a new favorite

I've acquired a couple of new kitchen tools lately (it's kind of a fetish of mine) and so here is the first of a couple of posts that introduce them to you.  

I'll start with the first one. . . of course, it's Pampered Chef (not that I'm biased or anything . . . ha ha!).  The spring catalog debuted this amazing brownie pan and I knew instantly that I needed it.  Yes, I NEEDED it.  I think I convinced my husband that I would use it regularly. . . and I have. . . a lot.  

I know I have mentioned that I bake cookies every week for lunches and treats, and I thought that this pan would work out great for making brownies for lunches. . . and portion control, maybe? I have used it way more than for lunches, though.  It's now my go-to dessert pan when I need to make a quick dessert on the go.  I whip up these yummy blondies and put them on a pretty plate. . . add some ice cream and sundae toppings and wha-la. . . dessert!  

I'm not complaining. . . I don't think my friends are either. . . in fact, I made these for Mother's Day (I wasn't allowed to do something super amazing. . . after all, It was my day, too . . . so thanks, Honey. . . it was nice to take a break from baking!) and I'm pretty sure people enjoyed them. 

 So, the recipe can be found here.  It's my go-to recipe. I've made it a lot lately and I've even messed up on them and nobody noticed (that's how great they are!). I really like making blondies, because as much as I love my Kitchen Aid mixer, I sometimes just want to use a big scraper and a big bowl (it seems like less work . . . I'm weird like that).  Plus, since it's a blondie, you just make the base and add whatever (I mean WHATEVER) you have a hankering for that day.  I literally just reach into my baking basket and see what kind of chips are hanging out. . . sometimes I switch it up and add a combo of different kids of chips.  Whatever your hankering is . . . enjoy!


But. . . wait. . . there's more. . . I want to know what your favorite thing(s) to put inside a batch of blondies is/are?  Please post a comment. . . I want to hear from you.