Brownie Sugar Bliss: SMS Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream and Blondies!

This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays treat was Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream. Haagen Daz started selling a brown sugar ice cream earlier this year and we both really like it. I actually haven’t bought any in a while, though, since I’ve been making so much ice cream, so I was happy this recipe was chosen. Aside from the brown sugar, the other ingredient that sets this recipe apart from a standard vanilla ice cream is dry skim milk powder. I was a little skeptical about the milk powder (I have a vague memory of drinking milk made from it and not liking it), but Melissa’s recipes have yet to let me down, so I bought a box of it. (And coincidentally I’ve already found another recipe that utilizes it!)



Typically when I add ingredients to vanilla ice cream to create more interesting flavors it involves candy or cookies, making it a big, gooey concoction. Those ice creams are delicious, of course, but I love that the simple additions of the milk powder, brown sugar, and two kinds of vanilla (extract and beans) give this ice cream a much more intense flavor than your average vanilla ice cream. We loved this ice cream and I can’t wait to make it again. This recipe gets an 8.5 for Deliciousness and a 3 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 2.83. Many thanks to Karen of Karen’s Cookies, Cakes, and More for choosing this wonderful ice cream. You can find the recipe on Karen’s site and see what the rest of the group thought via the SMS blogroll.



I think this ice cream would be good with just about anything, but we were in need of portable treats, so I made some blondies. I found this recipe in the June issue of Bon Appetit and it’s a winner too! It calls for all brown sugar, which makes the blondies are nice and chewy, yet still cakey. The recipe is called Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies, but I didn’t have any peanuts and I liked the almond chocolate chip combination from a few Sweet Melissa Sundays ago, so I used roasted almonds. This recipe gets a 9 for Deliciousness and a 2 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 4.5.



Chocolate Chip and Peanut (or Almond) Blondies, from Bon Appetit
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts (or other nuts), divided
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (about 3 ounces), divided

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in small bowl to blend. Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and pour butter into a medium bowl; add sugar and whisk until smooth. Cool mixture 2 minutes; whisk in eggs and vanilla. Using flexible spatula, stir in flour mixture, then half of nuts and half of chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan; sprinkle with remaining peanuts and chocolate chips. Bake blondies until golden, tester inserted into center comes out clean, and edges just begin to pull away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes; cool completely in pan on rack. Invert blondies onto a plate and then onto a cutting board. Cut blondies into 16 squares; serve. Store in airtight container for up to two days.