Too many desserts!
I know what you’re thinking: No such thing as too many desserts!
Well, there is if you’re trying to organize a page of Chocolate-Covered Recipes.
I have so many recipes, and they fit into so many different categories, that I’m at a loss in terms of how to best organize them. If anyone has suggestions, I’d love some feedback. I tried to re-organize–and update–the page. Here are some of the newest additions:
Calling all taste-testers!
There are too many blondie variations floating around in my head:
- Replace the pb with coconut butter (or maybe chocolate-hazelnut or choc-pb?)
- Sub jelly for the applesauce (and add a little extra) for PB&J blondies
- Replace the applesauce with banana (and add a little extra) for banana bread blondies… ooh or sub pumpkin!
- Add cocoa powder, for brownies (and maybe use black beans)
- Sub chickpea flour for the beans (or even use oat flour or pastry flour)
- Liquid sweeteners… will they come out too gooey? One reader said she had success with brown rice syrup.
Also, many of y’all asked if the blondies can be made without the flax. I’m guessing quick oats, oat bran, or even flour might work as a replacement. And two readers have had success subbing protein powder. But I’m getting burned out with blondie experiments (I want to move on to other recipe experiments).
Anyone want to try some of the variations (and report back) of the Genius Blondies?
Also, does the recipe page look better? I tried to make it more reader-friendly! 🙂
Danielle says
I’ve been reading your blog for a couple of months (love it!), but now I love it even more!!
My sister pointed out your college posts and it was hilarious reading them because I ALSO went to BMC for a year and then transferred to Emory for a bigger, co-ed school. Our stories are crazy similar. I ended up graduating Emory in 2008 and I’m so happy with my decision to transfer.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh my gosh, we must’ve missed each other by only a year! I was in Denbigh :). I’m glad I transferred too… although it would’ve been nice to have been on the other end of that Duck Pond Run trick! 😉
Melissa says
I’d like to try making the blondies with liquid sweetener since there’s no such thing as too gooey in my book! 😉
Carrie (Moves 'N Munchies) says
the recipe page looks GREAT!! so colorful and everything makes me drool! id love to live in ur kitchen for a week so i cud just try EVERY single thing!
Vicki says
I made the original chickpea blondies but instead of using any sugar, I used one banana. I kept everything else the same – the came out great. The banana made them super moist and not even my sweet-tooth husband noticed the missing sugar.
Thanks for the recipe.
cheers,
vicki
Mary says
You didn’t use any sugar at all? So just Katie’s exact recipe except for a banana in place of the sugar? Did you have to put any topping on them to make them sweet, like jelly or pb even?
I’d love to try them this way, but I’m nervous they’ll not taste sweet at all!
Vicki says
I just simply added in the chocolate chips at the end. The ripeness from the banana gave it enough sweetness. Now – I might have a different sweet tooth than many – I don’t add any sugar to my foods – mostly the only sweets I have are fruit. But if you’re unsure – just add some extra chocolate chips.
I found the banana made the batter very creamy as well. Try it let me know what you think.
VeggieGirl says
I’d LOVE to be a taste-tester!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yay! Test away. I trust your tastebuds completely 🙂 :).
Val says
I am trying out the brownie version right now. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Also if you are still looking for a way to organize your recipe page (although it looks great now!!) you could try organizing it by types of baked goods, like brownies, squares, muffins, cookies, milkshakes, pancakes etc instead of by mealtime (breakfast, main, dessert) because that way if people are looking for breakfast muffins, they can just look under muffins, or if they are looking for a specific dessert, they can look under cookies, or brownies or whatever. I do Love the special diet category though!!! Anyway that was just a suggestion because you asked for them, don’t feel like I’m telling you to do that. I think it looks great the way it is too!!!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thanks Val! And I definitely like your category idea. I’ve done that with my dessert page, and hopefully I can get to the savory ones to organize them likewise… it’s a work in progress :).
Megan says
Ohhh I’ll definitely try some variations of the blondies!
Any excuse to make blondies is a good one. Ill let you know how they turn out! 🙂
Megan says
Ill try some variations!
Any excuse to make blondies is a good one in my book! I’ll let you know how they turn out! 🙂
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
All of these look amazing!!!!!!
Deanna says
I could easily be convinced to try an almond butter, banana (maybe cocoa) version of these. If I can convince the kiddo, I’ll get on it!
Julie @ Shining From Within says
The new recipe page looks great! I want cookie dough pancakes RIGHT. NOW. MmmMmMMM.. 🙂
Emma (Sweet Tooth Runner) says
YES I’ve always wanted to be a CCK Taste Tester!! 😀 I’ll definitely test out these!! I’m SO testing the PB&J blondies today!! I’ll let you know how it goes!
And your new recipe page is GREAT! I love that you put a special diets section in you awesome thoughtful girl! 🙂
LOVE YOU have a great day! <3
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) says
I just reposted my white chocolate blondies minutes ago. They are not “healthy” but they sure are good. I’d love to help you taste test all of your blondie recipes. But only if you’re cooking. I’ll help with the dishes though 🙂
Chocolate Recipes. I have a post for mine, too! It helps me actually when I am looking over my own recipes b/c I have pictures corresponding to anything I’ve ever made that’s chocolate which is in that post, so I can do a visual scroll. Not sure if it helps anyone else, but it helps me…lol
Your new page looks awesome. Nothing like blog housekeeping and organizational projects to suck up a wee bit ‘o time, right?
🙂
Katherine: Unemployed says
whoah this is harder than testing; this involves making 😉
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
The recipe page looks good!
PB&J blondies sounds super good — and so do the other variations as well!
Maria @ runningcupcake says
I have just spent about half an our reading so many recipes! Now I have a food processor I cannot wait to try fudge babies (I tried them once in my blender and it did not end well)- so many lovely looking recipes, so little time! 🙂
Caley says
I tried the Genuis Blondies and subbed Hazelnut and Chocolate butter for the PB. They were delicious! I was a little skeptical at first, so I pawned them off to my friends as “normal” brownies and everyone loved them— me included! Thanks for the recipe!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Ok, now I MUST try this. I can only imagine that Nutella blondies can’t be bad, right? 😉
kaila @ healthy helper! says
Sounds like a great idea! If I get sometime I will definitely try out some blondies!
Katrina says
I made the snickerdoodle blondies last night and used honey, (I’m not vegan) and they were great! So, liquid sweetener does work. 🙂 You could use maple syrup, that would be delish. 🙂 Great recipe! Thank you!!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thank YOU for the feedback, sweetie pie (sweetie blondie? :))
Moni'sMeals says
I know it is so difficult to start organizing recipes! I have hundreds myself. 🙂 Where to start?!
I made your Genius Blondies slightly different and I just tossed things in so I hope I can get them back because the were so great. But for sure I can tell you I added oatmeal, 1/2 banana, lots of pbutter, and everything else was the same. 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Ugh, I hate when I forget to measure (or am too lazy to measure) and then can’t replicate what I made!
Emilia says
I’m in if you ever need me to taste ANYTHING. 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’d love your help on any of the blondie variations I posted. Let me know!
Lindsay@LivingLindsay says
Oh my gosh. When you are famous, I want to be hired on as a taste tester. I envision us sitting in a kitchen that has multiple shades of blue. Pictures of your desserts adorn the walls, and there are bowls of chocolate everywhere for us to eat in between tasting your recipes. Oh, and there are sprinkles everywhere. Of course. It’s my dream job. Please hire me.
I loved loved loved the snickerdoodle blondies. My husband loved them, too and since they are almost gone, I’m going to make one of the other variations this weekend. I”ll report back soon, Boss. 😉
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Um wow, it’s like you entered my dreams… bowls of chocolate everywhere? Yes, you’re in my dreams.
Little Bookworm says
I’d love to be a taste-tester! 🙂 Love the idea of banana bread blondies. The recipe section looks great!
Lisa says
i have to find garbanzo beans! I keep getting angry at myself for going grocery shopping and forgetting to buy them! I wanted to try your blondies out the day you posted !! 🙂
alice says
I tried em! did my own verison, didnt use flax or any flours and they came out amazing. you are the best! you and your blondies are genius… my version is here… http://bakenbeebz.blogspot.com/2011/05/brunettes-bake-healthy-blondies.html
Janna says
I’m making Blondies tomorrow!! I’m gonna use coconut butter since I just made a fresh batch and I want to throw in some oats, as well as some marshmallows and maybe even some sliced almonds! I’m going to use cannelini beans instead of chickpeas, which will save a LOT of calories, so that I can add more goodies and make them REAL blondies!!
Tara says
I was looking at your recipe page earlier today and what confused me was the sauces and sides. When you clicked it it took you to a page with sides, but then you had to click on a link that blended in with the list of sides to find sauces and soups. I would probably make them seperate so that it is more clear.
If I get a chance I will try to make some kind of variation this week. I might try some of my own ideas though!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve spent much, MUCH less time organizing the non-dessert recipes than the dessert ones. Wonder why that is… 😉
I’ll have to fix it eventually lol!
Rebecca says
You’re killing me over here… see, i’m a very bad cook and i’ve tried making a LOT of recipes but they never turn out well and these recipes of yours are making me drool all over my keyboard hahah 🙂
You should make it into broad categories like breakfast, breads, baked goods, lunch, snacks, dinner dishes and desserts! I find that the best way to organize 🙂 or you can always try a recipage!
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
Too many desserts?! Girl, you’re crazy!
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
Oh, just wanted to say I’d love to taste test a recipe for you but can’t due to the lack of a food processor. 🙁
Sam says
Hi Katie! Wanted to let you know I made a carrot cake version of the blondies tonight…Started with the snickerdoodle recipe and added one shredded carrot, walnuts, and raisins. Highly recommended!!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Wow, carrot cake?!? Oh my gosh, that is a version I MUST try. They might be called genius blondies… but YOU are the real genius! 😉
Tori (Fresh Fruition) says
It all looks TOO GOOD! I’d be happy to be your taste tester any day 🙂
Katie says
I like the organized recipe page, but I think it might be a little clearer if the pictures were smaller/reorganized so you could see them all at once? So instead of having each picture on a new line, you could have them next to each other… 1 2 3 4 instead of
1
2 etc. Then you could see them all without scrolling back and forth. Just something to consider?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thanks, Katie! LOL the photos are all really tiny already on my screen… but I just learned (when I was organizing my sidebar) that my blog layout looks VASTLY different depending on the browser a person uses. It’s really frustrating; my sidebar looks so much better in mozilla than ie!
Peggy says
Hey Katie!
I think that I am going to try a peanut butter-pumpkin version of your blondies soon here. I have some peanut butter flavored rice protein that should come in the mail in the next week, and I am excited to do some baking with it. I want to sub out half the flax powder for some protein to increase the nutritional value of these. I will also be subbing Splenda for the sugar, because I am on a candida cleanse (no sugar of any kind allowed) I’ll let you know how they go! <3
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thanks Peggy! 🙂
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
There’s no way that you could ever have to many CCK desserts.
Katherine says
Great organization!
Hannah (tickledtofu) says
I’m in! They all look DELICIOUS!
Theresa says
Those blondies are delicious 🙂 I made a combination of the Chocolate and the Snickerdoodle version. I used cinnamon flower (its more intense than normal cinnamon), an egg instead of the flax seeds (because Im not Vegan) and 60 g of Peanuts, because I didnt have Peanutbutter. The blondies turned out amzaing after just 30 minutes of baking. I just think, they are almost too sweet, so next time I might use a little less sugar.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
So excited you liked them! 🙂
Becca says
I’ll be having a go at the blondies though, I had a go at making up my own vegan black bean brownies a few months a go and they were good, so I’ve been looking to make something with a white bean, these look good!
I don’t wish to sound rude when I say this (please take it as constructive criticism), but you might want to go easy on the photoshop background blur Katie, your photos are starting to take on an odd ‘glowy’ quality because they’ve been over blurred without having the object of focus properly masked.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hmmm… maybe it’s a difference in screen resolution? I know that sometimes photos that look good on my computer end up looking strange on other ones. But I definitely am trying to get better at actual photography so I have to rely less and less on photoshop to make my photos look good. It’s a work in progress, especially because I’m teaching myself.
Liz says
OH MY GOSH! I will take one of each dessert! The pictures look oh-so-YUMMY! Can’t wait to check out the recipes and re-create! 🙂
Have a lovely night!
Liz
Kristen - Anywhere There's An Airport says
Hi Katie! I have made a brownie version and used black beans. They are insane delicious! I have eaten 2 pans. 🙂 Let me know if you want me to send you the link to my recipe. I’d love to share!
Madison says
I made “pb&j” blondies. I just ate the first one…. yum! I followed the recipe almost exactly, subbing oats for the flax. I then spread the batter into the pan (I only have 9×13 cake pan so I reduced the time to about 30 mins). Then I mixed up a handful of frozen strawberries, a splash or orange juice, and a good squirt of agave nectar. (Very precise measurements, I know) Then I put this in blobs on top of the batter and then swirled it in with a knife. They look so pretty… and taste good too!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’m so excited to know it worked with oats in place of the flax! Will you enjoy an extra one for me? I’m sadly all out of peanut butter!
Jessica says
Hey! Long time stalker on here but I needed to comment (while I’m drooling over the new recipes and figuring out what I can make ASAP).
Emily over at DailyGarnish developed an awesome looking recipe organization tool. I’m not sure how easy it is to set up, etc because I don’t post recipes but I love the way it worked out for her. The link to it is: http://www.recipage.com/ Good luck!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Ooh I’ve seen that recipage thing! LOL I just don’t want to have to spend $ for it when I can try to organize for free… blogging can get expensive! But I agree that it’s really cool!