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I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

irish

Irish Coffee Blondies

Irish Coffee… yes please!

When I saw this Chewy Irish Coffee Blondie recipe in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living I just knew that had to make them. I have not done much baking with coffee in the past so I felt the recipe was interesting as it uses fresh coffee grounds right in the batter. Plus the glaze has Irish whiskey so this would be a great recipe for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day.

 

 

The blondies were so easy to whip up! I basically had everything I needed on hand too. I just had to run out and get a nip of whiskey and then I was all set. The process was quick and easy. I only made a few changes & they related to process.  I did not put parchment in my pan like the recipe called for. I just put a lot of cooking spray and they popped right out! Also, I gently cut all of my bars in the pan, removed them, and then drizzled the glaze on them since I like them bars have glaze covering them all over, not just the top. Aside from that the recipe is spot on and a great crowd pleaser- just as my coworkers!

 

 

The blondies are so good. On Saturday night told Price would make them on Sunday and by Sunday afternoon I was getting bugged about making them. Thankfully once I started it all came together quickly. The recipe says to wait for the glaze to cool for an hour after you put it on the blondies… umm that did not happen! The moment the glaze was on them was the moment we enjoyed 2… each! ouch! But the sweet treat is totally worth the extra exercise push we need to make. Trust me! The blondies are chewy, sugary, buttery, and so moist. The almonds provide a nice crunch to the top which is a nice compliment to the texture of the bar. The whiskey glaze is subtle but you do catch a bit of the flavor to tie the Irish Coffee experience together. 

 

 

Irish Coffee Blondies

Makes 24 bars

Ingredients

For the Blondies

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons freshly ground coffee
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, skin on

For the Glaze

  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
  • 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter/spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment so that it overhangs on all sides. Butter parchment. 
  2. In a small pot or microwavable safe bowl, melt the 2 sticks of butter.
  3. In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
  4. Combine brown sugar, ground coffee, and salt in a large mixing bowl. 
  5. Pour the melted butter to the sugar mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well to combine. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. 
  6. Pour batter into pan, and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 27 – 30 minutes, depending on how chewy you like your blondies (shorter baking time results in a chewier blondie). Let the blondies cool for 10-15 minutes, gently cut them into 24 squares (6 pieces by 4 pieces).
  7. Line your counter with paper towels or news paper, to provide you with an easily cleanable work surface. Place the blondies on cooling trays to continue to cool and to receive the glaze.
  8. To make the glaze, whisk together butter, sugar, and whiskey. Add more sugar or whiskey until glaze is thick but pourable. 
  9. Using a spoon or a plastic bag with the tip cut off, drizzle glaze over blondies. Let the glaze dry 1 hour. 
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Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

It’s funny how I’m not Irish but I have an Irish Claddagh Ring tattoo. Some sort of identity crisis there. Plus I can’t get enough of Irish Soda Bread. I really look forward to this time of year so I can get it in stores. In high school I would sit on the kitchen counter of my boyfriend’s house and eat slivers of it while talking to his mom as we watched Oprah or Dora the Explorer (for his sister).

I decided that relying on stores to get my fix of Irish Soda Bread was no longer acceptable and that I would have to learn to make it. Blog searching led me to the recipe on Andrea Meyer’s Blog. The photo hooked me.

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The recipe came together well and resulted in two great loaves, just like the ones my ex’s dad would bring home to the bakery. It’s so easy to put together that you don’t need any mixing equipment aside from a spoon and your hands. I found that my bread was very sticky when I was attempting to knead it. Price had to add a lot of flour to our countertop and my hands as I stood there with bread mashed around my fingers. I’m not sure if it had to do with using less currants than the recipe called for or the overall humidity in our apartment. It had been heavily raining for 24 hours at the point when I made the breads. Either way, make sure you have heavily floured work surface and hands or flour at the ready, or someone to supply it to you.

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I like raisins and currants but I wanted as I added the currants to the bread I realized that I wanted to use less than the 2 cups/320 grams that the recipe called for. In the end I used approximately half of a 10oz box of currants, 140 grams.  I like the ratio of bread to currant that was created in the end.

Irish Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (480 g)  unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking  soda
  • 1/4 cup (44 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 cups (140 g) currants or raisins (half a box of currants)
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 1-3/4 cup (420 ml) buttermilk or sour milk
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • granulated sugar for sprinkling

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. (If you are using dark nonstick pans, preheat oven to 350° F/175° C.)
  2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and sugar. Add butter and cut in until crumbly. Stir in the currants.
  3. Combine egg and buttermilk and add to dry ingredients. Stir until blended.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a wooden board sprinkled with flour. Knead the dough for a minute, no longer. If the dough is a little sticky, dust with some extra flour. Take care not to overwork the dough, or the bread will be tough.
  5. Divide dough in half and shape each into a round loaf. Place each loaf into an 8-inch round cake pan or on a large baking sheet. Cut a cross on top of each loaf, about 1/2-inch deep. Then brush each with milk and sprinkle sugar on the top.
  6. Bake 35-40 minutes until golden. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack. Slice to serve.

Adapted from Andrea Meyer’s recipe