blondies

photo courtesy Stacey Cloud Chester

on one hand, blondies are very simple -- just like brownies, except the chocolate is concentrated in the chips, rather than incorporated into the batter. on the other hand, they're richer and more complex than brownies: because the batter is made with brown sugar, they're almost butterscotch-y in flavor. I used 2/3 semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/3 chopped bittersweet chocolate (both Ghiradelli), because it's what I had on hand, and the sweet batter called out for a more intense chocolate. you can use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar or a combination - - the more dark brown sugar, the more butterscotch-y the flavor. this recipe makes a nice big batch.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 2-1/2 cups light or dark brown sugar, packed
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 scant teaspoon kosher salt (kosher salt is tastier and less bitter than table salt. if you don't have any on hand, use 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped or broken up into approximately 1/2" pieces
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 350 °F. butter and flour an 9 x 13 inch baking pan. in a large bowl, stir the eggs and sugar together (you do not want to incorporate extra air here; these are best when dense and just barely leavened), then the vanilla and salt. pour in the melted butter and whisk to combine thoroughly (do not overbeat).  sift the flour and baking powder directly over the bowl, all at once. again, gently whisk it all together until just combined -- i.e., no streaks of flour unincorporated; batter is thick and homogenous. stir in the chopped bittersweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips. using a flexible spatula or spoon, scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly and smothing the top out a bit. bake for 25 minutes. test center for doneness and continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool on a rack, cut into small squares and eat!

rugelach

easy! also, possibly the best things I've ever baked.

cream cheese dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese or neufchatel, chilled, cubed
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon cold water

place flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the "s" blade and pulse briefly to combine. scatter cream cheese and butter cubes over the top, then pulse 12-15 times, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. add egg yolk and cold water, then run food processor continuously until dough forms large curds. tip out onto a clean surface and knead briefly, then shape into disks (I like to make three different fillings, so I make three discs), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. the dough will keep three-four days in the refrigerator, and up to three months if frozen.

fillings

each of these filling recipes makes enough to fill the entire recipe of dough above -- if you want to make more than one filling, decrease the amount of ingredients in each filling accordingly.

filling 1: Israeli chocolate

• 1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch kosher salt

pulse/process all ingredients in a food processor until chocolate is in fine crumbs.

filling 2: apricot-nut

• 1 cup apricot jam
• 1/4 cup dried apricots (use the soft, sulphured variety), cut into bits
• 1/2 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds), finely chopped
• pinch kosher salt

combine all ingredients.

filling 3: cherry

• 1 cup dried sour cherries
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch kosher salt

place all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, until fruit is hydrated and mixture is thickened. cool to room temperature (or chill in refrigerator) before using.

assembly & baking

• powdered sugar to roll out dough
• melted butter (it will take 4-6 tablespoons total to fill all the rugelach)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon cold water

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. take a disc of dough out of the fridge (1/3 of the total dough, formed into a disk and chilled thoroughly). sprinkle large cutting board or clean countertop with powdered sugar, flip the disc of dough on it a couple of times to ensure it's evenly covered with the sugar, and roll out with a rolling pin into a circle, adding powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking. once the dough is about 1/8-inch thick, spread the surface liberally with melted butter, than cover with your filling of choice. cut the circle into 4 wedges, then cut each wedge into 4 long, thin triangles. starting at the wide edge of each wedge, roll towards the center up to the point. as you roll the crescents, place each one, point down, on a buttered cookie sheet/jelly roll pan (covered with buttered parchment if you have it -- otherwise, plan to soak the pan to clean it). whisk the egg yolk, sugar and water together to make a glaze, and brush/dab this mixture evenly over all the exposed surfaces of each crescent. bake the rugelach for 20-28 minutes, until the cream cheese dough is medium-golden brown, puffed a bit and cooked all the way through. if you used parchment paper, pull the paper off the cookie sheet directly onto a rack to cool, then peel off the parchment. if you baked them directly on a buttered sheet/pan, remove them to a plate while still warm and flexible.