Tag Archives: cocoa

Using leftover Halloween candy

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Chocolate stuffed cookies

Someone left a whole bag of extra Halloween candy in our green room at work, so I took it. And I used the peanut butter cups to stuff in chocolate cookies. I have to figure out what to do with the heath bars and whoppers.

Our oven is on it’s way out, but it’s under warranty, so we are getting a new one for free. I ordered it,so I hope our current oven lasts until the new one is delivered. Baking has been an adventure the last 2 plus months!

Remember to spoon your flour and baking cocoa from your container into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. I like to chill the individually stuffed cookies for at least a few hours. Also, preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so it gets to the right temperature.

  • Ingredients
  • 5 tbs Crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips, melted
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Leftover Halloween candy!
Added a peanut butter chip on top

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. I another bowl, cream sugar, Crisco and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in melted chocolate. Fold in dry ingredients. Scoop out 2 tbs dough and cover a piece pf leftover Halloween candy. Chill at least a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on the sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Oreo is another stuffed cookie option

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with love, happiness and peace.

Week 2 Victory Treats

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Oreo fudge topped brownies

The Bills got their first win of the season today in Miami, so victory Monday treats are in order. I went with fudge brownies topped with a fudgy frosting with crushed Oreos. A little over the top for only week 2, but I like to set the bar high.

Remember to preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking to make sure your oven heats up to the right temperature. Also, spoon your flour from your flour bag into you measuring cup so you get the right amount (and so the same with your baking cocoa)

All that chocolatey goodness!
  • Ingredients
  • 12 tbs butter (1 1 /2 sticks)
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 /2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions -preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. Set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour, salt, and baking cocoa. Mix in chips. Mixture will be thick. Press into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center basically comes out clean. Cool completely.

  • Topping ingredients
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 6 tbs heavy cream
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 12 oreos, crushed

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl,melt both kinds of chocolate chips with heavy cream in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Blend in powdered sugar. Fold in Oreos. Frost brownies. Cut into squares. Store in covered container.

Rob, my chief taste tester, decided the brownie needed some marshmallow fluff

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with all good things. And, remember to be kind. The world needs more kindness!

Spruced up brownie mix brownies

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Nothing wrong with using a good old brownie mix!

I got a late request for brownies with chocolate chips from my president taste tester, Rob. So I grabbed a brownie mix and was looking to spruce it up. I know you can make various substitutions (melted butter for oil; cold coffee, milk or heavy cream for water), so I did that here. I also added some baking cocoa and chocolate extract.

Thursday night treats!

Remember to preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Also, line your pan with tin foil and spray it with baking spray. I like to do this with brownies and bar cookies because it keeps the edges softer.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 brownie mix
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream or milk
  • 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
  • 1 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Set aside. In a bowl, combine brownie mix, baking cocoa, eggs, cream, oil and extract. Blend in chocolate chips. Evenly spread into lined pan. Bake 13 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Sprinkle hot brownies with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Topped with a dusting of powdered sugar

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you try these, let me know how they turn out. Also remember to be kind. We are all battling something. And some days, the burden people carry can be great. Wishing you peace, joy and love.

Chocolate chip cookie brownie sandwiches

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Why have a brownie or a cookie when you can have both?

I was looking to whip up something for work tomorrow, as Rob, Gracie and I watch Islanders-Bruins game 2 and Maple Leafs-Canadiens game 7. So I settled on this treat. Quite simply put, are a chocolate chip cookie “sandwich” with a filling of a brownie. I have seen different versions of this, using reese’s peanut butter cups, mallo cups and brownies as the filling. I went with brownies this time. Although I am partial to puffy cookies probably a flatter cookie wouls be a better option next time. You can use any cookie and brownie recipe you want. I actually put a ganache on the brownies, thinking it might help the cookies stay on the brownie, but I think I just made it messier!

Couple of notes -remember to scoop your flour from you container into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes to get the right temp. And make the cookie dough as your brownies bake bc they both are baked at 350.

  • Brownies ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp chocolate extract
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs water
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (opt)

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, yolk and chocolate extract. Mix in baking cocoa, salt and flour. Add chips. Spread into pan evenly (mixture is thick). Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center cones out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely. Cut into 2 inch squares. Set aside.

Brownie filling!
  • Cookies ingredients
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp water
  • 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
This is how I staggger my cookies

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Cream Crisco, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients then watwr. If you feel dough is too dry, add another tsp or so of water. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1 1/2 tbs of dough. Slightly flatten. Staggee on prepared sheets. Bake 8 to 9 minutes (light golden patches on top) cool 20 minutes. Now let’s assemble

Place one cookie flatside up
Top with a brownie
Top with a second cookie flatside down and gently press down.
They look like little hamburgers. 🙂

Thank you for stopping by today. If you make these, let me know how they turn out. And, remember to be kind. We are all fighting some battle. And don’t forget, there is greatness in all of us., and YOU matter and are loved. Wishing you happiness and joy.

Hostess cupcakes (complete with the squiggle!)

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Hostess cupcakes with marshmallow fluff filling, chocolate frosting and a squiggle!

These dear friends are hostess cupcakes, complete with the fluff filling and magical squiggle. I made these using a chocolate cake mix, but I fancied it up a bit, using an instant pudding mix, fat free Greek yogurt, along with water, oil and eggs. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can always use sour cream. My squiggle isn’t so much a squiggle, but a blob of a line. ☺. You can use whatever cake flavor you want, but just use a corresponding flavor pudding mix. I used jumbo cupcake liners here too! a reminder to preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Cupcake ingredients
  • 1 cake mix
  • 3.4 oz instant pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Cupcake Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a jumbo cupcake pan with jumbo cupcake liners. In a bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs and water. Blend in Greek yogurt, then chocolate chips. Scoop put 1/2 cups of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely

  • Filling ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • Milk

Filling Directions – combine butter, fluff and powdered sugar. Add milk, a tsp at a time, if you want to thin it out a bit.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs milk

Frosting Directions – combine all ingredients

  • Squiggle ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2-3 tsp milk

Squiggle Directions – blend well. Put in a small Ziploc baggie and cut off a small corner

Cut out a cone from the cup of each cupcake.

Set cone aside.

Fill the hole with fluff filling.

Replace cone, gently pushing in.

Frost.

Top with squiggle.

Store in covered container.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Happy Valentine’s day!

Happy Valentine’s day! This is a heart shaped fudgy brownie topped with milk chocolate ganache. I know, my decorating skills are not good, but I tried. 😁

This recipe is super simple. You can add cut up candy in the batter or in top,of the ganache or frostinf if you want as well. If ganache (which honestly, is just a fancy word for melted chocolate with heavy cream), is not your thing, you can leave the brownies plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar or use whatever frosting you want. I used one my two heart shaped cake pans, but you can them in an 8 or 9 inch Square cake pan. Remember to spoon your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup to get the correct amount. Also preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking, to get your oven to the right temperature.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter and sugar. Add cocoa. Blend in eggs, beating one at a time. Mix in extract. Fold in flour and salt. Blend in chips. Spread into pan. Mixture will be thick. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted,in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completley.

  • Ganache ingedients
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Pour over chips. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir smooth. Pour over brownies. let ganache set. Store in covered container.

❤❤❤❤

Victory Monday brownies (because I needed something to put the extra ganache on)

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Go Bills!

Bonus victory Monday treat for my Buffalo Bills. I had extra ganache left over from the sugar cookie cups, so I quickly whipped up some brownies to remedy use up the rest. (I have many brownie recipes, though not as many as for chocolate chip cookies) And why not extra chocolate this Christmas week? You absolutely do not have to put anything on top of these, but the powdered sugar is recommended, by Rob!

  • Ingredients
  • 10 tbs butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
Brownies!

Directions -preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with tinfoil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs,yolk,and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Bake for 20 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs). Immediately sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Cool completely. Top with melted chocolate or frosting. Store in covered container.

Chocolate chocolate chocolate!