I'm continuing to find all sorts of random things as I dig deep into the pantry, including an unopened one-pound bag of glazed red cherries. The bag was definitely a holdover from last Christmas, because I generally only stock up on candied fruit for holiday baking. But I was happy to find a way to use up my glazed cherry supply with Edd Kimber's recipe for Cherry Bakewell Blondies.
This recipe comes together quickly. You whisk together eggs, egg yolks, white sugar, and light brown sugar; pour in melted butter, vanilla, and almond extract; and add flour, ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. You spread the batter into a parchment-lined pan, and scatter crumbled marzipan (I used almond paste instead), glazed cherries, sliced almonds, and demerara sugar on top.
I was afraid that the glazed cherries might make the bars too sweet, but they were absolutely delicious. They were packed with almond flavor -- the concentrated flavor of the almond paste bits and the crunch from the sliced almonds were an absolute delight -- and the bars were thick and substantial and chewy. My tasters were incredibly enthusiastic about these, and I loved them too. Glazed cherries are not my favorite, but they definitely work here.
I couldn't help comparing these to Alice Medrich's Chewy Cherry Almond Bars (from Cookies and Brownies), which is one of my favorite recipes that I have made countless times over the past twenty years. Medrich's bars (which include dried tart cherries, not glazed cherries) are svelte and understated and strealined. These cherry bbakewell blondies are flashy and exuberant. Both are so good.
Recipe: "Cherry Bakewell Blondies" by Edd Kimber, from Olive Magazine.
This recipe comes together quickly. You whisk together eggs, egg yolks, white sugar, and light brown sugar; pour in melted butter, vanilla, and almond extract; and add flour, ground almonds, baking soda, and salt. You spread the batter into a parchment-lined pan, and scatter crumbled marzipan (I used almond paste instead), glazed cherries, sliced almonds, and demerara sugar on top.
I couldn't help comparing these to Alice Medrich's Chewy Cherry Almond Bars (from Cookies and Brownies), which is one of my favorite recipes that I have made countless times over the past twenty years. Medrich's bars (which include dried tart cherries, not glazed cherries) are svelte and understated and strealined. These cherry bbakewell blondies are flashy and exuberant. Both are so good.
Recipe: "Cherry Bakewell Blondies" by Edd Kimber, from Olive Magazine.
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