Jun222010
White Chocolate Apricot and Macadamia Nut Blondies
Filed under Dessert by Anna at 9:29 PM on Jun 22 2010
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Oh! I missed this corner; I was fighting a vicious virus that thought it could control me. It did for few days but I managed to kick its sore ass at the end. It was a funky week on which my body was composed of 50% blood 50% Tylenol. Sunday I had tickets to an Erykah Badu show and I almost gave up, because I felt horrible. But my hubby convinced me to take extra Tylenol and go. I’m glad I did. Because it was an amazing night started with the Greek theater at Griffith Park, Los Feliz. It’s the most beautiful theater I have ever seen. The show started with Janelle Monae who has some amazing vocal cords. She could get by on style alone, but the fact that she’s an incredibly versatile and skilled singer puts her on a different level. Then we had Lupe Fiasco (which is my favorite) and then Erykah, wow… she was dressed with something that looked like a yellow pajama pants but she is so ridiculously sexy that even pajama pants looked good on her. It was a great night. She is all sorts of awesomeness. Now back here, I have to say I’m a bit lost, I haven’t cooked much… besides soups. But today I forced myself to bake something to try to get my grove back. This is a recipe from the Williams Sonoma Baking book. For some reason I decided to bake it in a muffin tray and I strongly recommend you don’t. Because it ruined the texture. It tasted delicious but could be better, next time I’ll just follow the instructions. Enjoy.
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White Chocolate Apricot and Macadamia Nut Blondies
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1-cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
- 3 to 4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 or 5 fresh apricots
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, espresso powder and vanilla. Using an electric mixer set on high speed beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then continue beating until very fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and mix in. Continuing to mix on low speed, fold in the nuts and white chocolate just until blended. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Put the fresh apricot slices on top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. Cut into 24 bars. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
1 jen cheungon 22 Jun 2010 at 10:56 PM
glad your feeling all better! love the dessert you made! Looks deliciously good!! good job!!
2 HoneyBon 23 Jun 2010 at 12:59 AM
These look oh so sinfully good!
HoneyB´s last blog ..Blueberries in scones
3 Alinaon 23 Jun 2010 at 4:42 AM
Awwwwwww… I’m speechless!! White chocolate and apricots… is it heaven? Does the espresso flavour come through too? I want to try these, we have some apricots, just need to buy some nuts!
Alina´s last blog ..Garlic or Cheese Crescent Rolls for Midsummer (Slovak-Latvian fusion, sort of)
4 Isabelleon 23 Jun 2010 at 5:59 AM
Ooooh.. these look so ooey and gooey and sweet! I wish I could just reach through the screen and take a bite.
Can’t wait for the apricots to show up at the market so that I can make a batch of my own.
Isabelle´s last blog ..Get Him To The Greek – Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
5 Anitaon 23 Jun 2010 at 6:00 AM
These look yummy! I will have to try!! Are those hazelnuts in the pic??
6 Patty Priceon 23 Jun 2010 at 7:03 AM
Beautiful photos, I have to get me a few apricots, glad your feeling better!
Patty Price´s last blog ..Strawberry Granita with Champagne Sabayon and Coconut Tuiles
7 Kristenon 23 Jun 2010 at 7:47 AM
Regardless of the texture, they look wonderful; they are just muffins, not blondies.
Kristen´s last blog ..Homemade Egg McMuffins: Make Your Own Monday #24
8 Annaon 23 Jun 2010 at 12:55 PM
Oh Dear!!!! You are right Anita, they are hazelnuts… and the whole time I was thinking they were macadamias yesterday. Too much Tylenol. LOL
9 Annaon 23 Jun 2010 at 1:00 PM
Thanks Patty.
10 Stellaon 23 Jun 2010 at 1:06 PM
Hey Anna, I just saw this on F.B, and I buzzed it! Looks so good. Oh, and I used to jam out to Erykah Badu when I was in high school. Glad you had fun and are feeling better…
11 Annaon 23 Jun 2010 at 1:17 PM
Thanks Stella. Have a nice week.
12 The Cilantropiston 23 Jun 2010 at 4:43 PM
Glad you are healthy and happy again, I bet listening to great music and eating sweet treats helped with that.
The Cilantropist´s last blog ..Shredded Red Cabbage Salad with Pistachios
13 Sommer @ A Spicy Perspectiveon 23 Jun 2010 at 6:05 PM
What little beauties! I love the flavor combo…and that you baked them in muffin tins!
14 aubreyon 23 Jun 2010 at 6:46 PM
I really enjoy all of your photos. So clean, crisp and delicious! Very talented!
15 The Chocolate Priestesson 23 Jun 2010 at 7:34 PM
Oh, these are sort of like muffins then when I look at the photo. Why call them blondies instead of muffins? Is it a matter of the ingredients or texture?
The Chocolate Priestess´s last blog ..Chocolate Éclairs are Difficult?
16 Annaon 23 Jun 2010 at 8:32 PM
Oh Boy! The silly decision to bake “blondies” in muffins tin…..it was wrong all the way. The texture should be like brownies texture and I got muffins. I still called blondies because it’s a recipe from Williams Sonoma book and I guess if people follow the recipe they will get Blondies. I need to try that again and see what happens.
17 Annaon 23 Jun 2010 at 8:39 PM
Thanks Aubrey.
18 Mikaon 24 Jun 2010 at 1:19 AM
I made blondies just once and they were really too sweet for my taste…I never tried them again since that…
But I really enjoyed the texture…
I will try yours soon, to put fruits in blondies seems a wonderful idea…
Mika´s last blog ..Purgatory beans bruschetta
19 Patricia Scarpinon 24 Jun 2010 at 4:20 AM
When I saw the recipe title on my reader I was sure it would call for dried apricots- what a wonderful surprise to see you used fresh! Yum!
Anna, they look precious and delicious. Love baking with fruits + chocolate.
I hope you’re feeling better, sweetie!
xx
20 Annaon 24 Jun 2010 at 5:20 AM
Thank you Patricia.
21 dawnon 25 Jun 2010 at 5:54 AM
THOSE LOOK LIKE HEAVEN! Can’t wait to try
22 Cook with Madinon 25 Jun 2010 at 7:30 AM
I’m glad you are feeling much better now and you enjoyed Erika Badu’s concert.
I’m liking your blondies, I love apricot and white chocolate, you got me right there.
They look awesome.
Cook with Madin´s last blog ..Two Salads and a Sweet Surprise
23 Lorion 25 Jun 2010 at 9:37 AM
I was going to comment that I thought the muffin tin was such a unique idea! They certainly look great. It’s a unique flavor combo that I haven’t seen before with macademias or hazelnuts.
Lori´s last blog ..Links to a Healthy Weekend
24 sensiblecookingon 25 Jun 2010 at 1:08 PM
Congratulation Anna for making today’s top 9. Notes taken and I will avoid the muffin tray and stick to the recipe. But your blondies look so perfect I might be tempted to use the muffin trays after all.
sensiblecooking´s last blog ..Father’s Day, Tomato and Garlic Sauce (Achar)
25 Annaon 25 Jun 2010 at 4:14 PM
Thanks Chandani, well…it came out very dry, and blondies are supposed to be moist and gooey. I’ll try again and see what happens.
26 Foodiebiaon 09 Jul 2010 at 1:56 PM
That last photo just blew my mind.
Foodiebia´s last blog ..Mendo Commute
27 Jenn @ defunkt gourmeton 11 Jul 2010 at 6:43 AM
You are so lucky to have seen ALL three of those acts in one single show. LUCKY!!! I haven’t been to a gig in a while. I think I’m seeing The Flaming Lips in September? My sis/bro-in-law bought the tix but I can’t remember the date… lol…
onto the show… these look brilliant! Oooey, ogoey, sticky. And you can’t go wrong with Williams-Sonoma…
Glad to hear that you’re feeling better. Kick that cold’s arse!! *boots*