Jr said...

these look so delish! they are going on my 'to-bake' list!

Ginia said...

Just made a batch of yumminess this morning. Saturday mornings are my experiment-in-the-kitchen days. I added white chocolate chips instead of butterscotch. :)

Side note: I love your blog. Thanks for sharing.

Virginia Bell

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