Toasted Almond Espresso Blondies Food

ALMOND BLONDIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes. Add butter and extracts; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until blended. Fold in almonds., Pour into an 8-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

CHEWY ALMOND SQUARES (BLONDIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven, prep pan, toast almonds: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter. Toast blanched almonds if you have not already done so, and when cool, roughly chop them.
• Mix wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until there are no more lumps of brown sugar. Whisk in the beaten egg and almond extract.
• Whisk dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt.
• Make batter: Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in the chopped almonds.

PRESSURE-COOKER ESPRESSO AND TOASTED ALMOND FLAN

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, stir the eggs, using a wire whisk. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, followed by the whole milk, 3/4 cup (175 ml) of the brewed espresso, the extracts and the espresso salt. Whisk until all of the ingredients are well-blended, without creating bubbles, about 1 minute. Set aside.
• To a round 1-quart (946-ml) aluminum flan mold or pan, add the sugar and the remaining tablespoon (15 ml) of brewed espresso and place on the burner. Turn the heat to high and begin caramelizing the sugar, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-high as soon as it starts to melt, using a wooden spoon or medium silicone spatula, 2 to 5 minutes, until the sugar is completely melted and a beautiful golden Cognac color.
• Turn off and remove the mold immediately from the heat. Working fast, coat the entire mold with the melted sugar, rotating it in a controlled circular motion. If you are not experienced in handling extremely hot caramel, leave the mold on your counter and quickly coat with a pastry brush or a small silicone spatula. It is about 330°F (165°C) at this point. Set aside and let sit until the caramel sets, about 1 minute. Pour the custard mixture into the flan mold or pan, using a medium-mesh hand strainer to collect the egg embryo. This last step here is not entirely necessary.
• Add enough water to the cooker to cover the mold halfway. Close the mold or cover your pan with aluminum foil and gently place in the middle of the cooker. Close the lid.
• Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Set to high pressure (15 PSI) and set the timer for 16 minutes. Cook over high heat until the pressure point is reached, about 11 minutes, then turn off the heat but do not remove the cooker from the stove. The residual heat will finish cooking it. Allow the pressure to release on its own for the remaining 5 to 6 minutes.
• Electric Pressure Cooker: Set to high pressure (10-12 PSI) and 16 minutes. When done, cancel cooking. Allow the pressure to release on its own (natural-release).
• When all of the pressure is out, open the cooker and gently remove the mold, using silicone gloves. Do not unmold. Chill the flan for at least 5 hours, giving it enough time to set.
• Remove the flan from the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving. To unmold, open the flan mold and loosen the sides, using a butter knife. Place a large plate on top of the mold and gently but quickly flip upside down. Allow all of the liquid caramel to drizzle all over the flan. Garnish with almonds and ground espresso.

ALMOND ESPRESSO BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and espresso until blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chopped almonds. , Spread into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned. , In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, water and extract until smooth; spread over warm bars. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

BLUEBERRY ALMOND DROP SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, almond flour, baking powder, salt and citrus zest until well combined.
• Use the large holes of a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour. Use a rubber spatula to toss the butter evenly into the flour, breaking up any large bits. Add the berries and slivered almonds and toss into the flour.
• Whisk together the cream, egg and vanilla in a small bowl, then pour into the flour-butter mixture. Stir and flatten the dough over itself until evenly moistened; some dry spots may remain -- that's OK. The dough will have the consistency of sticky cookie dough.
• Use a scoop or measuring cup to portion out 6 mounded 1/4-cup portions of the dough onto each prepared sheet pan. Flatten the mounds ever so slightly.
• For finishing: Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush onto the scones with a pastry brush. Sprinkle the scones with the finishing sugar.
• Bake until deep golden and slightly springy when touched, 28 to 30 minutes. Rotate the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway during baking. Let cool on the sheet pans until warm then transfer to a serving tray. The scones are best served warm or the day they are baked.

"BROWN ON BLONDE" BLONDIES

Steps:

• Crank the oven to 350ºF. Coat the insides of an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and line with a sling of parchment paper.
• Melt the butter in an 8-inch sauté pan over medium heat. When it's done bubbling, add the walnuts and pecans and cook until the nuts are toasted and the butter smells nutty, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
• Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl and strain the butter away from the nuts. Set both aside to cool for 30 minutes. Then, chop the nuts coarsely and set aside.
• While you're waiting, beat the almond butter into the cooled butter, followed by the brown sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat until completely smooth, about 1 minute, then stir in the flour mixture. Finish by folding in the nuts and transferring to the prepared pan. The batter will be thick, so I suggest a rubber or silicone spatula.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are deeply brown and the top is dry and cracked. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack for about 30 minutes. Slice into squares and devour with plenty of frosty almond milk.

ESPRESSO-INFUSED POURED CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Place your chopped chocolate in the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Place the espresso beans in a sealable gallon-size bag (or between two pieces of parchment) and crush them with a rolling pin. Combine the heavy cream and espresso beans in a small pot and heat over medium-low heat until simmering. Remove from the heat, cover the pot and allow the cream to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the cream through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a clean pot. Return the cream to medium-low heat and bring back to a simmer.
• Pour the warm cream into the bowl of chocolate. Add the coffee liqueur if using and the salt. Gently stir the mixture with a spatula until smooth. At this point you can pour your ganache or you can cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. To reheat, gently heat in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring frequently, until fluid again.

TOASTED ALMOND

Steps:

• Add liqueurs to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a 10-ounce rocks glass over ice. Top with heavy cream and serve with a short straw.

ALMOND BLONDIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF and butter and 8x8" baking pan.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl.
• Grate the almond paste(using the large hole side of the box grater)into the flour; add the chocolate chips and almonds.
• Mix well until all ingredients are coated with flour.
• Rub the flour together with fingertips separating any pieces of almond paste that may have stuck together.
• Melt the butter and while still hot, beat into sugar using an electric mixer.
• Beat on high until sugar is diessolved and mixture is smooth, not granular.
• Add the egg and Amaretto(I used 2 tablespoons); beat until well mixed.
• Stir in the flour mixture just until incorported.
• Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden and toothpick comes out clean,.