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Maple Pecan Blondies

Here’s a blondie recipe that I have made many times!  Mine are never as gooey as Gemma’s and that’s probably because I over-bake them. I should keep a better eye on them next time. I like to brown the butter first but it’s not necessary. Enjoy!  Maple Pecan Blondies Makes 9-12 servings Original recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking Ingredients ¾ cup butter, melted or browned 1¼ cups dark brown sugar ½ cup maple syrup 1 large egg  2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon baking soda I ¼ cups pecans, toasted and chopped  Directions   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9x13” baking pan with parchment. Gemma used 8x8 but I like my bars thinner. Whisk together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the flour and baking soda just until combined.  Stir in the pecans. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. They middle should be slightly jiggly but they still taste yummy if you over-bake them. Allow to co
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Naan Sheermal (Shirmal) - Persian Saffron Flatbread

I adapted this recipe from one that I received from my step-mother-in-law, Hajar. She didn't give measurements for the flour so I had to play around with it. I have now made this 4 times and am finally happy with the result. 

The first time I used 4 cups of flour and the oven temperature (400F) and cooking time (23 minutes) provided by Hajar. I assumed the dough needed to pull cleanly away from the sides of my bowl so I kept adding flour until that happened. My bread was delicious but a bit dry. 

The second time I made this I used a little less flour thinking that perhaps my previous batch was dry because I used too much. I also let it rise a second time after I rolled it out to see what would happen. This batch was still a little too dry and baked up very puffy from the second rising. Again, it was very delicious but it wasn't the result I was looking for. You could definitely go for a second rising if you want a puffier bread, though. 

The first 2 times I baked the bread on the rack just below the middle of the oven. You definitely want to make sure your bake on the middle rack to prevent the bottoms from cooking to quickly.

The 3rd time I decided to lower the heat and go with only one rising. Still just a little too much flour in the dough.

Here we are - the 4th batch of Naan Sheermal and I'm finally happy with the finished product! It's perfectly soft on the inside and not too thick overall.

I'm now ready to share the recipe with you!

Nooshejan (bon appetit)!

Above: My 4th batch. Excellent!

Above: Batch 1. A little dry.

Above: Batch 1 - inside.

Above: Batch 2 looks beautiful but the inside was still a little dry.

Above: Batch 2 - inside. This is the batch that I allowed to rise a second time before putting it into the oven. If you want puffier bread, go ahead and do that!

Above: Batch 3 looks great but still a bit dry. 

Above: Batch 3.

Above: Batch 4. I am happy with this!

Above: Batch 4. The dough should look like this when it's done. It's a very soft dough - adding more flour will result in dry bread as it did for me in the 3 batches before this. I promise you, once this rises it'll be less sticky and you will have bread as shown above and below.

Above: Batch 4. Delicious and perfectly soft inside!

Naan Sheermal (Shirmal) - Persian Saffron Flatbread
Makes 6 loaves

Ingredients
For the Dough
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup warm milk
  • 1/2 cup unflavoured oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons saffron water*
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
For the Egg Wash
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon saffron water*
  • 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
  • sesame seeds and nigella seeds
Directions
  1. Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and allow to become frothy (about 10 minutes)
  2. Add milk, oil, sugar, egg, salt and saffron water and stir to combine.
  3. Add flour 1 cup at a time by hand or on low speed. The dough will become thicker but will be sticky. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Do not leave your mixer unattended or it may hop off the counter. The dough will not come off the sides and form a perfectly clean ball - see image of dough above. If your dough does form a clean ball, you've added too much flour. You can still bake it, it just won't be as soft inside. Stop at 3 cups even if you don't think it looks like enough - it is.
  4. Lightly dust a clean dish with flour and transfer your sticky ball of dough. Cover with plastic and a clean towel and place in the oven with the light on for 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 375F (remember to remove your bowl of dough first) and line a few baking sheets with parchment.
  6. Punch the dough down and cut into 6 pieces.
  7. Roll each piece to about 3/4" thick. It can be round or oval - it doesn't matter. Whatever shape you like.
  8. Place the rolled dough onto the lined baking sheets and poke holes all over with a fork. 
  9. Combine egg yolk, saffron water and sweetener with a fork and brush over the dough. 
  10. Sprinkle with sesame and nigella seeds. You may cover and allow to rise at this point for another 30 minutes if you want puffier bread.
  11. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms become golden. Ensure the rack is placed in the middle of your oven so the bottoms don't burn.
  12. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container for a few days or freeze for longer.
Tips:
  • Serve this bread with a drizzle of honey or even some Nutella.
  • *Make saffron water but dissolving a few pinches of crushed saffron threads in hot water. I keep some in a jar in the fridge for a few days because I use it often. To do this, place 1/2 teaspoon of crushed saffron in the jar with 5 or 6 ice cubes. Leave it in the fridge. The ice will melt and you'll be left with beautiful saffron water.
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