Brownie Pudding

Brownie Pudding 

I saw this recipe weeks ago and I have been dying to try it.  I got it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe which is an site and you should all follow her.  Love her recipes.  I just changed the recipe a tiny bit.

Brownie Pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

5 large eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 sticks (16 Tbsp.) butter, melted

Ice Cream (optional)

• Preheat your oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix the cocoa powder, flour, and salt together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar together for about five minutes until it becomes a light yellow color.  Beat in the vanilla and slowly add in the melted butter.  Either cool the butter first or mix it in VERY slowly with a slow stream into the bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and beat until just mixed together. 
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• Prep your pans. You need one 9x13 pan and 5-6 Ramekins.  Fill each Ramekin with brownie batter.  Place them in the 9x13 pan and then into the oven.  Now pour water into the 9x13 pan just until it is half way filled.  This will give the brownie pudding the soft gooeyness.   Bake for 45 minutes and allow to cool for about 15 minutes or they will be like molten lava.  
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• I turned some of them out onto a plate and some we just ate from the Ramekins.  They are very rich so you might want to share one!  Also serving them with ice cream is always a good idea.      

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I have tried a few recipes for these, but my favorite is the Betty Crocker one.  

Ingredients:

1/2

cup vegetable oil

4

oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

2

cups granulated sugar

2

teaspoons vanilla

4

eggs

2

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup powdered sugar

Stir together the first four ingredients and then add the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the dry ingredients until the dough is about the consistency of play dough.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or until ready to bake them.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball.  Roll in powdered sugar and place on a greased or parchment lined pan.  This is a great kid job.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake or they are not soft and delicious.

I wouldn't put this much powdered sugar on, but I couldn't tell my four year old that.

Blondies

Blondies

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup softened butter (1 stick)

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 package (10 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips  (I used the new chocolate chips with caramel in the middle!)

1 cup pecans chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 13x9 pan.  Combine the dry ingredients.  Beat the sugars and butter together in another bowl until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and nuts if you want them.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool.

Chocolate Mousse Torte

I got adapted this recipe from a few places.  One as the Best Bites Chocolate Mousse but I changed it quite a bit.  I also got the Torte idea from a Taste of Home cookbook but didn’t use their chocolate mousse recipe.

Chocolate Mousse-

Add a Tbsp. of unflavored gelatin to 3 Tbsp of water and let sit for a minute while you heat up a cup of water to boiling in the microwave.  Add to the gelatin and stir until dissolved.  Let cool off. 

Meanwhile mix: ½ a pint of whipped cream and package of chocolate instant pudding until the consistency of whipped cream.  Then add a cup (or more depending on your tastes) of your favorite chocolate fudge ice-cream topping, a ½ cup of powdered sugar, and your gelatin from above.  Mix slowly until everything is worked in.

For the torte-

Grease a 9 inch spring form pan and line with lady fingers on sides and bottom.  Then pour on the mousse.

We didn’t love the lady fingers so next I would make a chocolate cake first and then put the mousse in the middle of the two layers.  Then top with a ganache or something.  Something to try in the future.

Easter Nests

Easter Nests

Its just a no-bake cookie with dyed coconut and jelly beans.

To make the No-Bakes...

Mix in a saucepan:

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 stick of margarine

Boil for one minute.

Remove from stove and add in:

3 cups oats (I prefer the regular over the instant.)
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix well and drop in 1/3 cups onto waxed paper to make circles.
 Let it sit for a few minutes and then use a spoon to make indentations in the center to make nests.

 To dye the coconut put in a plastic bag. Squirt a few drops of green food coloring in as well and shake until dyed. Lay out for 1/2 hour to dry on waxed paper.

 Assemble by putting coconut on the cookie and then jelly beans or chocolate eggs.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe on foodnetwork

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for sprinkling on top

1 cup milk

1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients and the wet separately.  Then mix them together and add the chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins and sprinkle the ¼ cup chocolate chips on top of that.  Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Mousse

We have been trying different mousse recipes for a long time and I think I have it perfected.  This was so good.  Sorry, about the horrible picture.  I was in a hurry... in a hurry to eat it. :)

Chocolate Mousse-
2 cups heavy whipping cream (or you could use 3 cups whipped topping but it won't be as good)
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix (the small ones)
1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping (you can buy it or use the recipe a the bottom.)
2 cups cold milk

Place milk, whipping cream, and chocolate pudding in a bowl and mix until fluffy and smooth.  Is that a contradiction?  It will look like fluffy pudding.  Then slowly whisk in 1/2 cup hot fudge topping.

Then chill until ready to serve.

Hot Fudge Sauce-
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 can of evaporated milk
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place all ingredients except vanilla in a small saucepan and stir well until it is smooth and creamy and thickens a bit.  Add vanilla extract and then chill in the fridge.

Texas Brownies with Fudge Frosting

I don't usually love brownies but I had a strange craving last week for brownies with frosting.  So I tried one recipe and it was not so great.  Then this week I found some new recipes and merged them.  Here is the result.  They were pretty dang good.

Texas Brownies with Fudge Frosting

For the brownies:

2 cups flour                                          2 cups sugar

½ cup butter or margarine                     ½ cup shortening

1 cup water                                          ¼ cup dark, unsweetened cocoa

½ cup buttermilk                                   2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda                                1 tsp. vanilla

         

          Combine 2 cups flour and 2 cups sugar.   In heavy saucepan, combine butter, shortening, water, and cocoa.  Stir and heat to boiling.  Pour boiling mixture over the flour and sugar in the bowl.  Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour into a well-buttered 17-1/2 by 11 inch pan.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until brownies test done in the center. 

For the frosting:

1 (12 oz) package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

    Just before brownies are done, in heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chills with sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla.  Remove form heat.  Immediately spread over hot brownies.  Cool Chill.  Cut into bars. 

Chocolate Lava Cake

I decided to try to make these cakes after watching an episode of the Worst Cooks in America. They were really struggling with them and I wondered if they were really THAT hard to make. Turns out they are pretty easy, but they look WAY impressive. My husband LOVED them.

I used this recipe from the food network website, but I changed it quite a bit so here's what I did:

Chocolate Lava Cakes

(I halved the recipe to just make four, but this is the full recipe. Left overs aren't really good with this recipe. You want to eat them immediately.)

2 sticks butter, unsalted

4 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped or just use semi-sweet chocolate chips (11/2 cups)

1 cup flour

2 1/2 cups CONFECTIONER'S sugar (don't used granulated!)

6 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare ramekins by covering insides with butter or margarine. Do this well or the cakes won't come out! Then sprinkle lightly with the granulated sugar.

In a saucepan melt butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate over low heat until butter is melted and combined well. Stir frequently. While this is cooling mix the batter.

Mix flour, confectioner's sugar, eggs, yolks, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate while stirring.

Pour into ramekins (I put my ramekins on a sheet pan and then into the oven) and bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops are cracked.

*At 12 minutes mine were still SUPER giggly so I put them in for three more minutes until they were just slightly jiggly. You don't want to over bake or there won't be any molten lava in the middle, but if you under-bake them they will fall apart. Just jiggle the pan the ramekins are on and see how much they are cooked. This is the hardest part of the recipe!

When they are done let them cool for five minutes and then carefully run a knife or spatula around the edges and then tip out. Don't fret if they ooze out. Mine all came out perfect though. You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top and serve with icecream or whipped cream. I think a little sprig of mint would look FABULOUS. Enjoy. They are SO good!

Turtles

Turtles

For this you need:

1 recipe Caramels

pecans

milk chocolate chips for melting

Make caramels and allow to cool until they are workable.

Place waxed paper on your counter or a cookie sheet. Arrange pecans halves, points together. Top with some caramel.

Half of the turtles I did this way and the other half I put down some melted chocolate first and then put the pecans on that. Both work. It just depends on how much chocolate you want in the party. Either way, end the turtles by topping them with melted chocolate so you cover the caramel, but not all of the pecans.

Allow to harden.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. These are so good! Enjoy.