You know what I don’t understand? The term ‘blondies’. No, not girls with blond hair - the dessert bars. How did they come to be? Was someone making brownies one day, then realized midway that they’re out of chocolate and ended up making regular cake bars instead? ‘Blondies’ doesn’t make sense because it’s not defined by an ingredient, but rather by the lack of one.
I refuse to use the term, even though that’s what this Bon Appetit recipe is originally for. I shall call them squares, and I guess one can call them bars, depending on how they’re cut.
I adore peanut butter, peanut butter-flavored foods and peanut butter-based desserts. The super simple batter for these squares/bars turns out surprisingly thick, which results in an insanely dense and nutty cake. When buying peanut butter, remember to choose one that has only one ingredient: peanuts.
Adapted from this Bon Appetit recipe by Claire Saffitz
(Yield: 16 squares)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
3/4 c light brown sugar, packed
3/4 c smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp strawberry or sour cherry jam
Flaky sea salt
Procedure: Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, peanut butter, melted butter and vanilla. Fold dry ingredients into larger bowl; do not overmix. Scrape batter into a buttered 8×8″ baking pan. Drizzle evenly with jam. Bake until a tester (wooden toothpick or butter knife) inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 min. Sprinkle with sea salt and cut into squares.
What food/cooking terms are you annoyed with?
salted! yum! great looking squares!