Happy NFL draft day!

Chocolate chip cookies!

I love the NFL draft. I actually like all the pro sports drafts and seeing the joy of all these young people and their families celebrating the realization of a dream, after all the years of hard work and dedication. Four years ago, my beloved Buffalo Bills drafted quarterback Josh Allen. I was hoping at the time, we finally had our franchise QB, and it turned out for the first time since Jim Kelly retired on 1997, we did. I think Josh wins us a couple of Super Bowls too.

My recipe is based on the Nestlé Tollhouse classic. These chocolate chip cookies use crisco instead of butter because I wanted them puffy. I also added some cornstarch to keep them soft and puffy.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. I like to chill the dough before baking, but you don’t have to. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. I stagger my cookies evenly , putting 8 on a sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. There will be some light golden patches on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

MLB opening day and masters first round chocolate chip cookies

Happy opening day x2!

These chocolate chip cookies are in celebration of baseball’s opening day and the first day of the Masters. Pretty cool sports day. And any day is a good day to celebrate with chocolate chip cookies! I used bread flour in these because I was in a hurry to make them, did not have time to chill them and felt the bread flour would keep them from spreading out too much.

The cookies monster!
  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted and cooled 10 minutes
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbs heavy cream or milk
  • 2 1/4 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
Gooey goodness!

Directions – combine melted and cooled butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, yolk, vanilla and cream/milk. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. Bake 12 to 16 minutes, or until you see light golden spots on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Mama,can I have a cookie, please?

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

When you can’t decide between a brownie and chocolate cake

My husband requested a funni bone treat today, which is a chocolate cake, with a peanut butter filling and a chocolate ganache on top. I asked if he wanted a brownie or chocolate cake base and could not decide, so I combined them! I used a chocolate cake mix, a brownie mix, eggs, water and oil. I used a cookie sheet 18×12. A warning – this makes a large sheet of brownie cake!

  • Brownie cake ingredients
  • 1 chocolate cake mix
  • 1 brownie mix
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/4 cups water

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line an 18×12 cookie sheer with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine cake mix and brownie mix. Blend in oil and water. Fold in eggs. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 16 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completely. Cut into rectangles .

  • Peanut butter fudge filling
  • 1 stick butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 bag peanut butter chips
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions – over medium-low heat, melt butter, sugar and evaporated milk, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and let boil 1 minute. Add chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar. Set aside to firm up.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions – in a microwave she bowl, microwave cream for 90 seconds. Add chips, swirling cream to cover then. Lwt set 5 minutes. Stir smooth.

Now to the assembly steps!

Slice a piece in half, horizontally
Spread peanut butter fudge layer on one half
Top with other half of brownie cake piece
Frost with ganache

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I wish you a day of peace, happiness and love. Remember to be kind. Even a small act of kindness can make a big difference for someone.

Good luck Ice Knights Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft Chocolate Chip cookies

The hockey team at my beloved alma mater, SUNY Geneseo, is playing in the Division 3 national championship game tonight in Lake Placid, NY. These are a good luck cookie for them! (Similar to what I do on football fridays for the Buffalo Bills). Go Ice Knights!

I used corn syrup and cornstarch in these cookies, which make them very soft. You could also use pancake syrup or honey, should you choose. I also used bread flour because I have a lot of it and don’t use it too much. You could sub in all purpose flour. I do recommend chilling the dough for at least a few hours before baking so they don’t spread too much.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. If you pour it in, you pack it in and wind up with more flour than you should… which cam make for a dry cookie. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp. I also took these out when they looked a little undercooked. They will be fine after they cool down. And, they will be soft.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted and cooled for 5 to 10 minutes
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup corn syrup
  • 3 1/4 cups bread flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
A pile of cookies!

Directions – combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Blend in vanilla and eggs. Stir in corn syrup. Add dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 3 tbs of dough and form tall mounds. Chill for at least a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. Stagger cookies on sheet (they spread a littlle)little. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until you see golden patches on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with peace, love and joy.

Yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a squiggle

My squiggles need work!

This weekend’s treat request from my chief taste tester was a yellow cupcake with a fluff filling, chocolate frosting, and a squiggle. I can’t master the look of the squiggle like Hostess, so really mine is a long blobby of a line. I used jumbo cupcake liners because larger cupcakes are easier for me to fill with filling. I used fat free free yogurt. You can use another type of greek yogurt or sour cream,if you prefer

Reminder – preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking, so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients for cupcakes
  • 1 cake mix
  • 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 3/4 cups Greek yogurt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. line large muffin tins with large/jumbo cupcake liners. In a bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water, oil. Blend in Greek yogurt. Mixture will be thick. Scoop out 1/2 cup of batter into lined muffin tins. (I used a large cupcake scoop from Bed, Bath and Beyond). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in top comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

  • Filling ingredients.
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk or cream
  • Blend butter and fluff. Mix in powdered sugar. Add enough milk (1 tsp at a time) to get desired consistency
  • Chocolate frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter soft
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Mix well. You may need to add more heavy cream or powdered sugar to get the consistency you want
  • Squiggle ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Heavy cream
  • Blend butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add cream, a tsp at a time, to get the consistency you want. It will be a little on the thicker side

Now the assembly!

Cut out a cone of cupcake, saving the cut out part
Fill with filling
Gently press cut out cone on top of filling
Frost (sweet Gracie is supervising)
Add your squiggle/blobby

Store finished cupcakes in a covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I wish you much love, happiness and joy today. And remember to be kind. A small act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life

Bananas for a Saturday morning at ESPN Radio

Banana chocolate chip bars with brown butter frosting

I am filling in tomorrow morning at work and need a treat to bring in for my people. These are dense banana bars with chocolate chips and brown butter frosting. They are also made with melted white chocolate chips. I have done different flavored treat using melted white chips, so this time ibtried banana. I arrive at 6 am tomorrow morning, so breakfast will be served then.:)

Reminders – preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking So it cycles to the right temp. Scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup to get the right amount. If you pour the flour directly into the measuring cup, it gets packed in and can dry out the bars.

Bananas = fruit= breakfast
  • Ingredients
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 cups mashed bananas
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 -2 cups of chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. In a microwave safe bowl,melt white chips and butter in 45 second increments until you can stir smooth. Stir in sugar. Mix in eggs. Stir in bananas. Blend in flour. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread evenly into foiled pan. Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center basically comes out clean. The edges will be a light golden brown. While bars are warm, make the frosting.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 plus cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Brown butter over low-medium heat (there will be little brown specs at the bottom. ) Remove from heat and pour into bowl. Cool 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar. Mix in cream and vanilla. Spread over warm bars. Cool completely and cut. Store in covered container.

See the little brown specs from the butter? 😋

Thank so much for stopping by today. I hope you know how much you matter and are loved. And remember to be kind. Your kindness may be just what someone struggling needs.

Flourless chocolate cake

Flourless chocolate cake!

Happy Valentine’s Day! A perfect treat for today, or any day, really (provided you love chocolate). A flourless chocolate cake. Super easy to make and my chocolate loving hubby called it the best dessert I ever made!

Tips – preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking, so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used 60 percent)
  • 1 stick butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Spray an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line the bottom of the pan only with parchment paper (I actually traced the pan on the parchment paper to get the right size). In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chips in 40 second incremens until you can stir it smooth. Add sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Fold in cocoa. Spresd into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes. It may look undercooked, but it is not. Let cool completely.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Pour over chips. Let set for 2 minutes. Stir smooth. Pour over cake. Store in covered container.

Thank you for stopping by. ❤

Red velvet Oreo bars with fudge topping

Red velvet Oreo bars with fudge topping

Today’s treat would be perfect for Valentine’s Day, or any day really – red velvet Oreo bars topped with a fudge-like topping. Any flavor cake mix would be good, but I went with red velvet here. These are quite sweet, but are a huge hit when I have made them in the past.

So sweet!

Quick reminder – preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking So your oven cycles to the right temperature when the bars go in. And don’t cook these longer than 15 minutes. Any longer, and they might dry out.

Yum!
  • Cake bars ingredients
  • 1 red velvet cake mix, 15.25 oz (around that size. You can also use another flavor)
  • 1 stick of butter, melted
  • 2 eggs

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. In a bowl, combine cake mix, butter and eggs. Spray your hands with Pam,or moisten with water and press dough into prepared hand. Bake 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Is this velvet?😁
  • Fudge topping
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan, over low-medium heat, bring butter, evaporated milk and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chips until melted. Add vanilla. Let cool a few minutes. Pour over red velvet layer.

Voila!

Top with crushed oreos (you can crush them in a food processor or with a rolling pin. Or if you are made, you can smash them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin!)

Oreos make everything better

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with peace, joy and love. Remember to be kind. Your kindness may be the difference in someone’s day.

Hot cocoa brownies with fluff filling and topped with chocolate ganache and a squiggle!

Hot cocoa brownies

We spent this snowy Saturday shovelling, letting Gracie in and out approximately one million times, and watching hockey. Rob requested hostess cupcakes,so I did a little tweak – hot cocoa brownies, with hostess filling, chocolate ganache and a squiggle. The squiggle is never my forte. You can say the same for my decorating and picturing taking.

Topped with a squiggle (really it is a blob)

Reminders – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Brownies ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted and cooled at room temp for 10 minutes
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup hot cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. in a bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chips. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completely.

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

Directions – in a bowl, blend butter and fluff well. Add vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar,slowly. Add milk, a tsp at a time, to get the consistency you want. Spread over cooled brownies

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – place chips in a bowl. In a saucepan, heat heavy cream just to a boil. Pour over chips. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir smooth. (If you need to, microwave mixture for 20 seconds and that should allow you to stir it smooth). Spread over fluff filling

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

Directions – blend together well. Scoop into a plastic sandwich bag and cut out a corner. Now squiggle on top of chocolate layer! If you can do a squiggle, more power to you. My abilities only allow a blob. Store in covered container.

Dark chocolate brownies (these are not pre-victory treats)

Is the ganache necessary? Why yes!

These brownies, a request from my hubby, which we will bring to his mom tomorrow. They are not a pre-victory treat for the Bills. I repeat, they are not a pre-victory treat. I can not take such chances heading into a divisional playoff game at Kansas City tomorrow. I may not be superstitious, but a little stitious! Or maybe I am superstitious. I text my college roomate every game day and we are on a 6 game winning streak. Coincidence? I think not. Go Bills!

Reminders -preheat your oven to 325 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup. Don’t overmix the batter. Just mix it until the flour is blended in.

A brownie masterpiece!
  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 5 1/3 tbs butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. In a saucepan, melt butter, chocolate chips, sugar and water over low-medium heat. Stir occasionally until chocolate and butter melted (does not take long). Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 27 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted,in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completely.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions- pour chips in a bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until it bubbles. Pour over chips. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir smooth. If you have a few chips that won’t smooth (did I just create a new verb?), you can microwave mixture in 20 second increments until you can stir it smooth. Cut brownies and store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with peace, joy and love. And remember to be kind. Your kindness may be just what someone needs that day.