Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake

This is a cake that my Mom has made for years and year. It is a favorite of mine. I made it for Michael's Dad's birthday. It is an incredibly moist cake because of the oatmeal and boiling water.

1 3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup oatmeal
Combine and set aside

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
Cream the above ingredients

2 eggs - add into the creamed butter and sugar

1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
Mix together in separate bowl and then gradually add into the creamed mixture.

Pour into ungreased 9x13 (I live in high altitudes so now I grease everything and also I add 1/4 cup more flour). Top with 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans* and 12 ounces of milk chocolate chips (a bigger chip like Ghirardelli chips). Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 30 minutes

* Nuts are optional. I don't make it with nuts as Michael doesn't like nuts.

NOTES:
My Mom's cake bakes higher then mine. I haven't figured out how to adapt it to high altitude yet and make it bake higher.

Download and Print: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake

From the Weekend Baker....Again...

The Weekend Baker cookbook just has so many wonderful recipes that I want to try. It is also has good tips and lists to help with baking.

In the book, these are called Half-Moon Pie Pockets but I realized after making a few circles that just cutting them into rectangles and making little square pockets would be much easier. This recipes is exactly how it is in the book. I will make notes at the bottom. I made some chocolate pie pockets and some pumpkin pie pockets.

Half-Moon Pie Pockets

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, 9-½ inches square each
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For chocolate-nut filling:
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts)

For the pumpkin-spice filling:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces/ 255 grams) canned solid pack pumpkin (not seasoned pumpkin pie filling)
3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg


1. Remove both sheets of frozen puff pastry from the box, set them on a lightly floured surface, and cover with plastic wrap. Do not unfold at this point. Let the covered puff pastry sit on the countertop until thawed and just pliable, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, position the oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 425 degrees (220 c). Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment or spray with cooking spray. Have ready the beaten egg and the 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, carefully unfold the puff pastry. Dust the top of the pastry with a little flour. Roll out each sheet, lightly dusting with flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and work surface, into a 12- inch (30.5cm) square. Using a 4-inch (10 cm) round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a 29- ounce tomato can as a guide), cut into 18 circles. Peel away the scraps and cover the rounds with plastic wrap while preparing the filling.

4. For the pumpkin spice filling, combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well blended.

5. Place about 1 tablespoon filling on the center of the round. Brush the edge of the dough with the egg. Fold half of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon. Using the tines of the fork, press the curved edge to seal tightly. Repeat with the remaining rounds. (At this point, the pie pockets can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 8 hours or frozen for up to 1 month before proceeding with the recipe.)

6. Arrange the pockets on the prepared sheet pans, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Brush the tops with the remaining egg and sprinkle evenly with the granulated sugar. Bake until pastry is puffed and browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the sheet pans to racks to cool. Serve warm.

Storage: You can bake the pie pockets up to 6 hours ahead and reheat them in a 300 degree (150 C) oven until warm. About 15 minutes.




NOTES
* I didn't make as much filling because I wanted to do two different kinds of filling. I think I cut each filling recipe in half. I didn't do nuts in the chocolate as Michael doesn't like nuts. I also used a mixture several types of chocolate chips - dark, semi-sweet and milk.

* As I said above I made some rounds and then the rest square. I just cut the dough in rectangles and then folded over to make square pockets.

* I didn't warm back up before serving. Just topped with some whipped cream and ate. Yum!

* I also think doing apple pie filling or cherry would be very good. And so easy.

* I think having some in the freezer and taking a few out when needing something fairly quickly would be great.

Brownies!

These are superfudgy brownies. Full of chocolaty goodness! Typing the recipe out how I did it - it is very very close to the original. The original is from The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge. The cookbook is great cookbook for those that haven't ever baked before because it gives lots of glossary terms, tips, equipment lists and so on to make it a first time bakers dream. The instructions for each recipe also are so good for first time bakers. Very easy to understand and follow. But this book is also great for those that just are short on time and can only bake on weekends. It gives good tips on freezing and prepping to bake. I hope to make a few more recipes before I return this cookbook to the library but have already put it on my wish list as it just has so many recipes I would like to try that sound so good.



Prescription-strength Fudge Brownies

12 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder - sifted if lumpy
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup topping - optional (anything you want - peanut butter chips, milk chocolate or semi-sweet chips, walnuts or pecans)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish.

Microwave the butter in small bowl for 30 seconds or until the butter is melted. Pour the butter in a large mixing bowl and add the coca powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each just until blended. Whisk in the vanilla with the second egg. Sprinkle the flour over the cocoa mixture and mix until blended.

Scrape the batter into prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Scatter the topping evenly over the batter (if using.) Bake until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out with small, gooey clumps of brownie sticking to it - about 32 minutes. Don't overbake or the brownies won't be fudgy. Transfer the baking dish to a rack to cool.

Using a knife cut the cooled brownies. If the brownie is still warm it will be hard to cut cleanly (as you will notice from the pictures of mine.)

Recipes says you can freeze the uncut cooled brownies. Invert, wrap tightly and freeze for up to one month.




PDF Downloadable and Printable

Milk Chocolate Sandwich Cookies for Valentine's Day

January issue of Food & Wine had many wonderful milk chocolate recipes. One was milk chocolate cookies sandwiching malt buttercream. It had a malt power in the filling and Michael doesn't like malt so I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I knew I wanted to do heart shaped sandwich cookies as I really haven't ever made sandwich cookies before. So I asked a good friend for a recommendation and she suggested coffee butter cream. The recipe in Food & Wine didn't have the chocolate drizzle on them but I thought they needed a little something more. So added dark chocolate drizzle. Kathie suggested them dipped in white chocolate - I just didn't have any white chocolate so did the dark chocolate drizzle.

This cookie dough was really awful to work with but they taste really good. The recipe doesn't have eggs in it so it just didn't bind together well. It was very crumbly and didn't roll out well. But I eventually got through it. I wouldn't make these again unless Michael requested them or it was a very special occasion. These are just not cookies to whip up to have cookies. They are work. But they were perfect for Michael as a Valentine Day gift. He loves them. Oh and these aren't cookies to make for a crowd. I got 21 cookies out of them (each sandwich cookie of course using 2 cookies.)


Cookie Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (if you want - I didn't - I just sprayed baking sheets with cooking spray as I can't get away without it in the altitude)

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and beat at low speed just until incorporated. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a scant 1/4-inch thickness and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

3. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible and transfer to the baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps and chill, with the cut-out rounds, for 10 minutes. Reroll the scraps and stamp out more rounds. (obviously I used several sizes of heart cookie cutters)

4. Bake the cookies in the lower and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until dry and set; shift the pans halfway through baking. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let cool completely.

The buttercream filling - I just did a regular buttercream. I don't really use a recipe for it anymore. And then I just added some coffee.

Here is the original recipe on Food & Wine website.


Had an extra odd cookie and so just frosted it with the buttercream and drizzled it with the chocolate.

Cookie Bars (aka Blondes with chips)

Cookie Bars or also known as Blonde's with chips

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (I have used salted too and then omitted the salt in the recipe)
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chips - your choice - I use a combination depending on my mood. The ones in the picture had milk, butterscotch and semi-sweet -- also could add coconut, white chocolate chips and pecans or combo of chips and walnuts - so many options with this recipe.



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat together butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Fold in chips and spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched with finger tip. Cool pan on rack. Cut and serve.




They are so good....gooey goodness that goes straight to the thighs!

Red Velvet Cupcakes for Valentine's

I made Red Velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I hadn't made red velvet in a long time and it sounded really good especially for Valentine's Day. So I made them and topped them with cream cheese frosting and a red hot.


Red Velvet Cupcakes


3 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and mix well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

This recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes. Use 2 muffin pans with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups each and line each cup with a paper liner. Bake about 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Chocolate Caramels

Not the best picture but they are very good! They turned out perfect this year too. Sometimes they are a little soft. These were chewy and firm like a caramel. Michael usually makes these because they require lots of stirring and my arm goes out before they come to tempature. We wrap them together too and it is nice Christmas tradition for us. Sitting at the table talking, Christmas music playing in the background, the tree sparkling with lights while we wrap the caramels. I like making them not only because they are tasty but I only need to make one batch and it will cover all the goodie trays I make every year because they make such a big batch.



2 cups sugar
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
3/4 Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cups margarine or butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate - chopped

Butter square pan - 8x8 or 9x9. Heat sugar, cream, corn syrup, butter and chocolate to boiling in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly. Cook to 245 degrees on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a firm ball that holds its shape until pressed. Spread in buttered pan. Cool. Cut in squares. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or wax paper.

Mint Thins

I love mint flavoring but I think Michael likes it even more. So I always keep my eye out for mint recipes so that I can make him a minty treat. I have tried two different kinds of brownies but neither really was great. I saw this recipe in Kraft's Food & Family magazine (which is a free magazine by the way.) And frankly I kind of turned my nose up at them as Ritz Cracker being the base didn't sound like a good idea to me. But I have to say these were an unexpected surprise! The salt from the Ritz mixed with the mint chocolate just made it a perfect pairing.

I had quite a few people ask about them and they also just looked pretty on the trays I made up.


1 pkg. (8 squares) Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract (I used 1/2 tsp. because we like peppermint and it didn't smell like it would taste very minty)
1 sleeve RITZ Crackers (36 crackers)
1 peppermint candy cane (6 inch), crushed

Microwave chocolate in small microwaveable bowl as directed on package. Stir until completely melted. Blend in extract.

Dip crackers in melted chocolate, completely coating crackers with chocolate. Carefully scrape off excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheets; sprinkle with crushed candy.

Refrigerate 30 min. or until chocolate is firm.

Easy Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

Tonight we are going to friends for dinner and I am bringing dessert. This is a really rich pie and having just a little slice gives me a good chocolate fix!

















Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (there is now powdered buttermilk on the market and I love having it around so easy to use and not having to worry about buying a quart and then not knowing what to do with the rest)
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 pre-made store-bought (9-inch) deep dish pie crust or homemade (this is one thing I am not good at - pie crusts)

Optional for Garnish
Whipped cream
Berries - strawberries or raspberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

Place the chocolate chips in a sauce pan or double boiler and melt over low heat, stirring constantly. (I melt them in the microwave - 30 to 40 seconds,stir and go again for 30 to 40 seconds until melted)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt until well combined. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the sugar mixture and mix with an electric hand mixer or whisk vigorously. With a rubber spatula, stir the melted chocolate into the batter.

Pour batter into the pie crust; you might have about 1 cup of left-over batter if you don't use a deep dish pie crust.* Place pie in oven on middle rack. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until the pie is crisp on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist chocolate on it.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Let stand at least 1 hour before serving. If not eating immediately, refrigerate pie. This pie can be served warm or chilled. Garnish with whipped cream & berries just before serving if desired.

*take the 1 cup left and pour into a custard cup and bake for about 30 minutes -- always nice treat saved for later

Chocolate Chip Scones

Does everyone have a well seasoned pan they can't part with but probably should? The one that these scones sits on in the 2nd photo -- is mine. It has traveled through all my moves and I just can't get rid of it because I like how things bake on it.

But on to the main thing of this post....the Scones....Oh MY....these are fantastic! I really like to make tasty breads and sweets using whole wheat flour. And at times it just doesn't seem to work out with the whole wheat flour but these really do hit so many levels of wonderfulness! And isn't the dough just so pretty?

* 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 3/4 cup white all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup light brown sugar
* 1 tsp. baking powder

* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbsp. ground yellow flaxseed meal
* 4 Tbsp. oats
* 6 Tbsp. butter
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (such as Ghiradelli 60% cocoa or Nestle 63% dark chips)

(I have used flaxseed instead of oats so 6 tablespoons of flaxseed and tasted just as good and also when I was out of flaxseed I used oats in place of flaxseed and again just as delicious)

Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flaxseed meal and oats. Cut in butter using two knives or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk and vanilla together. Pour into dry ingredients. Mix until dough is moist. Stir in chocolate chips. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading two or three times. Divide dough in half.

Pat each half into a circle, about 6 inches across. Cut dough into 6 wedges. Transfer to the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 375 on middle rack of oven for 20-22 minutes.

Makes 12 scones

Sprinkles!

Cupcakes have really be trendy the last few years. I like them becuase they are easy to eat and fun to make. So we were craving chocolate and so I made these cupcakes again because they are SO easy! But this time I topped them with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles!



Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar (about 4 cups), sifted


BEAT cream cheese, butter and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

ADD sugar gradually, beating until well blended after each addition.

I found it on Kraft because that one of the first ones that came up when I did a search for cream cheese frosting.

7 layer bars (really mine were 6)

Growing up this is one thing my Mom made often as my sisters and I really liked them. At the beginning of July my sisters and I threw a "surprise" 40th Wedding Anniversary party for our parents. My parents decided a week before the party they were going to go out of town the weekend of the party, so to keep them in town my sister's had to tell them I was coming to surprise them. The rouse to get them to my Aunt's house for the party was that they were coming to a birthday party for my Aunt (which was coming up a few days after the party) so my Mom made my Aunts favorite bars for the birthday party. Since though my sister told my parents I would be at the party, my Mom decided she needed to make something for me even though she wasn't suppose to know I was going to be in town. But she made these bars. I teased her later how "convenient" it was that she made them.

These bars are really quite easy to make and they are rich and delicious!




Michael doesn't like nuts mixed into things so I leave the nuts out. They are good either way!







1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup butterscotch flavored chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (good either way)


Preheat oven to 350°, (325° for glass dish). Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Place the butter in the baking pan and melt it in the oven. Sprinkle crumbs over butter and pressed them with a fork to cover the bottom of the pan. Top in layers in this order bottom to top: butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, coconut, chopped pecans/walnuts. Pour condensed milk evenly Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I have been on a banana bread kick lately. A friend was talking about how she adds chocolate chips into her banana bread. I had never made it that way before so decided to try it out.

Mix wet ingredients:
3-4 mashed bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

In another bowl mix dry ingredients:
1 1/3 cups sugar (I used brown sugar for half of the sugar)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt.

1/2 cup chocolate chips


Preheat Oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients slowly to the wet and mix. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When a knife comes out clean it is done.

Triple Chocolate-Chip Cookies

I made these cookies to send out to a friend. I think they came out a little crisper then I desired but they were still great for a chocolate fix! I think I would cut the sugar down next time to maybe help them not crisp up as much. Here in the altitude sugar sometimes creates a crispy texture.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk-chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350° F.

Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Lower to medium speed and add the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Form the dough into approximately 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until centers are just set, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

Yield: Makes 3 dozen cookies

Valentine Baking

This weekend I was busy making Valentine treats for some friends. I made shortbread cookies that bring me back to selling Girlscout cookies, triple chocolate brownies, the bark I made for Christmas but with Valentine M&M's and then Cardamom Butter cookies with dark chocolate and espresso glaze.

I decided when taking pictures this time I would do them up in a Valentine theme...so red tissue, old time paper table decoration, curly ribbon in gold and red. Unfortunately I didn't have a little red plate so the blue it had to be...

Triple Chocolate Brownies....
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 flaked coconut (I used sweetened flaked coconut)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 inch pan. In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients* together. In a large bowl mix oil, vanilla and then add the dry ingredients except the eggs. Beat two eggs then gradually stir them in with your mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. Cool before cutting.

*I sprinkled the chips on the top because here in the altitude chips sink. Sometimes I don't mind that and just make them as is but this time I wanted them pretty since they are gifts.

Cardamom Butter Cut Out Cookies

This recipe originally is from Epicurious. But I made a few changes.

For cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

For espresso and chocolate icings
1 teaspoon instant-espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), melted



Make cookies:
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice in a bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 4 minutes with a handheld. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Form dough into 2 balls each on its own sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap and chill the dough until slightly firm, about 1 hour. After chilling, I remove the first ball of dough. Roll out and cut out with holiday cookie cutters.

Put oven racks in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Arranged about 1 inch apart (chill remaining dough, wrapped in plastic wrap).

Bake cookies, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes total. Cool on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.

Ice cookies:
Whisk together espresso powder, vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk until espresso powder is dissolved, then add confectioners sugar and enough additional milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle the espresso glaze over the cookies.

Melt chocolate and then drizzle over cookies.

Let cookies stand on racks until icing sets, about 2 hours.

Notes:
• Dough can be chilled 5 days or frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, 1 month (thaw in refrigerator just until ready to roll out).
• Cookies (with or without icing) keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

Makes about 6 dozen.

Easy Chocolate Fudge

This recipes is so easy and I always get compliments on my fudge. Fudge was one of those things that always intimidated me. It is something I always thought I would screw up, but this one makes it fail proof at least it was for me. The best compliment for me was my Mom asking me for my fudge recipe. She now makes it like this too and she is a fabulous cook/baker!

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
Dash salt
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread evenly into wax paper lined or buttered 8- or 9-inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

I have not ever done these variations or made it by microwave but including them anyway.

Notes: Microwave: In 1-quart glass measure, combine chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt. Cook on 100% power (high) 3 minutes or until chips melt, stirring after each 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Proceed as above.

Variations:
Creamy Dark Chocolate Fudge: Melt 2 cups miniature marshmallows with chips and Sweetened Condensed Milk. Proceed as above.

Milk Chocolate Fudge: Omit 1 (6-oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips. Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips. Proceed as above.

Rocky Road Fudge: Omit 1 (6-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips, salt, nuts, and vanilla. In saucepan, melt chips with Eagle Brand® and 2 tablespoons margarine or butter. In large bowl, combine 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts and 1 (10 1/2-ounce) package miniature marshmallows. Stir in chocolate mixture. Spread in wax paper-lined 13 x 9-inch pan. Proceed as above. (Makes about 2 3/4 pounds)

Chocolate Chip Cookies Part 2

(picture taken by Michael for me! Isn't it good...with the reflection?)

Okay she did it again....a great recipe from The Adventures of Super Wife. Only thing I had to do different...was use a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour as I ran out of all purpose flour. But they still turned out great! These are the best chocolate chip cookies!

I have never been able to make a puffy cookie here in the altitude. They melt into flat crispy cookies instead of soft round cookies. But look...




The recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour (again I used 1/2 cup of whole wheat only because I ran out but they turned GREAT!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 package instant pudding mix (I used vanilla but as you can see over on The AoSW that you can use other flavors)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In one bowl, whisk flour and baking soda and set aside. In a larger bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Blend in the pudding mix until smooth, then the vanilla and eggs. Slowly work the flour mixture in. Finally, add chocolate chips.

Make them into little balls and drop them onto your cookie sheet. You can flatten them a little though, because these don't spread very much. But I really wanted puffy cookies so I didn't flatten many of them. Even flattening them it still made pretty puffy cookies. They keep their size and shape really well. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I first moved to Colorado, one of the first things I tried to bake was chocolate chip cookies and they FLOPPED horribly! I could barely get them off the pan. Now I knew altitude messes with baking but I guess it just never occurred to me how much. I remember crying because I couldn't even make chocolate chip cookies which to me seem like one of those first things people learn to make...a classic. Michael was a good sport and ate the crumbles though and said they tasted good although didn't look very pretty. So it took months of baking and changing things around. I still have problems with traditional chocolate chip cookies but this recipe works for me.

The recipe:

* 3/4 cup butter
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup peanut butter
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 cups rolled oats
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the peanut butter, water and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cookies are lightly toasted on the edges. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks.



One reason I am posting this recipe and picture as next week I intend to try a new recipe that I again found over on The Adventures of Superwife. Chocolate chip cookies with vanilla pudding in them.

Happy Halloween!

Made Emergency Cupcakes...Halloween Style...

Michael's parents, Frank and JoAnne where here and so I wanted to make the cupcakes festive. The buttercream didn't set up like it should have because I was a little too impatient with it.

Michael, Frank and JoAnne said they were cute and tasty!