Compost Brownies

I've heard a lot of people discussing the effects that Daylight Savings Time has had on their schedule - mostly negative. Actually, ALL negative. Myself? I wasted too many minutes watching 27 Dresses and wound up sleeping in. I had a full day on Sunday, went to bed at a decent time and woke up and felt as though nothing had changed.

One lovely thing about the hour-ahead business is that we are blessed with a little more light! Light! Sweet, sweet daylight! As I walked to my regular bus stop after work, I was bathed in the glow of early-evening light. And it felt too early. I almost felt guilty about leaving work - it was still light out! Should I have stayed another 20 or 30 minutes or so! But like I wrote, "almost" felt guilty. In a couple of months, I'll be leaving work in the blazing sunshine, anyway. My bus arrived relatively quickly and I was home before I knew it - at an earlier time than I had ever expected to be home. One awesome upside to this was that I got to retake the photos for this post. I was thoroughly disappointed with the quality of snaps I took last night and I relished have a little bit of wonderful daylight to show off my latest creations.

It really does make a difference!

(let there be light!)

Back to the brownies. Same recipe as the blondies in an earlier post but with an added twist. Another Momofuku spinoff is the "Compost Cookie" - a baked good that includes everything including the kitchen sink! Traditional cookie mixins are a must, as well as your favourite salty nibbles (pretzels, goldfish, whatever!)...rumor also has it that coffee grounds are an ingredient as well! I omitted the coffee and the salty bits but included whatever I could find in my pantry - coconut, dried cherries, white chocolate chips, and almonds. Ahh...I should have added some cereal if I had any left. Good cereal that is. I don't think my taste testers would enjoy eating a cookie with half a Weetabix protruding from it1

The MMFK recipe includes a nice balance of salty and sweet. I think there is a real movement in the baking community to push people to not be so afraid of salt. Yes, in moderation - but salt has a role in enhancing savory AND sweet foods. Ummm, sea salt caramels? Yes please! (the best all time I've ever had - from Jenn Stone's now defunct JS Bon Bons. I miss them.) So next time - don't be stingy and go for a three-finger grab of that NaCl!