Fudgy Brownies with chocolate chips

The more chocolate, the better!

Today’s recipe is brought to you by my chief recipe requester and taste tester, my husband, Rob. He asked for brownies with chocolate chips. Just brownies with a cup of chocolate chips mixed in before baking. My mom does that with her brownies and Rob loves them. Honestly, I never thought of doing that myself. I also added a ganache on top. You can leave them plain, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, or another frosting. Instead of pulling out a brownie mix, I went homemade this time. And finally, Rob only eats one treat, so the rest are coming to work with me tomorrow to ESPN Radio.

Remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so you get the right temp, and to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from your container into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount. Too much flour can make for a dry brownie. Blech.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs milk or water
  • 1 tsp chocolate extract (or vanilla)
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 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. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, extract and water /milk. Fold in dry ingredients. (Batter will be thick). Add chips. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 16 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

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

Directions – combine in a microwave safe container. Microwave in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Then, stir for 1 minute. Spread evenly over cooled brownies. Let gamache set. (To speed up the setting of the ganache, you can put them in the fridge for a half hour). Store in covered container.

Someone cut these before the ganache set 😏

Thank you so much for stopping by. If you make these, let me know how you like them. Sending you love and peace today. And, remember to be kind. We are all going through something, some more than others. Life is really hard, some times. ❤

Mega triple chip cookies

Right out of the oven!

What better way to celebrate a random Thursday in May than with a mega chocolate chip cookie. Needed a synonym for big, so mega was my winner this time. I had no time to chill the dough, so I went with Crisco this time because I find butter can make the cookies spread if the dough is not chilled. I used a mix of all purpose flour and cake flour because I realized I have two boxes of cake flour. (You can also sift together 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour with 1 1/2 tbs cornstarch and make your own cake flour. Rob also asked for triple chips (milk chocolate, white chocolate and semisweet). Remember to spoon your flour from your container into your measuring cup to get the correct amount and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2/3 cup white choc chips
  • 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
The bigger the cookie, the better!

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cream Crisco, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Dough may take a while to come together. Mix in chips. Divide dough evenly into 9 pieces. Line a cookie with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on the prepared sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes. (Golden spots on top). Let cool completely on cookie sheets. Store in covered container.

Who needs a cookie?

Red Velvet Milk Chocolate Chip cookies

Red velvet milk chocolate chip cookies topped with melted milk chocolate

I have made a lot, and I mean a lot, of chocolate chip cookie recipes lately. I have over 30 varieties in my recipe box, which helps me make them differently each time. But tonight, I wanted to mix it up. So, I thought I would try out a red velvet chocolate chip cookie recipe. A very large cookie, with milk chocolate chips… and top – powdered sugar and melted milk chocolate.

Reminders – 1) spoon you flour from your flour container into you measuring cups so you get the correct amount. 2) chill the mounds of dough for at least a few hours. 3) preheat your oven to 375 degrees for at least 20 minutes. 4) take the cookies out after about 15 minutes. They Will seem a little gushy, but will continue to cook on the cookie sheet as they cook down. And if they wind up too brown on the bottom, you can slather them with melted chocolate!

Too dark cookie bottoms? Cover with melted chocolate! No one will know!
  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs red food color
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and food color. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Chill mounds of dough for at least a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Store in covered container.

Look at all that melted chocolate

Remember to be kind. We are all gping through something. Life can be really hard some times. Give other people a break. Give yourself a break. Take a few deep breaths and remember How much you matter and are loved.

White chocolate brownies with milk chocolate ganache and mini M&Ms

I wanted to bring in another treat to go along with the very large chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. I noticed I have a few bags of white chocolate chips, so I opted for white chocolate brownies. I usually toss in some milk chocolate chips, but decided to instead make a milk chocolate ganache to put on top. And then, top it all off with mini m&ms. Because m&ms make take everything to another level.

Reminders – preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking So the oven cycles to the right temperature. Scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 bag white chocolate chips (usually 10 oz)
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips (opt)

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and white chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in sugar. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk chocolate chips, if using. Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Spread dough evenly. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center basically comes out clean. Brownies will be light golden on top. Cool completely.

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

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl until hot (45 seconds -1 minute). Pour over chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir smooth. Leave in bowl for 10 minutes or so to firm up a bit. Pour over cool brownies. Top with M&Ms.

Let ganache firm on the brownies before cutting them (or don’t and be like Rob, my husband 😏) Store in covered container.

If you are struggling with something today, remember you are not alone. I wish you kindness, peace and love. To quote the great Bruce Springsteen “tomorrow there’ll be sunshine, and all this darkness passed.”

Chocolate triple chip cookies

Chocolate x3!

I wanted a chocolate based cookie for my Christmas cookie cornucopia, so,I settled this one. It is a chocolate version of the cookies, affectionately known as the “franks.” Named after our friend, Frank. I used milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate and dark chocolate chips. I chilled the dough a few hours to keep the cookies puffy. I felt the bottoms of the cookies were a bit too done, so I smothered them in melted chocolate.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp,salt
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dark 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 a few hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet , lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies. Bake 10 to 13 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Chocolate triple chip cookies

Triple chip cookies

Chocolate chip, milk chocolate chip and white chocolate chip cookies

These are rob’s favorite all time cookie. They have 3 types of chips – semisweet, milk chocolate and white. Basically the dough is a chocolate chip dough, with an instant vanilla pudding mix added for extra flavor. To keep them from flattening too much, I added some cornstarch and chilled the dough for a couple hours. He wanted me to bake victory cookies before the Bills game vs Denver. That is something that must NEVER be done. So, these are just cookies

3 kinds of chips!
  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup Crisco
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chips
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar. Add pudding mix. Mix in vanilla, eggs, baking soda, baking powder,and salt. Stir in flour and cornstarch Blend in chips. Scoop out 3 tbs dough., chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Scatter on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Voila!