two years ago this week, i opened my laptop and began blogging about food, excited to share my favorite baked goods, dinners, breakfasts, and side dishes with all of you, my friends and family (and whomever else might stumble upon this website – hi, if that’s you! please leave me a comment and let me know you’re here!). since the inception of eclaire.name, back in july of 2008, i’ve posted 115 recipes. i have loved writing stories and anecdotes about where i found the recipes, and why i love to make the dishes.

but i’ve been holding out on you, keeping these blondies away from you. why? because this recipe is my signature dish – one that i’ve made so many times that i know it by heart. and i’ve been selfish, not wanting to share it, because it’s my recipe, my favorite dessert to bring to parties, my favorite cookie. my, my, my – i sound a little like a two year old, huh? but instead of wallowing in terrible twos on my blog’s second birthday, i’m going to try to overcome them and share this recipe with you.

so how did i find this amazing recipe that i’ve been keeping to myself all these years? well, it’s probably not much of a surprise to you that i’ve been cooking and baking for a long time. i can remember standing on a chair when i was a kid, leaning over the counter to watch what my parents were cooking, and being excited about the whole process. my parents, ever supportive and fabulous chefs themselves (you might have noticed that i’ve purloined many of the recipes on this site from them), bought me a kids cookbook, called kids cooking: a very slightly messy manual, part of the klutz series. i fell in love with the cookbook, and i think we made almost every recipe held within the spiral binding. in a short matter of time, i realized i wanted a new cookbook, perhaps one that had more desserts in it. so when my school had a book fair (remember those?), i saw this cookbook called the cookie lovers cookie cookbook, and decided that i had to have it. i’d like to say that i bought it for the delicious recipes inside, but i’m pretty sure i was just drawn to it because it was pink, had a cat on the front, and was all about cookies – three of my favorite things at that point in my life.

i read through the book when i got home, and discovered a recipe for blondies, something i’d never heard of before. i was immediately drawn to the recipe, possibly because i’m a blondie, too. so i made them, and they were so easy to put together! way easier than brownies, because you didn’t need to melt chocolate in a double boiler, and everything happened in one pan. the only problem with them is that they didn’t have any chocolate in them. at all. and that, to me, was a huge omission – i mean, what’s the point of dessert without chocolate? so i threw some chocolate chips in the second time i made them. and i fell in love.

the next fall, when my parents suggested that i enter something in the baking section of the county fair, this was the first recipe that came to mind. i remember being really nervous when i made them, ensuring that none of the eggshell got into the batter, and that there weren’t any lumps of salt or baking powder. and then we delivered them to the fair, waited a few days until the judging was complete, and went to go see what happened. i jumped up and down when i saw that i won first place in my category. and then my dad noticed that i also won a c&h sugar award, meaning i would get 16 pounds of sugar for free! i don’t think i ever cashed in that prize, but both awards confirmed what i already knew: this recipe is a winner! i hope you all enjoy it, and i promise to keep sharing mouthwatering recipes for you for many more years to come! thanks for reading this blog, and thanks for sharing your favorite recipes and food with me over the years, too!

one year ago: summer lasagna
two years ago: couscous “tabouli” salad

blondies

yields 16-25, depending upon how you cut them
slightly adapted from the cookie lovers cookie cookbook, by prudence madden younger

• 1/2c butter, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1c brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1t vanilla
• 1½c flour
• 2t baking powder
• 1/2t salt
• 6oz chocolate chips
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1. preheat the oven to 350º
2. grease a 9×9″ baking pan
3. melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat
4. once the butter is melted, take the pan off the heat and place onto a pot holder on the counter
5. add the brown sugar and stir well
6. add the eggs one at a time, stirring fast after the first one so it doesn’t scramble
7. add the vanilla and stir again
8. combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large measuring cup (i use a 2 cup one), and stir to combine – this will ensure you don’t have any concentrated salt or baking powder lumpes
9. stir in the dry ingredients
10. stir in the chocolate chips, and pour immediately into the greased pan, so the chips don’t melt and stain the batter (we don’t want brownies, right?)
11. bake for 25-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted off center comes out clean
12. allow to cool, and then cut
13. this recipe doubles very easily, but i suggest you cook in two separate 9×9″ pans instead of a 9″x13″ – i’ve found that 9″x13″ pans leave the center too runny and the edges too dark
14. enjoy!

ok, disclaimer: i don’t really have an old favorite brownie recipe, so the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer. but this recipe, this amazing recipe, yielded the most delicious, fudgy, and scrumptious brownies that i’ve ever baked.

although this is the second brownie recipe i’ve posted in the past few months (the other was a low-glycemic index black bean brownie), brownies are not my favorite dessert, or even my favorite bar cookie. and honestly, i’ve really only baked brownies a few times from scratch, and disliked the cake-y results. i don’t know about you, but i want dense, fudge-like, stuffed-to-the-brim-with-chocolate brownies. and these ones, for the first time ever, fit the bill completely, and won a special place in my heart for brownies again!

i read about these brownies on one of my favorite food blogs, smitten kitchen, way back in january, and i was so won over by the description that i immediately bookmarked the recipe. so when one of my dearest friends mentioned she would like brownies for her birthday, i jumped at the opportunity to try this recipe out. my friends, do not wait as long as i did to try this recipe. find any excuse – be it a weekend bbq, a dinner party, or even just a free hour that you want to spend in the kitchen, and make these absolutely divine brownies asap!

one year ago: mole sauce

favorite brownies

yields 16-25 (depending upon how you slice)
borrowed from smittenkitchen.com

• 10T unsalted butter
• 1 ¼c sugar
• 3/4c and 2T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4t salt
• 1/2t vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2c all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup walnut pieces, optional
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1. preheat the oven to 325°F
2. line the bottom and sides of an 8×8″ baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang
3. heat water in a pan until boiling, and then either use a double boiler or place a heat-proof bowl over the pan
4. in the double boiler or bowl, place the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt, stirring to combine
5. when everything’s melted and combined, remove the bowl or double boiler from the heat
6. stir in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time
7. next add the flour, stirring until shiny
8. add the nuts if using (these are totally optional – i made one pan with them and one pan without, and loved both options equally)
9. spread the batter into a lined pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted off center comes out with just a little bit of batter
10. let cool completely in the pan, then lift up the brownies using the edges of the foil and cut into pieces

hi my dear readers! how are you? i have some news to share! remember how i hinted at big changes way back in april? well it’s officially official! i’ve accepted admission to a masters of public administration program at the university of washington, and mike and i will be moving up to seattle at the end of the summer. it’s going to be a big change for us – we’re excited to try living in a new city, and i’m excited to go back to school, but we’re also going to miss all of our friends and family here in california.

to celebrate our upcoming move, my beautiful little sister’s birthday (click here and here for pics), and noah passing his phd qualifying exams, i’ve made some rice pudding. this is a great recipe for using up leftover rice. all you have to do is boil some milk, throw in the leftover rice, some raisins, and a cinnamon stick, and you’ll be enjoying a warm, simple, and delicious dessert. i hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as i do, and i promise to keep you updated as mike and i prepare for the big move to seattle!

one year ago: creme brulee

rice pudding

yields about 8 servings
adapted from cheap healthy good

• 4c (soy) milk
• 2c cooked jasmine rice (or 1c dry jasmine rice, 2c water, simmered over low heat for 20 minutes)
• 1/2c sugar
• 1/2c raisins
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2t vanilla
• dash of cinnamon, to garnish, optional
• fresh fruit to garnish, optional
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1. put the (soy) milk into a large sauce pan and bring to just under a boil
2. add the cooked rice, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon sticks to the soy milk
3. reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. when the the pudding is thick, remove from the heat
5. throw away the cinnamon sticks and stir in the vanilla
6. serve warm with fresh fruit and cinnamon, if desired, and enjoy!

what do you do when someone you love is having a birthday, but can’t eat much sugar? find a dessert that’s low on the glycemic index!

for my dad’s birthday this year, we planned to celebrate by eating at the amazing vik’s chaat corner, then taking a walk around alameda’s crown beach and packing a dessert to enjoy on the beach.

so i began searching for low sugar desserts that would be conducive to packing in a backpack on one of my favorite websites – 101 cookbooks. i stumbled across this brownie recipe, and was excited to try it out.

the ingredients are surprising – a combination of traditional chocolate, butter, and eggs, plus the unusual addition of black beans, ground walnuts, and agave nectar to sweeten the dessert.

for those of you who haven’t used agave nectar before – it’s much like honey, but sweeter, a bit runnier, and derived from cactus. i’m not a food chemist, but i do understand that agave nectar is low on the glycemic index because it’s high in fructose (rather than glucose), so it’s sweet without impacting a body’s blood sugar levels. i’m not the hugest fan of agave nectar usually, but i think the chocolate and coffee flavor made the agave taste all but disappear, and we all enjoyed these thin, crumbly, but rich and soft brownies immensely!

one year ago: thai “chicken” pizza

low sugar black bean brownies

yields approx 15 big but thin brownies
borrowed from 101 cookbooks

• 4oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1c unsalted butter
• 2c black beans, drained and rinsed (i used canned)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1T vanilla
• 1/2c walnuts, broken into pieces
• ¼c instant coffee
• ¼t sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1½c light agave nectar
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1. turn the oven on to 325°
2. grease a large baking pan (mine was approx 11 x 18″)
3. melt the chocolate and butter in a microwavable bowl by placing into the microwave for about 2 minutes
4. pour the beans, walnuts, vanilla, and two spoonfuls of the chocolate butter mixture into a food processor
5. process the bean mixture for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth
6. in a large bowl, mix together the broken walnuts, chocolate/butter mixture, instant coffee, and salt
7. in yet another bowl, beat the eggs until they are light yellow and fluffy, then add the agave and beat for another minute
8. stir the bean mixture into the walnut/chocolate/butter mixture, then add the egg/agave mixture, and stir until combined
9. pour into the greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the brownies are set
10. refrigerate overnight, then cut and serve cold

i love all things with fruit and butter and sugar – crisps, tarts, pies, cobbler – you name it, and i’ll bet that i love it!

so it’s fitting that, way back in june of 2008, i experimented with making my own crisp topping – sans recipe - and blogged the creation as the first recipe on eclaire.name.

i’ve been tinkering with that recipe for almost two years, and after making it for our recent dinner party, i finally loved the results enough to share with you (again)!

i think the best thing about this topping is that you could put it over any fruit – berries, stone fruits, apples, or any combination of the above, and it will be absolutely delicious! so find whatever fruit is in season or in your freezer, and make this versatile crisp! i’ll bet you end up eating the leftovers for breakfast…just a guess…

one year ago: wild rice and chickpea soup

apple crisp

yields 6-8 servings

• 1/3c raisins
• 1c hot water
• 1t vanilla extract
• 3/4c flour
• 3/4c oats
• 2/3c brown sugar
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/2t nutmeg
• 1/2c butter, softened
• 4 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/3c pecans, broken
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1. preheat the oven to 350º
2. place the raisins in a bowl and pour the hot water and vanilla over them
3. in a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg together, then work in the butter – i use my hands, but you could use a wooden spoon if you’d prefer – until thoroughly combined
4. place the pieces of apples into an 8×8″ baking dish
5. pour lemon juice over the top of the apples and toss
6. drain the raisins, and toss the raisins and pecans with the apples, then press them down into the pan
7. sprinkle the topping over the apple mixture
8. bake for 35-45 minutes, or until apples are soft and crisp is hot and starting to get dark around the edges
9. if you’d prefer to substitute berries or another type of fruit, substitute the apples, pecans, and raisins for 3c of berries or diced fruit at room temperature, and enjoy!

as promised in an earlier post, i’m sharing another delicious lemon recipe! lemon bars hold a special place in my heart – i can remember picking them out from behind beautiful glass bakery cases when i was a kid, after swimming lessons (or maybe after ballet lessons? i’m not entirely sure – eating at yummy bakery memories blend for me – it was a rough childhood, i know). while i tend to favor chocolate desserts, and just plain old chocolate in general, lemon bars are one of the few exceptions i make to my chocoholic nature.

i love that lemon bars seem really fancy, too, even though they’re a lot easier than many desserts. while they’re incredibly simple to make, they’re decidedly not quick. you have to make the shortbread base, bake that, make the lemon top, bake that, and then refrigerate for several hours or overnight before cutting and sprinkling with powdered sugar. so if you’re going to make these delicious bars, do yourself a favor and make them the night before you want to eat them, or you’ll have a gooey mess on your hands!

one year ago: kitchari

lemon bars

yields 16 cookies

• 1/2c melted butter
• 1c flour
• 1/4c powdered sugar
• 1c sugar
• 1/2t baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2t lemon zest
• 2T lemon juice
• 1-2T powdered sugar
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1. preheat the oven to 350°
2. grease and 8×8 pan
3. melt the butter (i usually nuke it), then whisk the flour and powdered sugar into the butter
4. press this mixture into the greased pan and bake for 20 minutes
5. meanwhile, whisk the sugar, baking powder, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice together
6. pour the liquid mixture over the baked crust (whisk one more time if it sat while the crust was baking)
7. bake for 25 minutes, then allow to cool in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight (you don’t want to skip this step, as they will ooze all over everything)
8. cut the lemon bars into 16 pieces and remove from the pan with a spatula
9. sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top of the bars, and serve!

last year, we began the tradition of making baked goods to share with others, and whipped out four different cookies to give as gifts. this year i wanted to continue the tradition in a new way, and make something that could be enjoyed well after the cookies made by the fabulous bakers we’re related to were eaten with relish. so, we decided to make a bunch of mini loaves that could be frozen and reheated for breakfasts, snacks, or desserts in three different flavors: zucchini, banana, and persimmon.

the persimmon bread recipe was a gift from my mom last year, and i took a bunch of photos when i made it for the first time after christmas ‘08. but i didn’t get the pictures up here before persimmon season ended, and i didn’t want to taunt you with an amazing recipe that you couldn’t make. because this bread is THAT good!

all the components are fabulous – the persimmons add a lovely texture and flavor, and keep the bread very moist and soft, the orange and lemon zest brighten the spice profile, and the pecans add a marvelous crunch. the bread rises well and yields the perfect combo of hearty but light goodness, standing up well in the hours between breakfast and lunch, but also not sitting heavily in your tummy if you eat it as a dessert. so what are you waiting for? go make this while persimmons are still in season, or you’ll be regretting it for the rest of the year!

one year ago: applesauce

persimmon spice bread

yields 8 mini loaves, 1 regular loaf, or 1 x 9″ round cake

• 1¾c all purpose flour
• 2t baking powder
• 1t ground cinnamon
• 1/2t ground nutmeg
• 1/2t ground cloves
• 1/2c butter, softened
• 1c sugar
• 1 egg
• 6 very soft, ripe persimmons
• 1t baking soda
• 1/2c chopped or broken pecans
• 1t orange zest
• 1t lemon zest
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1. preheat oven to 350º
2. in a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
3. in another large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg
4. cut the tops off the persimmons and scoop out the fruit, discarding the seeds, skin, and stems
5. place the fruit into a blender and whirl with the baking soda until combined and smooth
6. beat the persimmon and baking soda mixture into the butter, sugar, and egg mixture
7. add the flour to the persimmon and butter combo and continue beating until well combined
8. stir in the nuts, orange zest, and lemon zest
9. pour into 8 greased mini loaf pans, 1 greased 8.5×4.5″ loaf pan or a greased 9″ round cake pan
10. the mini loaves will bake for about 30 minutes, while the other two will bake for 40-45 minutes
11. test the bread by pressing down off center and watching for it to spring back
12. allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then pop out and enjoy!

i thoroughly enjoyed the nutmeg in this recipe, and that the sugar cookies were not terribly sweet. they also came together quickly on a work night, leaving all of us cookie-cut-outters and frosters happy and only slightly covered in food dye and sprinkles. i think these will become a yearly standard for me – do you all have cookies you make every year? please share!

one year ago: butternut squash lasagna

cookies

courtesy of epicurious.com

• 1c butter, at room temperature
• 1c brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1t vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 c all purpose flour
• 1t baking powder
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2t ground nutmeg
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1. beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in egg and vanilla
2. sift flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together, then stir into batter
3. shape dough into a 1/2″ rectangle on a floured surface and cut into four pieces
4. wrap each piece in saran wrap and place in freezer for 30 minutes
5. preheat oven to 350°
6. after 30 minutes, roll out each piece individually on floured surface until dough is 1/8″ thick
7. use cookie cutters to cut out shapes
8. bake on ungreased sheets for 11 minutes, then allow to cool before frosting

icing

adapted from epicurious.com

• 4c powdered sugar
• 3-4T (soy) milk
• 1/2t vanilla extract
• 2T butter, softened
• food dye, optional
• sprinkles, optional
• shredded coconut, optional
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1. beat sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter together until the icing is pliable, about 3 minutes
2. divide icing into several bowls and use food dye to color them
3. spread onto cooled cookies and top with sprinkles and coconut as desired, and enjoy!

luckily, mike’s 30th birthday is TODAY, so i was able to rectify the situation. i found smitten kitchen’s adaptation of magnolia bakery’s recipe, and whipped up a batch to celebrate the occasion. these cookies are absolutely heavenly, my friends. mouth wateringly amazing, lighter than any other peanut butter cookie i’ve ever had before, super flavorful, and dotted with peanut butter and chocolate chips throughout.

i’d love to keep telling you about how delicious the cookies are, but i need to go wrap presents and whip up a carrot cake for tomorrow’s celebration with friends – oh, and celebrate with the bday boy, too!  so i’m signing off with this photo from mike’s 20th birthday – the first one of his birthdays we celebrated together. i can’t believe it’s been 10 years since that birthday party in santa barbara!

happy, happy birthday mike – i can’t wait to enjoy this decade of your life as much as i enjoyed the last one! here’s to the 30s!

peanut butter cookies

adapted from smitten kitchen
yields about 2 dozen small cookies

• 1/2c butter, softened
• 1c smooth peanut butter at room temperature
• 3/4c sugar
• 1/2c packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1T (soy)milk
• 1t vanilla
• 1¼c all-purpose flour
• 3/4t baking soda
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/4teaspoon salt
• 1/2c peanut butter chips
• 1/2c chocolate chips
• 1/4c peanuts, finely chopped, optional
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1. preheat oven to 350°
2. in large bowl or stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until light and fluffy
3. add the white and brown sugars and beat until smooth
4. then add the egg, milk and vanilla, mixing well
5. combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl or large measuring cup, then add to the mixture, beating until combined
6. stir in the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and chopped peanuts if using
7. drop onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving room between each cookie
8. use a fork to lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern
9. bake for 10-12 mins, and promptly remove, even if they do not look quite done
10. cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely

ps- are any of you dressing up tonight? what are your costumes?