Ideas hatch in my brain, leaving a chaotic scattering of shells. Long after I should be asleep, I stare at the dimly lit, bedroom ceiling and walls, with the orangish, city light filtering through the curtains. My racing mind schemes and plots- picnics, party ideas, flower garden dreams, how to acquire an historical home without a huge life’s savings, etc, etc, ETC! Some of these ideas are fleeting, and they fade into the dimly lit night, but others… Others are BIG! They burn with such an intensity, until the neurons fire signals to my heart, and before long, my whole being is set on an idea.
As an “idea person (i.e.: an obsessive person),” I’m sorely in need of a structural counterpart in my life. He or she would line up the roadmap and the checkpoints to send me on my way to the end result I want so intensely. Luckily, for all my grandiose, time-intensive, layer cakes and sky-high dreams, there are blondies. These peanut buttery blondies, with their rich simplicity, are blank canvases for creativity in their own right. Yet, from the intense craving to the first, gooey bite, the commitment is minimal, leaving this girl to obsess over Scandinavian bungalows, vintage camper renovations, ice cream socials, farm dinners….etc, etc, etc!
Here’s to the simpler ideas!
-Quelcy
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
yield: 9×13 pan
Ingredients
4 cups organic, blanched almond meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) organic, unsalted butter, melted
2 cups organic light brown sugar
2 large eggs (cage-free/organic)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup organic creamy peanut butter
1 cup high-quality, dark chocolate chips (recommended: Guittard’s Extra Dark Chocolate Chips)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉, and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond meal and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the melted butter and light brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.
Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine.
Add the peanut butter, and beat until all of the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add the almond meal mixture, and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Pour the batter in the baking dish and spread evenly with a plastic spatula.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Enjoy!
