The holiday season. Socializing with friends. Visiting family. Eating. Drinking. And the warmth of the oven heating up the house and filling it with delicious smells. It's a nice time of year. But I have to admit, I kind of freaked out when Is My Blog Burning - Sugar High Friday Virtual Cookie Swap was announced for the weekend of November 25th.
Should I participate or not? Could I possibly handle more baking on Thanksgiving weekend? After all I was already baking several desserts for Thanksgiving dinner. Cookies too? Jennifer the hostess of this event very kindly offered more time to work on the effort but I'm not so good at planning that far in advance.
But then it occurred to me, there is a kind of cookie that only takes minutes to make and bake. No cookie sheets, no muss, no fuss. Bar cookies. Brownies are the most famous bar cookies, but blondies are good ones too. The dough for blondies is similar to chocolate chip cookie dough and mixes up just as quickly. The flavors of nuts and cranberries are perfect for the holidays.
Note: This recipe amuses me because you can make the whole thing using a 1/2 teaspoon and a 1/2 cup measuring cup! Easy on the clean up...
Cranberry Nut Blondies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla, and mix until blended. Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix well to combine. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake or they may become too dry. Cut into bars when cooled (if you try to cut them before they cool, they will crumble!)
Enjoy!
