I could not decide whether to make brownies or cupcakes, so I went with a hybrid – a brownie cupcake.

The recipe is a flourless, so the cupcakes are quite dense. And I topped them with chocolate frosting. I made 8 jumbo cupcakes, using my jumbo cupcake pan, jumbo cupcake liners and my jumbo cupcake batter scoop (one of many treasures I have from Bed, Bath and Beyond). If you know me well, you are not surprised I have mini, regular and jumbo size cupcake pans, and mini, regular and jumbo size cupcake batter scoops.

A reminder to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before you bake so that it cycles to the right temperature.

• Cupcake ingredients
• 12 tbs butter
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 4 eggs
• 11/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 6 tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (I used jumbo). Melt butter and 1 1/2 cups chips (in 30 second increments in a microwave safe bowl, until you can stir smooth). Add sugar and eggs. Stir in dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Spoon into cupcake pan lined with baking liners. You fill them almost to the top. The batter is thick and doesn’t rise much. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely

• Frosting ingredients
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbs heavy cream

Frosting directions – Melt water and butter. Add cocoa and vanilla, then powdered sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cream. If you find the frosting too thin, add more powdered sugar. If you find it too thick, add more cream (1 tbs at a tine). Frost cupcakes and store in covered container.

I didn’t have time to bake for opening day for opening day for our new ESPN Radio lineup, so for the start of week 2, I am bringing a hat trick of treats to make up for it. One of the treats – red velvet cookies stuffed with oreos and topped with fudge frosting. You can use any cake flavor by the way, and any candy or cookie to stuff it with. There a bit of leftover frosting, so you might have to make something else to put it on. Or you can just eat it! (I won’t tell)

• Cookie Ingredients
• 1 cake mix (I used red velvet)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs water
• 1/3 cup oil
• Oreos

Directions -preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. combine cake mix, egg, water and water. If you think the combination is too dry, add another tbs or two of watee. Take one tbs of cookie dough and flatten, as seen below.

Place an Oreo on top.

top with another tbs of flattened cookie dough.

Seal.

Stagger on a cookie sheet lined with nonstock baking liners.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.

• Fudge frosting Ingredients
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk,chocolate chips

Directions – combine cream, buttwr, and sugar in a pan. Cook and stir until boiling. Boil 1 minutes. Add chocolate chips. Remove from heat. Stir smooth. Spoon over cooled cookies. Store in covered container.

Today’s recipe is yes, a chocolate chip cookie recipe. This one is a little different in that I used dark chocolate chips (I am a big fan of the large bag of chocolate chips from Bjs) and I used a combination of cake flour and all purpose flour. If you don’t have cake flour, for this recipe – you can blend together 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour with 1 tbs and 1 tsp cornstarch. I froze the dough for at least 30 minutes so they are don’t flatten too much. Remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before you bake the cookies so you get the correct temperature. These cookies are large. I used a 1/4 cup scoop, so I made 16.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 11/4 cups cake flour (or blend 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour with 1 tbs and 1 tsp cornstarch)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups dark,chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoops out 1/4 cups of dough. Freexe at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick baking liners. Bake 14-17 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

It seems like we’ve had 5 straight weeks of hot and humid weather. That might stop most people from turning on their oven to bake… But not me! Today I present another chocolate chip cookie recipe. It was a last minute request from Rob after I got home from work, so I aed Crisco. You can use softened butter if you prefer. I only baked 2,or 3 at a time and kept the rest of the cookie dough in the fridge. That way you can have fresh baked cookies each day! Or you can bake them all at once and freeze them in a freezer bag once they cool completely. Then just pop one out and it should thaw out on the counter in an hour (unless you have a thief pup like us, then you may have to put it up a little higher)

Couple of tips – 1) scoop the flour from your flour container into you measuring cup to get the right amount. Do not pour directly into measuring cups. 2) make sure your baking soda is fresh. I open a new box each month and dump the old one down the kitchen sink. 3) i scoop out the dough and chill the mounds for at least an hour. I find it easier than scooping out the chilled dough. 4) preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes to make sure the temp os just right

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter (softened) or Crisco
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 bag mini chocolate chips

Directions – cream Crisco or butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla., fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and form into mounds. Chill at least an hour, preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10-13 minutes. You will see little golden patches on top. Let cool completely. Store in covered container.

As this seemingly never ending year and pandemic continue, I present another chocolate chip cookie recipe. These are quite large – this recipe only makes 6. So when it is 95 degrees for the 20th straight day, the oven is not on long. I feel that is a win. Also, you eat one and feel like you’ve had 4. In my magical cookie land, that also feels like a win. Plus the NHL came back today and that is also a “w”. Banner day for those who like cookies and hockey!

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room,temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• Directions – cream butter, sugar ans brown sugar. Add eggs and vanill. Fold,in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Divide dough evenly into thirds. Divide each third in half. Place the 6 mounds in the fridge for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 375. Stagger on a cookie sheet lined w nonstick baking liner. Bake 13 to 16 minutes or until you see golden patches on top of the cookies. Let cool on sheet 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Store in covered container.

These peanut butter cookies rock. They are puffy and soft and topped with melted Hershey kisses. And they smell heavenly (provided you are a pb fan)! I know usually these cookies (aka peanut blossoms) have a hershey kiss on the top. But I mixed it up and went the melted route. Remember – scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup, chill the dough at least a couple of hours and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup Crisco
• 11/2 cups peanut butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbs milk
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda

Directions – cream Crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Scoop out quarter cups of dough using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop. Chill a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 375 for 20 minutes. Stagger mounds of dough on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake ten minutes (light golden patches on top). Don’t overcook or cookies will be dry. Cool completely. Top with melted milk chocolate. Store in covered container

I got some requests recently for the “Frank” cookies, which are chocolate chip cookies with white chips, milk chocolate chips and semisweet chips, and named after our friend Frank. I have made several versions of this cookie with variations of the classic chocolate chip dough and decided today, to try a chocolate one. These have milk chocolate chips, semisweet chips and dark chocolate chips. And they are large -1/4 cup of dough. But that’s how I roll. I like big cookies and I can not lie. 🙂

As I write this recipe, I am enjoying a beautiful night on our deck, with Gracie enjoying her nightly bone. This girl has come a long way in 2 plus years with us.. From abandoned, scared and unsure of people, to a loving sweet pup with no sense of personal space. She is not a fan of the fireworks, which have been going off every night for several weeks. Not sure what is to be celebrated during a pandemic.

Before I get to the recipe, a couple of notes – 1) I used a combo of butter and Crisco. You can use all of one or the other. I like a combination of both because it helps the cookies stay puffy. 2) scoop the flour from your container into your measuring cup, using a large spoon to get the right amount. 3) make the dough into tall mounds. 4) chill dough at least an hour. 5) preheat your oven to 350 for 20 minutes to make sure the temperature is perfect.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp chocolate extract (or vanilla)
• 1 egg
• 1 to 2 tbs water
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup semisweet chips
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, extract and 1 tbs water Fold in dry ingredients (it might take a while to come together). You might need to add another tbs of water if dough seems too dry. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger on a cookie sheet that has been lined with nonstick baking liners.

Bake 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Store in covered container. Microwave 10 to 12 seconds the next day or two for cookies that taste right out of the oven!!

Today is another recipe from my chocolate chip category (I believe I have 34 ccc recipes). This is a pretty large cookie, in the spirit of the famous Levain Bakery in NYC. I have never been there, but hope to rectify that the next time Rob and I visit our friends Mark and Marcy. I believe cookies at Levain are 6 ounces(!) and cost at least 4 dollars. Mine are not quite that big and I do not charge for treats. ☺ I used my large ice cream scoop (1/4 cup). I have seen some techniques where the cookies are baked on an upside down cookie sheet. I tried that and the results were good! You could use 1/2 cup dough for each cookie, but your baking times may be closer to 20 minutes.

To make the butter easier to work with, I grated it with a cheese grater. If you don’t have cake flour, you can sift together 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour with 1 tbs and 1 tbs cornstarch. I froze the individual mounds of cookie dough for 30 minutes. Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup cold butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar for a couple minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Freeze 30 minutes. Preheat oven 20 minutes. On upside down cookie sheet, stagger dough. Bake 15 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool on sheet 10 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool completely. Store in covered container.

These cookies are an ode to our friend, Frank. The first time I ever saw this cookie was at his 40th birthday party. They are his absolute favorite cookie. I believe they are called jumbo chip or triple chip cookies as well, but we just call them the Franks. I tweaked the recipe I saw on Nestle’s website because I could never get the recipe right. It was always too dry and the cookies were flat, which is unacceptable to me. Anyways, in this recipe I use an instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz size). You can always use a differemt flavor that you would like. You can also change up the chips, as long as you use 3 cups total. Remember – 1) scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup, 2) chill the scooped out cookie dough for a few hours, and 3) preheat your oven for 20 minutes to 350 degrees to ensure the right baking temp.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar 2 to 3 minutes. Blend in puddong mix. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold in flour. Mix in chips. (I did this with my hands. Like making meatballs!). Scoop out 3 tbs of dough and form tall mounds.

Chill a few hours. Preheat oven for 20 minutes to 350 degrees. Stagger cookie,dough on a sheet that has been lined with nonstick baking liners.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool on sheet 5 minutes., remove from sheets and cool completely., store in covered container. Microwave the next day for 10 to 12 seconds for warm, fresh from the oven cookies