Blackberry Cream Cheese Brownies

• 10 tbsp  unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, chilled
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 jar Blackberry jam
• 1/4 cup cream cheese

heat the oven to 350

mix first 2 ingredients together just until mixed

add next 3 ingredients 

slowly mix in flour just until everything is moist

Line or spray a brownie pan. I use an 8x11

pour brownie mix into pan

on stovetop heat jam until slightly runny

pour jam over brownie mix

lightly mix with spatula or butterknife

on stove top slightly warm cream cheese

pour and slightly mix over brownie mix

bake for 35-40 minutes

let cool and serve!

Almond cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon water

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds.
• In a small bowl, beat egg white and water. Brush over cookies. Bake at 325° for 14-16 minutes or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: about 5 dozen.

recipe from taste of home cookbook.

adaptations- i used honey orange glazed almonds that i just cracked instead of sliced almonds on top. it gave the cookies a little more interesting flavor.

Grilled Banana boat smore

1 banana (per person)

marshmallows 

rolos

chocolate

graham crackers

foil

grill

take the banana and with the peel still on cut down the middle. do not cut all the way through. stick the marshmallows (if you have large marshmallows just tear into bits), rolos, crackers, and chocolate (as much as you like) into the banana. wrap the whole banana and filling in foil and put on the grill for about 5 minutes or until melty and warm. instant banana s'more in its own bowl!

Grilled Orange blossom cupcakes

1 orange (per person)
chocolate cake mix, mix according to directions
foil
campfire or grill

take the orange and cut the top 1/4 off the top. keep the top. scoop out the fruit of the orange until you just have the shell left. fill the orange about 1/2 full with the chocolate cake mix and put the top of the orange back on. wrap completely in foil and put on the grill for about 10-15 minutes. once done top with whatever you like.

chocolate molten cake

 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 ounces (180 grams) semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Generously butter four - 6 to 8 ounce (180-240 ml) molds, ramekins, or custard cups and dust the insides with hot chocolate powder. Place the prepared molds on a baking sheet and set aside while you make the cake batter. In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and set aside while you beat the egg yolks.  In the bowl of your mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup (65 grams) sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Beat in the vanilla extract and then fold in the melted chocolate mixture.                            Inanother clean bowl whip the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar and whip just until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula gently fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, just until incorporated. Do not over mix or the batter will deflate.  Divide the batter between the prepared molds. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the outside edges of the cakes are set but the middle still looks a little wet and wobbly. You may have cracks on the top surface of the cakes. Immediately remove from oven and let them rest for a minute or two. You can serve the cakes in their molds or you can run a palette or sharp knife around the edge of each cake and then invert onto the center of each plate. Carefully remove the mold. Sprinkle the top of each cake with confectioners sugar and place a dollop of softly whipped cream, clotted cream, creme fraiche, or vanilla ice cream on top of each warm cake.  Makes 4 Molten Chocolate Cakes.

Peep lollipop

  

I don't know about you but i have always been amazed that peeps have stayed around this long. they are super sugary, they would last through a nuclear disaster and are spray painted with more glittery sugar. my stomach hurts just thinking about them. yet, you cover them in something and magically they become the best thing on the planet. i love easter candy! 

this year i wanted to do something a little more sophisticated with my little peep friends so i melted some semi sweet chocolate, dipped them in, and then rolled them in coconut shavings. i used the bunny shaped peeps instead of the birds because the bunnies had a better shape. when i tried the chicks they just looked like chocolate lumps, much what i think a regular marshmallow would look like. whats the point of using a peep then? 

after i was done dipping and rolling i popped then in the fridge for about 30 minutes. after they've had a chance to cool and harden, its time to eat! i would recommend making these the day you want to eat them, since the peep is nice and fresh.  enjoy!

once again, chocolate cookies

i was looking for inspiration for something to bake, and came across the simple, classic chocolate cookie. i decided to have a little fun with it and use some left over candy for half of them, so they are m&m cookies, but the other half are good old classics. chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup m&m's (or substitute 1/2 cup chocolate chips if you don't want the m&ms.)

• preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• place the butter in the mixer, and mix for a few minutes
• mix in sugars, vanilla, egg.
• mix in flour and baking powder a little at a time until mixed in
• half the mixture and mix in m&m's and chocolate chips into each half.
• place tablespoon of the mixture onto baking sheets.
• bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
• transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Homemade twinkies

These guys taste like a grown up version of a Twinkie. The recipe isn't really made to be a twinkie, but the resemblance is pretty close. i changed it a bit by adding chocolate chips. Its a little time consuming, but SOOO worth it.

Chocolate brioche:

pinch of cinnamon (from china)

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of nutmeg

3 tbsp. boiling water

4 tbsp butter, melted

1 3/4 cups bread flour

pinch of salt

i tbsp sugar

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 eggs beaten

6 squares milk or dark chocolate

milk, for glazing

• add the spices to the boiling water and let cool completely.
• lightly brush a muffin pan with butter
• sift the flour, salt, and sugar and stir in the yeast. add the spices (not the cinnamon stick),spice liquid, eggs, and remaining butter to make a soft dough. 
• knead until smooth, then cover and let stand in a warm place for 1- 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. 
• knead for a minute and then fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full. 
• cover and seal withe plastic wrap for 1- 1.5 hours or until doubled in size. 
• preheat the oven to 400 degrees. brush with milk and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until firm and golden. 
• once cooled fill with "twinkie" filling. you'll need a filling/piping tool to be able to do this. i think these guys are good even without the filling. so if you dont have the tools, don't worry, you can put the filling on as icing, or have it as a dip along side the cakes. 

Twinkie filling:

1/2 cup milk 
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Salt

• Cook milk and flour until thick; cool. 
• Beat all together until mixture is fluffy and soft. Add sugar a little at a time (8 to 10 minutes).
•  Can be kept in the refrigerator.

happy valentines day!

What's better on valentines than red velvet cupcakes? nothing. 

maybe a the only thing better is eating red velvet cupcakes in a tent in the living room. 

red velvet cake:

2.5 cups flour

1.5 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cocoa powder

1.5 cups veggie oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

cream cheese frosting:

1 lbs. cream cheese softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract 4 cups powdered sugar

red sprinkles

oven- 350 degrees

line a muffin tip with cupcake liners

in a medium bowl sift together flour sugar baking soda salt and cocoa powder. in a large bowl gently beat oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. add dry ingredients to wet. 

divide the batter evenly among the cupcake papers, about 2/3 filled. bake in the over for about 20-22 minutes. test with toothpick to make sure they're done. cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting: in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together until super smooth. add the sugar one cup at a time on low speed. beat until mixed. increase to high speed until very light and fluffy. 

pipe frosting onto cupcakes, garnish with red sprinkles.  enjoy!!! 

Snickers Chunky cookies

So what do you do with all your halloween candy that's just sitting around? You mix it into cookie dough of course.

chocolate chip cookies with crunched up snickers bars. Moist, chewy, caramel goodness with a hint of peanut and a nice follow up of smooth chocolate.

snicker chunks:

      1 cup butter (2 sticks)
      1 cup packed brown sugar
   1/2 cup granulated sugar
   1/2 tsp. baking soda
      2 eggs
      1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
      1 cup sliced or crushed snickers bars
      1 cup milk chocolate chips.

(if you want your cookies to be a bit more soft and chewy, half the butter amount and replace the 1/2 with vegetable shortening.)

1) preheat oven to 375 degrees. mix the butter with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. add the brown sugar, sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer, and then using a wooden spoon, mix the remaining flour by hand. Stir in snickers pieces and chocolate chips until combined. Drop the dough in rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

2) bake in 375 degree oven for 7-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. once out of the oven, let cool on the sheet for another couple minutes. it will help the caramel cool and harden so as to not fall out of the bottom of the cookie. transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.