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August 22, 2011

August's Secret Recipe Club Reveal - Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies

















I'm back for a second time with the Secret Recipe Club, and I'm so happy to be. It is such a fun group of food bloggers who are assigned a secret blog from which to make a recipe, and then blog about it! It really has become such an exciting part of my blogging experience... following a new blog and drooling over all of their recipes and deciphering which one to make. All while keeping it a secret. 

For the month of August, I was assigned the blog Barefeet in the Kitchen, which was great because I was new to the blog. It has been a pleasure getting to know Mary through her blog and recipes. I love the name of her blog, and the idea that her boys are in the kitchen [barefeet] with her, spending quality time together. I hope to have that with my children one day (when I have some!), to be able to share my love of cooking with them, and to use it as a way to bond and spend time together, as well as teach them lessons. I was also very intrigued by her "dehydration" section on her blog; she has dehydrated many fruits and veggies, some successes and others failures, and she is one creative woman! While I was tempted to try my own hand at dehydrating, that is not what I chose to make from her blog. She only started her blog in May, but she already has a vast array of recipes for me to choose from! After longing over many savory recipes like her adorable Caprese Skewers, fancy Mushroom Risotto, and Grilled Chicken and Bacon Sandwich, I finally decided to target dessert recipes, since I need more desserts on my blog and more practice with baking in general. But oh what to make?! I was longing to make those Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies, or some Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars, and I will one day! But since I had all of the ingredients already in my pantry, her Chocolate Chip Blondies won out.

























I decided to make a few changes to make the recipe more suitable for us. We had pecans on hand already, so we used those instead of walnuts. Also, since PJ doesn't like nuts as much as I do, I halved the amount of pecans to make them more to his liking. We also cut down on the vanilla, but I'm sure if you used the whole amount that they would be just as good.


























These blondies were tasty, and even better for me the next day. I would definitely do the entire amount of nuts next time. I loved the addition, and the extra crunchiness it gave the sweet blondies. PJ also acknowledged that he liked the nuts and would have liked more. I was shocked! So definitely keep the original amount of nuts called for in Mary's original recipe. The recipe below uses the whole amount of nuts, since that's the way I think it should be made.

























MMM I'm thinking about these bars right now, drooling at my computer screen as I'm writing this, thinking how I can't wait to make these again.


These blondies have me thinking that the old saying that "blonds have more fun" could really be true. {Cheesy, I know, but I had to}

















Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies
adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen

      dry ingredients:
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
      wet ingredients:
  • 10 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 cups light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  • 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup of chopped pecans 

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and light brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter and brown sugar mixture. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Next add in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans and fold everything together until mixed well. 


    Pour batter into the well-greased dish and bake for 25-27 minutes, until slightly browned along the edges and a brownie consistency in the center. Cool them in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling before storing them in an airtight container.


    Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.


    Printable Recipe


























    I preferred them the next day, at room temperature and allowed time to harden a bit and set. PJ, on the other hand, said he would really like them heated up in the microwave. I'd say that could be a good idea too, if you prefer. Top it with a dollop or two of whipped cream, or a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you've got a perfect summer treat.

























    This would also be a perfect dessert to take to a party or company potluck, as you can cut them into squares and serve individually, and they store easily. So if you want to be good and have some will power not to eat them all, then pack some up and take some in to your coworkers or spouse's coworkers. They'll certainly thank you and think you are all sorts of amazing.

    Thanks for such a great recipe, Mary! It's been fun getting to know you secretly :)


    Peace, and bacon grease!





    31 comments:

    Trisha said...

    I can't wait to try these Desi. Nice to get to know u through SRC!

    Rachel @ Not Rachael Ray said...

    There are a few blondie recipes this month and they all look great! Glad to find you through the SRC!

    Unknown said...

    Wow, those squares turned out absolutely perfect - what great photos. I imagine they tasted phenomenal.

    Mary said...

    I'm glad that you enjoyed them! I like them just like you do, room temp the next day. However, your man is right that they are awesome warm (with ice cream). I've served them to guests straight from the oven with melting ice cream on top. Your photos are so pretty; you've made me crave them this morning!

    Lisa~~ said...

    Great looking bars, I want some now!! If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my Group 'A" ~ SRC recipe this month: Cilantro Lime Chicken

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

    Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

    IT's the simple recipes that are sometimes the best! I love a good blondie bar!

    amanda @ fake ginger said...

    Oooh, I love a good blondie recipe! Can't wait to try it!

    Hezzi-D said...

    I love a good blondie. This looks delicious!

    Beth said...

    I love her blog too, and these blondies look great.

    Erin said...

    They look fantastic! I love that they are a bar!

    Andi said...

    hard to turn away from these bars. Yummy great post nice photo's andi

    Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

    Awesome photos, they are great! I'm off to check out this blog, with blondies this good I bet there's other delicious stuff out there too :)

    Nicole said...

    Lovin' my SRC friends and all these amazing blogs, thanks for stopping by tonight.
    These blondies look AMAZING! So yummy!

    The Daily Dish

    Tina @ MOMS CRAZY COOKING said...

    These look like hot out of the oven delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies, but even BETTER!

    Thanks again for being a part of SRC and being a part of my first group, I enjoyed being your host! Now, I get to visit everyone's blog, THIS IS THE FUN PART!

    If you haven't already, come check out my Secret Recipe Club Post: Cucumber Salad http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2011/08/cucumber-salad-secret-recipe-club.html

    or my second post for the SRC Raspberry and Nutella Pizza
    http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2011/08/raspberry-nutella-pizza-secret-recipe.html

    4Sisters said...

    Yum! There's something so delightful about blondies - sweet and buttery with the right amount of chocolate. Now I'm going to need to make some soon!

    Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos

    Desi said...

    @ Trisha - Good to meet you, fellow SRC member!

    @ Dan - Thanks, I'm really trying to take better photos, so thanks for noticing!!! And yes they did taste pretty dern good :)

    @ Barefeet in the Kitchen - They are pretty much delish any way I eat them! So glad I got your blog, it's been great lurking around your blog secretly!

    @ Amanda - I'm new to blondies but I'm lovin em!

    @ Beth - So glad I found her blog, she's got a lot of nice recipes, and I love the layout of her blog too.

    @ Erin - Yes, basically choc chip cookies (with nuts) in bar form!

    @ Andrea - Yes yes, check out her blog please!

    @ Nikki - So nice to meet you through SRC, thanks for stopping back by!

    @ 4Sisters - YUM! Now I'm wanting to make some other kinds of blondies besides chocolate... like butterscotch and toffee and peanut butter!!! I've almost got myself drooling lol. Off to check out your SRC recipe.

    Lisa said...

    I love the spirit of your blog ... I'm a meat and potatoes girl, too. These blondies look lovely. I'm not a nut in dessert person but the pecans might work for me. We have family congo bars and there's always a debate: nuts or no nuts. Fun to be in SRC with you!

    Desi said...

    @ Lisa - Thanks for stopping by! You are like my fiancee... not big on nuts in desserts, but he liked these so hopefully you will too!

    justputzing said...

    Thanks for following my blog! Yours is pretty fantastic too :) I'm loving these blondies!

    Desi said...

    @ Tina - Thanks for stopping by my blog and returning the love :)

    Vivian Thiele said...

    Another great idea for potlucks! Our church does love its potlucks! Great recipe and blog!

    Chelle B said...

    Another great recipe to have on hand for the next get together I'm invited to. Great recipe pick for SRC. Love your blog title. Me too! Haha!

    Allison said...

    These look fantastic. I love how the top has that little glossy crackly top. I need a new blondie recipe. Looking forward to following your blog.

    CutiiPromoRO said...

    I am a chocolate addict! And my girls are too.

    Desi said...

    @ Pretend Chef - Nice to meet you, fellow steak and potatoes gurl :)

    @ Allison - Hope you like this one, have you got any other good blondie recipes?

    Taste and Tell said...

    Oh my - these look amazing!!!

    Amy said...

    Looks great! SCR is turning out to be lots of fun -- so many new recipes to try!

    Amanda said...

    These sound fabulous! I see that Suzanne featured you today on SRC, congrats!

    365daysofbaking said...

    Desi, these look yummy! Congratulations on being the SRC feature!

    Anne said...

    I love blondies! THe addition of chocolate chips and pecans is inspired!

    Desi said...

    @ Lynne - Thanks for stopping by, I'm honored to be an SRC feature :)

    @ Anne - I agree. I can't wait to try out different variations!