Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

These brownies were a late night decision by my family after dinner.  As usual, I named off the not so appealing items we could have for an after dinner treat.  And, as usual, my family named something they wanted in which we didn't already have, but needed to be made.

I should probably mention that when they asked for brownies, my mouth almost immediately started drooling.  But, I put my wrist to my forehead and threw my head back very dramatically and said "yes, of course I will whip up a batch of brownies, even though I just slaved for hours making dinner".  That probably would have actually worked, had we not just had salad for dinner.

Anyways, never one to turn down a request from my family, I jumped online to find my next brownie recipe.  This one jumped out at me for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it was made in a 9x13 inch dish which means there would be plenty....for my family. Second, the description said "chewy" which is a key word for me.  I love chewy brownies and chewy cookies.

I have to say, the recipe was easy to throw together.  There's plenty of chocolate in there with the addition of the chocolate chips (you could frost them if you really wanted more chocolate). They are chewy, the edges get nice and firm, and the flavor is very chocolaty.  Exactly what you're looking for in a brownie.  Most of us have these ingredients in our pantry, so whip some up tonight.

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Spray a 9x13 inch dish with non-stick cooking spray
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment add the sugar and butter and mix well.
4. Add the eggs one by one blending after each addition.
5. In a separate bowl add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and whisk together.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet with the mixer on low until thoroughly incorporated.
7. Add in the chocolate chips and mix briefly.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared dish, even out and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool on a cooling rack and serve.

Pumpkin Tea Cake with Honey Cream

I recently borrowed this cookbook from my local library and I've been wanting to try the honey cream so bad!  Of course, I felt guilty for thinking I could just eat the honey cream with a spoon.  So I made the tea cake too.  Plus, I like saying "tea cake".  

Plus plus, it's pumpkin and I like pumpkin. 

So anyway, I'm extremely glad I made the bread too, oh um I mean the "tea cake".  The honey cream compliments the tea cake really well.  But, I believe it would be just as tasty slathered on a piece of toast or a bagel. Or just use a spoon. 

The pumpkin tea cake has a great pumpkin taste without being too overly pumpkin-y.  The spice is mild as well.  The honey cream is delicious. Smooth and creamy.  It comes out as a very pale golden color and tastes like heaven. Go ahead, make some honey cream today.  You know you want to. 

Pumpkin Tea Cake with Honey Cream

Recipe from Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook page 64

Bread Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Honey Cream

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the whisk attachment, add the eggs, sugar, melted butter and pumpkin and mix well.
5. Fold the wet mix into the dry mix.
6. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let sit for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove the loaf from the pan and let cool completely. 
7. For the Honey Cream, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Use a mixer with mixer for a creamier texture. Keep leftovers refrigerated. 

Orange Cookies

Halloween is just over and already the stores are rockin with Christmas shoppers.  I feel so behind already.  I tend to be one of those who gets all my shopping done in one day the week before Christmas.  I'm prepared like that. Oh, and also mostly online.  I dislike Christmas shopping in stores immensely.

My neighbors and I have a holiday baking day right before Christmas and that's the day that I look forward to every year.  In preparation for that, I have begun to make recipes I want to make.  This one is out of my newest cookbook "South Carolina Hometown Cookbook" that I absolutely LOVE.  From my research online it appears they will have one for each state, so far they only have six I think.

This recipe makes quite a lot of cookies so be prepared.  However, they are delicious so that wasn't a problem in my house.  I also brought them to a Halloween party we attended and they were loved there as well.  

Great orange flavor, moist, caky texture.  The glaze on top really drives home that orange flavor.  We added some sprinkles because cookies just taste better with sprinkles, and because they look pretty with sprinkles, and also I have a little girl who adores them.

It's nice to have this fresh orange flavor in the midst of all this chocolate and mint (which I also love) flavors.  Makes me feel like I'm eating healthy, when I'm actually not at all. 
Orange Cookies

Recipe from South Carolina Hometown Cookbook page 195

Originally named Great Grandma Marden's Orange Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 whole orange, juiced and zested
• 3 leveled tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Icing

• 1 whole orange, juiced and zested
• powdered sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter and sugar and beat well.
3. Add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and orange juice and zest and mix on low speed.
4. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and salt and mix until blended.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a cookie sheet. (I used a cookie scoop)
6. Bake for about 10 minutes. The tops will remain pale but the bottoms will be golden. 

Makes about 50 - 2 inch cookies. 

Frosted Pumpkin Cake

It's that time of year for pumpkin everything!  Believe it or not I am not a fan of pumpkin pie but I do like all other things pumpkin. This cake was calling my name when I got my weekly email from MyRecipes. 

The cake is amazing and the frosting brings it over the top.  The cake is moist and full of pumpkin and cinnamon flavor, the cream cheese frosting is exactly what you'd expect.  Creamy and delicious.  My husband suggested that next time I add some raisins or apples and I couldn't agree more.  I love this cake the way it is but I might experiment next time. 

This is a perfect alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season, if you're like me and don't care for it that much.  I can't wait to share this one with my friends!

Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Recipe from MyRecipes

Ingredients

• 10.1 ounces (about 2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• cooking spray

Frosting

• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside. 
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the brown sugar and butter and cream together.  Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. 
4. Add the can of pumpkin puree and mix well. 
5. Slowly incorporate the flour and fold in. 
6. Spray a 9x13 inch dish with cooking spray and then dump the batter into the prepared dish. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Let the cake cool before frosting. 
9. To make the frosting, add the first three ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend together.  Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. 
10. Frost the cooled cake and serve. 

Kids Favorite Brownies

Monday again. Can you believe it?

Guess what?

I'm either going to really help your week, or destroy it.

Brownies, it's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Well, it SHOULD be.

Even though I'm on a diet and I can't exactly eat these, I did take a bite (for research purposes only, of course) just to make sure that I could write about this brownie with some first hand knowledge.  I mean, what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn't taste everything I made? Right?

So here it goes: Totally, completely, unequivocally DELICIOUS! I wish I'd made these prior to my diet because they are the perfect brownie for my tastes.  I don't like a lot of nuts in brownies and I love frosting on top.  The texture was perfection.  Not caky at all, just chewy and moist.  The frosting did just what it was supposed to do, sort of melt into the top layer.  The sweetness from the frosting was a perfect addition. I also liked that they make a 9x13 in dish, that way they aren't super thick but not thin either.  Why do some recipes only make an 8x8? That's only like 9 brownies!  Of course that would have made my resisting them much easier.

I made these for my daughter and some of her friends and the babysitter one night while I was going to be out. Considering that there weren't a whole lot of them left upon my return I'm going to assume they were a hit.  I also wrapped up the leftovers and sent them to a friends house to ensure I wouldn't eat them.

This is the perfect brownie for me!  I just love them!  Thanks "Cookies and Cups" for the recipe!!

Kids Favorite Brownies

Recipe from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients for Brownies

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Line a 9x13 inch dish with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the melted butter and cocoa powder and mix until smooth and no lumps.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix.
5. Add the sugar and mix, then incorporate the flour. When smooth, pour into the prepared dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the middle is set (use a toothpick, when it comes out clean it's done).
6. While the brownies are baking, make the frosting.
7. Wash the bowl you were using for your stand mixer. Add the butter and cocoa powder and blend until smooth. Add the milk and confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.
8. Remove the brownies from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.
9. Frost the brownies while they are still warm, the frosting will melt a little and that's just what you want. Let sit until cool. Cut and serve.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

It seems to be birthday season in my neck of the woods.  We've attended more birthday parties since school let out then we did all year.  The birthday party I attended this past weekend was one that I made cupcakes for. I made both chocolate and vanilla, and was very happy with how they both turned out.  However, the frosting started to melt before the birthday girl even got to blow out the candles!  It was HOT outside!

At least they tasted good, and I did get this picture taken before the frosting melted. :)

I wonder if there is a good frosting recipe out there that won't melt in the hot weather….I'll have to research that.

I think the flavor and texture of these cupcakes are right on.  Very nice vanilla flavor, soft with a good crumb.  I will definitely make these again.

Oh, and the frosting recipe below is NOT the one I used for this recipe.  I used this recipe because it was requested by the birthday girls mom. It's delicious, but melts!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Recipe from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Line cupcake pan with liners
3. Use your stand mixer to add the first 5 ingredients. Use the paddle attachment to combine thoroughly.
4. Begin adding the butter a little at a time until it's all added and the mixture looks like wet sand.
5. Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer on low.
6. Add the milk and vanilla while the mixer is still on low and then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the sides as needed.
7. Fill the cups 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes until the centers are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

Recipe from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 7-8 cups (2 LB) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup milk

Cooking Directions

1. Use your stand mixer to cream together the butter and shortening. About 3 minutes.
2. Add the sugar while the mixer is on low speed, once it's all added you can increase the speed until it's about medium high and whip for 1 minute.
3. Add the milk slowly until the desired consistency is reached, if you get it too thin just add more sugar.

Sugar Cookie Bars

I'm not sure if you recall or not, but my last post mentioned how this past weekend was my daughters birthday Ice Cream Social.  Well, she's not a huge fan of cake, frosting yes, cake not so much.  So I decided to make her these sugar cookie bars and frost them and decorate them just like I would have if I made a cake.  Well, I'm not sure I'm brave enough to show the decorated cookie…it was pretty bad.  I can't decorate to save my life!  But on the positive side, the cookie tasted amazing!

In addition to the cookie bars we also had ice cream obviously.  I got three different flavors and got those plastic sundae cups for the kids to take home with them. I had every topping you can think of and we just let the kids top them as they wanted.  It was a success!

OK, back to the cookie bars.  When baking them, it's important to not over cook them.  I cooked them until the middle wasn't shiny anymore but it didn't look done.  I still took them out and followed the instructions from the original recipe.  It worked.  They were done in the middle and they have great flavor!  The frosting I used was a perfect accompaniment to the cookie.  Nice buttery flavor.

This would be a great dessert for the non-cake lovers in your life.  All the kids loved them!

Sugar Cookie Bars

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Spray a 9x13 inch dish with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl (or your mixing bowl), cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the eggs, zest and the vanilla extract and mix for 1-2 minutes. 
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Slowly add the dry mix to the wet mix. Mix until combined. 
5. Pour/press the mixture into the dish.  I found that your hands work best. 
6. Bake for 10-13 minutes.  Do not over bake. The color will remain pale, the sides will not be golden and the middle will just barely be set. 
7. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting. 

Decorator Frosting

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 4 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• food coloring of your choice

Cooking Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the milk and vanilla extract and cream. Add the color of your choice.

Lemon Velvet Cake

I'm sure you've all heard about this thing that we're supposed to be seeing soon.  Sometimes it's called the sun.  You know, the bright thing in the sky that makes your world brighter? Sometimes it teases us a little here and we see it for a day and then it hides again.

Anyway, something else you might have heard of.  Red Velvet Cake.  Sound familiar? Well this recipe was developed from a Red Velvet Cake recipe and turned into a lemon version.  When you begin to see that elusive sun you might want to make this.  To celebrate.

I happened to have some Meyer Lemons on hand so I made this cake with those, but the original recipe calls for regular lemons. It was delicious.  We used a different frosting recipe from the one on the original post because my husband wanted the contrast in flavors from the lemon cake so we just used a vanilla frosting.

OK, let me tell you a little about this frosting.  If you have ever watched "The Pioneer Woman" on the Food Network then I'm sure you've heard about this recipe.  It's a very unusual frosting because first of all, it has flour in it.  Don't let that scare you away.  Second of all, it does NOT have confectioners sugar in it!  I know, right? Be brave and trust me.  This recipe will change your life.  It has the texture of a thick whipped cream or a very light buttercream frosting.  Even though there is butter in it I don't think it's classified as a buttercream frosting.  Apparently it used to be the original Red Velvet frosting before people got fancy and started using a cream cheese frosting for that type of cake.  Anyways, if you're in the market for a new, totally delicious vanilla frosting.  You gotta try this one!

Overall the cake and frosting were a success.  The cake isn't over the top lemon-y but you can definitely taste the lemon. My husband was right, the contrasting flavors are wonderful.  Especially if you're not really in the mood for something very lemon flavored. Great Spring/Summer cake!

Lemon Velvet Cake

Recipe from RockRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon extract (I used lemon juice)
• 3 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• zest of two small or one large lemon, finely grated and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325º
2. Spray two 9 inch round cake pans and flour.  Cut out two pieces of parchment paper to line the bottom of each cake pan.
3. In a large bowl combine and sift both flours, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Set aside
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the oil and shortening and mix on high until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and lemon extract. 
5. With the mixer on low add the eggs one at a time and combine after each addition. 
6. Fold in the lemon zest.
7. Alternatively add the flour and the buttermilk, folding in by hand. Begin with the flour and end with the flour.  Three additions of flour and two additions of buttermilk, folding in after each addition. 
8. Don't over mix, as soon as the batter is smooth, pour it into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Test it with a toothpick to make sure it's done. 
9. Let cool in the cake pans for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to a cooling rack. 
10. Let cool completely before frosting. 

That's The Best Frosting I've Ever Had

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Cooking Directions

1. In a small saucepan combine the flour and the milk, use a whisk to stir while heating. You want the mixture to become very thick, like brownie batter. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Add the vanilla extract and stir to incorporate.
2. While the flour mixture is cooling, combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the sugar is no longer grainy.
3. Once the flour mixture is cool, add it into the butter/sugar and mix well.
4. If it begins to look like it's separating it means you haven't mixed it enough. Keep mixing and it will soon become light and fluffy.

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

You are looking at the little football cupcakes that I brought to the Super Bowl party I attended on Sunday.  They certainly did look adorable and good enough to eat.

My husband was my "tester" on this night because I'm still trying to stay off sugar for the most part so here is his review.
"The cake was moist, great chocolate flavor but not overpowering. The frosting was rich and creamy which was a fine contract to the cake itself.  Delicious with a big glass of milk!  Unlike most chocolate on chocolate desserts this cupcake is not so rich that you only want one.  Best cupcakes I've ever had."  

Overall the cupcakes where a hit.  I made a dozen and we had to leave early to get home and put my daughter to bed but there were only four left at that time. I'm sorry to say that my team didn't win but my cupcakes did, and that made me feel better!

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker via Cooks Illustrated

Cupcake Ingredients

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot coffee
• 3/4 cup bread flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 ounces chocolate chips, melted (milk, semi-sweet or dark)

Making the cupcakes

1. Heat oven to 350º
2. Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners. 
3. Add the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and hot coffee to a medium bowl and stir until smooth.  Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. 
4. Mix the dry ingredients in another medium sized bowl and set aside. 
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract.  Whisk until smooth. 
6. Slowly add the cooled chocolate to the mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. 
7. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the mixing bowl and mix until smooth.  
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan so there is an even amount in each cup and bake for 17-19 minutes. 
9. let cool slightly in the muffin pan for about 10 minutes and then move them to a cooling rack. 

Making the frosting

1. Use a food processor to blend the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth. 
2. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until smooth, 5-10 seconds. 
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then add the melted chocolate.  Pulse 10-15 one second pulses until smooth. 
4. The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

**There is another step for this cupcake that I opted not to do.  You can find it at the link I provided above.**

PW's Big Chocolate Birthday Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My husbands birthday was this past Friday and this was his cake.  Four layers of deliciousness. He loves raspberry so the layers were slathered in raspberry jam and then the entire thing was frosted with chocolate buttercream.  It was yummy. 

He first saw this recipe while I was watching a DVR'd episode of The Pioneer Woman and told me this was the cake for him.  Of course he had my add some raspberry layers which I was happy to do for the birthday boy. 

I love this cake recipe, usually it's a sheet cake recipe but I've made it as cupcakes too.  It's divine, I love the texture and flavor.  I have posted this recipe on a smaller scale before, but it was nice and handy to have the appropriate measurements for this 4-layer version.  

If you're doing the raspberry jam layers, don't go too heavy on the jam.  If you do, the layers will start to slide off to the side. Not a good look.

Big Chocolate Raspberry Cake
modified slightly from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 4 sticks butter, softened + more for the pans
• 8 heaping Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder +  more for the pans
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 whole eggs
• **Raspberry Jam (see below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º, grease 4 - 9" round cake pans, then coat with cocoa powder
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Set aside. 
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and then add the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Add the boiling water and allow to boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. 
4. Add the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir will.  let cool slightly. 
5. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla extract and the eggs that been beaten. 
6. Slowly add to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. 
7. Put and equal amount of batter into the four prepared pans. 
8. Bake for 20 minutes. 
9. Let cool completely before frosting, cool the layers in the refrigerator for best results before frosting. 

**If you're going to add the raspberry layers - I used a jar of my favorite raspberry preserves and put them in each layer - no frosting, just preserves.  Go easy on the preserves otherwise the layers will side off each other. 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp almond extract
• 4 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

Directions

1. In your stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy - 2-3 minutes. 
2. Add the confectioners sugar, use low speed until the mix has come together (to prevent your kitchen from being covered in a cloud of sugar). 
3. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. 
4. If you need a thicker frosting, add a little more sugar one Tbsp at a time.  If it needs to be thinned, add a little more milk. 

Chewy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Sometimes you just gotta have a brownie right? I don't know what it is but every so often I just gotta have one and nothing else will do.  I've made some amazing one's in the past but there are so many different recipes that I feel it is my duty to try as many as possible.

I also like to change it up a bit by adding frosting to my brownies sometimes but I find it hard to find the perfect texture and flavor.  A regular cake frosting doesn't always do the trick for me.  I lucked out on that aspect by finding this frosting recipe.

The last necessity I have for a good brownie is that is chewy and fudge more than caky.  If I wanted cake I'd eat cake.  Know what I mean? I lucked out by finding this recipe too, it totally fits the bill in the texture department for me.

And most importantly it was the perfect thing for my craving.  I'm a very happy camper right now.

One last thing, I realize I have Halloween sprinkles on these brownies, I did in fact just make these this weekend and I could only find Halloween sprinkles, and sprinkles were a requirement of my daughter.  Feel free to use whatever sprinkles you have on hand, or exclude.  I leave that to your discretion.

Chewy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Recipe modified slightly from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chunks (or nuts of your choice)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch dish
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder and mix until combined. 
4. In a separate medium bowl combine the oil, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla extract.  Whisk together. 
5. Pour the liquid mix into the flour mix and combine.  Fold in the chocolate chips (or nuts) and then pour into the prepared dish. 
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. 
7. Set aside to let cool slightly while you make the frosting. 

Brownie Frosting

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp milk
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 dash vanilla extract

Directions

1. Add the butter, milk and sugar to a medium sized saucepan and cook until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolving.  Bring to a full boil and boil for 30 seconds. 
2. Remove from the heat immediately. 
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and mix. 
4. Pour over the warm brownies. 

Best Chocolate Cake

I can't believe I've never posted this recipe!  I make this chocolate cake ALL THE TIME, it's awesome.  Usually I make it in cake form but this time I tried it as a cupcake and it turned out perfectly just like all the other times I've made it.

As you can see, I made some cupcakes and decorated them as a turkey.  So cute and so easy.  My daughter gave me a hand and it was a fun project for the two of us.

You can buy these little sugar "eyes" from most grocery stores.  I might have even gotten these from WalMart, I honestly can't even remember. For the beak, just use an orange frosting with a very fine tip, you can also just buy this pretty much anywhere. Now, the candy corns you might have to search for.  I recommend buying some at Halloween when they are plentiful because once Halloween is over they disappear.

Now as for the chocolate cake.  It's a slight departure from your normal cake mix recipe in that you melt the butter and add the cocoa in with it while it's hot and cook it on the stove for a short time.  Then the rest of the process is fairly normal, but this one step must be the reason for it's greatness because I've never been disappointed with it.  It's pure heaven all the way from the first day it's made to a week later.  If it lasts that long!  It's moist, chocolaty, flavorful and perfect.  My favorite, by far.

I used this recipe here also.

Best Chocolate Cake
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp (heaping) cocoa
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 large beaten eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Set aside. 
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and then add the cocoa and mix until smooth, add the water and let boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. 
3. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and stir until smooth and it's begun to cool. 
4. In the dish with the buttermilk, add the 2 beaten eggs, baking soda and vanilla extract.  Pour this mixture into the slightly cooled chocolate/flour mixture and stir until smooth. 
5. I was able to get 21 regular sized cupcakes, cook at 350º for 12-15 minutes. If you're making a sheet cake bake for about 20 minutes on the same heat temperature.  

The frosting I used was from my earlier post found here, and I added about 4 heaping tsp of cocoa to it. 

Twinkie Cupcakes

It's that time of year where I attempt my good eating so I can look good in a bathing suit and yet barbecue's and picnic's have me whipping up desserts like there is no tomorrow.  You'd think a fruit salad would cross my mind during one of these times.....

I am happy to say that my neighbor Melissa made these first, we both pinned it from Pinterest and they are amazing!  People who don't know they are called Twinkie Cupcakes always say "hey, these taste just like a Twinkie"!

Very vanilla-y and the creme in the middle as well as the frosting is so delicious.  As noted on the website were the recipe was found, these truly are better when cold so keep them in the refrigerator until right before you serve them if possible. 

Cut a little cone shape out of the top and then fill it up with marshmallow creaminess. 

The frosting is so good, vanilla flavor with the marshmallow there in the background.

I made these for a barbecue recently and they were very well liked.  It's a nice "safe" dessert if you're not sure what else to bring.  There are people out there that don't like chocolate (I know, hard to believe) Vanilla is always a safe bet!

Twinkie Cupcakes
Recipe from Sasaki Time

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix, plus the ingredients on the back of the box
• 1 small box fat free/sugar free instant french vanilla pudding
• 1 - 7oz marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp very hot water

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Line two regular sized muffin tin's with cupcake liners (about 16)
3. Prepare the cake recipe as indicated on the back of the box, add in the box of french vanilla pudding mix and blend well.
4. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full.
5. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool completely.
7. When cool, cut out a small cone from the tops of each cupcake - eat or discard the cut out cone and do NOT cut through the bottom of the cupcake.
8. In a separate bowl, mix the hot water and salt and let cool.
9. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the marshmallow fluff, butter and beat until creamy.
10. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and mix well.
11. Add the cooled salt water and mix again.
12. Put this mixture into a zip lock bag and cut off a corner, then pipe the cream mixture into the middle of each cupcake.

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 - 7oz container marshmallow cream
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 - 32 oz bag confectioners' sugar

Cooking Directions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the marshmallow cream and butter, beat until creamy.
2. Add the vanilla and almost the entire bag of confectioners' sugar a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
3. I had about 1 cup leftover of the confectioners' sugar. If you get the mixture too stiff, add a little milk to thin it out.

Strawberry Cake and Fresh Strawberry Frosting

My little girl turns 5 years old today.  I just can't believe I have a 5 year old!  Where did the time go? This year's theme was strawberry so everything was strawberry related.  I'm sort of OCD about party planning. Ask anyone of my neighbors or family and they'll all completely agree.  I try not to bore people will my obsessing but sometimes I just can't help it.

I ordered a cute little strawberry birthday kit off of Etsy. It came with a ton of cute decorations and a bunch of things I didn't need but it was nice to have all those options.

I had a dress made specifically for her, it had her name and and a couple of strawberries on the bodice area and then lots of ruffles and polka dots.  I loved it and my daughter loves wearing it.

I made this strawberry cake with strawberry icing from fresh strawberries, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberry lemonade and I had several strawberry beverages that I purchased.  See, I have this obsession...

The cake was harder to find a recipe for then you might think.  There are a ton of strawberry cake recipes out there but most are made from a boxed cake mix, I'm sure they're delicious it just wasn't what  I was going for for this party. The frosting was a little easier to find and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

I loved how moist the cake was and the texture from the cake flour.  It was a pretty pink color and even though the original directions said that I could add food coloring to make it more "red" I decided that I didn't want the added color, it was great just the way it was.

I used another plain buttercream frosting recipe for the piping I did, her color's were pink, white, red and green so the green was very pretty on the cake. She loved it and so did all the guests!

Strawberry Cake

Recipe from CreativeCrumbsNashville

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Place the strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. Measure out 3/4 cups of the puree and put that amount back into the blender.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk to the blender and pulse quickly a couple of times to combine.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) and mix briefly to incorporate.
5. Add the butter and mix until it the mixture looks like wet sand.
6. Slowly add the strawberry mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 minutes.
7. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 more seconds.
8. Bake in a 9x13 in pan for about 32-36 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. If making 2- 9 inch round pans bake for 25 minutes, if making cupcakes bake for 18 minutes.

I will be making this frosting again and again.  It was THAT good.  I loved that it used fresh strawberries but I have to say that I didn't get 6 Tbsp of reduced puree out of the 1 cup of strawberries.  It is possible that I reduced it further then I should have but either way, it was dynamite.  The strawberry flavor was so prominent that people actually didn't believe that it was just strawberries and that I didn't add jello or something else. 

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup (or a little more) Fresh Strawberries
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (divided) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Place the strawberries in a blender, puree until smooth.
2. Pour the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat until it begins to bubble, then simmer until it has reduced by at least half. Stir frequently, this should take 10-20 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
4. With the mixer on low, add 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar until blended.
5. Beat in 2 Tbsp of the strawberry puree and the vanilla.
6. Repeat with 1 cup of confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp of puree two more times.
7. Add the last 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar last and beat until smooth.

Chocolate Surprise Cookies

I love cookies that you can change up to fit a holiday or event.  These surprise cookies are supposed to have marshmallows inside but I have yet to even try that option.  I've made them twice and the first time I used caramel filled chocolate candies and the second time I used peppermint patties.  the possibilities are endless. 

Press the candy or marshmallows into the hot cookie while they are still on the cookie sheet.

After they've cooled you can frost them. Sorry for the lack of picture for that step.

Yum! These caramel filled cookies were so good.

The cookie portion is not overly sweet so you won't get sugared out when you eat these.  The sweetness is in the candy or marshmallow and the frosting.  I cooked these on the lower end of the suggested time.  12 minutes worked perfectly for me but your oven might be different.

Chocolate Surprise Cookies
Recipe by Martha Stewart

Cookie Dough

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• marshmallows or candy of your choice

Directions

1. Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl and set aside. 
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the softened butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 or 3 minutes. 
3. Add the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. 
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. 
5. Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes.  The cookies should feel slightly firm to the touch. 
6. Press the candy of your choice or a mashmallow that has been sliced onto the top of the hot cookie.  Move the cookie to a cooling rack and frost when completely cool. 

Frosting

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix all of the ingredients on low speed until everything is combined.  Gradually increase the speed to medium until the mixture is smooth. 

Lemon Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Summer is on it's way out (finally). We got home from our vacation in Massachusetts yesterday and now it's laundry, cleaning house and all that other fun stuff.  We had such a great time visiting my husbands side of the family.  It's just beginning to turn fall up there, the leaves are just beginning to change and there is a crispness to the air.  We made our way up to Maine for a day trip and we went to see my brother in-law on the Cape where we watched a Patriot's game (which we won't talk about).  It's such a relief that I get along so well with my husbands family especially when I hear such awful stories about some people's in-laws.  I'm a lucky girl!

I wanted to get this recipe posted before summer was completely gone.  I really enjoyed this cake, it wasn't too lemony, just the perfect amount of flavor. It's hard to tell from the horrible picture above but it was a beautiful yellow color.

I wasn't sure how lemony the cake was going to be so I didn't want to make a lemon frosting for fear that it would be too much. I think this combination was perfect for what I was looking for.  I can always count on Martha Stewart to come through for me!

Lemon Cake

From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted at room temperature plus more for pans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. This includes the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter and the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk but just mix until it comes together. Do not over mix.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and level the tops.
5. Bake for 32-35 minutes. The edges of the cakes should be pulling away from the sides. Let cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges and let the cakes cool on a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

From Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 to 4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp table salt (I omitted this)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp milk or heavy cream - you might not need all this

Cooking Directions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and then slowly add the confectioners sugar on low speed. Add the vanilla and milk and mix until smooth. I didn't use the salt and it tasted great.
2. **I also doubled the recipe because it wasn't enough to frost the entire cake. I had some leftover however.**

Frosted Ginger Cookies

 I know it seems like I make a lot of cookies doesn't it? Well, I do.  But you should know that I end up giving away most of them.  I keep a couple for my kiddo and pass the rest along.  People love me (or hate me).

This particular batch of cookies was chosen by my daughter out of a Taste of Home Cookie book I have.  I was sort of surprised she chose this one since it didn't have any chocolate in it which is usually her thing.  I loved this cookie.  It's not what I would call chewy but definitely soft. More caky then chewy.

I loved the spicy taste that you get from the ginger, cinnamon and cloves.  We made this a little premature of fall but I would love to bring this to a fall event.  The frosting was pretty amazing too.  If you plan to frost all of the cookies I would double the frosting recipe below, otherwise you only get enough for about half of the cookies.

Definitely a keeper in my recipe book.  Enjoy!

Frosted Ginger Cookies
From "Taste of Home Cookies and More" Jan. 2012 page 13 by Jeanne Matteson

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Frosting

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line cookies sheets with parchment paper or another non-stick covering.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and sugars and cream together.  Add the eggs on at at time mixing well after each addition.  Stir in the molasses and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and gradually add them to the creamed mixture.

Use a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies spring back when touched.  Do not over bake.

For the frosting: In a large saucepan, bring the brown sugar, milk and butter to a boil.  Cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat (mixture will look a curdled at first).  Cool for 3 minutes.  Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt.  Mix well.  Frost warm cookies .