Blondies with Cranberries and Almonds (for Passover)

Previously, I posted Passover Blondies with Chocolate Chips on Comfy Cook's Kosher Kitchen.  The recipe was from last year and I had no photos.  To rectify this, tonight, I baked more blondies but instead of the chocolate chips, I put in cranberries and almonds.

Everyone who has a blog is old enough to know that life is not one smooth road and some of the bumps are really small but knock you around a bit.  Tonight was one of those nights.  Nothing really happened but those little bumps got in my way and changed my plans.

This is the time of the year, when I do the most cooking and in some ways, the most challenging.  I think that is why those bumps seem bigger than they are.  When we change our kitchens for the Passover holiday, it means packing up your dishes, pots and pans, utensils and basically everything.  Sometimes, this happens by simply taping a cabinet and not using it.  Other items are completely removed to make space for the Pesach dishes, flatware, glasses, measuring cups, pots and pans, food processor, etc.  Even dish towels and pot holders are changed. The first challenge is to figure out where I put things.  As an example, I ended up putting the measuring cups in my year round silverware drawer.  Of course, when I needed a measuring cup, I had no idea where the cups were.  I have to keep certain items on the counter because I lack the space to put them away so I keep our my food processor and hand mixer.  Nothing seems normal and it took me a full hour to make these simple blondies.  Next time, it will probably take me a few minutes to prep the recipe.

Then I cut my finger on my dominant hand on a sharp blade which should not have been where it was.  (I put it there.)  Ouch, it hurt and the blood gushed out of it.  So, I walked around with a wrapped finger and my hand held high for a while.  At the same time, I was trying to make the blondies with little success.  My mistake was not sitting down and resting so the finger would stop bleeding.  It wasn't till quite a while later when I looked down and saw blood gushing out from under the wrapping that I realized, I had to change my ways.  I am not sure if I sound like a hypochondriac or a martyr.

I went to finish the blondies, planning to stop as soon as they were in the oven.  Did I know that I was not going to find the beaters to my mixer?  Now, I can laugh.  I checked everywhere they could have been stashed over the year and no beaters were to be found.  I took out boxes and checked under the wrapping paper.  I pulled out huge pots to see if they had been stored in them.  A short while later, hubby comes in with a box, shaking it and trying to figure out what was rattling in it.  It was the mixer box and there was loose cardboard in place.  Cardboard did not sound like that.  Under the cardboard were my mixers.  By that time, I had hand mixed the batter and it is an easy mix and one does not need a mixer.

Oops, my husband just called me to the basement where we had a flood.  I did not count on that one, when I wrote this post.  Just a bit more excitement on a Spring evening.


Nothing that happened was major.  I think it is the little issues in life that get to the core of a person more than the big issues.  Big issues must be handled and handled correctly.  Little ones tend to nudge at one and the reality is that most of the time, they can be worked around.  My little issues nudged  and I let them.  Being philosophical, I learned a lot from my blondies.


Oh, do you want the recipe?  They are yummy and I see why I would make them throughout the year.  The texture is different than our seasonal cake but if you look at the photo, you see it is cake, good cake.  Many Passover cakes beat egg whites and I don't usually like them.  They are too airy and light.  I enjoy the ones where you use the entire egg and in some recipes, where one is supposed to separate the yolks and whites, I don't and I still get delicious eats.

Passover Blondies with cranberries and almonds

   

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup oil                                                                                                                

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla sugar

7 ounces ground almonds

1 cup potato starch

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup cranberries  (I recommend more cranberries and more almonds -- maybe 3/4 cup of each)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together except chocolate chips.  Mix well by hand.

Place cranberries and almonds on batter and mix lightly.

Place in 9 inch square pan

Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out dry.  Cover if it is browning too fast.

Enjoy.

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