7 Layer Magic Cookie Bars

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)

1 cup (6 oz.) milk chocolate chips

1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup (3 oz.) white chocolate chips

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass pan).

2. ln a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press the crumb mixture firmly onto the bottom of a 13-x-9-inch baking pan.

3. Pour condensed milk evenly over the crumb mixture.

4. Layer remaining ingredients evenly in the order listed. Press down firmly with a fork.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool. Chill if desired.

6. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.

Molten Lava Cake for 2

This cake is still gooey in the center and is really yummy. It is a lighter dessert than you would think too. Next time I am using milk chocolate chips to make it a little sweeter.

Molten Lava Cake for 2

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus a little more for the ramekins

1 Tbsp. flour, plus a little more for the ramekins

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips*

1 Large egg plus

1 Large egg yolk

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450F. Butter two 6-oz ramekins and dust the inside with flour.

2. Place the butter and chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high in 20-second intervals, stirring after each use, until melted and smooth.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg, egg yolk and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and lighter in color, about 1 minute. Add the melted chocolate mixture and flour and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.

4. Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins. Bake until the edges are set and center still jiggles slightly, 8-10 minutes. Let stand for 15 seconds. Run a knife around the edge, and then invert each cake onto a plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve with fresh mint or berries, if desired. Serve immediately. (Or serve with chocolate syrup and ice cream)

Make-Ahead tip: Refrigerate the batter in the ramekins for up to 1 day. Before baking, bring to room temperature.

*Recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate chips, I used semisweet, and I plan on using milk chocolate chips next time.

$100 Cake

We mixed up the cake and frosting and added gummy worms to make a "dirt pile" with worms in  it for my son's birthday. Super yummy cake!

$100 Cake:


2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. cold water
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until well blended, but don't over stir. Pour in 9x13 pan and bake for 20 min at 350.

Chocolate Frosting:


1/3 c. butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 heaping TBSP cocoa
1/4 c. milk (up to that amount)

Mix all together, but only use enough milk to make it a nice smooth consistency.

Chewy Milk Chocolate Cookies

Chewy Milk Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup melted butter

2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. hot water

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour*

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

Stir in 1 package Milk Chocolate chips

Directions

Beat the first 4 ingredients together, mixing well.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet ingredients slowly, stirring well after each addition

Drop from small spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

*I added about 1/2 cup extra flour because they seemed too thin, but they would probably be good either way.

S'more Brownies

Layer graham crackers along bottom of 9x13 pan.
Prepare box of brownies*, add 1 cup of chocolate chips to batter and pour on top of crackers.
Bake as instructed on box. 5 minutes before it is finished baking, sprinkle mini marshmallows and 1 cup of chocolate chips on top and then finish baking.

*Or use this brownie recipe:

Brownies


2/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks margarine, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup milk

Melt margarine & add sugar & cocoa. Add eggs & vanilla. Add milk. Add dry ingredients.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Fudge

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 can evaporated milk

Hard boil 4 min until soft ball stage. Then mix in:

2 small jars (7 oz) (or 1 large) of marshmallow creme*
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Pour hot fudge onto cookie sheet (with tall sides, jelly roll pan) lined with wax paper. Let cool. Cut into squared before it cools completely.

* I used both marshmallow jars completely and it wasn't as chocoaltey as I was hoping for, so next time I'll probably use a bit less than the recipe calls for.

Super Simple Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:

12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz bag of white chocolate chips
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
5 candy canes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line cookie sheet with foil (sprayed) or parchment paper.

Pour a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until chips are almost melted.

Remove from oven, smooth with spatula or knife into a 9x13 rectangle. Place in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 20 minutes.

Next melt a 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips in a double-boiler. (I melted mine in the microwave for just over 1 minute). Stir until completely melted, adding ½ teaspoon peppermint extract at the end.  Let cool one minute. Pour this over chocolate layer.

Place 5 candy canes into a Ziploc bag and crush into small pieces (a great job for kids). Sprinkle candy cane pieces on top of the still warm white chocolate layer, press very lightly to make sure candy canes are stuck on.

Chill until both layers are firm then cut or break into 1-2 inch pieces.

YUM!

Quick tips: Don’t make the layers too thin and take the bottom layer out of the fridge a few minutes prior to spreading the top layer; if bottom is too cold, the top will set but may not bond completely with the bottom.

I am going to add 1 tsp of peppermint extract to make it a little stronger next time...but if you experiment with this soon, let me know!

Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake

                                                                               *

1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened

2 TBSP golden syrup (such as Lyle's) or dark corn syrup

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 eggs

Zest of 2 small oranges (1 TBSP) and juice of 1 small orange (3 TBSP)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×5×3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease sides of pan or line with a paper loaf-pan liner.

In large bowl, with electric mixer beat the butter, syrup (brush a little oil on your tablespoon measure before measuring the syrup to help remove it from spoon), and sugar until fairly smooth.

In a separate bowl combine; flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Beat 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients into the syrup mixture, then beat in one egg. Add another couple of spoonfuls of dry ingredients before beating in the remaining egg.

Beat in remaining dry ingredients, and then add, while still beating, the orange zest. Gradually add the juice. The batter may look slightly curdled.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes (edges should look dry and center of cake may have dipped slightly). Cool in pan on wire rack. Carefully remove from pan and cool completely.

 __________________________________________________________________________________

*****PLEASE READ***** (BEFORE you make this recipe)

My Chocolate Orange Loaf did not turn out as pictured above. Please bake this recipe at your own risk.

This is what mine looked like: 

This is what I know happened:

As I was cooking the loaf it started rising above the edge of the pan. I wasn't too worried about it because I thought it would still bake ok. Next time I checked on it, it had overflowed the pan and large chunks were now baking on the bottom of my oven. I let it go a little longer until I realized the chunks on the bottom were really burning, and I wanted to avoid the whole smoke-coming-out-of-the-oven-because-the-food-is-on-fire scenario. SO I opened the oven, watched my loaf cake drastically deflate, and scooped out the burning piles on the bottom. After 45 minutes it was still extremely wet and undercooked, so I left it in for 10 more min. And you can see what I ended up with. I picked the burned parts off and as I tried to take it out of the pan it fell apart, hence the bowl. At least it still tasted good.

Now, on to the possibilities of what may have gone wrong: 

I may have put the wrong amount of baking soda in?

I used light brown sugar rather than dark brown sugar?

I should not have (over) mixed it in the Bosch and just used a hand mixer as suggested?

I should not have let the entire prepared batter stand while I zested and juiced the orange?

I haven't the heck of an idea what really went wrong?

So, if you decided to make this (and please do, since I won't be trying again anytime soon, and I'd like to know how to make it correctly):

Try doing the opposite of the things that I listed as possible wrongness. And good luck! And comment with your results! (Thank you!)

No Bake Bars

These are really good and super easy!

Boil together for 1 min:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cube butter or margarine

Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (optional)
3-4 cups oats

Mix well. Spread in 8x8 (ish) cake pan. Smooth the top down. While in the pan, cut into squares while it is still a little warm. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

If you'd rather have 'cookies' instead of 'bars':
Once everything is mixed together, drop by the spoonful onto wax paper. Cool. Store in an airtight container. Tastes the same! :)

PW Brownies

Found a recipe HERE that I decided to try. I loved the way the brownies turned out, but the frosting I did not really like... Maybe I made it wrong??? Anyway, I made half of them in little brownies bites as shown on the website, but I made the other half in a regular cake pan. Ok, not a totally regular cake pan, but had to try out one of THESE. Anyway, my 2 year old loved the little brownie bites in the mini muffin tins (I used mini paper cups in them), but they were tedious to make. So next time, it's all going in a regular cake pan. This was my first time using baking chocolate too.

To keep it simple, just make the brownie recipe part, (follow the first 5 instructions) bake it in a regular well-greased 9x13 pan for about 35-40 min (test with toothpick) and eat without frosting. Now that I have rambled on enough, here is the recipe:

Decorated Brownie Bites

Ingredients

BROWNIES

§  4 whole 1-ounce Squares Unsweetened Chocolate, Melted And Cooled

§  2 sticks Butter, Softened (but Not Room Temperature)

§  2 cups Sugar

§  4 whole Large Eggs

§  3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

§  1-¼ cup All-purpose Flour

§  1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips

§  1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chunks

ICING/GLAZE

§  8 whole 1-ounce Squares Semi-sweet Chocolate, Chopped

§  1 cup Cream, Heated

§  2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup

§  2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

For brownies, melt 4 ounces chocolate and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes, allowing to cool. Chocolate should not be warm!

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs two at a time.

With mixer on low, drizzle in cooled chocolate. Mix until just combined. Add flour and mix until just combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix for five more seconds.

Add chocolate chips and chocolate chunks and mix for just a few seconds on low, until they’re incorporated.

Generously grease and flour mini-muffin pan. Scoop generous teaspoons of batter into each tin. (We don’t want the brownies to have muffin tops; try to get them to stay under the top of the tin.)

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until set. Remove pans and invert on a cooling rack. Allow brownie bites to cool completely.

To make the icing, mix cream with corn syrup and heat in a microwave safe container. Add chopped chocolate to a separate bowl. Add vanilla to warm cream mixture, then pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate totally melts and mixture is smooth.

Add brownie bites face down in the icing. Dunk to submerge, and spoon icing over the top to thoroughly coat. Remove with a fork, tapping the fork on the side of the bowl several times quickly in order to get the excess to drain between the tines. Carefully set on a baking mat or sheet of waxed paper.

Decorate as you wish! Chopped nuts, candies, sprinkles, sea salt…the world is your oyster!

Texas Sheet Cake

This is WELL worth your time. It is super moist and oh-so-yummy!

Texas Sheet Cake

- Mix in a large bowl
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

- Bring to a boil in pan. Take from heat as soon as it boils and add dry mixture.
1 cup butter
1 cup water
4 TBSP cocoa powder

- Add sour cream, eggs, & soda - mixing well after each addition
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda

- Bake in a greased & floured jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with high sides), at 375 for 20-25 min.
- Frost as soon as removed from oven.

Frosting:
6 TBSP milk
1 cup butter

4 TBSP cocoa powder

1 cup chopped nuts

1 lb package of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

-Heat milk, butter, cocoa powder in heavy pan till bubbly. Stir in nuts, sugar, & vanilla till smooth. Beat really well. Spread over hot cake.

Chocolate Banana Bread

 

Chocolate Banana Bread found HERE

1 C. Sugar

2 Eggs
1/3 C. Oil
3 Bananas, mashed
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Cocoa
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 C. Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour 1 regular size bread pan.  Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips until well blended.  Fold in chocolate chips and pour into prepared pan.  Bake 60-70 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to cooling rack.