Cake Balls and Oreo Truffles

I have been practicing Bakerella's Cake Balls. She makes it look so easy... and she is SO creative. I'm still working on trying to get mine smooth~

And these are Bakerella's Oreo truffles. Even easier than the Cake Balls, and only because you don't have to bake a cake :)

You can find the recipe for the Cake Balls here. You can use any cake mix/frosting/candy melt combo that you like.

And the recipe for the Oreo Truffles here.

Strawberry Jam

Strawberry jam is the first thing that I learned to can several years ago. Water bath canning, and strawberry jam is a good place to start, and it really isn't as difficult as you may think. Once you make your own homemade jam, you'll never buy store-bought again. Soon you'll be thinking of all kinds of fruits that you can turn into jam... the possibilities are endless. Then there's jellies and syrups...yum!!

It doesn't take much to get started, and most of the things you need are at the hardware store.A large water bath canner with rack, a jar lifter, magnetic wand, wide-mouth funnel, and a canning book. I really like this one.

STRAWBERRY JAM

5 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and mashed

7 cups sugar

4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 package (49 g) powdered fruit pectin

1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Place 8 or 9 8 ounce canning jars in the water bath canner, fill with water to cover jars, and bring to a simmer.

In a small sauce pan simmer the center lids.

In a large pot or dutch oven (at least 6 quart or larger) add mashed strawberries, lemon juice, pectin, and the butter. Bring to a full boil. Add the sugar all at once and stir to distribute sugar. Bring back to a full rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute, 15 seconds. Turn off heat and skim the foam off the top with a spoon.

Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Using the wide-mouth funnel, ladle jam into jar leaving 1/4 inch space at the top.

Run a knife down the side of the jar to remove any air bubbles.

Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth to remove any residue.

Remove center lid from simmering water and place on jar. Put screw bands on jars being careful not to over tighten. Repeat with all the jars. If you end up with a portion of a jar you can use that jar right away (refrigerate). It does not need to go in the canner.

Once all jars are filled, place on canning rack and lower back into the water bathe canner. Cover with lid and bring to a full boil. Boil 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off heat and leave jars in the canner an additional 5 minutes. Remove jars using jar-lifter and leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. The center lid should have no give. If there are, store those jars in the fridge.

Got Dog Treats?

Dog treats are actually pretty easy to make, and my dogs really do like them better than store bought. Plus it's nice knowing what is in them.

Rosie's Peanut Butter Treats

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and baking powder.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the peanut butter and milk until smooth.

Add half of the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix until combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and knead on a floured surface for a few minutes.

Roll dough between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Bake on a silpat lined baking sheet (or parchment paper) about 6 minutes. Depending on size of treats, mine were pretty small. If making larger treats may need to leave in oven up to 15 minutes. Watch carefully. Cool on a rack and store in sealed plastic bags in the refrigerator.

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

Mini Key Lime Cheesecake

for the crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 T sugar

pinch of salt

3 T unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 12 cup mini cheesecake pan with cooking spray. In a medium size bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Press equal amounts into bottom of cups and press with a tart tamper Bake 10 min and then cool completely.

REDUCE OVEN TO 300 DEGREES.

for the filling:

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temp.

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

4 ounces Nellie and Joe's key west lime juice

pinch of salt

Pour condensed milk into blender. Add cream cheese gradually, in small portions and mix until smooth. Add egg yolks and blend well. Add salt and key west lime juice. Continue blending until mixture is smooth. Pour into mini cheesecake pan and bake for 15 to 17 min. Let stand for 10 minutes before refrigerating. Refrigerate overnight. Top with freshly whipped cream, and garnish with fresh lime zest.

Ultimate Turtle Brownies

I found this recipe on a fabulous blog that I recently discovered, Dinner and Dessert I think we have the same taste because I truly want to make everything on her blog!

I have been wanting to make caramel sauce for sometime now, I've always been a little intimidated...not as hard as I thought! I served these with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce at Girl's Night. Very yummy!

Ultimate Turtle Brownies

source: Dinner and Dessert via Cooks Illustrated May 2006

Caramel:

1/4 c heavy cream plus 2 additional Tbsp.

1/4 tsp. table salt

1/4 c water

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Brownies:

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 tsp. baking powder

2 large eggs, room temp.

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. table salt

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Garnish:

25 pecan halves, toasted

( I sprinkled chopped pecans on instead)

To Make the Caramel: Combine cream and salt in a small bowl. Stir well to dissolve the salt.

Combine water and corn syrup in a 2-3 quart saucepan. Pour sugar into center taking care not to let granules touch side of pan. Gently stir with spatula to moisten sugar thoroughly. Cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cook covered, and without stirring until sugar is dissolved, and liquid is clear, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, without stirring, until bubbles show faint golden color, 3 to 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook (swirling occasionally) until caramel is light amber and registers about 360 degrees on candy or instant-read thermometer. 1 to 3 minutes longer. Remove saucepan from heat and carefully add cream to center of pan, stir with whisk or spatula (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) until fully incorporated and bubbles subside. Stir in vanilla and butter. Transfer to microwave safe glass measuring cup or bowl and set aside

To Make the Brownies: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly spray 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line pan with foil so edges on all sides over-hang. Spray foil with cooking spray.

Melt butter, bittersweet, and unsweetened chocolate in medium heat-proof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Do not let water touch bottom of bowl. When smooth and combined remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile whisk together the flour and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla until incorporated. When chocolate has cooled slightly, add to egg mixture. Whisk until well combined. Add flour mixture, stir with rubber spatula until almost combined. Add chopped pecans and chocolate chips, mix until incorporated and no flour streaks remain,

Distribute half the brownie batter in prepared pan, spread evenly. Drizzle scant 1/4 cup caramel over batter. Drop remaining batter in large mounds over caramel layer, spread evenly and into corners with spatula. Drizzle additional scant 1/4 cup caramel over top. Using tip of butter knife, swirl caramel and batter. Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. About 35 to 40 minutes. Cool brownies on wire rack to room temperature, 1 1/2 hours.

Heat remaining caramel in microwave until warm and pourable, but still thick, do not boil (45 to 60 seconds, stirring once or twice) Pour caramel over brownies. Using spatula spread evenly to cover surface. at this point I sprinkled remaining pecans over top. Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours. Remove from pan using foil overhang as handles. Remove foil and slice. Let come to room temperature. We served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Cream Icing

Last night I made a Lemon Meringue Pie for a friend's birthday, and had left over lemon curd. I thought it would be great in a cupcake and found this recipe on All Recipes.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Cream Icing

adapted from: allrecipes.com

3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp.

2 cups white sugar

4 large eggs at room temp.

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

1 cup milk

2 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( I used about 4 Tablespoon)

Lemon Cream Icing

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners makes about 30 cupcakes. I halved the recipe and made about 12 cupcakes.

Sift the flour and salt together in bowl. In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

Gently beat in the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with the milk and the lemon juice beginning and ending with flour. Do not over-mix.

Filled prepared pans with batter 3/4 full. Bake about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans about 10 minutes, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

Hollow a hole in the center of each cupcake when cooled and fill with lemon curd. Top with Lemon Cream Icing

For the icing: Beat the cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer set on low until cream begins to thicken. Add the powdered sugar and the lemon juice a little at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporated. Increase speed to high and beat until icing forms soft peaks, about 5 minutes. Spread or pipe on cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers.

Macaroni Salad

This is my family's favorite macaroni salad. We like to keep it simple, in fact this is the first time I've added sliced olives... I don't think they'll mind too much.

Macaroni Salad

8 ounces salad macaroni

1 cup mayonnaise (I used low-fat)

2 Tablespoons milk (I used non-fat)

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups sliced celery

1/2 cup purple onion, chopped

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

small can sliced olives

Cook macaroni 10 minutes, rinse in cold water, drain. In large bowl stir together mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper. Add macaroni, celery, onions, and eggs. Toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Breakfast Girl's Night

Last night was girl's night at my niece's house. Our theme was breakfast and pjs...it was so much fun!!! Of course there were Mimosas... this is Dana and Drea popping open the champagne over the fence...I'm not even telling you what is on the other side of the fence, but the goal is to get the cork over the fence haha!

This is the Cinnamon Rolls rising, I just liked the way they looked. Green Chili Casserole, Cinnamon Rolls, and French Toast Casserole. The Green Chili Casserole seemed to be the big hit of the night, but I could have seriously eaten that whole pan of French Toast Casserole.... YUM!

French Toast Casserole

from: The Pioneer Woman Tasty Recipes

For the casserole:

1 loaf french bread ( I cut off all the crust)

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Topping:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 Tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (I also toasted)

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Fill with bread cubes so the dish is completely covered to the top.

In a large bowl mix effs, milk, half and half, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour over top of bread mixture. I pressed the bread down slightly to make sure it all soaked in. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For topping: Mix all ingredients. Pour over top of bread mixture. Bake until puffed and golden. About 40 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Green Chili Casserole

7 ounce can green chilis, whole

1/2 pound Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

Arrange chilis on the bottom of a buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, you may need to split them open. cover with shredded cheese. Beat eggs until fluffy. Add flour slowly and the salt. Beat until mixed. Pour over chili-cheese mixture. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven 45-50 minutes. Till brown on top and casserole is firm.

Mile High Lemon Meringue... Cake

My favorite pie is Lemon Meringue, my favorite cake is a Lemon Jello Cake that my mom used to make for my birthday every year. So...what could be better than to put the two together? Plus it gives me another reason to use this meringue from BAKED: NEW FRONTIERS IN BAKING that I am now addicted to.

Mile High Lemon Meringue Cake

For the cake:

1 package boxed yellow cake mix

1 package (3 oz.) Lemon Jello

4 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

Beat all ingredients together for 10 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes in a greased 13x9 inch pan. When done immediately punch full of holes with a large serving fork (I used a meat fork) all the way to the bottom of pan. Pour icing over immediately.

For the Icing:

Make ahead while cake is baking

1 cup fresh lemon juice

5 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan over medium-low heat mix together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until melted and warm. Pour icing over hot cake immediately and broil until icing bubbles, watch carefully, you just want it bubbly, not browned too much.

For the Meringue:

recipe from: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

7 large egg whites

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon amaretto liqueur

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a nonreactive metal bowl until combined. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture registers to 140 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the pan and, with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form, adding the cream of tartar when the mixture begins to thicken or after 3 minutes. When the mixture almost holds stiff peaks, after about 6 minutes, add the liqueur and beat to incorporate it. Spread meringue on top of cake and form peaks with spatula. Place under broiler for a few minutes. Watch carefully, browns quickly.

Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle Cookies

It seems like it's a toss up between Snickerdoodle Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies in my house. There are so many recipes floating around out there of both... and I have yet to find the perfect one. I have found pretty good recipes, but I'm in search of the best, the one where you don't even want to look any further. Today I tried Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe. They are very good, and I certainly didn't get any complaints, but still searching...

Snickerdoodle Cookies

recipe: Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and shortening. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and mix until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. Add flour mixture in two batches just until combined. Do not over mix cookie dough. In a separate bowl mix together the cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Roll dough in balls and then roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake approximately 10 minutes.

Raw Apple Cake

This is a cake that my mom used to make when I was growing up. It is so easy, a one bowl recipe. And really good topped with vanilla ice cream. I had a few extra apples left, so made an apple cinnamon topping to go with.

RAW APPLE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup walnuts (I used pecans)

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups sliced apples (I used granny smith)

Mix all ingredients in bowl, batter will be thick. May need to to mix with clean hands.

Bake at 350 degrees in a buttered and floured 9x13 inch baking pan, 45 to 50 minutes.

Serve warm.

Baking Marathon

I had a baking marathon last night. I made 3 dozen lemon meringue tarts for a friend, and thought while I was at it, wouldn't it be fun to also make mini chocolate cream pies??


I went back to Barefoot Contessa's pie dough recipe (it really is the best) and cut the crusts out with fluted round cutters, and placed the cut dough into a muffin tin. Pre-baked in a 400 degree oven for about 11 minutes.

Once cooled I filled the mini crusts with lemon curd. I used the lemon curd and meringue recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Baked. Who knew egg whites could taste so good ;)

This is my third attempt at these Cinnamon rolls. They are always delicious, my son thinks they should be kept in the house at all times. They just don't photograph that well. I did double the recipe for the frosting to be add extra when served.


Mini Chocolate Pudding Pie

For the Filling:

2 1/2 cups whole milk

5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, over low heat, warm the milk and chocolate, whisking until the chocolate is melted. In a medium sized bowl whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add the cornstarch, salt and vanilla, whisk until well blended. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture to temper the eggs, whisking constantly until well blended. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickens and begins to bubble, about 6 to 8 minutes. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressing directly onto pudding. Let cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Crust: adapted from Ina Garten

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 Tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. roll each piece on a well-floured board, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Cut dough with fluted rounds in desired size. Press into muffin tins and return to refrigerator for 15 minutes. When dough is chilled, carefully poke bottom and sides of dough with the tines of a fork to prevent dough from puffing when baking. Bake approximately 11 minutes, or until lightly golden in a 400 degree oven. When cool enough to handle remove from muffin tins and let cool on a wire rack.

To assemble mini pies:

Spoon desired amount of cold chocolate pudding into mini pie shells.

Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate curls if desired.


Cinnamon Rolls

For the Dough:

2 packages active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided

1 cup warm milk

2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

7 to8 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

1 cup unsalted melted unsalted butter, divided (2 sticks)

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided

3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the dough: In a small bowl, mix together warm water, yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside. In a large bowl mix the milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half of the flour and beat until smooth Stir in enough of the remaining flour until the dough is slightly stiff (will be sticky). Turn out onto a well floured board. Knead 5 to 10 minutes. Place in a well buttered glass or plastic bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk., about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When doubled punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a 15x20 inch rectangle.

For the filling: Spread dough with 1/2 cup of melted butter. In a bowl mix 1 1/2 cups sugar and the cinnamon until well blended. Sprinkle over buttered dough. Roll up jelly roll fashion. Pinch edges together to seal. Cut 12 to 15 slices. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan and an 8 inch square baking pan with the remaining 1/2 cup of melted butter. Sprinkle the bottom of the pans with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Place cinnamon rolls slices close together in pans. Let rise in a warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 minutes or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool slightly and frost with Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting:

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a small bowl mix cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla, powdered sugar, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth. Spread on warm rolls and serve. (I doubled this recipe)

Fettuccini Alfredo

I sometimes forget how easy it really is to make your own pasta. Especially with the help of the pasta roller on my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. And the taste is just incomparable. Last night's dinner was Fettuccine Alfredo and Focaccia Bread... and I just want to say this bread is very addicting!

Fresh Pasta

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1/3 cup water

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Place flour, salt, eggs, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for a few seconds until blended. Add water through feed tube two Tablespoons at a time. When dough starts to form a ball stop adding water. Process an additional 30 seconds. Remove from bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Remove a tennis ball size piece of dough. (keep remaining dough covered to keep from drying out) Dust with flour, and flatten in a disc shape with your hands. Pass through pasta machine set at widest setting. Fold dough in half, dust with more flour if needed and pass through machine again. Repeat this process approx. 20 times dusting with more flour as needed. Then without folding dough pass through machine increasing the setting each time until desired thickness is required. Place dough on lightly floured surface until ready to pass through pasta cutter. Cut in desired shape. When ready to use boil for only a few minutes in a large pot of salted water. Watch carefully, fresh pasta cooks extremely fast. Drain and add sauce and toss. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese.

Fettuccine Alfredo

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium size saucepan heat cream and lemon juice over medium heat. Add butter and lemon zest, stirring occasionally until butter is melted. Reduce heat to low and add Parmesan cheese , whisk until incorporated. Remove from heat and add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour over pasta and toss. Grate additional Parmesan cheese over top if desired. Serve.

And the recipe for the Focaccia bread can be found in one of my new favorite cookbooks, Cooking Dinner http://www.atavolatogether.com/index.php Check out their website and blog for fabulous recipes.

The Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Today must have been Birthday day :) It was my mom's birthday, and also my good friend Charlotte's Dad's birthday. I made my mom a lemon meringue pie... still trying to perfect my pie crust. I was having pretty good luck with Barefoot Contessa's pie crust, but the last couple of times not so much. I'm positive it's me, not the recipe... so my search/ technique continues. Anyway I have been wanting to make The Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. for sometime, and when Charlotte asked me to make a chocolate cake for her Dad I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I have used the cake portion of this recipe for cupcakes before, and they were delicious, but had not tried the frosting portion of the recipe yet. Lets just say you have to make this cake... even if it's just to justify the frosting haha! And an added bonus, it has to be one of the easiest cakes I have ever made. Good thing because it looks like I'm making another one this weekend ;) The only alteration I made to the cake was adding instant espresso coffee powder to the frosting mixture, yum!

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

The Pioneer Woman

For the Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) cocoa

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 whole beaten eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping) cocoa

6 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 lb (minus 1/2 cup) powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder (optional)

In mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, salt. Set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture and stir lightly to cool. In measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda , and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into ungreased sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

while the cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, powdered sugar and espresso powder if using. Add the pecans, stir together, and poor over warm cake.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Today my daughter Melissa and I were watching All Star Chocolate on The Food Network. All of the recipes looked delicious... and I will definitely make several of them. But Tyler Florence's Flourless Chocolate Cake had to be the first one to try.

The baking time in the directions is definitely off, I think this cake takes a good 30 min, but check it with a tester. Ours came out a little gooey, but for my family, that's a good thing.

Chocolate Espresso Pot de Creme

Tonight my friend Amanda hosted a Christmas party. She asked me to make the desserts for her, which I love to do. In addition to the lemon mini cheesecakes with raspberry sauce that has become a staple in my repitaur, I wanted to make something chocolate. It had to be something rich and decadent, and in individual servings. I immediately thought of Lava Cakes.... but still wanted it to be something a little different. I remembered these cute little Pot de Creme pots that I had, and thought they would be perfect. I found a recipe on Epicurious that had high reviews, and was simple enough.

They sure were cute! I hope that Amanda and her friends enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Sierra's Dessert Table

A couple of weeks ago I made the dessert's for a birthday party. The colors were bright pink, and black. I'm really happy with the way everything turned out. Unfortunately, my pictures were some how lost, as were Tommy's (what luck???) Andrea, who made the beautiful flower arrangements and helped me with the desserts did get a few, and I wanted to share them.

There were strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting, as well as the small cake on the top pedestal. Cream puffs, sugar cookies, lemon mini cheesecakes with raspberries and raspberry sauce (you can barely see them to the left on the second picture). Not pictured were Bakerella's cake pops and coconut chocolate chip blondies. Hopefully the next party I do I'll get more pictures ;)

Ooey, Gooey, Sticky,Chewy

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies are the best bar cookie ever! It's perfect for the person that loves a chewy, chocolaty cookie. They kind of taste like a Girl Scout Samoas cookie. An added bonus... they are so easy to make, a one bowl recipe.
I found this recipe over at Brown Eyed Baker's blog a few weeks ago, and made them right away. Sadly they were gone before I could even get a picture.
So, here they are, the second time around, just as delicious as the first. The only alteration I made was adding a little sprinkling of coconut to the top before baking. Give them a try, you won't be sorry. Well, maybe your thighs will be, but totally worth it!

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

1 cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

Topping

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. butter

additional coconut for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour (baker's joy) an 8 inch square baking pan.

Combine flour and salt; set aside.

Stir together melted butter and brown sugar until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.

Slowly beat in flour mixtue until blended, then stir in coconut and chocolate chunks.

Scrape the batter into prepared and smooth even with spatula. Sprinkle with extra coconut if using.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the center, but still soft. Do not over bake.

Let the bars cool slightly before drizzling with chocolate. Cool completely before slicing.

For Topping: Combine chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals. Drizzle.

They Make Really Great Cupcakes Too...

Ever since I made the Pink Champagne Cake from Cuisine at Home magazine, I have been wanting to try it in a cupcake. I made a little hole in the center with an apple corer, and filled it with the frosting that goes in the center of the cake, then frosted as directed, baking them for about 18 min. You can find the recipe here.

Lemon Pudding Cake

One of my favorite flavors is lemon, and I love Lemon Pudding Cake! It's kind of like a Chocolate Lava Cake, but lemon.When I was a kid my mom used to make Lemon Pudding Cake all the time, although I always thought she made it from a box mix??? I recently borrowed her recipe book, and there it was... a recipe for Lemon Pudding Cake. I don't think I've had it since I was little, (I could never find a box mix ha ha)and when I explained it, nobody knew what I was talking about, but there it was in her book.
I did make a few adjustments (sorry mom, I adapted your recipe ;) ) the original recipe called for a lot of sugar! It was as delicious as I remember!

Lemon Pudding Cake

1/4 cup sifted flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon zest

3 egg yolks, room temperature

3 egg whites, room temperature

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 6 (8 oz.) ramekins and lightly sprinkle with sugar tapping out the excess. Heat water in a kettle to make a water bath. In a baking pan, place a towel in the bottom and the prepared ramekins on top of the towel.

In a large bowl whisk sugar and egg yolks until smooth and light yellow. Add flour, mix until combined. Slowly add milk, whisking until combined. Add lemon juice and lemon rind, mix until combined and set aside. With an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff. Gently fold into sugar/lemon mixture in 3 additions. Batter will be runny. Fill prepared ramekins almost to the top. Place pan in oven and pour water in pan so it reaches halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden on top. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.