Please help--my blondies are liquidy & won't set up!

[testkitchen45]

I have Dorie Greenspan's Chewy Chunky Blondies in the oven right now, and they're sloppy-wet in the center. I'm talking jiggly, liquidy wet, not just moist. What's up with that? Any help appreciated! I added 10 minutes baking time; no help. I added foil across the top, plus 10 min more baking time. I just took them from the oven b/c despite the foil, the edges are getting really brown; the center is still quite wet but at this point, I have nothing to lose by following the instr's to let cool 15 min b4 turning them out (hope they don't glop all over my counter).

Recipe is on this thread: http://community.cookinglight.com/sh...es#post1266705

. . . and at this blog: http://www.lovintheoven.com/2009/06/...-blondies.html

. . . and clearly other people, including other bloggers not linked here, didn't have this problem. I was wondering if there's a typo in the recipe (like 2 cups instead of 3 for flour); nope. I did leave out the nuts, but so did the blogger. Recipe is from Baking from My Home to Yours. I know my oven's calibrated fine b/c I've done plenty of baking as recently as this weekend, & all went well.

Thanks!

[blazedog]

Perhaps this is stating the obvious but did you perhaps make a mistake with the ingredients. I know that I sometimes have to be very careful because if I become distracted for a moment I will forget whether I have measured out 2 cups or 3 cups (for example).

[mrswaz]

Well, considering that just this afternoon I was baking oatmeal raisin cookies and forgot the flour...

Did you add the flour?

[Beth]

Seeing that the recipe has baking powder and that was just mentioned with muffins -- is your baking powder fresh? If it is old, things just don't bake right.

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by blazedog

Perhaps this is stating the obvious but did you perhaps make a mistake with the ingredients. I know that I sometimes have to be very careful because if I become distracted for a moment I will forget whether I have measured out 2 cups or 3 cups (for example).

Originally Posted by mrswaz

Well, considering that just this afternoon I was baking oatmeal raisin cookies and forgot the flour...

Did you add the flour?

Considering that long ago, I made bran muffins w/o the flour (and you don't need me to tell you how GROSS they looked in the muffin cups) . . .

Yes, I did. I checked & re-checked & re-checked the ingredients (searching a few blogs for bakers who had similar problems; I was expecting errata but found none). Also, the oven temp is 325, so I checked that, too, but no, it's not supp. to be 350 or 375. It's @ 325 where it's supposed to be.

Wish me luck. My timer is going off & I'm going to turn them out of the pan . . . or maybe I'll just slice them up in there. Yep; that's the plan--no way am I going to risk dumping it out.

ETA: Yes, Beth, my baking powder's fine. I have a pretty fast turnover on baking powder, and I just used it this weekend & it was OK. The recipe was rising fine, but it was acting as if I had not put in enough flour. 20 min extra baking time is a LOT, isn't it? 40 min becomes 60 min--that's quite a % of extra time to have added--? I did go back & proof my baking powder, just in case, & it's truly fine.

ETA, again: OK, my DD and I couldn't wait to cut into these. In the pan, thank you very much. Anyway, the flavor is wonderful. Admittedly, we're staying away from the center till it firms up. But I had another thought: I did have to gently soften fridge-cold butter in the microwave, but I do that all the time: I use short bursts of power anywhere from 1% to 3%, until I can press my finger into the butter & it stays indented (not melty). One stick of butter was just like that; the other (another brand) was much softer (but still held its shape in the wrapping, quite nicely). Could overly soft butter have been the culprit? (Recipe calls for "room-temp" butter.)

[blazedog]

Originally Posted by testkitchen45

ETA, again: OK, my DD and I couldn't wait to cut into these. In the pan, thank you very much. Anyway, the flavor is wonderful. Admittedly, we're staying away from the center till it firms up. But I had another thought: I did have to gently soften fridge-cold butter in the microwave, but I do that all the time: I use short bursts of power anywhere from 1% to 3%, until I can press my finger into the butter & it stays indented (not melty). One stick of butter was just like that; the other (another brand) was much softer (but still held its shape in the wrapping, quite nicely). Could overly soft butter have been the culprit? (Recipe calls for "room-temp" butter.)

You can always eat them frozen.

Regarding the butter, I don't know if it would cause the issue. However, I was watching ATK (I think it was that show but it might have been reading one of my geeky food articles) and they stressed that you don't want butter to get below a certain temperature because once it breaks down, it changes the way it interacts when used for baking.

Of course certain brownies recipes do call for melting the butter and chocolate together of course.

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by blazedog

You can always eat them frozen.

Regarding the butter, I don't know if it would cause the issue. However, I was watching ATK (I think it was that show but it might have been reading one of my geeky food articles) and they stressed that you don't want butter to get below a certain temperature because once it breaks down, it changes the way it interacts when used for baking.

Of course certain brownies recipes do call for melting the butter and chocolate together of course.

Although I suggested the butter as a possibility, I really don't see how that can be it in this case. Even the mushier of the two sticks wasn't much different from when I've left butter out in a warm summertime kitchen to get room temp.

I'm glad the brownies will be salvageable, but diagnosing this problem is beyond me, I guess.

[HealthyinMN]

How did you measure your flour? Dorie is a scooper - so if you "lightly spooned" the flour into your measuring cup, you could have been short.

[ljt2r]

I use melted butter for blondies and brownies all the time so that seems an unlikely culprit.

[Hammster]

In looking at the recipe, a couple of things come to mind.

Is it possible you swapped the baking powder and baking soda quantities?

Also, is it possible you used the wrong sized eggs? Say, XL instead of large?

I agree, the butter probably isn't the culprit.

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by Hammster

In looking at the recipe, a couple of things come to mind.

Is it possible you swapped the baking powder and baking soda quantities?

Also, is it possible you used the wrong sized eggs? Say, XL instead of large?

I agree, the butter probably isn't the culprit.

Nope, and nope. Certainly possible, but triplechecked.

Also, I can see pointing to the baking powder/soda if it wasn't rising, but would that help it set up as flour does?

Oh, one more thing. Doubt this would do it, but as I re-create the process in my head, this finally came to mind: I did not add the vanilla with the eggs. I forgot it. I always read through a recipe b4 I remove it from the mixing bowl, so I did see it; had to add it after the mix-ins were mixed in. I doubt 1 tsp vanilla mixed in too late would've had an impact, but you never know. Maybe the batter was overmixed and that over-softened the butter? But you don't think the butter's the culprit, and neither does ljt2r.

I swear on a stack of JOCs that there aren't any more errors/changes/oopsies with the recipe. I made it pretty much as directed, with the right quantities of ingr's.

[Hammster]

My thought was if the leavening was wrong it wouldn't provide the correct lift and moisture would get trapped. It was a stretch... (potential pun intended. )

[sneezles]

Originally Posted by HealthyinMN

How did you measure your flour? Dorie is a scooper - so if you "lightly spooned" the flour into your measuring cup, you could have been short.

That is what came to my mind as I was reading the thread. Error in flour in a brownie recipe isn't really noticeable until it's baking and it's another reason why baking recipe should be done by weight!

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by HealthyinMN

How did you measure your flour? Dorie is a scooper - so if you "lightly spooned" the flour into your measuring cup, you could have been short.

She's a scooper? Maybe that's in the preface somewhere, but I think it should be in all recipes, if that's the case, esp. since isn't the preferred method to spoon & level?

Conducting a little experiment here, with 2 cups flour: I just spooned & leveled--8 3/8 ounces of flour for 2 cups. Next, I stirred, scooped, & leveled--8 7/8 ounces. Do you really think 4/8 oz, or 1/2 oz, would've made a difference? I don't.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help. I don't think I'm going to figure this one out after all.

[HealthyinMN]

Originally Posted by testkitchen45

She's a scooper? Maybe that's in the preface somewhere, but I think it should be in all recipes, if that's the case, esp. since isn't the preferred method to spoon & level?

Conducting a little experiment here, with 2 cups flour: I just spooned & leveled--8 3/8 ounces of flour for 2 cups. Next, I stirred, scooped, & leveled--8 7/8 ounces. Do you really think 4/8 oz, or 1/2 oz, would've made a difference? I don't.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help. I don't think I'm going to figure this one out after all.

It is in her book, under how to measure flour. "Preferred method" depends on who you ask. She went with Julia Child's method of scooping - which ends up being 5 ounces per cup. So yes, in fact, if the recipe is calling for 10 ounces of flour and you were short, it could most certainly have made a difference.

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by HealthyinMN

It is in her book, under how to measure flour. "Preferred method" depends on who you ask. She went with Julia Child's method of scooping - which ends up being 5 ounces per cup. So yes, in fact, if the recipe is calling for 10 ounces of flour and you were short, it could most certainly have made a difference.

You're right. I read her intro stuff when I first got the book, but never review that with each recipe I make. Oops.

Lesson learned: for each recipe or book, see if the author has flour-measuring notes. I had assumed that the "right" way was the spoon-&-level method, & therefore that "everyone" did it that way. Um, not so much. 5 ounces per cup is way more than I ended up with, so I think you've hit the nail on the head.

Do most chefs scoop, or spoon/level? I'm asking b/c I've made baked recipes from all sorts of sources, & don't recall having this problem before. Of course, occasionally a recipe won't turn out so well, but I don't run into the wet-middle problem too much. I'm thinking of bread-machine recipes, too, where flour measurement would be critical: not all recipe developers tell you how to measure flour for that recipe (hence Susan's comment about going by weight; wish all recipes did that but I won't hold my breath).

[dneilson]

Originally Posted by testkitchen45

Do most chefs scoop, or spoon/level? I'm asking b/c I've made baked recipes from all sorts of sources, & don't recall having this problem before. Of course, occasionally a recipe won't turn out so well, but I don't run into the wet-middle problem too much. I'm thinking of bread-machine recipes, too, where flour measurement would be critical: not all recipe developers tell you how to measure flour for that recipe (hence Susan's comment about going by weight; wish all recipes did that but I won't hold my breath).

TK...I've also learned the hard way to read intros by well-known or unknown pastry chefs...everyone seems to have a preferred way of measuring flour.

M. Heatter and C. Walters have you SIFT first into the cup, then level (over piece of parchment or wax paper to contain overflow).

There's the scoop and sweep across top to level camp (w/out stirring first).

Then there's stir into bag first, then spoon into the cup and level camp (most commonly used).

I thought I actually read about another measuring technique - memory fails me now.

I no longer purchase baking books written by authors who do not indicate how their flours were measured for testing. Moskowitz and Romero, DO YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Dolores

[ljt2r]

This is why I personally am extremely irritated by all these allegedly professional chefs who will not just weigh their flour!!!!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

[dneilson]

Originally Posted by ljt2r

This is why I personally am extremely irritated by all these allegedly professional chefs who will not just weigh their flour!!!!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

Laura, I agree with you!
Professional chefs DO weigh their flour in a commercial kitchen. Then they dummy down technique in their books, and instead try to conform to an unprofessional standard which they know is inconsistent (or else they would be measuring this way if it was superior!).

Joe brought up an interesting point when this complaint was brought up a few months ago (I chided Dorie Greenspan's [B:FMHTY] for this reason). He was of the opinion that some publishers refuses to include weights.

Dolores