I realized late last night that time was running out for Taste & Create VI, and with the rest of our week already planned out and our being out of town this weekend, my options for creating a dish from Kelly’s Sounding My Barbaric Gulp were dwindling. Luckily, she recently featured a recipe that sounded quick, delicious, and utilized ingredients that we (for the most part) already had on hand. I did have to make a substitution: fresh raspberries have been hard to come by recently, so I substituted frozen cranberries that I still had on hand from the last T&C event. Huzzah for that miracle of the modern age, the ice-box.

Lisa says:

How is it that you ended up baking again?

Chris says:

I don’t know — at least this time there aren’t any professional bakers around to taste my wares.

Lisa says:

And it looks like this one only took like an hour…

Chris says:

Yes! Very easy, and I’m happy with the results. I like the tartness of the cranberries against the sweet of the cake.

Lisa says:

I like the sweet of the batter when I lick the bowl.

Cranberry Almond Blondies
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9 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sliced almonds, (3 ounces), toasted
1/2 cup cranberries, sliced
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside.
Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated. Mix 3/4 cup almonds into batter.
Pour oh-so-thick batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula. Scatter cranberries and remaining 1/4 cup nuts over batter in pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into blondies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 55 to 60 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before cutting into squares.

16 small squares