Toasted Pecan and Chocolate Chip Blondies

Life with an almost-toddler is nuts. It's exhausting in a way entirely different from the newborn days, in which you are in a perma-fog of sleep deprivation and new-mom worry; sometimes wondering what the eff were we thinking with this whole procreating business, and generally just feeling entirely unsuitable for parenting. Or was that just me? I hope not.

Although I never believed it when someone else reassured me in the early days, I promise it gets a whole lot more fun, new moms. Eventually you settle into a routine and the baby becomes this little person who is usually pretty fun to hang out with. You can go to restaurants without a total meltdown because it's been an hour and a half since her last feeding and OMG WAAAAAH I'M STARVING, MOTHER. The world doesn't end if a nap doesn't happen 2 hours after the last waking. I remember reading in various forums and books how "portable" a newborn was and thinking, um, not my precious snowflake. Any excursion that threatened to take longer than an hour, travel time included, was just not an option for us in those days. Older babies, though, now those are portable! Bring along a sippy and some snacks (and a spare outfit and plenty of diapers, lest the blowouts of the past make a comeback when you are entirely unprepared, as I was a couple of weekends ago) and you are pretty much good to go, or so I have found.

But back to the craziness that is pre-toddlerhood. Now that Stella is incredibly mobile, I feel like I spend my entire day preventing her from maiming herself. We are babyproofed to the nines, but she has no fear and will not be deterred by silly things like outlet covers. I don't know where she gets this sense of adventure but it's just another thing I love about her personality, exhausting though it may be. As for my little hobby, it has pretty much been entirely relegated to nap times as I can no longer sit Stella down within eyesight with a pile of toys and expect her to stay there. She is content for a few minutes with digging through the tupperware cabinet but soon finds the loose handle on the fridge or the glowing heat of the oven much more fascinating. Since it is in our best interest to keep her alive and well, I must forgo any major projects in the kitchen during her waking hours.

This recipe, though, can be thrown together in minutes, and it's delicious to boot. I love any cookie recipe that doesn't require the use of the hand mixer, sifter, or multiple bowls. I originally found a slightly more complex recipe from Bon Appetit via epicurious.com, but upon realizing that I was nearly out of brown sugar, had to turn to google in the hopes of finding a blondie recipe that only called for one cup. Naturally, Smitten Kitchen's blondies popped up right away and I wondered how I had missed them in the first place, when I drool all over her site on a daily basis. I followed the recipe as written, mixing in a cup of toasted, chopped pecans and a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkling a bit of each over the top. The results were gooey and almost fudgy in texture thanks to the mix ins, and so incredibly yummy for something so easy. If you are stricken by a craving for sweets and only have 30 minutes to spare, make these!