Hey Everybody! Hot enough for ya? Yikes, it is sooooo hot here in the Midwest right now. I mean, like, gross hot. Like the kind of sticky, humid hot that punches you in the face when you open the door. And, you know it is hot when I complain about it. I’m the kind of person who actually likes a little warmth in the summer months. My favorite temperature range is 80 to 82 degrees, but this humidity is just disgusting. Our poor air conditioner is working overtime. I feel like I should take it a beach umbrella and a popsicle. Hmmmm….a popsicle sounds pretty good right now. But, I digress. I have been thinking a lot about the weather because we have had so many parties and events outside lately. There are still a couple coming up. One of them is a Battle of The Bands in Louisiana, Missouri in about 2 weeks. I don’t think that I have had the opportunity yet to say that my husband (Elliott) is in a cover band. I didn’t make this picture very big because it was grainy and big grainy looks worse than small grainy.
The band is called Professional Misconduct and consist of some local and some not so local business people. They play at bars and events in our area and in the St. Louis/Metro East area. Recently, they were asked to play at this Battle of The Bands and it is outdoors. Uuuugh. Elliott said that I didn’t have to go but I still feel bad for them playing in the heat.
They were supposed to have a practice tonight and I normally send some sort of baked treat to share. I decided what to make and bought the ingredients and then found out that the practice was canceled. The recipe is one that I wanted to share on thekitchenwench.com anyway so I made them up just for you. I know I shouldn’t have but I love you guys so much that I couldn’t help myself. I guess that I will have to make them again for the band. Darn the luck!
Prepare to be amazed! These are Dreamy White Chocolate Brownies. I know that right now you may be thinking that brownies are not white. They are brown, hence the name. Well, these babies are made with white chocolate chips or bars and boy are they delicious. It seems strange to say that something that isn’t a traditional brownie is fudgy, but they definitely are. These bars are fudgy, moist and sweet with an elegant appearance that is perfect for parties. Don’t get me wrong. I am a life-long chocoholic and I do love a dark chocolate brownie. But, these are too delicious to ignore. Give them a try! You won’t be disappointed!
You will need 1 cup (2 sticks of unsalted butter). If you don’t have unsalted, go ahead and use the salted but omit the extra salt from the batter. Chunk up your butter and put it in a large glass measuring cup or medium glass bowl that can be microwaved. Add in 12 oz. of white chocolate baking chips or 12 oz. of your favorite white chocolate baking bar, broken into small pieces. Microwave this in 30-second increments, stirring often. Continue this process until all the butter and chocolate are melted and are beginning to combine. Now, at this point, depending on your chocolate, you might think that this mixture is never going to come together and be smooth. That is because the white chocolate has so much oil in it and it does not want to mix with the butterfat. Snob.
Be patient and when everything is melted, transfer that mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer or into a larger bowl if you are using a hand mixer. Mix it up well and you will see that it does come together and resemble a smooth, thick glaze.
Add in the sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix well until all are incorporated. Add the eggs in one at a time until all are mixed in very well.
Mix in the flour a little at a time so that you don’t have a flour cloud cover you and your kitchen. When all the flour is incorporated you will see that it looks like a nice, thick batter. Spread the batter into your greased 13 X 9 inch cake pan. I just used cooking spray this time, but I do frequently line my pan with parchment paper and spray a little cooking spray on that as well. It makes it so easy to remove them from the pan for serving.
Bake these at 350 degrees for 28 – 30 minutes. They will be a little golden brown around the edges and the center will be set. A toothpick inserted in the center should not have any liquid clinging to it when removed. Let these cool completely (if you can wait that long). At least wait until the danger of burning yourself has passed. Then all bets are off. Cut them into squares and enjoy!
Note: I have dressed these up with a sprinkling of pretty colored or glittery sugar before baking. They would be perfect for a bridal or baby shower.
Dreamy White Chocolate Brownies
These bars are fudgy, moist and sweet with an elegant appearance that is perfect for parties.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 12 oz. white chocolate (chips or bar)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or flavoring
- 2 1/2 cups flour
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2 Spray or line with parchment a 9 X 13 baking pan.
- Step 3 Melt butter and chocolate in a glass dish in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds or so. When all is melted pour the mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Step 4 Mix well on medium-low speed until the mixture is smooth.
- Step 5 Add in the sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix well until all are incorporated.
- Step 6 Add the eggs in one at a time until all are mixed in very well.
- Step 7 Mix in the flour a little at a time until all is incorporated.
- Step 8 Spread the batter into your greased (or parchment lined) 13 X 9 inch cake pan.
- Step 9 Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Step 10 Allow to cool and then cut into squares.
