Tag Archives: baking

XL chocolate cake

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I have a litany of baking items I rarely use – like a twinkie pan, whoopie pie pan, churr bake, cake pop maker and this 18×13 cake pan that I bought I long time ago for some reason.  So I put that 18×13 cake pan to use today and make a very large chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (hersheys recipe).  I am bringing in to work tomorrow for my espn radio friends working on Memorial Day.

You can also use a standard 9×13 pan, but obviously,  your cake will be thicker and take longer to bake (maybe check after 25 to 30 minutes, with the toothpick test)

  • Ingredients
  • 2 cups flour (scooped from flour bag into your measuring cups so you get the right amount)
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water or coffee (coffee can bring out extra chocolate flavor)

Directions – line  a 18×13 pan with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, blend dry ingredients together.  Mix in milk, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Blend in coffee or water.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 20 minutes for 18×13 pan.  Check after 25 minutes for 9×13 pan (toothpick will come out with moist crumbs).  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vania

Directions – in a bowl, combine butter and cocoa.  Blend in powdered sugar and milk.  With a hand mixer, beat to desired consistency.  Blend in vanilla.  Frost cake.  Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today.   Wishing you a day filled with peace,  love and joy!

Crushed Oreo Snowball cookies with mini chocolate chips

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I had (and still have) a large container of oreos and wanted to use some up, so I crushed up some and popped them in a snowball cookie recipe.  They came out pretty good.  These are super easy to make. 

Remember to scoop your flour and powdered sugar from their respective containers into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, preheat the oven to 375 degrees before baking cookies.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs water
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups finely crushed oreos
  • 1 to 2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and crisco.  Add vanilla and salt.  Mix in powdered sugar.  Blend in flour then Oreos.  Fold in chips.  Scoop put 1 1/3 tbs dough.   Chill a few hours.  Preheat ovent to 375 degrees.  Bake 9 to 10 minutes (no longer).  Sprinkle hot cookies with powdered sugar or top with melted milk chocolate.  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Wishing you a day of love and peace and joy!

Flourless chocolate cake/brownies

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A little story behind why I made this cake.  Rob got himself a piece of  flourless chocolate and put it in the fridge.  I was reorganizing, and it plopped onto the floor.  To make good, I made a one layer cake.  So simple to make!  Very chocolately!

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa (scooped from container into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line only the  bottom of a round cake pan with parchment paper and spray with Pam.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth.  Add sugar.  Blend in eggs, one at a time.  Mix in vanilla.  Blend in cocoa.  Spread evenly into pan.  Bake 25 minutes, no longer.   Cool ten minutes.  Flip over onto  serving plate.  Cool completely.  Store in covered container.

Brownie stuffed peanut butter cookies

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The other cookies I made using small brown squares – peanut butter!   Few things go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into you measuring cup so you get the right amount.   Chill your brownie stuffed cookie dough overnight to prevent spreading.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs milk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Brownies cut into 1 inch squares

Directions – in a bowl, cream crisco and peanut butter.  Blend in sugar and brown sugar.  Add egg, vanilla, and milk.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough.  Divide in half and slightly flatten. Place a brownie piece between 2 flattened halves and seal edges around brownie.  Chill a few hours or overnight.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes (no longer).  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Brownie stuffed snowball cookies

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I made a large pan of brownies, Rob had one (per usual 😀), so I needed not one, but two kinds of cookie doughs to stuff them in.  These are snowballs – similar to Italian/Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes.  Very soft cookies because powdered sugar is used instead of granulated sugar.  

A couple of notes : Scoop your flour and powdered sugar into the measuring cup so you get the right amount.   I also chilled my dough overnight to prevent spreading.  Preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.  Do not bake cookies longer than 12 minutes, or else the bottoms will burn.

  • Ingredients list
  • Batch of brownies, cut into 2 inch squares
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tbs butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and  vanilla.  Blend in powdered sugar.  Mix  in flour and salt.  Fold in chips.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough and divide in half.  slightly flatten each half.  Place brownie piece between the halves and seal edges.   Chill a few hours or overnight.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes (no longer).  Dust warm cookies with powdered sugar.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Smores chocolate chip cookies stuffed with toasted marshmallows

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I wanted to make something a little different than chocolate chip cookies, so I opted for smores chocolate chip cookies stuffed with toasted marshmallows.  They are a pretty big cookie.  Some of them could not contain the marshmallows, so I cut them in half and made them sandwich cookies and topped them with melted hershey kisses.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount.  If you pour directly from the bag, it gets packed in and makes a dry cookie.  I recommend chilling the marshmallow stuffed doughs for an hour to prevent cookie spreading.  Also preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 14 sheets of graham crackers, finely crushed
  • 18 toasted marshmallows

Directions- to toast marshmallows – line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam.  Line marshmallows on foil.  Broil 2 to 4 minutes (depending how tasted you want your marshmallows).  Set aside.

In a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients, then graham cracker crumbs. Fold in chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Divide in half. Place a toasted marshmallow in one half.

  Top with the other half. 

Seal edges. 

Chill an hour.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies, leaving plenty of room.  Bake 9 to 11 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Wishing you peace, joy and love. Remember to be kind!

Peanut butter frosted Peanut butter bars

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For part 2 of the first round of the men’s NCAA tournament and the opening day of the women’s tournament,  I present peanut butter bars with peanut butter frosting and topped with some mini m&ms.  

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  In a bowl, cream crisco, brown sugar, peanut butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 22 to 26 minutes ( no longer).  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 6 tbs  butter
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1-2 tbs milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2m3 cups powdered sugar

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and peanut butter 45 seconds to 1 minutes.  Add milk and vanilla.  Blend in powdered sugar.  Add more milk if you want a thinner consistency.    Frost bars.  Cut and store in covered container.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I wish you a day of peace, happiness and love

Reese’s Egg filled Monster cookies

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I saw the super XL size of Reese’s eggs at BJ’s and felt I HAD to buy them.  I think because they’re the world’s best candy.  I know Reese’s has the classic cup, and all the holiday shaped versions,  but the eggs are the beat.

This recipe is super easy.  The cookies, though, come out huge!

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 pkg chocolate chip cookie mix
  • 1 peanut butter cookie mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups M&Ms
  • 1 1/2 cups quick cook oats (not prepared)
  • Reese’s eggs!!

Direction – preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a bowl, combine cookie mixes.  Blend in butter and eggs.  Fold in oats, then M&Ms.  Scoop out 4 tbs dough and form around Reese’s eggs.  Stagger on prepared sheets.  Bake 12 to 13 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake

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I noticed about abundance of neufactel cheese in our fridge (I buy it instead of cream cheese to bake with because it has   a lot less fat and calories), so I asked Rob if he wanted a chocolate cheesecake or a regular cheesecake with stuff in it.  He chose option b and the stuff he chose – chocolate chip cookie dough.  

Use a springform pan with this recipe.  I have 8, 9 and ten inch.  I went with the  nine inch pan this time.

The neufactel does make the cheesecake softer.  You can certainly use regular full fat cream cheese if you’d like.

**** I recommend lining your springform with tin foil and spraying it.  I also placed a cookie sheet directly under the springform pan as the cheesecake cooked in the oven.  

  • Cookie dough ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount)
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl,  cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add vanilla and milk.  Fold in flour.  Stir in chips.  Scoop out 1/2 tbs of dough.  Roll into balls.  Place on a tray and freeze at least 15 minutes.  As the doughs freeze, make your cheesecake

  • Crust ingredients
  • 3 cups finely crushed oreos
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 5 tbs butter, melted

Directions – line a 9 inch springform pan and spray with baking spray.  in a bowl, combine ingredients.  Press into prepared pan.  Place in fridge while you make cheesecake mixture

  • Cheesecake ingredients
  • 32 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tbs vanilla

Directions- remove cookie doughs from freezer and set aside.   Remove cookie crust from.fridge and set aside.  in a bowl, cream sugar, flour and cream cheese.  Add heavy cream.  Blend in eggs, yolk and vanilla.  Mix in cookie doughs.  Spread evenly over cookie crust.  Place cookie sheet in oven and Place cheesecake in springform pan on top.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes.  Edges will be golden, middle will be a little wobbly.  Turn oven off.  Leave door ajar.  Let cheesecake stay in oven for one hour.  Remove from oven and cover.  Place in fridge for an hour.  Remove from springform pan.   Store in fridge.  This keeps for about a week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!   Wishing you a day filled with peace, love and joy.

Cutout sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day

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This cookie is my all-time favorite to make, and I use it all throughout the year because I have a billion cookie cutters for each season.  Plus, it brings back many memories of baking with my mom and they were my dad’s favorite cookie. 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I also recommend chilling the dough for a few hours or overnight.  And most importantly, remember to use plenty of flour on your countertop when rolling out the dough so it doesn’t stick when you use your cookie cutters.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups crisco
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbs vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions – in a bowl,  cream crisco and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients.  Cover and store for a few hours or overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Sprinkle plenty of flour on the  surface you will roll out the dough.   I like the cookies on the thicker side.  Roll out dough and cut.  Bake 6 to 8 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

Frosting – combine 1/2 cup softened butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 to 4 tbs milk.  You may add more or less powdered sugar to get the consistency you want.  Color as desired.  Frost cookies. Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.