Farewell to Fall - Black Walnut and Caramel Blondies

Keep autumn's glow going just a little longer with
rich butterscotch squares draped in clinging
caramel and studded with pungent black walnuts.

When I was growing up, the U.S. seasons magically yet predictably changed on the 21st day of every quarter. You could even say you could set your clock to the tilt of the Earth and its proximity to the Sun. Galileo and Newton would approve. Alas, though, something's happened along the way. The 2008 seasonal calendar is all akimbo: spring on March 20; summer on June 20; fall on September 22; and winter on December 21. In fact, our seasons have been shifting ever so slightly for years now. Never mind that March more often than not lingers in its lion phase far longer than welcoming the lamb. Things aren't quite as they seem to be. Perhaps the Earth's spinning on its axis to internal rhythms that the average denizen cannot perceptibly measure without the aid and acumen of the astronomical community. Perhaps the Earth's orbit is a longer loop than back in the day. Perhaps its my rhythms and orbit that are off. All I know is that after waiting months through a lazy and recalcitrant fall, there wasn't enough time to savor the golden, burnished glories of trees tucking in for their dormancy before the landscape was fiercely shrouded in hard gray ice on December 19. December 19? It wasn't even officially winter yet. Ah, well, maybe next year.

November 12.

December 19.

Black Walnut and Caramel Blondies - Adapted from the basic Good Housekeeping recipe

Ingredients

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped black walnuts (or other nut of your choice)
2 heaping cups packaged caramels
2 tablespoons water
Method

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Well grease a 13 X 9-inch baking pan.

In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder to combine, then reserve. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, then whisk in brown sugar, allowing it to melt before whisking in vanilla. Remove from heat. Add eggs, beating very well to combine. Add flour mixture, again beating very well until smooth without any flecks of dry ingredients left unincorporated. Stir in chopped nuts just until blended. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 20 minutes on center rack of oven. Do not overbake. Remove from oven, setting pan on rack for cooling.

When pan has cooled for 10 minutes, begin melting caramels and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until very smooth. Remove from heat and pour slowly and evenly over surface of still-warm blondies. If necessary, smooth out the caramel for maximum coverage with an offset spatula or the bottom of a metal spoon. Allow to cool completely to facilitate cutting, but you may want to briefly microwave servings if you like your caramel very warm and oozing. Makes 15 2 X 2-inch squares. --

Been There, Done That ~

Fire-Breathing Brownies
Maple Walnut Layer Cake
Lemon Curd Shortbread


Other People's Eats ~

Raspberry Pecan Blondies
Brownies
Butterscotch Brownies/Blondies