Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Please, Sir, I'd like S'mores Cookie Bars

Summer is just around the corner and I wanted something summer-feeling to take to a couple of parties my friends were throwing, so s'mores cookies felt like an appropriate treat. Enjoy them this summer with all of their marshmallow-y, chocolate-y, graham-cracker-y deliciousness!


S'mores Cookie Bars
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup ground graham crackers (9 crackers), divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, divided
1 cup mini marshmallows, divided

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350º
2) Combine flour, 1 cup ground graham cracker, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
3) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.
4) Add in vanilla and then one egg at at time.
5) Mix in 1/2 c of the flour/graham cracker mixture until it is all incorporated.
6 Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows.
7) Spray 13x9" baking pan with cooking spray and sprinkle remaining ground graham crackers, shaking gently to coat evenly.

8) Drop blobs of dough onto into the baking pan and gently flatten dough over the layer of graham cracker. A cooking-spray-coated spatula does this well.
9) sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over, and press remaining marshmallows into, the surface of the dough.
9) Chill in freezer for at least 1 hour or overnight. *Because of this step I recommend not using a glass baking pan, as it could break when it hits the oven.
10) Bake for 25-30 minutes.
11) Cool completely then cut into bars.

Nutrition information:

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Happy Birthday, Here's Some Goo.

PHOEBE: Ok, here are the birthday candles. Where's the birthday cake?
MONICA: Ok, we're not having birthday cake, we're having birthday flan.
CHANDLER: Excuse me?
MONICA: It's a traditional Mexican custard dessert.
JOEY: Oh that's nice. "Happy birthday Rachel, here's some goo."

But seriously, flan is delicious. One of my friends told me about the Nutella Flan she enjoyed at a restaurant about 2 hours away. I needed to have some without making the trip so I made my own by modifying my favorite flan recipe.

Nutella Flan
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup Sugar 
  • 1 5 oz can Evaporated milk 
  • 2 Eggs 
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 
  • 1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) In a small saucepan, melt the sugar over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
3) Coat the bottoms of 4 1/2 c ramekins with that caramel.
4) Beat the eggs and add the Nutella, vanilla, and evaporated milk.  Mix well; it will be thin.
5) Arrange the ramekins in a large baking dish and add enough water to the baking dish around the ramekins for it to come half way up the ramekins.
6) Divide the flan mixture between the ramekins.
7) Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8) Let cool then place in refrigerator until chilled and ready to serve.
9) To serve, run a knife around the outside of the ramekins, cover  with serving dish and turn over quickly, taking care that caramel does not spill.
10) Shake until flan slides out of ramekin and serve.


Saturday, March 9, 2013

We All Scream for Mocha Brownie Batter Ice Cream

I found this recipe for ice cream which does not require an ice cream maker and was excited to make it. Add some crumbled brownie bits to make it even better!


Mocha Brownie Batter Ice Cream
Printable recipe

  • 1 14oz can condensed milk
  • 2 c heavy cream, divided
  • 1 c brownie mix
  • 1 Tbsp instant coffee


Directions:
1) Combine 1 c heavy cream, condensed milk, brownie mix, and coffee in a medium bowl.
2) Whisk together until well mixed. Coffee does not need to be fully dissolved.
3) Set mixture aside.
4) Using a whisk attachment on a mixer, whip remaining cream on high for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form.
5) Add chocolate mixture slowly while whisking until all of the chocolate is incorporated.
Optional: Stir in crumbled brownie pieces.
6) Pour into a freezer safe airtight container.
7) Freeze for at least 6-8 hours before serving.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Chocodoodles

The first time I got around to making snickerdoodles, I was torn between finally making them and making chocolate chip cookies. I decided that I should just combine them and now it's my go-to cookie recipe. I made them by adding chocolate chips to my snickerdoodle recipe.

Chocodoodles
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 c. chocolate chips

Topping:
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon-more if you love it!

1) Preheat oven to 350F. 
2) Wisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. 

3) Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.
4) Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5) Mix in eggs, one at a time. 
6) Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. 
7) Add chocolate chips and stir in by hand.
8) In a seprate bowl, stir together cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. 
9) Shape dough into round balls; roll in cinnamon sugar.
10) Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
11) Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 14 minutes. 
12) Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Batter Up

Anyone who enjoyed Dunkaroos oh so many years ago will love this chocolatey treat.  And it's so easy to make! Try serving up this fun dessert at your next party.

Chocolate Cake Batter Dip
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 2c. chocolate cake mix
  • 3/4c. milk
  • 1/4c. marshmallow fluff
  • Animal Crackers

Directions:
1) Combine cake mix and milk in a medium
bowl.
2) Whisk in marshmallow fluff.
3) Serve with animal crackers.
4) Enjoy!


Saturday, September 29, 2012

Look to the Cookie!

Inspired by yet another episode of Seinfeld:

The Black and White Cookie
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

(yields about 1 dozen 6-inch cookies)

Cookies:
  •     2 cups all-purpose flour
  •     1 3/4 cups cake flour
  •     3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  •     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  •     2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  •     1 1/2 cups sugar
  •     4 large eggs, room temperature
  •     1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, at room temperature
  •     3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  •     1 batch each of vanilla and chocolate glazes (recipe follows)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350º and line two cookie sheets with parchment.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 3/4 cups cake flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
 3) Using a mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium-high speed for at least 5 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and has significantly lightened in color.

4) Set the mixer to its lowest speed, adding in eggs one at a time, stirring 30 seconds after each addition.
 5) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir in vanilla extract.
6) Add half the dry mixture then, once fully incorporated, add about half of the buttermilk. Repeat with remaining flour and butter milk until incorporated into the batter.
7) Using 1/4 c cookie scoop (4 Tbsp), drop 3 mounds of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing each mound about 3 inches apart.
8) Use a spatula to flatten out the mounds slightly.
9) Bake the cookies 18-20 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown.
10) When the cookies are ready, remove from the oven and let rest on the pan for 5 minutes before loosening with a spatula and turning out to cool on a wire rack.


Glaze Cookies:
1) Fill icing bottles with vanilla and chocolate glaze.
2) One at a time, outline half the cookies with vanilla first.
3) Fill in the outline then smooth out with a knife.
4) Once all the cookies have been done, use any remaining icing by going over the iced side, icing will smooth out on its own.
5) Repeat with chocolate. If necessary, warm in the microwave 15 seconds at a time, shaking bottle between intervals.
6) Let the glaze set before storing or eating the cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container, layered between strips of wax paper, for up to 1 week.


(Glazes follow)
Two races of flavor living side by side in Harmony. It's a wonderful thing isn't it? 


Glazes:
Printable recipes

Vanilla Glaze:
  •     2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  •     2 1/2 tablespoons milk,
  •     1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  •     3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:
  •     3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
  •     1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  •     1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  •     2 tablespoons boiling water, plus additional as needed
  •     1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  •     3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Glaze:
1) Sift confectioner’s sugar into a large bowl
2) Whisk in milk, corn syrup, and vanilla.
3) Add additional milk or confectioners’ sugar as needed until slightly stiff but drips smoothly from whisk.
Or, as in my picture, spatula.

Chocolate Glaze:
1) In a glass bowl, melt chocolate and butter in microwave for about1.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
2) Stir in corn syrup and vanilla extract.
3) Add half the sugar and then 2Tbsp boiling water.
4) Repeat with remaining sugar and an additional 2 Tbsp boiling water.
5) If chunky or thick, microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring in between.