Perfectly Peachy

When I find in season fruits I tend to obsess. I can't just buy one perfectly-ripe-oh-so-juicy-peach. I need to buy this goodness by the pound. Once I get home and I realize I've bought far too much for one person, I start looking through my actual or virtual recipe books. I stumbled upon a food blog through Food Gawker (one of my favorite websites). I found a wonderful recipe for Peaches and Cream Buckle Bars. I never made the recipe before, but I knew it would be good judging by the ingredients and yummy photos! The bars are trying to hide from me at the moment (I plan to take them to Hospitality House later tonight or tomorrow...if there are any left!). I highly recommend this recipe!

Peaches and Cream Buckle Bars (Courtesy of Slice of Feist Blog)

Ingredients

Batter
1 Cup room temp. Unsalted Butter (I used salted butter and it was fine, just leave out the pinch of salt!)
2 Cups Sugar1 1/2 tsps Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
4 eggs
3 Cups Flour
A Pinch of Salt
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Peach Mixture
3 Cups Sliced and roughly chopped Ripe Peaches
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
Splash of Vanilla

Creamy Dreamy Glaze
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 tbsps Cream (I used much more than this!)
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

We're ready to get peachy!

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Beat your butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Mix in one egg at a time, scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl in between. Add your extracts. Slowly mix in your flour, salt and cinnamon.


Butter and Sugar. You think that would be enough to make a recipe!

 

With the four eggs whipped in, the batter is coming together!


In a separate bowl combine your peaches, brown sugar, spices and vanilla.

How great are these peaches?! I know how to make them better...

...throw in some brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and a splash of vanilla!

Pour 3/4 of your batter into the baking dish. Next, evenly distribute the peach mixture on top.

The batter is sad and needs some friends...

...sooo much happier! One more thing...



...NOW we're talking!

Drop the rest of the batter on top, in little plops here and there…similar to a cobbler (it should look like the masterpiece above, hehe)

Pop the buckle in the oven for about 40-50 minutes or until golden around the edges and slightly firm to the touch (I did 45 minutes and it came out great!)

Yes, this looks divine. But I know adding icing is always a good idea!

Once the buckle is cooked, let it cool down mostly before proceeding with the glaze.

For the Glaze, mix the 3 ingredients together..if you feel that it should be runnier, add some more cream. Now take a spoon and generously pour the glaze in long strokes. Try to not put the spoon directly into your mouth. Focus on the buckle!

You're probably wondering...does it taste as good as it looks? The answer is YES!

Cut out a square, pour a glass of milk (in a frozen glass, of course) and try not to eat the whole thing!

Yep. This is happening.

Happy Eating!

When you feel like you may break...bake!

What better way to unwind on a Friday night than by watching competitive cooking shows while simultaneously baking a fresh batch of chocolate and peanut butter brownies? I'm sure some people would rather black out than bake out, but maybe I'm just old fashioned like that. This week has been somewhat stressful (though I'm not quite sure how that is much different than any other week), so I'm savoring catching up with my KitchenAid.

I wanted to make something with a brownie base, so I looked in my treasured Joy of Cooking recipe book. There is a wonderful basic brownie recipe. Like my outfits, I prefer to accessorize my baked goods. Who wants a boring brownie? I had a bag of Reese's peanut butter chips (like chocolate chips but deliciously peanut-buttery instead) in my pantry. Last time I checked, chocolate + peanut butter > chocolate. Apologies for the inequality. I've been studying for the GMAT, so I'm dorking out to the extreme.

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
Whatever you'd like to add (pecans, chocolate chips, coconut, peanut butter, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a baking pan (if you want chewy and moist brownies, use a 13x9-inch pan; if cakey, a 9x9-inch pan).

The cast of characters in my decadent storyline

 Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small saucepan

Like an awkward first date, the butter and chocolate experience
some difficulties in the beginning...

...but after some time (or in the case of the date, some drinks) the two
 ingredients decide to get along

Let this mixture cool. If you don't let it cool, your brownies will be heavy and dry (and very sad).
Next, beat the 4 eggs and salt until light in color and foamy in texture.

Whisks are for amateurs. Serious chefs use SERIOUS equipment.



Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until thick. With a few swift strokes, stir in the cooled chocolate mixture just until combined. If you're using a snazzy KitchenAid like me, switch to a wooden spoon for this. Stir in the flour just until combined. Gently stir in any of your "accessories" (I stirred in half of the bag of pb chips and sprinkled the rest on top).

All dressed up for Friday night!

Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake about 25 minutes. The recipe says to cool completely in the pan on a rack, this is just plain nonsense. Who waits for any baked good to completely cool? Clearly, you are allowed to sample it once it has cooled enough so it doesn't scorch your mouth.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Brownies, a thousand calories.

May your weekend be filled with brownies, or at least something of equivalent awesomeness.