Tag Archives: vanilla

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!

XL triple chip cookies topped with melted chocolate chips

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A request from my hubby for triple chip cookies. They are cooked at a higher temperature (390 degrees), so I made them quite large so they did not burn. I am taking them to work, so after they were completley cooled, I cut them in half and topped them with melted chocolate. If I did not cut them in half, people at work would have. 😉

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount (do not pour it in. Pouring it packs it in and you wind up with dry cookies. Blech!). Also chill the individual mounds. And preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

  • Ingredients
  • 8 tbs butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1 to 3 tbs water (opt)
    • 2/3 cup chocolate chips
    • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
    • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. If dough seems dry, add water, 1 tbs at a time to make it easier to work with. Blend in chips. Divide dough into 8 even pieces. I formed mine into very tall mounds. You can flatten your if you prefer. Bake 11 to 14 minutes (no longer). They will be golden on the edges and a little gushy on top. They will firm up as they cool. Once completely cooled, top with melted chocolate if you want.

Store in covered container.

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

Wildcard victory treats

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Go Bills!

Happy Tuesday! I wasn’t planning on baking for today for the Bills wildcard win over the Steelers, but Rob thought I should. 😉 so last night, around 9:15 pm, I made blackout brownies. These use black cocoa (which I got on Amazon). You probably could use regular unsweetened baking cocoa too.

Remember to scoop your flour and cocoa from your container into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount. Also preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

I actually frosted these warm and they turned out just fine.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn syrup (or honey)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup black cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tso salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. In a bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Evenly spread into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients list
  • 3 tbs butter, melted
  • 3 tbs black cocoa
  • 1 tbs corn syrup
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 to 3 tbs milk

Directions – in a bowl, Combine butter and cocoa. Add corn syrup, powdered sugar and vanilla. Blend in enough milk to get consistency you want. Frost brownies. Store in covered container.

Mini chip snowball cookies

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These cookies are a huge hit. Messy, because of the powdered sugar, but a hit nonetheless. They are similar to a Mexican wedding cake/Italian wedding cookie/Russian tea cakes. I do not use walnuts, but do use mini chocolate chips. Regular size chocolate chips would not work. They would be too big.

Remember to scoop your powdered sugar, as well as your flour, from your bag into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount. Also, preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. I baked mine for 10 to 12 minutes, no longer. You don’t want them to overbake and dry out.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar (scooped from your powdered sugar bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions- preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Fold in flour, one cup at a time. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1 1/3 tbs dough (I used a cookie scoop). Stagger on prepared sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar. Store in covered container.

What the Puck? It’s NHL Opening Night! Happy Hockey!

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In honor of NHL opening night tomorrow (Tuesday), I made flourless brownie “pucks” covered in melted chocolate. I baked flourless brownies in a 9×13 pan. Let them cool, used the top of a glass to cut out pucks, then used scraps of the remaining dough to form mini pucks and topped them with melted chocolate. Happy hockey!

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

  • Ingredients list
  • 10 tbs butter
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 tbs baking cocoa
  • 6 tbs cornstarch

Directions- line a 9×13 baking pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chips and butter and microwave in 45 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Fold in cocoa and cornstarch. Spread evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes – toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely. Spray the rim of a round glass with Pam and cut out pucks.

Top with melted chocolate. Let set. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by! Go Sabres!

Perfectly puffy triple chip cookies

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I know most people don’t love cooler weather, but honestly, I am ok with it because the puffy cookies are back! (Also my hair is less of a battle to straighten). Today, I present puffy triple chip cookies, featuring semisweet, milk chocolate and white chocolate chips.

I used butter flavor crisco in this recipe, as well as cornstarch.

A reminder to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Chill the mounds of dough for at least an hour to prevent spreading. And preheat your oven for 20 minutes, so it cycles to the right temp.

  • 1 cup butter flavor crisco
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3.4 oz instant pudding mix
  • 2 1/4 cups flour (scooped from your flour container into your measuring cup)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, cream butter crisco, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs. Mix in vanilla and pudding mix. Blend in flour, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch. Blend in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and form into mounds. Chill at least an hour in the fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes. The bottoms will be lightly browned. The tops will be a little gushy, but will firm up as they cool and set overnight.

Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today! Go Bills!

Triple chip cookies

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Today is the first time in a month it hasn’t felt like you are sitting on the bleeping sun when you go outside. So to celebrate, I made triple chip cookies (Rob’s request). The humidity made so many of my cookies a big, flat disaster. I was assured they tasted good, but the fact that they were flat BUGGED me. (Plus the humidity bugged the hell out of me as well). These cookies did flatten a bit, but not as bad as some of the other ones.

Remember to scoop your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount, form your dough into tall mounds and chill them for a few hours, and preheat oven to 350 degrees before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp. (That last tip was a lifesaver from a tech who serviced one of our first ovens. Very valuable advice)

This is a mound of cookie dough
  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, cold and shredded with a cheese grater
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
This is how I stagger cookies on a sheet

Directions – in a bowl, cream grated butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop put 1/4 cups of dough and form tall mounds or cylinders. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stagger cookies on sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden and there are golden spots on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you peace, love and joy. And remember to be kind. Everyone is fighting some sort of battle each day. Being mean helps no one.

Bananas for a Saturday morning at ESPN Radio

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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.

Smores whoopie pies- NFL playoff edition

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Smores whoopie pies

I figured I would up my treats game with the NFL super wildcard weekend. The Bills win over the Patriots was the best game I ever saw played by a Bills team. Just about everything went right and Josh Allen was flawless. Such a performance deserves a special cookie. So I present the smores whoopie pie – a Graham cracker cookie, fluff filling and melted chocolate on top. Each cookie is 1/4 cup of dough. The final whoopie pie is quite large, so next time I may only use 2 tbs dough for each cookie. Although I don’t expect any complaints at work with XL cookies

A few reminders – let your butter soften on the countertop for 45 minutes to an hour. Scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup. Preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking So your ovem cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients for cookies
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. In a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients, including Graham cracker crumbs. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Slightly flatten. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. These are kind of hard to tell when they are done, but you don’t want to overcook them in the oven. Cool completely.

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

Directions – blend fluff and butter. Mix in powdered sugar. Add a little milk if filling seems too thick. Now for the assembly.

Place a cookie, flatside up
Top with a dollop of filling
Place another cookie, flatside down, on top
Frost with melted chocolate

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy. And I hope the Bills win 3 straight games these playoffs!

Brown butter triple chip cookies

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The cookie monster!

As I continue to break in out new stove, I present another version of the triple chip cookie. I used browned butter to give them a different flavor and active yeast to make them chewy.

Tips – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup. (Pouring it in packs in the flour and winds up being too much flour,which could make dry cookies). I like to chill the dough for a bit so they cookies don’t get too flat. Also, preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup cold butter, shredded
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp active yeast
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

In a pan, brown butter over low-medium heat. (The butter melts, you continue to cook and stir it occasionally until little brown specks appear. Once that happens, set aside for ten minutes. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and yeast. Cut in cold, shredded butter. Add browned butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. Stagger cookies. Bake 9 to 13 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool completely.

My new pooh potholder!

Thanks for stopping by today! I wish you a day of peace, love and joy. Remember to be kind. We are all fighting a battle of some sort. Your kindness may be the light that someone needs. ❤