butterfinger blondies

the goods:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla2 eggs

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon coarse salt

17  Butterfinger "fun size" bars, coarsely chopped

frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar

5 Butterfinger "fun size" bars

5 Butterfinger "fun size" bars for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chopped Butterfinger. Spread in baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until center is just set. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Make frosting: In the cleaned bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add in confectioners' sugar on low speed. Turn speed up to medium and mix until smooth. Fold in chopped Butterfingers.

Spread frosting on cooled blondies and sprinkle with remaining chopped Butterfingers.

Disclaimer: These will send you into a sugar coma. The next time I make these I am planning on topping them with whipped cream instead of frosting just to lighten them up a bit! But I posted the original recipe just in case you're into that sort of thing ;)

blueberry-cream cheese hand pies

the goods:

dough:

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup ice water

filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large egg

10 ounces frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon sanding sugar

Pie dough: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Add ice water, pulsing until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary add up to 2 tablespoons water). Divide dough into 2 disk, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Pies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, lemon zest, and egg until smooth. Toss blueberries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, and flour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/8-inch thick circle. Lay 1 dough round on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cut into quarters. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon cream cheese mixture into center of each quarter. Spoon 2 tablespoons blueberry mixture on top. Brush edges with cream and bring opposite corners together to form triangles; trim if needed. Crimp edges to seal, brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Repeat with remaining dough round and fillings. Cut a small vent in each pie and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks before serving.