Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

I haven’t been baking  like I used to.  I do bake when the grandkids come to visit.  Either I make cupcakes for them to frost and decorate or I make cookies.  They like some kind of chocolate cookie, either a chocolate chipper or a real chocolate cookie.  These cookies are filled with that wonderful ingredient and taste outrageously CHOCOLATE.

The parents monitor the amount the kids eat.  If you are a parent who are blessed with living parents, please let the kids indulge a bit with the grandma’s and grandpops or in our case, the Bubbys and Zaidys.  I am good and don’t say a word but these are bonding moments and memories for the little ones and they mean the world to us.

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies   From Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (adapted)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (packed) light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 8 ounces chocolate cut into chunks (small)

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Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high-speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Using cookie scoop (teaspoon or tablespoon – baking time varies), drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers,9 – 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

These are yummy.

This may be linked to the following:   See Ya in the Gumbo      Mealtime Monday       Meatless Monday

Chocolate Dream

This can be put into a chocolate crust but I like desserts better than pie so I  made this dessert to delight in, every spoonful.

Chocolate Dream

Ingredients:

1    cup semisweet chocolate chips                                                                                              
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon hot water
3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa

Method:

When you remove, the almost melted chocolate, stir until it is smooth.  Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in a the microwave or on the stove.

If it needs additional microwave time, put it back for only 5-10 seconds.  

Stir again.  Continue until smooth. 

Combine coffee granules and water in medium bowl. 

Add sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract; stir until sugar is dissolved. 

Stir in melted chocolate until smooth.
Beat cream, powdered sugar and cocoa in small mixer bowl until stiff peaks form.Gently mix this into other chocolate mixture.Refrigerate or freeze, depending on your preference.  It is wonderful frozen as it melts in your mouth.  It is creamy when it is refrigerated.  

This is linked to What’s Cooking Wednesday                    Tastetastic Thursday         Full Plate Thursday      Something Swanky

Mocha Cake – Ellie Krieger

I have been offline for three days and as busy as I was, I did not forget my blog and blogging friends.  We ate well for the holiday and I plan to share some of the recipes with you.  Thanks for being patient.

Here is a yummy cake to make up for three days absence.

Mocha Cake

This is a rich mocha cake, more like a chocolate one with a creamy cream cheese topping.                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Directions

For the cake:

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 1/4 brown rice flour mixture

1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons melted  margarine

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups low-fat yogurt  

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water   

2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate

For the frosting:

1 (8-ounce) bar cream cheese  (light)

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water

1 teaspoon  vanilla

1 small square chocolate

Viennese Crunch (as much as you would enjoy)

Method:

Arrange rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.  (made in square)

Whisk together flours, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl, then sift ingredients through a fine mesh strainer.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted margarine and oil. Add eggs and egg whites and whisk to incorporate.

Fold in yogurt, vanilla, sugar and dissolved coffee powder.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 90 seconds or over a double boiler. Fold chocolate into batter.

Gradually add sifted dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated; do not overbeat.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until cake has risen nicely and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Candy Filled Brownies

I have been reading many recipes with candy in cookies, brownies or cake.  I have made cookies with candy lentils and they were cute but not the same as, chocolate in chocolate.  I had chocolate fudge candies in the house that I certainly should not eat, plus the man of the house does not like chocolate, so I baked the brownies.  You would think, I would be smarter.  Now, instead of indulging on the candies, I was eating the brownies and the candy.  No, I did not eat them all.

The candy adds a wonderful burst of flavor to the brownie. Suddenly, my mouth was filled with a wonderful sweet taste—-like chocolate fudge, melted.  Of course, that is what it is but who expected this?  Delicious does not have enough meaning for these.  The candy leaves pocket of rich chocolate throughout the brownies and when you get one of these pockets and there are about 30 of them in an 8 x 8 square tin of brownies, you get that special smooth taste.

Candy Filled Brownies

Ingredients

spray cooking oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup melted margarine

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ( I love vanilla.)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon  milk

3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part potato starch, 1/3 part  tapioca flour )

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

6  fudge squares, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Spray an   8 inch square pan with cooking oil  and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a mixer, cream together the melted margarine and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Then add the vanilla and milk.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add the liquid  ingredients to this bowl.

Add the pieces of candy and just stir to combine.

Pour batter into the pan and bake 30-35 minutes.

Cool completely. Cut into squares.

This is linked to  Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits   Mrs. Fox’s Sweets Party      Crazy Sweet Tuesdays      Muffin Top Blog Hop   Scrumptious Sunday

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Measles

I have been doing a lot of baking and I decided to share with you a cookie that is either a success or failure.  I don’t know what to call it but I do know that I love to eat these.  When I say, I am going to share this with you, that is a lie, an absolute lie.  I am not going to give you the recipe or even tell you whose recipe, it is.  No, I am not selfish.  You should know better than that.  I am, actually, embarrassed.

I can’t figure out, what I did wrong, with this recipe.  I followed the directions as presented except for using all dark chocolate rather than half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate.  I can’t imagine that making my chocolate act as it did.  I even put the chocolate through a strained to get rid of the small pieces.  In the baking book, I used, there were luscious pieces of chocolate sticking out of the cookies and you will see mine just melted into the cookie and almost turned these into completely chocolate cookies.  As I said, they taste terrific.  Chocolate is chocolate and it tastes good.

I welcome suggestions as to what I have done wrong.  I am going to make these again and no matter how they turn out, it is my plan to share where they come from, with you.  In the meanwhile, this will be my secret.

I leave you with the question – have you ever been afraid that the author of the cookbook will come upon your recipe?  In this case, I am petrified.

This is linked to Sweet Indulgences Sundays     A Themed Baker’s Sunday

Fat Witch Brownies

Are you overcome with desire for ………. creamy corn, fried chicken, mac and cheese, chocolate chip cookies or brownies.  If you don’t tell my husband, I have been known to be overcome with a great wanting for brownies.  That happened the other day and I knew, I had no choice, no willpower, only a craving for brownies, not just brownies but rich brownies.

I looked around on several blogs, looking for the right brownie and I saw this one, on a few different blogs.  The photos, on each blog, showed a brownie with a dark and rich inside.  That was it.  I was making Fat Witch Brownies from the book, Fat With Brownies and Bars.

I did make a few changes.  I substituted margarine and canola oil for the butter.  (1 stick margarine and 6 tablespoons oil).  I could not use all that margarine.

Fat Witch Brownies

Source:  Fat Witch Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. bittersweet chocolate chips                                                                                                                                                                                                                6 tablespoons canola oil

1 stick margarine
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt

Instructions:
1.  Grease 9×9-inch baking pan with butter.  Dust with flour and tap out the excess.
2.  Melt margarine and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Add oil and set aside to cool.
3.  Cream sugar, eggs and vanilla together.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well-blended.
4.  Measure flour and salt and then sift together directly into the chocolate mixture.  Mix batter gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.
5.  At this point, if desired, stir in any extras like walnuts.
6.  Spread batter evenly in the prepared baking pan and bake 33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it. (Mine took longer, I put it back 5 times for 4 minutes each time so total, it was over   50 minutes.  Maybe, that is because of the oil.)
7.  Remove from oven and cool on rack for 1 hour.  Cut just before serving.

Makes 12 to 16 brownies

• 4 C Cookies – chocolate, cinnamon, coffee and caramel (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Apples and Cream Caramel Brownies (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Brownie Mounds (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Outrageous Brownies (thesmartcookiecook.com)
• Maple Butter Blondie Dessert (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Quick and Easy Chocolate Brownies (alaskakitchenandgarden.wordpress.com)

This is linked to  Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits     Crazy for Crust      Lady Behind the Curtain           Chef in Training       Bake With Bizzy     Sweet Treats Thursday       Sweets for Saturday     Show Your Stuff    Sweet Indulgences Sundays

4 C Cookies – chocolate, cinnamon, coffee and caramel

I told a friend, I would make cookies for her daughter’s engagement party.  I don’t make fancy, frosted cookies so I debated what I should make.  I have been looking at old recipes that we liked.  This is one of them.  My guess is that most people can’t turn down a good chocolate cookie.  I used both caramel and chocolate chips plus coffee and cinnamon, in the cookies.

I found this on King Arthur’s Flour.  I am always successful there.  Try their chocolate chip cookies and brownies.  

Double Dark Mocha Drops (Slightly adapted)

• 1/2 cup melted margarine

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1  egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup Dutch Dark Cocoa

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups chips: caramel and chocolate (I had more chocolate than caramel, only about 1/2 cup caramel)

  

  Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.

2) Combine the melted butter, sugars, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

3) Beat until the mixture is smooth.

4) Add the egg and vanilla, and again beat until thoroughly combined. The mixture will look a bit grainy; that’s OK.

5) Beat in the cocoa.

6) Add the flour, beating slowly to combine.

7) Add the chips, mixing until they’re well-distributed.

8) Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. A teaspoon scoop works very well here. If the dough begins to stick, simply dip the scoop in cold water. Space the cookies at least 1″ apart.

9) Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes; the cookies should seem barely done. If you attempt to pick an oven-hot cookie off the baking sheet, it’ll fall apart.

10) Allow the cookies to cool right on the baking sheet.

This is linked to Whatcha Got  and Sweets For a Saturday  See Ya in the Gumbo     Frugal Antics of a Harried

Cinnamon Expresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

I host the annual Chanukah party at my home.  If I start baking now, I will be all set, come Chanukah.  I like to make one gushy chocolate dessert, cookies and more cookies and some kind of cake.  I am starting with the cookies.  They freeze well and go quickly and I can munch on them and tell you how good they are.

When I spotted this cookie in Bon Appetit, I liked it because it only had brown sugar which makes a superior chocolate chip cookie in my opinion.  It also used lots of chips and I love cookies filled with other flavors.  I used butterscotch and chocolate and was tempted to add caramel but I thought that might be overkill.  This is not a good cookie. It is a great cookie, at least warm.

I have a feeling, I am like many others who no matter how many different cookies, I make, I like chocolate chip the best.  Tonight, that was proven again,  to me.  There is a reason to like them best if they are chewy and a little soft and ooze chocolate chips.

Cinnamon Expresso Chocolate Chip Cookies  (adapted from my Bon Appetit cookbook)

Ingredients:

Yield:  48  cookies   (Actually I got about ten more than the 4 dozen.)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

  2 sticks margarine, room temperature

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 

• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place parchment on two cookie sheets.

3. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend.

4. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, egg, coffee, and vanilla extract in large bowl until well blended.5

5. Beat in dry ingredients.

6. Stir in all chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

7. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (do not flatten dough).

8. Bake cookies until brown on top but still slightly soft to touch, about 9 minutes.

9. Cool on sheets.

 I found this online here.

Sweet Tooth Friday                 All the Small Stuff            

Brownie Mounds

I do find the best recipes on All.recipes.  They always have what I am looking for, usually in multiples.  I was definitely not looking for any kind of brownie or any kind of mound.  I think, that is when I was looking for a chocolate cake to make a birthday cake for one of my granddaughters.  We have a lot of birthdays, in the family, at this time of the year.  The cake is easy.  The presents are difficult to select.

Since the kids are not local, I have no idea if any toys or books have been added, since visiting them.  Then there is the age appropriate lingo.  Do we believe the boxes and the guidelines?

Of course, we can’t forget color.  Each one has a favorite but who remembers who wants what.  In three families, each has a daughter with the same name.    The boys are less considerate.  They have different names except when I call them by the other’s name. I should remember colors? No, I should remember names.

Back to discovering these brownie mounds.  They are super simple to make and as luck would have it, delicious to eat.  If you are in a hurry, try these.  If you are not in a hurry, try these.  Either way, I am sure you will like them.

Brownie Mounds    (adapted from All.recipes)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 egg
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

 Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add corn syrup and egg; beat well. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture; beat well. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

This is linked to Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits   Two Maids a Baking      Tuesdays at the Table             Totally Tasty Tuesday       Strut Your Stuff     Tea Party Tuesdays             Sweets  for Saturdays

Cherry Almond Chocolate Cluster – Ellie Krieger

It is rare that I make recipes from Ellie Krieger that are desserts or sweet.  I like her recipes for the soups, salads and casseroles.  That makes this recipe, even more than a treat.  It was not what I expected from Ellie.  It should have been.  It was simple, not overly done; not too sweet.  Ellie represents, “Just right,” to me.  These clusters were just right.

Cherry Almond Chocolate Cluster

Ingredients

1 cup(s) nuts, almonds, toasted in a dry skillet over a medium-high flame until fragrant, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup(s) cherries, dried tart, coarsely chopped

6 ounce(s) dark chocolate, 72% cacao, finely chopped

* I did not coarsely chop any of the above.  I did not think, that the dried cherries whole, were a problem.  The nuts already were  cut into slivers and only had to be roasted. 

I broke the chocolate into pieces.

Procedure

In a medium bowl, toss together the almonds and cherries. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Melt half the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over 1 inch of barely simmering water, over the lowest possible heat, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rest of the chocolate. Remove the top pan with the chocolate in it, gently wipe the bottom, and set it aside for a moment. Replace the simmering water in the bottom pan with warm tap water. Put the pan of melted chocolate on top of the warm water. This will keep the chocolate at the right temperature while you make the clusters.

Stir the fruit/nut mixture into the chocolate. Spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized clusters of the chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Put them in the refrigerator to set for 15 minutes. Store and serve at room temperature.

As far as I am concerned, you can mix and match, with this recipe.  I would like dried apricots with pecans or dried blueberries with walnuts.  Use your imagination and have fun with this.  Go through your cabinets and see what you find that would work with the chocolate.

This is linked to The 36th Avenue            Turning the Table Thursdays