what's cooking in my closet

Last night I had an irresistible urge to bake something. This urge doesn’t come often anymore, since we moved to Manhattan and our kitchen (pictured above, in the header) is the size of most people’s bathroom closets. Still, I found this recipe from Emeril Legasse and it just looked SO good, I had to try it! I used to cook and bake for every meal, and I really enjoy it- but man, this kitchen is just NOT a functional kitchen. Anyway, I got to work getting the ingredients at the market down the street, brought everything back to the apt, and then had to move the microwave, the garbage can, and the toaster out into the living room so that I could cook! : )

These white chocolate macadamia nut blondies came out GREAT but the ingredients I needed at the market cost me $17 so they were kinda expensive to make. Maybe that’s just NYC prices, though: here’s what I bought that wasn’t in my pantry:

Small box of brown sugar
White chocolate chips
Unsalted organic butter
Macadamia nuts (this was the most expensive item: $8.49 for a small jar!)

The rest of the ingredients I had at home, but MAN! 4 items for $17? See, this is another reason why I DON’T bake very often! It’s cheaper to just walk to Magnolia bakery or whole foods for some fresh from the oven organic baked goods.

Anyway, if you live in a location where grocery prices are a bit cheaper than mine, feel free to print out this recipe and try it! They’re fantastic! You can check out the original recipe found at THIS WEBSITE

Macadamia White Chip Blondies

4 oz butter, unsalted (114 grams)
–3/4 cup light brown sugar (160 grams)
1 large egg1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (8 ml)
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (190 grams) – if no scale, fluff, spoon gently, sweep – too much flour will make these dry.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (2 ml)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (a few more if you want)
1/2 cup lightly toasted or “Chef Ready” macadamia nuts**

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 C). Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and spray bottom only with cooking spray.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl using high speed of an electric mixer. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 parts, mixing after each part. Before the flour is fully mixed, add the chips and nuts and mix until flour is incorporated and chips are well mixed. Batter will be thick. Pour the batter to the pan and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for 25 or until blondies appear set. Let them cool completely, then lift from the pan and cut into 12 bars.