By The end of July. The cherry tomatoes have outpaced my ability to eat them. I made a small batch of tomato jam Sunday — sugar, vinegar, a smashed garlic clove, the patience of forty minutes. It came out beautiful.
Liam has a wiggly tooth, the front bottom right one. He has been wiggling it constantly, including at meals, including when Maureen has told him to stop.
Clinic — full. Two of my colleagues are on vacation, so Janelle and I are running it. I'm exhausted. I came home Tuesday and fell asleep on the couch with the kids watching a movie next to me.
Group Tuesday with Anna again. She had us write down one thing we were dreading and one thing we were looking forward to. Dreading: August 3. Looking forward to: my August trip to the Cape with Connor and Jess, which I almost canceled twice and have not canceled.
Meghan called at 11 Wednesday. She said are you really going to the Cape with Connor. I said yes. She said is this a good idea. I said it is a good idea or it is a hard idea, and either way it is the idea I am doing. She said okay, Katie. I love you. I said I love you back.
Sunday dinner at Ma's. Stuffed cabbage, an Eastern European recipe Maureen got from a coworker decades ago. I love it. The kids tolerate it. Dad ate four.
Saturday pancakes. Burned the first one. The wiggly-tooth Liam still ate three. He chewed gingerly.
Food of the week: tomato jam on toast with goat cheese. A small luxury. I had it three times.
The tomato jam was already my small luxury this week — I wasn’t planning to add another one. But after Tuesday’s clinic and Meghan’s call and the particular exhaustion of holding everything steady, I wanted to make something for the kids that felt like more than just keeping the lights on. Liam ate three burned pancakes and called it good; I figured he deserved something that wasn’t burned. These browned butter blondies are what I made Saturday afternoon while he wiggled that tooth and the movie played in the next room — simple enough that I could do it half-asleep, good enough that it felt like I’d actually showed up.
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus a handful for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter. In a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, swirling occasionally. Continue cooking until the butter foams, then clears, and small brown specks appear on the bottom and it smells nutty — about 4–5 minutes. Pour immediately into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the brown sugar into the cooled browned butter until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract; whisk vigorously until the mixture is glossy and slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Fold with a spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Fold in the 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.
- Bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan — it will be thick. Scatter a handful of extra chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 22–26 minutes, until the top is golden and set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
- Cool and cut. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before lifting out and cutting into 16 bars. They firm up as they cool — resist the urge to cut early.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 178 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 55mg