Chewy Maple Raw Sugar Blondies

Festive Fall Treat!

This recipe comes to us from http://halfbakedharvest.com  I adapted it to use my favorite ingredients but, Wow!  This is a great recipe full of all of the flavors of Fall! 

• browned butter
• apples
• cinnamon
• maple!!!

This recipe goes together in about 20-30 minutes and bakes for another 20.  So it’s a fairly quick recipe to put together and can be done mostly in your mixing bowl.

Before we dive into the ingredients, let’s look at why we chose the ingredients in this recipe.  Just a reminder, you can get all of these great ingredients and more at Heaven’s Dew Agriculture and Healthy Home!

Cook’s Organic Maple Extract

The original recipe calls for Vanilla extract.  I’m sure that would be delicious, but for an extra rich maple flavor, I chose to use maple extract.   I love maple extract, especially one that is as high quality as this one from Cook’s!  Haven’t tried baking with maple extract before?  You should totally give it a try – it is so rich and full of flavor!

Our Fathers Foods Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1

Whew!  That’s a mouthful and I bet you are wondering, “what in the world is Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #!?”  I don’t blame you for wondering that.  Here’s the low-down according to Our Father Foods Website.  Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1 is made by Our Fathers Foods in western Ohio.  They have a patented process for crushing grains rather than grinding them.  In doing so, the cell remain complete, therefore “whole cell!”  Since the cells remain whole, the oils aren’t released as they are when the grains are ground and the resulting product is more digestible, good for anti-inflammatory diets, and very shelf stable! 

Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1 can be used in place of all-purpose flour, but I learned that in order to keep your baked goods from becoming too dry, you should always use a scant cup of Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1 if the recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour.  Another tip:  if you want your baked goods to have more parts of the grain, add a little Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #2 to your recipe!

Redmond Real Salt

Next is Redmond’s Real Salt.  What is Real Salt?  It is a salt mined from an ancient sea bed in Utah.  Redmond mines that salt, packages it, and sends it to your table – no refining involved!  What does that mean?  It means that there are over 60 minerals in this salt which is a great way to add depth of flavor to any recipe. 

I am amazed at the difference in flavor when using unrefined products in my baking.  They don’t taste “flat.”  There are subtleties in the eating experience that you don’t get when you use refined table salt or refined sugar.  Try it!  It’s an easy switch to make and you will improve the flavor of your dishes and the health of your family by introducing those trace minerals back into their diets!

Alright, now that we’ve looked at why we’ve chosen some of these ingredients, let’s dig in and make these bars!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) organic salted butter
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1/4 cup organic apple butter
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons Cook’s Organic Maple Extract
• 2 1/3 cups (scant) Our Fathers Foods Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmond Real Salt
• 1 cup organic chocolate chips
• Glaze:
  • 3 tablespoons organic salted butter
  • 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
  • 1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cook’s Organic Maple Extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350º F.  Grease a 9″x13″ baking pan with butter and set aside.
2. In a skillet, brown 1 1/2 sticks of the butter over medium heat for 2-3 minutes just until it smells slightly toasted (you don’t want it to get very dark in color).  Pour the butter into your mixing bowl and add the other 1/2 stick of butter.  Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Next add the raw sugar, maple syrup, apple butter, and maple extract. Blend.  Add the egg and mix until egg is completely mixed in.
4. Now it’s time to add the Whole Cell Crushed Wheat #1, baking powder, cinnamon, and Real Salt.  Mix until all of the dry ingredients are wet.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into your prepared pan.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges are beginning to brown.  The middle might still be a bit gooey – yum!
7. Let cool and make the glaze by melting the butter in a small saucepan.  Add maple syrup and mix well.  Remove from heat and add extract.  Then add enough powdered sugar to make the glaze the consistency you like.  Once the bars are completely cooled, drizzle the glaze over, cut into bars, and enjoy!

I really hope you enjoy this recipe.  September is here and this is a great way to usher it in!  Comment below if you make this recipe, or let us know about one of your favorite Fall recipes!  We would love to hear from you!