Sometimes I’m really on top of it.

And sometimes I’m posting one year’s football fare the following January.

I’ll let you decide which way this post is leaning!

Do you even remember who played in THE pro football game of 2017?

I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for the food photos still stored on my camera.

The answer: New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. The winner: New England Patriots with a score of 34-28. No, I did not remember the result of the game, thankfully the Internet knows everything.

To celebrate the big game, I thought it’d be fun to cook something associated with each team. For Atlanta, I went with something peach. (Peach Chipotle Meatballs you’ll be seeing next week.) For New England, Boston Crème Blondies!

Just look how little that baby boy is!!

Boston Crème Blondies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1/3 C softened butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided use
• 1 egg
• 1 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 6 tbsp sugar, divided use
• 4 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 C heavy cream

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8″ x 8″ baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the brown sugar, butter, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add the egg and mix until combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the creamed butter mixture and mix until incorporated.
4. Press blondie batter into the prepared pan and bake 20-22 minutes. Cool.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 3 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
6. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and 3 tbsp sugar. Bring to a gently boil.
7. Temper the egg yolks by adding 1/2 C, slowly, to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. When warm, pour the eggs into the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. The mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Spread over the blondie base. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
8. Make the ganache: Put chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring, until the chocolate is melted. Allow ganache to cool only slightly, pour over the blondies. Let set before cutting into bars. (Option to cut squares first and drizzle with the chocolate.)

*This recipe is adapted from Holly at https://www.spendwithpennies.com/boston-cream-bars/*