Tuesday, July 12, 2016

BLUEBERRY BLONDIES from Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle


With blueberry season in full swing, my husband (and partner in crime-writing) asked me to bake up a pan of these babies this week. Marc thought I should call them Mondies. They are, after all, a cross between a Muffin and a BlondieFrankly, I prefer Bluffin

No, it's not exactly Pastry Chef Dominique Ansel’s world-famous cross between a croissant and a doughnut, aka the Cronut ™. Nonetheless, it is an amazingly delicious mash-up. Here's why...

My Blueberry Blondies have...

(A.) The cozy familiarity of a blueberry muffin, but with...

(B.) Delicious caramel and butterscotch background notes (from the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla), and a...

(C.) Slightly chewy texture and crusty top reminiscent of a true blondie, even more so after they've cooled completely. They're also...

HEALTHIFIED! (Well, somewhat, anyway.)

An 8-inch square pan of blondies would typically call for 1 whole stick (8 T.) of butter. I’m using only 3 T. butter and including plenty of blueberries, a superfood that offers nutrition and fiber. I also use mostly brown sugar, which has a tad more nutrition value than white.


Once strained, Norwegian Egg Coffee
produces a very pretty (and smooth!)
amber-colored beverage. The egg
proteins are what make the magic, as they
do in today's recipe for Blueberry Blondies.
To see my recipe for Norwegian
Egg Coffee, click here.
The key to maintaining the chewy texture with less butter is the astringent ingredient (in this case vinegar, but you could also use lemon juice). It interacts with the proteins in the incredible, edible egg (a baker's trick that's been around for years). 

To see more egg-protein magic of the culinary variety, click here, and read my post about Norwegian Egg Coffee. The egg helps clarify the brew, and a Norwegian chemist explains it all for us.

May you eat with joy and (slightly) less guilt. 

~ Cleo





Billionaire Blondies? Yes!


Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here and here.
A delicious, low-fat cross between a butterscotch blondie and a blueberry muffin, these Blueberry Blondies are a bonus recipe from one of our most popular Coffeehouse Mysteries, Billionaire Blend, in which Clare, our coffeehouse manager and amateur sleuth, saves the life of a high-tech billionaire who hires her to create the most expensive coffee blend on the planet. A dream come true? Maybe not...


Billionaire Blend:
A Coffeehouse Mystery
by Cleo Coyle
As Clare is pulled deeper into Eric Thorner's world, a mesmerizing circle of cutting-edge luxuries and cutthroat rivalries, she begins to wonder: Is this charming CEO marked for termination? Or is he the one making a killing? 

To solve this case, Clare will have to bribe a bomb squad lieutenant; conjure up a menu for a "billionaire's potluck"; fix her daughter's love life; stop a Slayer while working with one; and stay alive while doing it.

To see more of the recipes featured in this (our 13th) culinary mystery from our long-running series, click hereAnd enjoy today's bonus recipe, which can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries, so you can eat with blueberry joy all year round...




To download this 
recipe in a free PDF 
document that you can 
print, save, or share, 
Click here for the
Free Recipe PDF


Cleo Coyle's Blueberry Blondies


Makes one 8-inch square pan of blondies 
(In my photo, you see 16 squares)


INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (Do not omit! The vinegar
   interacts with the eggs to create the proper texture.)


1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup white, granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest (grated rind of a lemon,
   yellow only, no bitter white pith)

1/4 teaspoon table salt (+ a generous pinch)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit 

1/8 teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries 



DIRECTIONS: 

Step 1 - Prep oven and pan: Preheat oven to 325° F. Because this is a relatively low fat recipe and blueberries secrete juice as they bake, the best way to prevent sticking is to create a parchment paper sling for your 8-inch square pan (see my photo).




Step 2 – One bowl mixing method: Into a large mixing bowl, break 2 eggs, add the cider vinegar, and whisk well. Add the brown and white sugars, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Add the melted (and cooled!) butter and the baking soda. Whisk again until smooth. Now add the flour and switch to a spoon or spatula, stirring well. (Do not over-mix at this point.) Gently fold in the blueberries, trying not to smash or crush them.

Step 3 – Bake: Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan and bake in your well pre-heated 325° F oven for 30 to 40 minutes (exact time depends on your oven). The low temperature and long cooking time helps with even baking. The pan of blondies is done when the top is deep golden brown and firmly set. The slight cracking that you see in my photos (the kind you usually find on the top surface of a brownie or blondie) will appear when the blondies are cooled and cut. 

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before gently lifting by the parchment paper handles. Cut into 16 small squares and...eat with joy!

  
  F o o d i e  
Photos


Adding melted (and cooled)
butter to the batter.



Batter is thick but loose enough to pour.
Be sure to even it out in the pan.














☕ ☕ ☕




Eat (and read) with joy! 

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries 


Alice and Marc in Central Park. 
Together we write as Cleo Coyle. 

Learn more about us here.
Friend us on facebook here.
Follow us on twitter here.
Visit our online coffeehouse here.


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Top 10 Best Mysteries 
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This culinary mystery includes
more than 25 delicious recipes!
To get the Free Recipe Guide, 

CLICK HERE.



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The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
16 titles includes the added bonus of recipes. 


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Marc and I also write
The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries

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books and meet Jack Shepard, 
our PI ghost...




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14 comments:

  1. Oh boy Cleo, will definitely try these--love anything with blueberries in it! thanks:) xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't blueberries the best? Beautiful color and sweet to eat. Thanks, Lucy!

      Delete
  2. Me, too -- blueberries and caramel sound like a billion-dollar combination!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha!! Thanks, Leslie, if only they baked up a winning lottery ticket. Now that would be one valuable recipe!

      Delete
  3. You know what I am going to say Cleo. The boys are going to love these they are starting at the laptop screen asking what they are and if we can make them :).

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to try this Cleo! These look delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These are making my mouth water already. Thanks for this great recipe, Cleo. I didn't realize that you wrote the Haunted Bookshop mysteries. I've been wanting to read those and intend to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy - Yes, indeed, my husband and I have written five thus far and we're contracted to turn in the sixth this fall with more to follow. Our hard-boiled ghost PI (Jack Shepard) is now haunting facebook as well as Penelope's book shop, and if you enjoy his cases, he'd love to have you "friend" him. Just type Jack Shepard into the facebook search and look for the dapper fellow in the fedora. ("Self-employed," of course.)

      Delete
  6. I think I need to make these tomorrow! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Easy and tasty, I hope you enjoy them, Elaine!

      Delete
  7. Elaine, Kathy, Pat, Babs, Leslie, and Lucy - Thank you all so much for dropping into the Kitchen today! Summer is a lovely time for fresh blueberries, and I hope you all enjoy how today's recipe makes use of them.

    Have a delicious week, everyone!

    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter
    www.CleoCoyleRecipes.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. My oh my, these sound good!
    Perfect for wonderful wild Maine blueberries.

    ReplyDelete