Up so early, that I must bake
Oct. 29th, 2008 07:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfishieI woke up at 5 this morning -- which is early enough to be surprising, and late enough that going back to sleep isn't worth it. So since I was up anyway, I decided to bake.
At times, expecially early in the morning on a cold fall day, I think of baking as a form of meditation -- the simple joy of doing something that is constructive with your hands, and bringing disparate elements together. When done right, it can be very centering -- and give you delicious things to eat :)
I made Swedish Brownies to bring into work -- they're very similar in form and shape to Blondies (and this may really just be a Blondie recipe), and the recipe for these is ridiculously simple and made up of things most people have around the house.
There isn't a real levening agent in the recipe, so they tend to stay flatter than a lot of baked good -- but they're still delicious.
So for no particular reason - a recipe!
Swedish Brownies
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon almond flavoring (or lemon, anise, etc. if you're allergic to nuts - Swedish desserts tend to be almond heavy which is probably part of how this got its name )
Directions
-Beat eggs until light.
-Add sugar; mix well.
-Fold in remaining ingredients (butter last).
-Spread in a greased 8X8" pan.
-Optional: Sprinkle with sugar and/or chopped nuts.
-Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes.
-Doubling the recipe for a larger batch is straight-forward and it will just take longer for them to bake.
Notes:
-I increase my amount of almond extract on this slightly -- as I like that flavour. It's not to everyone's taste.
-I could only find my gluten free flour this morning, but since the recipe is so simple, these still came out well.
Oh and I actually made breakfast too - 6 grain oatmeal, and pumpkin pancakes. The extra pancakes are also coming with me to work :)
At times, expecially early in the morning on a cold fall day, I think of baking as a form of meditation -- the simple joy of doing something that is constructive with your hands, and bringing disparate elements together. When done right, it can be very centering -- and give you delicious things to eat :)
I made Swedish Brownies to bring into work -- they're very similar in form and shape to Blondies (and this may really just be a Blondie recipe), and the recipe for these is ridiculously simple and made up of things most people have around the house.
There isn't a real levening agent in the recipe, so they tend to stay flatter than a lot of baked good -- but they're still delicious.
So for no particular reason - a recipe!
Swedish Brownies
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon almond flavoring (or lemon, anise, etc. if you're allergic to nuts - Swedish desserts tend to be almond heavy which is probably part of how this got its name )
Directions
-Beat eggs until light.
-Add sugar; mix well.
-Fold in remaining ingredients (butter last).
-Spread in a greased 8X8" pan.
-Optional: Sprinkle with sugar and/or chopped nuts.
-Bake at 325 F for 30 minutes.
-Doubling the recipe for a larger batch is straight-forward and it will just take longer for them to bake.
Notes:
-I increase my amount of almond extract on this slightly -- as I like that flavour. It's not to everyone's taste.
-I could only find my gluten free flour this morning, but since the recipe is so simple, these still came out well.
Oh and I actually made breakfast too - 6 grain oatmeal, and pumpkin pancakes. The extra pancakes are also coming with me to work :)
