Goat Cheese Blondies with Black Walnuts
It isn't often that I'm so charmed by a dessert recipe that I can't get it out of my head. But I took one look at Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein's recipe for Goat Cheese Blondies, and instantly felt the kind of swirling heady love that normally only wells up in me for mushrooms.
For those of you who are feeling hesitation and thinking, I dunno... goat cheese in dessert? Let me tell ya that goat cheese is exactly what blondies have always longed for to balance out all of that cloying sweetness. Instead of au de goat, the chevre adds a pleasantly bright tang to the blondies.
Since I'm not a chocolate fan, I've scaled back the chocolate chips in the original recipe, and added some nutty crunch with black walnuts. Also, in honor of Wild Things Seed Month, I've used some flour made from wild foraged amaranth in the recipe. I made it by grinding the amaranth in my mortar and pestle, and then sifting it through a sieve. If you don't have amaranth flour, you can use 100% of the regular flour or gluten-free flour blend of your choice.
Also, if you are interested in more recipes which are goaty and wonderful, have a peek at Bruce and Mark's book, Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese.
Goat Cheese Blondies with Black Walnuts and Amaranth
4 oz. goat cheese chevre
4 Tbsp. butter, chilled, chunked
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 egg
1 yolk
1/2 Tbsp Vanilla
3/4 c. flour or gluten-free flour blend*
1/4 c. amaranth flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. black walnuts (or as many as you have the patience to pick)
1. Beat the goat cheese, butter, sugar, and molasses with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until very light and fluffy, ideally 8 minutes. But if you are like me and can't stand the noise, 4 minutes works just fine.
2. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and continue to beat the mixture until well combined and smooth.
3. Sift in the flours, baking powder, and salt, and gently mix just until they are incorporated.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.
5. Glop the batter into a greased and floured 8x8" pan, and smooth it out with a spatula as much as possible. Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean.
*I'm still a little obsessed with sorghum flour, and used a eyeballed blend or sorghum flour, brown rice flour, and a big pinch of xanthan gum.
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