Snicker Cookies

As anyone who knows me can probably say, I love dessert.It is no wonder why most of my posts are about the sweeter things in the culinary world.
So this recipe comes from my mom's kitchen. She makes these cookies at Christmas time for her friends and our family. From my experience, everyone that has ever tried them, loves them. And you will soon see why.
I decided to make them this time of year because I needed a special dessert for an event. Cookies this good shouldn't just come once a year.

Snicker Cookies
(honestly don't remember where my mom found the recipe- from an ad?)

2 sticks butter (softened)
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package (about 13 or so ounces) Snickers Brand Miniatures, unwrapped
1c. chocolate chips

Combine the first four ingredients until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Then mix in the vanilla.
In another bowl combine the flour with the salt and baking soda. Mix this into the butter mixture just until combined. Cover the dough and chill for at least a couple hours.
Remove the dough from the fridge and scoop out about a tablespoon at a time. Take a piece of dough and form a ball around a Snickers with it. I ended up using more like a tablespoon and a half for each cookie, my personal preference. Repeat until all of the dough or all of the candy is gone.
Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet a good inch and a half to two inches apart because they will spread. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 10 to 12 minutes or until they have begun to look dry and firm. Let them cool for 3 to 5 minutes on the baking rack before moving to a cooling rack to completely cool off. If they don't get to sit on the rack, they will just crumble. (Not always bad since you can just eat the pieces as you go)
Melt your chocolate chips, if desired and drizzle over the cookies.

 

Linked up with:

• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Hearth & Soul Hop  at A Moderate Life

Innkeeper Pie

So far in my pregnancy I haven't had too many strong cravings. One thing that I have always had and continue to work with is my sweet tooth. I love dessert. I love being able to make dessert at home for myself, my husband and for friends and family.
One such dessert that is pretty easy to put together and tastes amazing is this Innkeeper Pie. It comes from a cookbook my mom has. I have been making it for years and can't remember exactly where it hails from. I think a Hershey's cookbook?
Anyways. This dessert is a pie and a cake. Together. In all of the best ways possible. I thoroughly enjoy it, and so did my husband.

Innkeeper Pie
(from a Hershey's cookbook?)

1 pie crust- homemade or store bought
2/3 c. sugar + 3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 c. water
1/3 c. butter
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
1 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening (I like plain ol Crisco)
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 c. shopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work best, I think)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, stir together 2/3 c. of the sugar, the cocoa powder and the water. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally for one minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and 1 1/2 tsp. of the vanilla until both are fully incorporated. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, the remaining 3/4 c. sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the shortening, milk and remaining 1 tsp. of vanilla. Stir just until combined. Add in the egg and mix well to combine.
Spoon the batter into the prepared crust. Stir the chocolate mixture a bit and gently pour over the cake batter. Sprinkle the nuts over top the whole thing. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and dry. Cool slightly and enjoy!


Linked up with:

• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Hearth & Soul Hop 51 at A Moderate Life
• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Buttermilk Pralines and Chocolate Covered Almond Clusters

Today is the last night for my decorating basics class. I'm still on the road to getting better from this cold. I really really dislike coughing. I think I have done enough of it in the last three days that I shouldn't need to for the rest of the year.
So to celebrate the last day of my cake decorating class, I thought I would post about some tasty candy that is good any time of the year. I made this around Christmas time- but they would be just as great for Easter or even a birthday. Make up a bunch and wrap them individually for Halloween.
The first recipe I found on bhg.com (Better Homes & Gardens) while looking for something to do with the buttermilk I had in the house. The second came from Food Network a long long time ago. I actually have it hand written on the back of some piece of paper somewhere in the kitchen. Luckily, the recipe is super easy with very little ingredients.

Buttermilk Pralines makes about 3 dozen or so
(recipe from bhg.com)

2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. buttermilk
2 tbl. butter
2 c. pecans, slightly chopped (you want to have lots of big pieces)

Spray the inside on a heavy 2 quart saucepan with nonstick spray. Combine the brown sugar and buttermilk in the pan and cook over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Carefully attach a candy thermometer to the pan and lower the heat to medium low. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the thermometer reaches 234 degrees F, or soft ball stage.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the butter, but don't stir. Let the mixture cool until the thermometer reaches 150 degrees F. Once cooled down, take out the candy thermometer and quickly stir in the pecans. Doing this will further cool down the mixture, so you have to work quickly from here. Beat the mixture with the wooden spoon untul the candy feels like it's thickening, but still looks glossy.
Drop the candy by tablespoonfuls (smaller if you desire) onto wax paper a couple inches apart because the mixture will spread a little. If the mixture in the pan begins to stiffen before you can finish scooping it out, mix in a couple drops of hot water at a time until the consistency you need returns. Let the pralines cool until set and then store in an airtight container.


Chocolate Covered Almond Clusters
(The amounts are estimates. You can use more or less almonds, more or less chocolate as desired)
recipe adapted from Food Network

1/2 c toasted slivered almonds
24 individually wrapped caramels, quartered
1 c. chocolate chips

Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Divide the almonds among 24 muffin wells (less wells if you want more almond per each candy).
On top of the almond slivers, place 4 of the pieces of caramel. This amounts to one caramel per candy. If you overfill the wells with almonds, the caramel won't be able to reach all of the almonds.
Pop the pan in the oven and watch carefully. About 5 to 8 minutes and the caramel will be melted. If left in the oven too long. it will all burn. Remove from the oven and let the candies cool just until hardened and easy to handle.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip each almond cluster in the chocolate with a couple forks and set on some parchment or wax paper to harden. Store candies in an airtight container.


Linked up with:

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home
• Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale
• This Week's Cravings at Mom's Crazy Cooking

Perfectly Simple Dark Chocolate Tart

To continue on my theme of chocolate desserts, I bring to you this rich chocolate tart. I know what you may be thinking, and no, these last three decadent desserts were not in my house at the same time. There was no overlap, at all......Thank goodness.
This dessert comes from a tasty little cookbook of mine called Luscious Chocolate Desserts. So far everything that I have made from this book has turned out fantastic. This tart, is certainly no exception. But be warned, it is only for the chocoholic. The party I made this for had lots of people, and I still ended up keeping half of it because it is so rich that everyone only took small slices. (May also be because there were so many other delicious desserts there, and you can't fill up on just one.)
However, if you are looking for a relatively quick and easy to put together dessert, this is definitely one to keep in your arsenal. With so few ingredients, The only thing that I changed was the kind of chocolate I used for the filling. There really wasn't anything else for me to change about it. Although, next time, I may add just a touch of ground cinnamon to the filling. I love how cinnamon and chocolate compliment each other so nicely.

(my apologies for the poor picture quality. It was nighttime and all I could get was glare)

Perfectly Simple Dark Chocolate Tart serves at least 12
(recipe adapted from the awesome book, Luscious Chocolate Desserts)

Crust:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. toasted walnuts, cooled (you can toast your walnuts in the oven at 350 for a few minutes, or stovetop, just keep an eye on them because they'll burn quickly)
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cold, unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces

Filling:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or any combination of the two that you like)
1 c. heavy cream
6 tbl. unsalted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Lightly grease a 11-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom. (one that has sides that go up at least a couple inches) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor, blend together the powdered sugar and walnuts until the walnuts are very fine. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt, blend just until it's all incorporated. Now add the butter and pulse just until the mixture starts to clump together a bit in the machine. Turn it off and press some between your fingers, if it sticks together, you're ready. Pour the dough into the tart pan and press down evenly to form a crust over the bottom and about an inch and a half to 2 inches up the side. It's going to shrink down just a bit when baking.
Bake the crust for about 15 minutes, or until it begins for pull away from the sides of the pan. It may take a few minutes longer. Let the crust cool.
Now onto the filling. Melt together the heavy cream and chocolate in the microwave. Starting at 30 seconds, then moving onto 10 second incriments. Alternatively, put the bowl of chocolate and cream over a pot of lightly simmering water. Whisk until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is nice and smooth. Whisk in the remaining ingredients for the filling. (Note: if the chocolate mixture is really really warm, I recommend that you should temper your eggs first with a little of the chocolate mixture)
Pour the warm filling into the crust and pop back into the oven. Bake for about 12 minutes. The filling should appear set all around the outside, but just a little jiggly in the center. Transfer the tart to a wire rack and cool completely. When you are ready to serve, remove the rim of the pan, gently and set on a cake stand, or whatever you plan to serve it on. Dust with cocoa powder if desired, and enjoy!!

Linked up with:

• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Delicious Dishes at itsablogparty.com
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Triple Chocolate Indulgence

I am going to share with you something I am very proud of. I have been thinking for a long while what to call it. Chocolate comes in three distinct forms (four if you count the pirouettes) in this elegant cake. It is decadent, rich, moist and very delicious. If you don't like chocolate, this is definitely not for you. I thought of my friend, Barb when making this because I know she, too, loves chocolate. :)
This cake was for a New Years Eve party. There was going to be a dessert competition and I wanted to show off my best. Chocolate was not just an option, it had to be the main attraction. And so I came up with this lovely chocolate concotion.
While there was no official voting, I do think that this cake would have, stick with me here, taken the cake. Ha! With two layers of homemade Devil's Food cake, homemade dark chocolate mousse and a delicious chocolate ganache encompassing the entire thing, how could anyone go wrong?
When you make this cake yourself, you can certainly use a store bought cake mix, but I really think the mousse and the ganache need to be homemade to get the best flavor. As for the Pirouettes, they are optional. You can definitely leave the cake as is with the ganache, however, I haven't met a single person that doesn't like Pirouettes. Plus, they come in a few different flavors, something for everybody.
My chocolate mousse is very good. I have made it so many times for so many reasons and everybody loves it. It does use uncooked egg whites, so get your eggs from someplace you trust, and try to make sure they are very fresh. (Save those yolks for zabaglione or chocolate lava cakes!) The recipe is also versatile in that you can use the good baking chocolate, or half of a normal sized bag of chocolate chips.
The ganache is super easy to put together and oh so good. Chill it and pipe into eclairs, or warm up and put over vanilla ice cream.

Instructions:
First make the cake, since it needs to cool completely. Once it has cooled, trim up the tops if they aren't very flat. I just left mine as is, a little rounded-ness never hurt anyone.
While those cakes are cooling, make the ganache. Put one cup of the finished ganache into the fridge to firm up. Leave the rest out at room temperature.
Once the cakes are cool, make the chocolate mousse. This recipe makes about twice as much as you need. However, if you decide to make a triple decker cake (double the cake batter recipe and split it between 3 pans) the extra mousse will come in handy. Hubby and I just ate the rest of it as is.

Now we can begin putting this bad boy together. Put on of your cake layers on a cake stand, top of the cake side down (this helps eliminate that top bulge). Spread on desired amount of mousse. Place other cake layer on top of that and make sure you have enough mousse to ensure no gaps along the sides.

Mix up the room temperature ganache a bit and then begin spreading it all over your cake, starting with the top and moving downward. I recommend using an offset cake spatula for this. Don't worry about how pretty the sides are if you are going to stick pirouettes on it.

Once you have completely covered your cake with ganache (this should have used up all, or just about all of the room temperature ganache), stick your pirouettes (1 normal sized can, pirouettes cut in half) onto the cake. Your chilled ganache should be nice and firm now, so put that into a decorator bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe some stars on the top. I put 12 on because the cake is pretty rich and the standard 8 slices would have been way too big.

Homemade Devil's Food Cake
(recipe modified off of the Softasilk box)

1 c. sugar
1 stick, unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 c. cake flour (I like Softasilk)
1/2 c. dutch processed cocoa powder, or unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. + 2 tbl. buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.
Beat together the first three ingredients, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg until completely incorporated. Combine in another bowl the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk into the butter. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another minute to get it nice and smooth.
Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Flip the cakes gently onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

6 ounces dark chocolate (or whatever chocolate you have on hand)
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
3 egg whites
2 tbl. sugar

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, and then leave out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Whisk the heavy cream in a chilled mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Set aside until needed.
Put the egg whites in a very clean mixer bowl. Any little fat molecules will prevent the whites from holding up as a meringue. Whisk together until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, slowly add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Here is where you have to work fast. Quickly whisk one quarter of the  whipped cream into the chocolate. If you don't work fast enough, the chocolate will just cool and harden. (in which case, pop in the microwave for 5-10 seconds and try again. Once that is all nice and incorporated, carefully fold in the egg whites and the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to use. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.


Semisweet Chocolate Ganache
(recipe slighty adjusted from the book, Death by Chocolate)

1 c. heavy cream
2 tbl. unsalted butter
2 tbl. granulated sugar
12 ounces semisweet chocolate (1 bag or 2 cups of chocolate chips)

Heat together the heavy cream, butter and sugar in a small saucepan over a lower heat. Stir together until everything is incorporated, but do not allow to boil. Put the chocolate into a medium sized bowl and pour the cream over top. Allow this to stand for 5 minutes, then gently stir until smooth. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature. (Any leftover should be refrigerated)

Enjoy! :)

I am joining the fun at:

• Monday's Blog Hop over at Santa's Gift Shoppe
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Hearth & Soul Hop vol. 30 at A Moderate Life
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop at ceo a's draiocht

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Happy New Year to everyone out there! I hope everyone had a fun and safe new years eve and day. I went to a party on New Years Eve. Not just a normal, wait for the ball to drop, kind of party. This one had a dessert competition. My kind of party, right? I made a delicious chocolate cake- more on that later (insert shameless plug here)
I know lots of people talk about making resolutions this time of year. From the ones I have heard, they seem to be based around eating better and exercising. Well, one of my resolutions is to work out more consistantly, but also to get a recipe posted up here at least every week. With that, I would also like to make more bloggy friends.
My first recipe of the year isn't a "healthy dish", exactly. Just remember portion control. A sweet treat every now and then, in moderation, isn't a bad thing. I would be a very unhappy camper if it was a bad thing. This cookie recipe comes out of the cookie saga I have mentioned before. My husband likes to have a few cookies packed in his lunches for work, and he usually prefers chocolate chip. Chocolate chip is good, but it just bores me after a while, so every now and then I like to change it up. I found this delicious recipe in a cookbook that my mom-in-law gave me called Death By Chocolate. (Part of that cake I mentioned earlier is from this cookbook also!)
We found these cookies to be absolutely delicious! They are moist and oh so chocolately. The drizzle on top is completely optional, but makes for a nice presentation. Give these a try and they might just become your go to cookie recipe!

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies makes about 3 dozen
(recipe from the book, Death By Chocolate)

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa (yes, I wrote that right, unsweetened)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2ounce pieces (I like Baker's chocolate)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1/2ounce pieces (I like Baker's chocolate)
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
12 tbl. unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips (optional, but highly recommended)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. If you don't have a sifter, just mix them together with a whisk to keep it all nice and light.
Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate together over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until smooth and let sit at room temperature until ready.
Mix together the brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer until nice and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and mix some more to ensure everything is incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing at medium speed. Scrape down the bowl after each egg is mixed in. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the melted chocolate to the mixer and beat just until it is all mixed in. Scrape down the bowl. Add in the flour mixture as well as the chocolate chips and mix just until incorporated.
Portion out the cookies into rounded tablespoons on a cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. If the cookies are bigger, they will need more time. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Optional: Melt about 1/2 c. of chocolate and drizzle over the cookies.

Linked up with:

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• All Things Domestic at Crazy Domestic
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Hearth & Soul Hop vol. 29 at A Moderate Life
• Delicious Dishes at itsablogparty.com
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Tasty Tuesday at A Beautiful Mess
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Fat Camp Friday at Mangoes and Chutney

German Chocolate Cake

Boy, has it been a while since I posted! Life got busy fast, all starting with Thanksgiving. A few weeks ago, hubby and I wanted to have a German-themed dinner. We had homemade brats as the entree, and I made a delicious German chocolate cake,  but I don't know that this cake is actually of German, origin, though. What I do know is that I do not like coconut. And it's not just a texture thing, the flavor just doesn't jive with me. Lots of people do like it, and I got RAVE reviews on the cake.
You'll notice that the recipe makes 3 9-inch rounds of chocolate cake, but my finished product is 2 layers. Well, I cut the frosting to 2/3's so I could have one cake layer for myself. Yum!
I have to say, even if you don't like coconut, you should at least use the cake portion of this recipe, because it is divine! I was eating it without frosting of any kind. I even found myself returning to the kitchen for a piece of it! Yummy!!

German Chocolate Cake (serves: a lot!)

(recipe from Joy of Baking)

Cake:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 1/4 c. cake flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. hot coffee or boiling water

1 c. buttermilk

1 1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 c. granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 8- or 9-inch round  cake pans, line bottoms with parchment.
Melt the chocolate either in the microwave, slowly, or in a double boiler on the stove. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In yet another bowl, combine the coffee and the buttermilk.
Now, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is nice and creamy. Add in the sugar and beat until nice and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Make sure the first is completely incorporated before adding in another. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and add in the vanilla, mix.
Mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture, alternatively, starting and ending with the flour mixture. (1/3 flour mixture, half buttermilk mixture, 1/3 flour, half buttermilk, 1/3 flour). Mix ONLY until everything is incorporated. Slowly mix in the melted chocolate.
Divide the batter among the 3 cake pans, and smooth the tops out. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks.

Frosting:
1 1/4 c. pecans
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. evaporated milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c. flaked coconut
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake just until you can smell them. Don't leave the immediate area because they can and will burn. Burnt pecans are not tasty. Coursely chop the toasted pecans.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from the heat and mix in the pecans, vanilla and coconut. Let it cool until spreadable, then spread onto the cooled cake. Enjoy!

I have linked up with the following parties:

• Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen
• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Hearth & Soul Hop vol. 26 at A Moderate Life
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

There is just about always fresh cookies in the house. Hubby likes them for his work lunches, and I like making them for him. He is a simple guy, and usually likes just plain old chocolate chip cookies. However, with all of my cookbooks, and blog following, I want to change it up from time to time. Hubby is fine with that, and we do usually end up going back to the old standby of chocolate chip.
This week at my internship worksite, someone brought in the staff pizza and cookies. I chose a huge chocolate crinkle cookie, and at that moment knew I had to make some of my own at home.
I searched and searched my cookbooks for a recipe to no avail. My mom makes something similar around Christmas time, but the recipe must be over at her house. Off to the internet I went. I searched "krinkle" and "crinkle" and came up with loads of recipes. Some included melted chocolate, some required refrigeration time, some had good reviews and some had mixed reviews. After looking at a few I knew that I wanted one that used cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate and preferred to find one that didn't require any refrigeration time because I prefer to start and finish a recipe in one standing.
Enter here the Williams-Sonoma website. I have a few of their cookbooks, of which I am very very pleased with. This recipe had great reviews (I love the recipe websites that let people review them. SOOOOO helpful!). And the weird thing is - I followed the recipe EXACTLY this time. Crazy, huh? They are delicious. Hubby even enjoys them in his lunch. Win-win! They are definitely going on my Christmas cookie list.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies makes 24-30 cookies
(recipe from Williams-Sonoma)

1/2 c. powdered sugar (you may need just a bit more)
1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two cookie sheets.
Put the powdered sugar into a bowl and set aside- a cereal bowl works great for this.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
Now, in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until it's nice and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
Gently mix in the flour mixture until it's all combined.
Using a tablespoon, or a melon baller, scoop out the cookie dough and roll it into balls. Put the balls in the bowl of powdered sugar, a few at a time, and roll them around until completely coated. The powdered sugar does seem to stick better when the dough is cool. Place the powdered sugar covered cookie dough balls (they look like donut holes) on the cookie sheet, a couple inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they have puffed and cracked.
Let them sit on the cookie sheet for just a moment, then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

I have linked up at:

• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Hearth and Soul Hop vol. 18 at A Moderate Life

Cocoa Meringues

Hello, hello! I must apologize for the lack of posts recently- I haven't been making many perfected recipes worth posting about. This one, however, is a winner.
Remember that creme brulee I made? Remember how it doesn't use egg whites?
The more I get into "fancy" type desserts- custards and such, the more egg whites I end up with on hand. What does a girl do with extra egg whites? Try another meringue cookie recipe, of course!!
These cookies are chocolately, light, and not that bad for you either! Everybody that tried them liked them. And in a sealed container- they were still good a couple days later.

Cocoa Meringues

3 egg whites

3/8 tsp. cream of tartar

dash of salt

1/4 c. + 2 tbl. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. + 2 tbl. powdered sugar

3 tbl. unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a whisk or balloon whisk attatchment of a stand mixer. Beat until soft peaks have formed, then slowly add in the granlulated sugar while still beating. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff and glossy peaks have formed. Keep an eye on this to make sure they aren't overbeaten!

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then fold into the egg whites along with the vanilla extract. Drop the meringue on the cookie sheet by large teaspoonfuls. (Alternatively, you can load up the meringue into a piping bag with a larger tip and pipe the meringue onto the cookie sheet.) Bake for 1 1/2 hours (90 minutes) and then turn off the oven, leaving the cookies inside to cool for at least 3 hours or up to overnight if you baked them in the evening. After cooling, store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them as fresh as possible and enjoy!


I have linked up at the following parties:

• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tuesday Night Supper Club at Fudge Ripple
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
• Two for Tuesday #11 at Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy
• Topsy Turvy Tuesday at I'm Topsy Turvy
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party

Chocolate Mousse Pie

A while back I bought a bag of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips with plans to make cookies or something with them. Instead, I noticed a recipe on the back of the bag for Decadent Truffle Bottom Pie. This pie looks so good! However, I decided to make something different; using ingredients I had on hand. I also didn't want to bake in the middle of summertime- so something had to be done about that.
This pie is definitely for chocolate lovers. It's rich and oh so chocolately- I'm sure because of the use of dark chocolate instead of milk or semi sweet. It makes a great summer dessert because it's served cold and would be great with some vanilla ice cream.
You can play around and use a chocolate graham cracker crust if you are seriously craving your chocolate. Or maybe add some chocolate cookie crumbs crumbled in the middle.
So here we are, my version of a Hershey's recipe.

Chocolate Mousse Pie serves 8-12
adapted from Hershey's

1 premade graham cracker crust
2 c. mini marshmallows
1/2 c. milk (low fat is fine)
2 c. Hershey's dark chocolate chips (1 12oz bag)
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
sweetened whip cream for topping (optional)
Chocolate cookies for garnish (optional)

Put the marshmallows and milk in a large microwave safe bowl and heat up on medium power for one minute. Stir until smooth. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds at a time on medium power if necessary.
Once smooth, stir in the chocolate chips until they have thoroughly melted and are smooth. Microwave another 15 seconds at a time on medium power until the mixture can be stirred smooth.
Take 1 cup of this delicious chocolately mixture and spread it onto the bottom of the pie crust. Let the remaining mixture cool to room temperature.
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer (or by hand if you're super tough), whisk the whipping cream until it's stiff. Fold in about a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until thoroughly incorporated. Then, fold in the rest of the whipped cream and spread this mixture in the pie crust and refrigerate until serving. Top with sweetened whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!

Linked up at the following parties:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
• Tuesdays At The Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• All Things Domestic at Crazy Domestic
• Recipe Share Party at The Harrigan Howdy
• It's Party Time Thursday at Pony Tails & Fish Scales
• Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Chocolate Yummies

I have been on a search for a recipe that incorporated the three basic s'mores flavors for a couple weeks when I discovered this recipe at the Kellogg's Rice Krispie's site.

The recipe is super duper quick and easy to make, and very fun to eat. I really like the fact that there are all three distinct flavors I was looking for- the graham cracker, the marshmallows and chocolate.

The only change I made to the recipe was halving the peanut butter in it since I was looking for more of a s'mores type of thing. But you could put all of it in there if you are a peanut butter person. Peanut butter and chocolate go really well together!

Chocolate Yummies
adapted from Kellogg's Rice Krispies

Graham crackers- I find that one of the packages in the box is about enough
2 1/2c. mini marshmallows (yes, they have to be the small kind)
1 pkg (2 c.) chocolate chips
2/3 c. light corn syrup
3 tbl. butter
1/4- 1/2 c. peanut butter (I used the smooth kind, but you can use whatever you have)
3 c. Rice Krispies

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and line the bottom with graham crackers. Break them up into smaller pieces to fit in and cover the entire bottom.
Sprinkle the marshmallows over the graham crackers in an even layer. Microwave the entire thing for one minute or until the marshmallows have puffed up. (You could stick it under the broiler for more of the toasted taste!)
In a micromave safe mixing bowl, add the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring the mixture every 30 seconds.
Mix in the peanut butter thoroughly, then stir in the Krispies until everything is well blended. Spread the mixture (carefully) over the marshmallows and refrigerate for at least an hour until the whole thing has firmed up.
Now you can cut it up into tasty little bars! Enjoy!


This recipe has been linked up at:

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table at All The Small Stuff
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy 
• Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
• It's Party Time Thursday at Pony Tails & Fish Scales
• Recipe Share Party Thursday at Harrigan Howdy
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum

Banana Fudgesicles

What's better than a nice cool treat on a warm afternoon? What frozen confection brings you back to childhood?  And what's a tasty way to use up some very ripe bananas when you're tired of banana bread?
I'll tell you. It's banana fudgesicles. :)
Last summer I began my search for popsicle molds. I didn't find them, but luckily the hubby and I recieved a pack of 6 as a wedding present. Yay!
Now that the weather is warming up, I knew it was time to break out the popsicle molds and make something tasty. What is tastier than chocolate? Not a lot. What goes great with chocolate that I happen to have a few of? Bananas!
The banana makes it healthy, right? ;)
I found these fudgesicles to be so nice and refreshing on a warm day! The chocolate is just strong enough that it compliments the banana perfectly, and I am so glad I didn't have to make more banana bread!
My recipe makes 6 popsicles. Each hold about a half cup of popsicle goodness. You can use small dixie cups with posicle sticks, or even double it up to make a bunch. Yum.

Banana Fudgesicles

2 tbl. cornstarch
sprinkle of salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
heaping 1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 very ripe banana, mashed up good.

Mix together the first five ingredients in a saucepan. Once combined, bring to a boil over medium heat and stir for one minute, or until the mixture has thickened up. Congratulations, you just made a really quick and easy pudding.
Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they have melted completely. Then mix in the maches banana.
Like a good gravy, this stuff will thicken up fast as it cools down. You can put piece of plastic wrap over it, touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming and stick it in the fridge if you don't want to make the fudgesicles right away. Otherwise, fill up your molds or dixie cups with the pudding. Stick the tops on the molds, or put plastic wrap over dixie cups and stick a popsicle stick through the plastic wrap. The plastic helps to hold the stick upright.
Freeze for at least four hours and enjoy!
Note: If the fudgesicles don't come out of their molds easily, run a little warm water around the outside and they should pop right out.


I linked this recipe up at:

• Friday Food at momtrends
• Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
• Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen
• Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming
• Made By You Monday at Skip To My Lou
• Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative
• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale
• Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple
• "You're So Crafty" Monday at Miss Crafty Pants
• Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff
• Marketing Mondays at Trendy Treehouse
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at BlessedwithGrace
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy
• Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam
• Strut Your Stuff Thursday at somewhat simple
• It's Party Time Thursday at Pony Tails & Fish Scales
• Recipe Share Party at Harrigan Howdy