Raspberry Almond Blondies

I like to play a round of golf every now and then. I'd say that I'm a golfer, but since I moved to DC my chances to play have been few and far between. I actually used to hit the ball fairly well, and when I déménage back to Houston in August I'm going to make an effort to do so again. Golf is a great game because it's really a contest between you and the ball -- and it's not even moving! It can be a quiet game -- my dad has been known to go out and play a "quick nine" all by his lonesome self, but it's also a very social game. You're out there walking around for about 4 hours, there's plenty of time to chat. Golf has initiated some wonderful friendships in my life. I was on the golf team in high school, and I was lucky enough to have a really wonderful curmudgeon of a coach -- Chuck Garwood. Almost all of our tournaments were in little Texas towns on country golf courses, so we'd make the treck from Houston the Sunday before a Monday tournament. This gave us lots of time to talk about all sorts of random things. I remember quite clearly warming up one spring morning my junior year and talking to a senior who was headed off to college in the fall. We were chatting about graduation and college, and I said that I wished I were graduating and going off to college. Well, unbeknownst to me, Coach Garwood had been listening to our conversation and he broke in and said sharply that I was wishing my life away. I've never, ever forgotten that moment and I don't suppose I ever will because, really, he was right. In my desire to move onward and upward I was cheating myself out of the present moment.

I remembered that conversation again on Monday, the first official day of summer, when I received catalogs in the mail with their summer sales on the covers. It seems that people are already gearing up for fall when the summer has only just begun. Now, this might be selfish on my part because I adore summertime, but I don't intend to let summer pass me by. We're just heading into the most fantastic time of year for produce -- berries, stone fruit, fresh sweet corn, and my favorite of all, home grown tomatoes. Summer is the time to enjoy all of this wonderful fresh food, and I for one am in no hurry to speed towards pumpkins, apples, and root vegetables. Autumn will arrive in its due course, but for now I'm thinking raspberries, I'm thinking apricots and cherries, I'm thinking some seriously delicious summer food. This recipe for Raspberry Almond Blondies comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies book, and it combines two of my very favorite flavors:  raspberries and almonds. It's a wonderfully simple and delicious way to use some of the raspberries that are coming our way this summer. Happy summering to all!

 

Raspberry Almond Blondies

• 9 tablespoons (1 1/8 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sliced almonds, (3 ounces), toasted
• 1 pint raspberries
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside.
3. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated. Mix 3/4 cup almonds into batter.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula. Scatter berries and remaining 1/4 cup nuts over batter in pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into blondies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 55 to 60 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before cutting into squares. 

 With my daddy on the driving range! The man responsible for my love of the game.