Tag Archives: baking

Hot Cocoa Brownies

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A while back, I bought some hot cocoa packets to bake with.   I never really used them, so I thought tonight I would use some of them up.  So I made these hot cocoa brownies.  Very easy to make.  I put some mini marshmallow bits in them and topped them with milk chocolate chips as soon as they came out of the oven.

Remember to scoop your flour from you flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup hot cocoa mix
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup mini marshmallow bits
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil.  Spray with baking spray.  In a bowl, combine butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients then marshmallow bits.  Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.  Upon removing from oven, Sprinkle with chips.  Cool completely.  Cut and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Wishing you a day of love and joy.

Black cocoa Reese’s Pieces Cookies

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I had some Reese’s pieces I want to use to, so I thought putting them in some black cocoa cookies would work just fine.  I also had a few mini m&Ms left so I tossed them in too, along with milk chocolate chips. Feel free to use whatever mix-ins you want.  You cam also use unsweetened or special dark baking cocoa.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your mmeasuring cup so you get the right amount (same goes for the cocoa).  I also recommend chilling the individual doughs for a few hours.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2/3 cup black cocoa
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups of mix-ins (Reese’s pieces, m&ms, chocolate chips etc)

Directions – in a bowl, combine butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Fold in mix-ins.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill for a few hours.  Preheat oven for 20 minutes before baking.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheet. 

This is how I stagger cookies

Bake at  350 degrees 10 to 12 minutes.  Cool completley.  Store in covered container.  If cookies seem to gushy, pop in fridge to firm them up.

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

Chocolate filled blondies

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I wanted to jazz up some blondies/chocolate chip cookie bars, so I decided to put some milk chocolate chips in the middle for a chocolate layer.

These are very easy to make.  I think I would bake them closer to 20 minutes next time.  I baked these for 22.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  In a bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in flour and salt.  Fold in mini chips.  Spread half of batter in prepared pan.  Evenly spread milk chocolate chips on top.  With remaining dough, grab handfuls and lightly flatten.  Press on top of milk chocolate chips.  Bake 20 minutes.  Will seem a little gushy.  Cool completely.

Beyond XL milk chocolate chip chocolate cookies

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A chocolate treat request from Rob ahead of game five of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final.   These are very large chocolate cookies with milk chocolate chips.   I made them a lot larger than usual so I cooked them at a higher temperature (410).   These only need 9 minutes to bake, max.  They may seem undone, but the bottoms will be cooked enough.  I let them cool completely and then  popped them in the fridge to firm up a bit.  I cut them into smaller chunks because these cookies are about  as big as my fist. 

Remember to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from their respective containers into measuring cups so you get the right amount.  I also popped these in the freezer for 20 minutes to help prevent spreading. And preheat your oven to 410 degrees for 20 minutes before baking.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, cold and shredded with a cheese grater or cut into tiny cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips (plus extra if you want to roll tops of cookies in more chips)

Directions- in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients. (It may take a while for dough to come together.  I mixed in  half the flour with the cocoa, baking soda, cornstarch and salt, then I added the rest of the flour).  Fold in chips.  Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and form tall mounds.  Roll tops of cookies into additional chips if you want.  Freeze 20 minutes while you preheat oven to 410 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Place 4 cookies on a sheet and bake (I only baked 4 at a time).  Bake 8 to 9 min (no longer).  Cool completely.    Pop in the fridge for a half hour or so.  Store in covered container.

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

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!