Beating the Heat!

Okay I have written this post twice (once last year and once again this year) but I have never posted it because BOTH times I forgot to take pictures!!!!! I am not a cook, I just don't like it and I am a vegetarian. However, even knowing this Las year I decided to throw a BBQ Memorial Day weekend on my small patio. I made enough food for a small country, seriously it was ridiculous. I don't think 1/4 of the food was eaten. However, one thing that went like hot cakes was my Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. I am not sure if they went so quickly because it was ridiculously hot, I just love that DC is in a swamp, or because my air conditioning decided to break, or maybe it was because they were that delicious. I actually had some left over and they stayed very well in the freezer. I just made my Chocolate Chip Cookies (with minature chocolate chips) and after they cooled put some (melted because it was 1001 degrees inside my apartment) Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and froze them over nite. Even after the BBQ was over I still had a lot left but they were good for the rest of the week and a great treat just to grab out of the freezer!!

O a little tip I learned from this food extravaganza: the deep, disposable lasagna containers are awesome for cooking a ton of marinated veggies on the grill. This way I didn't have to sit there and skewer for hours!

So no picture but just imagine these cookies with an ice cream scoop size of ice cream in the middle!

Chocolate Surprise!!

I have learned from previous cupcakes that people tend to love cupcakes with a little surprise in them and this cupcake is no different. This cupcake got rave reviews and I was told that even nonchocolate lovers loved them. The directions said to fill it with batter and then put in the filling but some reviewers suggested filling them a 1/3 of the way and then put the filling it and then another 1/3. I did that and used my trusty ice cream scoop and filled them 2/3 (about 1 scoop) and then filling and then another scoop. They do rise a little bit and my sunk in a little bit but once you glaze it nobody can tell the difference. Put this in the winner category.

CHOCOLATE SURPRISE CUPCAKES
(Source: Allrecipes)

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips




1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2.In a large bowl, mix together flour, 2 cups sugar, cocoa, 1 teaspoon salt and baking soda. Stir in oil, water, vinegar and vanilla until blended. Pour mixture into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
3.To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop a heaping teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture into each cupcake. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool.



SATINY CHOCOLATE GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C. semisweet chocolate chips
3 T. butter
1 T. light corn syrup
1/4 tspn. vanilla extract


There are two different ways to do the glaze - the official directions are first then my short cut ones are second

OFFICIAL DIRECTIONS:

- In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

MY DIRECTIONS:

- In a microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips and butter, occasionally stirring.
- After melted add corn syrup and vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, depending on the thickness either drizzle it or just spread it over the top and down the sides.

Touchdown with Cookie Bars!

Back in January one of my coworkers made some cookie bars and on the morning of the Superbowl I was totally craving some so I decided to make my awesome cookie recipe. I added a bag of toffee chips and a bag of chocolate chunks to it; I cooked them for about 20 minutes but they were a little undercooked so next time I might do an extra minute or so. They were delicious!

CHOCOLATE CHUNK AND TOFFEE CHIP COOKIE BARS
(SOURCE: ME)


INGREDIENTS

2 Sticks of butter
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz toffee chips
12 oz chocolate chunks


DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix. Next add the flour and baking soda. Finally add the chips.

- Spread as best as you can all the dough into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 20-24 minutes.

It's a cookie?!?! It's a brownie?? Its a brownie cookie!

I think blogger is punishing me for being such a bad blogger!!! I wrote the post but just had to add pictures and of course was slacking; wel today I came back to add the pics and the post was gone! I get it blogspot I am a bad blogger and am not worthy! However, these cookies are totally worthy (hopefully your guinea pigs are worthy of these cookies)! One nite I decided that I was going to skip the gym thanks to some really bad shin splints and I was going to make cookies, not that I ever need an excuse to skin the gym and bake cookies but hey why not use it! I was craving something chocolate and WOWSERS this recipe was totally worth it and my guinea pigs just loved it! I added peanut butter chips to the recipe. I usually bake my cookies at the low end of the time spectrum but these needed a few extra minutes. The first day I made them I probably left them in about 11-12 minutes and they were cruncy on the outside but super soft on the inside and when I made them 2 day later I baked them for a minute or so less and they were just soft all the way around so keep your eyes on them. But this recipe is definitely a keeper! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOFT CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Source: All Recipes)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar
1 bag of peanut butter chips (optional)


DIRECTIONS

- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.(I did less than an hour)

- Roll into 1-in. balls. I used an ice cream scoop and then molded them

- Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork if desired. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Remove to wire racks. Dust warm cookies with confectioners' sugar. (optional)

The Perfect Cake Version 2.0

I live in DC where there is a pleothra of cupcake shops and honestly I can bake better than a lot of them, this has been told me by a lot of people. However, I cannot make mine as pretty and professional looking as they can. A few weeks ago two of my college friends and I had a sugar adventure and started with Frozen Hot Chocolates at Serendipity 3 and then walked over to Georgetown Cupcake (from the tv show DC cupcake) but after looking at the ridiculously long line (and my friend somehow getting a free cupcake) we walked over to the new Sprinkles cupcake. I had one of the most delicious cupcakes there and thought wow this tastes extremely similiar to my favorite chocolate chip cake but with peanut butter. So last nite I experimented and made the original recipe adding a little bit more than half a jar of peanut butter and have had nothing but rave reviews today, I was told it was the nice hint of peanut butter. So this is definitely a keeper! I made a chocolate glaze but spread it on slightly thicker then your typical glaze, absolutely perfect!


I made it as cupcakes but the recipe was originally for a bundt cake.




PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE/CUPCAKES

DIRECTIONS:

1 pkg. Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix
4 large eggs
1 C. vegetable oil
1 C. milk
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 to 3/4 of a jar of peanut butter (reduced fat worked well)
1 - 4oz bar German's Sweet Chocolate grated (grate it by throwing it in the blender)
Handful of Chocolate Chips (I use usually 2 handfuls)

DIRECTIONS:

- Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips.
- Fold in chocolate chips
- Pour into a greased Bundt pan or cupcakes
- Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.....(50 minutes is usually enough)For cupcakes about 23-25 minutes.


SATINY CHOCOLATE GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C. semisweet chocolate chips
3 T. butter
1 T. light corn syrup
1/4 tspn. vanilla extract


There are two different ways to do the glaze - the official directions are first then my short cut ones are second

OFFICIAL DIRECTIONS:

- In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

MY DIRECTIONS:

- In a microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips and butter, occasionally stirring.
- After melted add corn syrup and vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, depending on the thickness either drizzle it or just spread it over the top and down the sides.

I'm back and with a fantastic cookie!

WOW!!! I haven't blogged in almost a year - 2009 was CRAZY!! I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog but in the past year I realized this blog is really helpful to me to get some of my favorite recipes when I am on the road. I might not be blogging as much as in my heyday but here we go again....................

One of the tasks that kept me busy in 2009 was a Holiday Cookie Swap at work that I was in charge of. My favorite recipe from the swap was my boss' cookies who are named after her aunt. I love these and made them for some Christmas Cookie gifts. They are supposed to be a little logs but my batch came out flat on the bottom. Enjoy!!!!!



Right out of the oven:




Coated and looking pretty:








Packed up with some truffles



AUNT NETTIE’S CHOCOLATE COOKIES


INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups of sifted flour
1/2 tspn salt
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) margarine, softened (I used butter)
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tspn vanilla
1 (6 oz)pack semisweet chocolate chips (mini chocolate chips work really well but you can use others)
2 cups chopped walnuts (you can also use almonds)

CHOCOLATE COATING INGREDIENTS:
1 large (12 oz) package of chocolate chips
1/4 cup margarine (I used butter)

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix flour and salt
- Beat margarine, sugar, egg, vanilla in large bowl until well mixed
- Blend in flour, then stir in chocolate chips
- Shape dough into 2 by 1/2 inch logs (use a little flour on hands if dough is sticky)
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes
- Cool on wire rack

- Once cookies are cooled then melt 1 large package of chocolate chips (12 oz) and 1/4 cup margarine
- Dip ends in chocolate coating and roll ends in nuts.
- Place on wax paper until set.

Back with fun chips!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!! Between the holidays, family, work, and no computer I am finally back - not sure if anyone missed me but I missed blogging! When I was home I made containers of cookies for some family friends and for our priest and pastor at Church. I got these beautiful boxes at the dollar store, what a nice find! And they were filled with about 6 different types of cookies. Included were the Andes Mint Brownies that are always a huge hit.

I also made two types of cookies using my normal cookie recipe . I made one batch of cookies but split the batter in half and used Mini Chocolate Chips for one half and Cinnamon Chips for the other. The Cinnamom Chips came out great and definetly gave a little holiday twist to normal cookies.

GUEST POST!! Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies with Almond Butter!

My cousin made these delicious cookies for her husband and daughter's class (my adorable goddaughter!)

I have been wanting to make cookies different from what I usually make and then I got the December edition of Cooking Light. I decided to try Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, with some adaptations, of course. I used Barney Butter (see picture), an Almond Butter that I have been reading about on some other blogs. I also used ¼ SmartBalance blend rather than canola oil.

These were surprisingly delicious. My husband really liked them, which was surprising because I don’t think he likes peanut butter cookies, but the almond butter is very subtle. My daughter’s kindergarten class gobbled up the ones I sent in. The recipe says it makes 3 dozen, but I made 4 dozen. They were nicely chewy and not as flat as in the picture, although now I think that is maybe because I didn’t add the water.





CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH ALMOND BUTTER
(Source: Cooking Light)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter (or almond butter)
¼ c water (whoops, I never added that, didn’t even notice it until now)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
12 ounces all-purpose flour (2 2/3 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips (I used more like ¾ cup)


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Perfect Fall Muffins!

The other day I was randomly looking at recipes online and printed out a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, well when my officemate picked the recipe off the printer to give it to me she said that I could make them anytime that she was in the office. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie and am kind of ambivalent about pumpkin in general but I decided for the good of the office I would give these a try. These were a HUGE hit, with one person saying "I think it was the best thing you baked. And that's saying something." Other people disagreed with that statement but said they were still excellent. And even though I am not a huge fan pumpkin fan I am a huge fan of these.

I made 2 batches - regular size and minis - and they were excellent; very moist and delicious. I also used mini chocolate chips, I only put in 1/2 C but next time might throw in some extras if using the mini chips again.





PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
(Source: Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips



DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
- Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chunks of Love

Last week I was craving something simple so I made Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I had never used chocolate chunks before but they were delicious and these cookies came out so soft and perfect!!! I have the empty bowl to prove it!

I used my normal cookie recipe but instead used Chocolate Chunks!

Delicious Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting!!!

I love this cake!!!! When I tell most people what it is I get weird faces looking at me like I am nuts but once they have their first bite they are true believers! This was made recently for a birthday at work but in the past I have made it for Thanksgiving and with some vanilla ice cream on the side it is delicious!!

The caramel frosting is delicious and this time I added a little extra (2 1/2 tablespoons) of evaporated milk to make it a little thinner but this icing is definetly not good for a piping bag...it is too thin! Also, I think my biggest excitiement when making this cake was I discovered small cans of evaporated milk at Whole Foods, one was almost perfect for this cake and instead of throwing away a whole can I only had a little bit left over!







OATMEAL LAYER CAKE
Source: Cooking Light)

INGREDIENTS

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening (I use butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat bottoms of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pan), and line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

Combine water and oats in a medium bowl; let stand 20 minutes. Beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, shortening, and vanilla at medium speed of a mixer for 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add oatmeal, beating until blended.

Lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap pans once on counter to remove


CARAMEL PECAN FROSTING
(Source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans


Preparation
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar. Cook 3 minutes; stir constantly with a whisk. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool. Stir in vanilla. Combine butter mixture and powdered sugar in a bowl; beat at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Frost cake as directed; sprinkle with pecans.
Note: If it's too thick, add 1 tablespoon evaporated fat-free milk.

Yield
2 cups

Easiest and Most Delicious Chocolate Chip Cake!

This week we had a small pizza party for our interns and it was assumed that I was going to make a dessert for the party, I of course happily obliged and brought in my favorite Chocolate Chip Cake. Now this cake is actually one of my #1 requested items and I LOVE it because its so moist, not too overpowering with chocolate but just the perfect amount, and it is so simple to make. My mom always says that best desserts are the simple and not overly complicated and she is definitely right! This cake is always a huge hit and I also used it when I made my onesie cake; however, that cake seemed to sink a little bit!

So next time you need a delicious and easy cake this is definitely a winner!






CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE

DIRECTIONS:

1 pkg. Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix
4 large eggs
1 C. vegetable oil
1 C. milk
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 - 4oz bar German's Sweet Chocolate grated (grate it by throwing it in the blender)
Handful of Chocolate Chips (I use usually 2 handfuls)

DIRECTIONS:

- Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips.
- Fold in chocolate chips
- Pour into a greased Bundt pan
- Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.....(50 minutes is usually enough)


SATINY CHOCOLATE GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C. semisweet chocolate chips
3 T. butter
1 T. light corn syrup
1/4 tspn. vanilla extract


There are two different ways to do the glaze - the official directions are first then my short cut ones are second

OFFICIAL DIRECTIONS:

- In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

MY DIRECTIONS:

- In a microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips and butter, occasionally stirring.
- After melted add corn syrup and vanilla.
- Spread warm glaze over top of cake, depending on the thickness either drizzle it or just spread it over the top and down the sides.

Butterscotch Brownies!

In the past few weeks it seems like everyone has been making brownies so when my office was having an ice cream party I thought it was a great opportunity to make a delicious batch. I know that everyone loves these because people kept coming up to ask which ones were mine and they disappeared the quickest!! One of the great things about this recipe is that I substitute different types of chips and they always come out great!


This recipe is originally from the family I used to nanny for and they are delicious.







BROWNIES

Ingredients:
- 4 oz unsweetned chocolate
- 1 stick butter
- 4 eggs
- salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 C. Flour
- 6 oz Chips (butterscotch, chocolate, and peanut butter)

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350
- Melt the chocolate and butter together
- Beat the eggs and salt
- Slowly add sugar and vanilla and mix
- Stir in the melted chocolate and butter
- Mix in the flout
- Add your favorite chips

Pour into a 9 x 13 in. pan and bake for 25 minutes. Watch out they go fast!!

Guest Post: White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

My cousin Allison is part of the reason why I started this blog and is an excellent baker and cook. She recently made these cookies for a PTA meeting at her son's school. They were all gobbled up!




Ingredients:
2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
11 oz bag white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts

Directions:-pre- heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
-Mix dry ingredients together; set aside.
-With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.
-Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.
-Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips.
- Drop in tablespoon size drops on cooking sheets
- Bake about 12-13 minutes
-Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted to bake the other day but only had 1/2 a bag of chocolate chips and 1/2 a bag of butterscotch chips so I decided to combine them and make some delicious cookies. I wasn't sure if they were going to be too sweet - my officemates said they were a little sweet but it didn't stop them from devouring them! It's always a good sign when the container shows up on your desk empty with a post it note that says "Please refill!"





Recipe

2 Sticks of butter
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz chips (in this recipe 6 oz of Butterscotch chip and 6 oz. Chocolate chips)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix. Next add the flour and baking soda. Finally add the chips.


I use an ice cream scoop so they are moundy but you can use a big spoonfull of dough. Bake them for 8 minutes then check them, possibly need an extra 2 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy!


These cookies come out very soft unfortunately they stuck together because I stacked them when they were still a little warm but they were still delicious!!