blondie/brownie swirls

i love to cook from scratch because then i know what's in the final product and it generally tastes better. BUT i am also lazy and i don't always have things like nuts and chocolate chips or blueberries lying about the kitchen. this means the recipes that i cling to are usually the simplest, using mostly ingredients that are found in most kitchens in the country on any given (other than grocery) day.

today, i wanted to make something for my kids for breakfast tomorrow that didn't include...

ingredients list from bag of hostess powdered mini donettes:

Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), "B" Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Dextrose, Vegetable Shortening (Soybean, Palm And Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil), Water, Sugar. Contains 2% Or Less of: Nonfat Milk Soy Flour, Leavenings (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Aluminum Sulfate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Egg Yolks, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Modified Wheat Starch, Mono And Diglycerides, Tapioca Dextrin, Corn Dextrin, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Enzymes, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Wheat Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean And Cottonseed Oil), Titanium Dioxide (Color), Extracts of Annatto And Turmeric (Color), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid And Sodium Propionate And Potassium Sorbate And Calcium Propionate (to Retain Freshness). Contains Wheat, Milk, Soy And Egg.

OR

ingredients listed on a bag of hostess chocolate covered mini donettes:

Enriched Wheat Flour(Flour, Barley Malt, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), "B" Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening(Soybean, Palm, And Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oils), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils(Palm Kernel, Coconut, Palm), Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% Less Than Of: Nonfat Milk, Soy Flour, Leavenings(Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Aluminum Sulfate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Egg Yolks, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Modified Wheat Starch, Mono And Diglycerides, Tapioca Dextrin, Corn Dextrin, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Enzymes, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Wheat Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening(Soybean And Cottonseed Oil), Titanium Dioxide (Color), Extracts Of Annatto And Turmeric (Color), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid And Sodium Propionate And Potassium Sorbate And Calcium Propionate (To Retain Freshness), Contains Wheat, Milk, Soybeans And Egg.

EGADS! how do you pronounce "Pyrophosphate," or "Propionate?" and do i really want to? and cottonseed oil? do we know where this comes from? aaack! i do, and i don't want to feed it to my kids. so what does my ingredients list look like? it's pretty amazing. you'll never believe it. you might even be able to pronounce, understand and find everything in my list. are you ready? ok, here goes.

flour (unbleached, unenriched, white), cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, [REAL] butter, eggs, baking powder (aluminum free), baking soda, sea salt and vanilla.

AMAZING? i know, right?!?

anyway, are you impressed? i know i am, especially after eating one of these myself with a nice steaming hot cup of coffee on a cold rainy day....mmmm



BLONDIE/BROWNIE swirls

1. preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. generously butter sides and bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish.

3. in a mixing bowl whisk together 1/2 cup powdered cocoa, 3/4 cup flour, and 1/4 tsp sea salt. set aside.

4. melt and stir in small saucepan 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter with 1 cup of white sugar until smooth and creamy.

5. pour butter/sugar mixture into flour/cocoa mixture and whisk until well mixed.

6. add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well. set aside.

********************************************************************

7. in another [empty] mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp sea salt.

8. in clean saucepan, melt and stir together, 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and 1 cup (packed) of brown sugar until smooth and creamy.

9. pour butter/brown sugar mixture into flour mixture and whisk until well mixed.

10. add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla and mix well.

11. drop the second mixture (blondie batter) into the greased pan by large spoonfuls. space out the spoonfuls to allow spots for the other batter.

12. drop the first mixture (brownie batter) into the spaces between the blondie batter.

13. gently run the two batters together, careful not to mix into a homogenous mixture or you'll lose your "swirl."

14. take a fork or a butter knife and lift and swirl the two batters together until desired pattern and all spaces are filled in the pan.

15. bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.




bon appétit!

NOTE: these two recipes can be separated into brownies and/or blondies. use the individual batters and put into 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. delicious either way!