Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Latest School Paper Article

I wrote a very similar blog post a few weeks ago, but here's the article.

Wow. It’s hard to believe the holidays are upon us already. It’s the season of giving, but I find that often our giving is more out of necessity than true generosity. Or even if your giving really is a result of your kind heart, it can be pretty hard to show that with an Itunes giftcard. On the contrary, cooking your ChristmaHanuKwanza presents displays that you are willing to put in time and effort for the person you are gifting. Whereas say, a gift card shows that you are willing to simply spend money on someone, cooking displays legitimate caring, and I urge you, Merionite readers, to cook at least some of your gifts this year.
The questions thus becomes, what to make? And I believe I have the ultimate item. This treat provides a perfect blend of simplicity and scrumptiousness, affordability and portability, to be the perfect gift for anyone with even the slightest bit of a sweet tooth.
That treat is blondies, whose ease of preparation is only exceeded by their deliciousness. They truly are exceptionally easy to make—no special skills or ingredients are required—and the recipe is easy to memorize since it’s based around quantities of one (you’ll see what I mean when you read the recipe). Perhaps the best thing about blondies however, is how easy they are to customize. Blondies are delicious with nothing in them, but they can also serve as a vehicle for other ingredients. I recently made a batch where I just chopped up all my sister’s extra Halloween candy and threw it in—those blondies were delicious.
Anyway, I urge you to make these both for yourself and for others this season. Here’s a delicious recipe that will produce tasty, tantalizing, treats each time.

Basic Blondies
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
1 cup flour

1) preheat oven to 350
2) grease an 8w8 pan
3) melt the butter in a saucepan
4) add the sugar, then beat in the egg, vanilla and salt.
5) Fold in the Flour
6) Fold in 1/2 cup to 1 cup of anything you like!
7) Transfer to the pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or to your desired doneness.

4 comments:

James said...

Wow. Nice opener there. 1 is a magic number. I hope lots of folk out there have some blond(ie) moments.

limoncello said...

That was a good column, Nick! Like your take on the season and giving, and I think you picked a great recipe for your audience. One suggestion would be to elaborate on how to expand the recipe. I know you cited the Halloween candy, but that's probably no longer an option for most, so a few thoughts might go a long way (chocolate chips, flaked coconut, crushed Heath bars, etc.). A lot of your readers in the paper might not know what options to consider. Just my 2¢.
Nice job, though, and I have no doubt you've convinced more than one classmate to give it a whirl.

Anonymous said...

I made the Blondies the other day. They were a big hit and so simple, too. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

uh-oh. I just made your blondies, popped them in the oven -- and then realized there's no baking powder. Have I just made hockey pucks? Science, please (and thank you).