Beth Cato's Blog, page 133

Bready or Not: Oreo Cream Cheese Blondies

When I was in the later stage of pregnancy with Critter, my biggest craving was for Oreo Blizzards at Dairy Queen. It was probably a good thing that the closest one was about six miles away--too far for me to walk. However, as a non-driver I often caught a ride with friends to shop or do appointments, and more often than not I'd say, "I need a Blizzard. I'll buy one for you, too."

I'm afraid to know what I would have done if I had this recipe. Cravings, a 9x13 dish of deliciousness, and a deployed husband? I probably would have eaten the whole thing. So it's probably a good thing I didn't know about this.

The flavors here meld in a fantastic way. The chocolate chip dough and Oreos dominate, but it's not a heavy and hard chocolate taste. The cream cheese is like sugary spackle between the layers.

The bars are soft and solid, not too crumbly. And man, are these bars thick. The casserole dish is filled right to the top.



This is one of the infrequent recipes to gain the coveted CRACK notation atop the printed recipe. That means I make this and make sure my husband takes it out of the house ASAP.

Some cravings never really go away.



Oreo Cream Cheese Blondies
from Pip and Ebby at Baker Street

Bar ingredients:
2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

Filling ingredients:
8 ounce cream cheese
2 tablespoon sugars
1-2 Tbsp. milk
24 Oreo cookies

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare a 9x13 pan by lining it with aluminum foil up all sides, and then grease the foil.

2) Cream butter and sugars until well blended, then add the eggs and vanilla.

Mix in the dry stuff next: flour, salt, baking soda and chocolate chips.

3) Press half of the dough into the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly browned. While bars are baking, beat cream cheese with sugar. Add enough milk to make the mixture a spreadable consistency.

4) Remove the bars from oven; top with 24 Oreo cookies. Spread cream cheese mixture over Oreos. Top with remaining half of chocolate chip dough.



5) Bake 25-30 minutes, or until bars are set. Cool before cutting.

OM NOM NOM.

A book in a month

I finished my draft of Clockwork Crown on January 31st. I didn't intend to keep up such an insane pace to write just under 86,000 words in 31 days, but it happened and I'm grateful for it. I have already been at work on revisions. I took a number of notes on plot problems I needed to fix. I also want to get the book to a minimum of 90k, but I imagine that will happen as I do my complete read-through. That will start later this week.

I have a few months to work on revisions and it doesn't feel like much time at all. Plus, I need to continue to work on Clockwork Dagger as my publisher sends me galleys.

2014. The year of ZOMG Stress.

Sunday Quote wonders how quickly 2014 will fly by

"My god this can be a good book if I can only write it as I can hear it in my mind." ~John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel

Bready or Not: Cake Mix Rolo Brownies with Cookie Dough and Glaze

I do a lot of stuff from scratch, but I'm a rebel. I always keep a stack of cake mix boxes in the pantry.



The thing I love about cake mix is that it's easy to dress up. Mix out ingredients. Add a layer or two. Go crazy. In my case, going crazy means using up a bag of Rolos, adding egg-free cookie dough, and topping it off with chocolate. Because hey, that's the way I roll.



You can use any type of chocolate cake mix with this recipe. I did devil's food. You can use any kind of chocolate candy bar or just use chocolate chips. This is the sort of recipe you can work on in bursts so it doesn't take long over all.



The other nice thing? It tastes gooooooood.

Cake Mix Rolo Brownies with Cookie Dough and Glaze
Brownie Layer from Patti Takes the Cake
Cookie Dough recipe doubled from The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook

Cake Mix Brownie Crust
1 chocolate cake mix (any kind)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 egg
3/4 cup chopped Rolos (or other candy or chocolate chips)

1) Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and then apply nonstick spray.

2) Combined all of the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

3) Let the brownies cool completely. If needed, put in the fridge for a while.

Cookie Dough Layer
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk or cream (almondmilk works)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped Rolos (or other candy or chocolate chips)

1) Blend together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla until smooth.

2) Add the dry ingredients until just mixed, then add the chopped candy or chocolate chips.

3) Pour dough over the cool brownie layer and smooth out as much as possible. Place the dish in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour. (Oh yeah, notice there are no eggs. Feel free to lick the bowl clean!)

Chocolate Glaze
7 ounces chocolate
4 Tb (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1) In a double boiler or a microwave bowl, melt together the two ingredients. Take care in microwave--heat in short bursts and stir well. Once it has no lumps, pour chocolate over the cookie dough layer.

2) Smooth out chocolate and then place dish in fridge to set for 10-15 minutes (if it's there a long time, the chocolate will crack when you try to cut it). Lift out entire brownie using the aluminum foil and set on a surface to slice into bars.

Keep stored in a lidded container, and if you're in a warm place, keep'em in the fridge.

OM NOM NOM.

Sunday Quote has a lot of Steinbeck quotes to use

"THE READER
He is so stupid you can't trust him with an idea.
He is so clever he will catch you in the least error.
He will not buy short books.
He will not buy long books.
He is part moron, part genius and part ogre.
There is some doubt as to whether he can read."
~John Steinbeck, original dedication to East of Eden

CLOCKWORK CROWN progress post

I've made my 2k word minimum for the day but I hope to get more done this afternoon.



Words... words... must type words...

Bready or Not: Apple Fritter Bread

I love breakfast foods. I don't want to wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning to make them.



My husband was going to have a study group at our house at 9 o'clock in the morning. I wanted to serve a snack that was tasty but didn't involve a lot of preparation in the morning. After all, I had to get the kid ready for school, to school, and then clean house because of folks coming.

I found this recipe for apple fritter bread. I made it the night before. In the morning, I cut the loaf in half and heated it up in the oven for about 15 minutes, let it cool some, then topped it with a halved glaze recipe. Ta-da!

My husband did point that it doesn't taste exactly like an apple fritter. There's none of that dropped-in-hot-oil taste or texture, but it is glazed and thoroughly delicious.

I bet this would be great with pears, too.



Apple Fritter Bread
from Rumbly Tumbly
makes 1 9×5-inch loaf

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 apple, peeled and chopped (any kind is fine), mixed with 1 T granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup of powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons of milk or cream, mixed together to a drizzling consistency

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment to act like a sling up the long sides, press that in, then use more nonstick spray or butter.

2) Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.

3) Beat white sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; add vanilla extract.

4) Combine flour and baking powder together in a bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Mix milk into batter until smooth.



Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan; add half the apples and half the brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat apple mixture into batter. Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and brown sugar mixture. Lightly pat apples into batter; swirl brown sugar mixture through apples using a finger or spoon.

5) Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

6) This can be made the night before and then warmed to be served. In any case, the glaze is best freshly made. After the loaf has cooled about 15 minutes, drizzle with glaze.

It can also be frozen, unglazed.

OM NOM NOM.

"Frail Men of Metal and Bone" Podcast at Every Day Fiction

The wonderful Folly Blaine read my story "Frail Men of Metal and Bone" for the Every Day Fiction Podcast. I wrote the story to have a very poetic flow, and it is awing to hear her read it.

Please drop by and give it a listen (and a star rating!). It's just about 6 minutes long.

Sunday Quote's kid has a 3 day weekend

"I think that to write really well and convincingly, one must be somewhat poisoned by emotion. Dislike, displeasure, resentment, fault-finding, imagination, passionate remonstrance, a sense of injustice--they all make fine fuel." ~Edna Ferber

Over on SF Signal

I took part in my first SF Signal Mind Meld, where I talk about three books I'm excited to read in 2014. It was very hard to limit myself--I could have rambled on about a dozen.

Word count on Clockwork Crown as of evening of 1/16: