Cocoa Brownies

So Wednesday night a friend came over for enchiladas and then we made brownies.  They are amazing!! Very rich and Chocolaty!! The End. 

Instagram Photo

Cocoa Brownies by Alton Brown - Foodnetwork.com
Yield: 16 Brownies
Ingredients:
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
8 Ounces Melted Butter, unsalted
1 1/4 Cups Cocoa, sifted
2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract

1/2 Cup Flour, sifted 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
4. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. 
5. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.
6. Enjoy!!

SERVINGS: 16 (PER BROWNIE); Calories: 243; Total Fat: 13 grams; Saturated Fat: 8 grams; Protein: 3 grams; Total carbohydrates: 28 grams; Sugar: 22 grams Fiber: 1 grams; Cholesterol: 83 milligrams; Sodium: 82 milligrams

Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy New Year, two weeks late.  I have been really busy with work and I have been baking, just not posting.  I made delicious brownies last week and chocolate cupcakes another day.  But today is a special birthday post for my good friend Pepper.  He is 35 today and he requested these cookies.  I cut this recipe in 1/3 and they turned out great.  They are very crispy and almost carmel like on the outsides but the insides are very soft and buttery.  They don't look very pretty, but its the taste that counts!! Overall a very delicious cookies and I will be making these again!!

Happy Birthday Pepper!!

Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies - Foodnetwork.com
Yield: 10 Large Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
6 oz Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, cream the brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the butter mixture. Mix on low until the flour mixture is incorporated, and then mix in the chocolate chips.
3. Scoop out the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and freeze for an hour. The cookies will spread, so limit 4 cookies for each cookie sheet to give ample room. ( I just scooped about 1/4 cup size balls and put them on a plate in the freezer and cooked 4 at a time.  They really do spread so use the biggest cookie sheet you have!  Also I used an airbake pan and i still used the parchment paper...)
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Bake until golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the cookies with a flat spatula to prevent breaking.
6. Let them cool completely, I thought they tasted better the next day. 
7. Enjoy!!

Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

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More holiday cookies!! I love how pretty these cookies are and I am sure they will be a show stopper at any holiday party.  They taste good and they look good, what more can you ask for!?  I used jolly rancher for the candy part and they harden nicely and I even made one cookies with red and green.  When I made them, I cooked the dough for about 5 minutes then took them out and added the jolly rancher.  If the candy gets too hot it bubbles up and goes over the edge so you have to watch them closely.  I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas!  Happy Holidays!!

Stained Glass Cookies - Adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: 3 Dozen
Ingredients:
2 Cups Sifted Flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

20 assorted clear colored hard candies, such as Jolly Rancher or Starburst hard candies

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat until smooth, 1 minute.
3. Add reserved flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in vanilla. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
4. Position two racks in oven; preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat (nonstick baking mat); set aside.
5. On a well-floured work surface, roll out chilled dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out exterior shapes using a cookie cutter or templates. With a metal spatula, transfer whole cookies to the prepared baking sheets. 
6. Using tip of a paring knife or cookies cutter, make a cutout in center of each cookie to be filled with candy. 
7. Transfer baking sheet to the refrigerator, and chill until cookie dough is firm, about 15 minutes. 
8. Crush the candies into small pieces.
9. Place the baking sheet in the oven, and bake cookies for about 5 minutes.  Take the cookies out and add the candy.  
10. Bake until the candy has melted and completely filled the cut-out area, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the stained-glass effect will not be as brilliant and the candy centers may become bubbly, not clear.
11. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, and then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Enjoy!!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Happy Holidays!! I hope everyone is done with their shopping and spending all their time baking!!  This is such an easy recipe and super quick!! Anyone can whip this up for a holiday party or just to share with your family.  I am gonna make this post short and sweet because I have a lot to do! Merry Christmas!

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Fudge - Adapted from - Cake Duchess
Yield: 25 squares
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 (14 Ounce) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
4 Candy Canes, crushed

Directions:

1. Line a 8 or 9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper leaving about 2 inches around the sides of pan hanging out.
2. Place chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook until chocolate melts, stirring often until smooth. 
3. Remove the chocolate from the heat. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and the peppermint extract. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
4. Let the fudge set for a hour or two.
5. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

These cookies are so festive and they smell amazing! I love the combination of chocolate and peppermint.  I made dark chocolate peppermint fudge which I will be posting soon too!  The batter is just a chocolate roll out recipe from Bon Appitet magazine and then your creativity comes into play with whatever you want to do with the dough.  I made some stars and some ornaments with cutouts in the middle as well as I used Martha Stewart Holiday Stencils to make snowflakes and the holiday wreath.  I bought an 8 pack of her stencils and they are super cute!!  Happy Holiday Baking!!

Your recipe here, or I will be posting the bon appetit one soon!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting topped with Mini Gingerbread Men

Merry Christmas to all my readers! Sorry I have been so MIA lately, I am just too busy to keep up.  I did a lot of baking this weekend so I have like 5 posts coming out soon!! These cakes are amazing and that's all I have the energy to say today!  Happy Holidays!!

Cupcakes - Adapted from - Melissas Munches
Yield: 22 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Ground Ginger
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter (3 sticks), room temperature
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
3 Tablespoons Unsulphered Molasses
4 Eggs, room temperature
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
22 Gingerbread men

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing:
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Softened
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350. Line muffin pan with baking cup liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour and spices; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses until incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. 
4. Add flour and mix on low speed until just combined.
5. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the cinnamon cream frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
7. Frost and top with gingerbread men.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

YogurtLand inspired these cookies.  My favorite flavor there is called Oatmeal Cookie.  I was eating this the other night and my taste buds were delighted.  I soon realized that I have never made a plain oatmeal cookie and decided to change that this weekend.  I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and with all the positive reviews I knew this would be the perfect cookie to bake.  I added more cinnamon, because why not.  They  so delicious!  But I actually made two cookies today.  I had recently seen a recipe for an oatmeal cookie that had Dark Chocolate Covered Acai bits in it, but I didn't save the recipe and couldn't find it again.  I decided just to add about 3/4 cup of the chocolate to the second batch of cookies.  I had two types, Acai and Pomegranate so I used some of each.  I think they qualify as a healthy cookie with the oatmeal and antioxidants from the dark chocolate and Acai.   These would be a perfect addition to any Christmas plate of cookies!

Soft Oatmeal Cookies - Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Yield: 3 Dozen

Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and softened
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
3 Cups Quick Oats

1-2 Cups Brookside Dark Chocolate with Acai or Pomegranate (optional)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. 
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.  (I didn't chill my dough, I am too impatient when my dough has cinnamon in it.  My cookies came out GREAT, so its your choice)
3. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease cookie sheets. Scoop or roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.  (I flatten the plain cookies just with my hand, and I didn't flatten the ones with chocolate in them.  I like a thicker cookie but again this is your choice.)
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack or I use tin foil to cool completely.

1 Year Blogiversary & Mocha Cookies

So it might have seemed that I had fallen off the face of the planet, but I am back.  I started a new job and I am working a normal 40 hour week.  Its been hard getting into a routine where I have time to bake, but I am working it out.  In other exciting news, I just past my 1 year of blogging mark which is a big milestone.  I cant believe its been a year, and man oh man so much has changed.   I went from a student with a passion for baking to a hard working 9-5er with no time to bake.

Anywhoo.  Thanksgiving just past and we are rolling up on Christmas real fast.  This is when the big scramble for baking and gifts hits us like a ton of bricks.  There is never a enough time in the day to get everything done, but I think I discovered something that might help.  These cookies!!  These cookies have a rich chocolaty brownie flavor with espresso!  What more could u ask for.  This are great for a mid-day pick-me-up or perfect to add to your holiday cookie tray, just don't let the kids get to them!

Mocha Cookies - Adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 3 Dozen

Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder or Dark Special Cocoa
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon (Optional)
2 Tablespoons Instant Espresso Powder (I used Starbucks VIA Packages)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 Cup (1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Packed Light-Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, plus one egg yolk
1 Cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder, vanilla, and a tablespoon of water; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and yolk; mix until incorporated. 
5. Add espresso mixture; mix well, scraping down the sides of a bowl with a spatula. At low speed, add flour mixture in small batches, mixing until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer, and stir in chocolate chunks.
6. Using a cookie scoop, scoop heaping balls of dough and place 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool completely before removing cookies.
7. Enjoy!!

Oreo Cake

It was my boyfriends 25th birthday yesterday so I made him OREO Cake.  His favorite is white cake with store bought chocolate frosting, but I had to get more creative then that so I made Oreo Cake!  I got too busy today to make the cake from scratch so I gave in and used box mix, it happens to the best of us sometimes.  I wanted to make sure that there was at least one thing he asked for in the cake so I bought the chocolate frosting at the store for the middle of the cake and put the Oreo buttercream on the outside.  I had a really hard time spreading the chunky frosting round the cake but it turned out okay.  I used the left over Oreos to surround the outside of the cake, because why not.   This was a huge hit with my boyfriend and his friends, very chocolaty though so be sure to serve a glass of milk with every slice of cake.  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Joe!!

Oreo Cake - Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Yield: 2 Layer 8 Inch Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) Package Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 (5.9 ounce) Package Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix (I used 2 small packages which was about 2.5 oz)
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Warm Water - I think I forgot this in my rush to get the cakes in the oven!
2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips - I dont think you need this much extra chocolate....

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 8 or 9 inch round cake pans thoroughly.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, salt vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans.
3.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking the baking time. Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

Oreo Buttercream
Ingredients:
2 Stick Unsalted Butter – room temperature
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Pounds Powdered Sugar
3-4 Tablespoons Very Cold Milk
25 Oreo cookies chopped - or they will chop themselves if you put them in the mixer and turn up the speed!

Directions

1. Cream the butters in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla extract and combine well.
2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Add the Oreo Cookies and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Frost your cooled cake layers and decorate.
5. Enjoy!!

100th Post & Nutella Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies

Today is also my 100th post!! I have been blogging for almost a year now and I love still love it.  I started my blog while sitting in my biology class one day.  I already followed a few blogs and I thought to myself, I can do this too!  My style has changed over the months, and my photography has improved but I still love baking and sharing my treats with everyone.  I have a lot to make on my Baking Bucket List, so I will continue blogging and trying new recipes!  I hope you enjoy this recipe for Nutella cream cheese brownies!  They are truly amazing!!

P.S. The CMA's were AMAZING tonight!!!

Nutella Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies - Adapted from Lovin The Oven

Yield: 16 Squares

Cream Cheese Topping Ingredients:

5 Oz Cream Cheese - not whipped
2 Tablespoons Butter, room temperature and unsalted
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Flour
1/4 Cup Nutella

Brownie Batter Ingredients:
3/4 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Stick of Butter, room temperature and unsalted
1 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Eggs

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.  Grease and line a 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Cream cheese topping - 
1. Cream together butter, sugar and flour. Add cream cheese and mix/blend until smooth.
2. Scrape bowl and add the egg and beat until the topping is nice and creamy. 
3. Scrap bowl and add Nutella, beat about one minute or until the nutella is mixed into the cream cheese mixture completely.
4. Set topping aside and mix brownie batter.
3. Brownie batter - 
1. Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a medium sized bowl.
2. In a small bowl cream sugar and 1/2 stick of butter, add eggs one at a time, beat well then add vanilla.
3. Fold egg, sugar, butter and vanilla mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.
4. Spread 3/4 of the brownie batter into the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish.
4. Randomly dollop the cream cheese topping over the brownie batter.
5. Randomly dollop the rest of the brownie batter on top of the cream cheese batter. Swirl with the tip of a knife.
6. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes.
7. Enjoy!!