Tuesday, February 10, 2009

My version of Date-Nut Blondies

I got this recipe from "Mom's Big Book Of Baking", just customized it a little bit, due to the available ingredients. I used my toaster oven for baking at 325 degrees. The recipe calls for walnut or pecans, but I had salted pistachios and used those.

Ingredients: it is better to have all ingredients at a similar temperature while baking, so I usually take out all my refrigerator ingredients in advance.

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Brown sugar - 1 cup, packed
Egg - 1
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Salted pistachios - 1/2 cup
chopped dates - 1/2 cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1/8 tsp
Ground nutmeg - a pinch

If baking in a regular oven preheat to 350 degrees. I used a toaster oven, so I did not have to preheat till I was almost done mixing the ingredients. I baked at 325 degrees.

Line a loaf pan with aluminium foil, making sure that it is well tucked into the corners, and leave some overhang. In a small mixing bowl place the butter and microwave for 30-40 seconds. Take it out, add the brown sugar and mix till the sugar dissolves thoroughly. Add vanilla essence, whole egg and beat for a minute or two.

Rub the salted nuts lightly in a paper towel to remove some saltiness. Add them into a clean coffee grinder and pulse for a minute. The nuts should be still coarse, and in bits( We are not looking for a powder). Sift together, the flour and baking powder. Mix the pistachios, cinnamon and nutmeg powder in. Add the butter-brown sugar mix, and combine. Add the dates just to incorporate. Immediately pour into the prepared loaf, and place the loaf in the preheated oven.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven size and settings. It is done, when you insert a knife in the center of the loaf, and it comes out clean. Turn the oven off, and let the loaf pan stay in for a few minutes.

Take the pan out, and using the foil overhang, pull out the blondies on to a plate and cut in to squares. If any are left, store them in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

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