Chocolaty Chocolate Cookies

I made these first the first time last night for a cookie exchange and boy are they delicious!! To give credit where credit is due, I found the recipe here but have posted it below for convenience. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATY Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Roll into teaspoon sized balls onto foil lined cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

*should you wish to cover in toppings, such as peppermint candy or nuts, dip tops of balls before baking.

Coconut Cream Cake

I had the responsibility to make the dessert for Christmas dinner. I was concerned with finding a great dessert that didn't require a vast amount of time. I was lucky to find this great recipe. The cake looked much fancier than it actually was, plus it tasted great!



1 (16 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (10 ounce) package flaked coconut

Prepare cake according to package directions. Bake in two 9in round pans. Cool completely.In a small bowl combine cream of coconut and condensed milk.
Place bottom layer of cake on plate. Poke holes in cake with a straw. Pour milk mixture over cake. Place 2nd tier on top of 1st tier and repeat. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle coconut over cake. Decorate as desired. Serve chilled.

I made this cake again last night for company and served it with fresh berries and it was even more amazing!

Frosted Cranberries

As I was looking for a pretty addition to our food table for the Ugly Sweater Party I was hosting, I came across this recipe. I am glad I decided to make it as it was a gorgeous centerpiece and fun concept. It is an incredibly simple recipe but with great results, causing the cranberries to be tart on the inside but sweet on the outside. It was a total success.



2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons pasteurized egg white or corn syrup
1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar

In a medium bowl, stir together the water and egg white until blended but not whipped. Coat cranberries with this mixture. Spread the sugar out on a baking sheet, and roll the cranberries in it until they are coated. Dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Use as garnishes for desserts, or eat them plain.

I found that these were actually better the next day. Also, don't store them in ziplock bags as they will go soggy and sticky.

Pumpkin Fudge

Have I mentioned how much I love everything Autumn? I love the smells of the leaves, the crisp cool air, the apple cider and the pumpkin spice. It is therefore no surprise that when I found this recipe a few weeks ago I was excited to try it. I was unsure of the results, but overall it tastes surprisingly pumpkin-ey and good. It is, however, VERY rich so if you are on a "diet" and can only eat one piece this is perfect as one piece is all anyone will want/need.

I can say that if you want something different but autumnish to take to a potluck or party, this is a fun, adventurous route and anyone that loves pumpkin will love this fudge. I omitted the pecans because I didn't have any in the house, but I am sure it would be simply divine if they were included.



Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 (12-oz.) package white chocolate morsels
1 (7-oz.) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:
Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 9-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

The weather outside is quite chilly today and I decided I needed an excuse to use the oven to warm up the kitchen, so when I saw a friend's post on Facebook about cinnamon rolls, well, let's just say I couldn't help myself.



I've never made cinnamon rolls before and the idea had always been very intimidating but honestly, this was much easier than I had anticipated. The batch made 30 rolls, half of which I put in the freezer for this weekend at which time I will defrost them and let them rise before baking.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the butter; stir until melted. Add water and let cool until lukewarm.

In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, yeast, white sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 12x9 inch rectangle. In a bowl, stir together the cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Spread each piece with half of the butter, half of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough, using a little water to seal the seam.

Cut each roll into 12 slices using a very sharp knife or dental floss. Place rolls onto two 9x13 inch greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.



I just made my regular white icing but you can always replace that with a cream cheese frosting if you would like. I assure you, either way they are delicious!

Quick and Easy Dessert: Apple Strudel

I want to preface this post by saying I am NOT a baker. However, last week we watched a chef on Food Network create an Apple Strudel. Alexander was literally drooling and I decided it didn't look too hard and filed it away as a "someday treat". Someday came sooner than I expected tonight. After Alexander had gone to class, I decided I wanted to make him a surprise. I looked through my kitchen and found that I had fillo dough in the freezer and fresh green apples. It was perfect for a strudel!



I decided no recipe was necessary, so I just made it up as I went along using what I remembered from the show last week. I pulled out the dough and let it thaw on the counter for an hour. I then thinly chopped 2 green apples and mixed them with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Once the dough was thawed, I lined a cooking tray with wax paper (though I would have used parchment paper if I had it). I then took a piece of fillo dough and laid it out and brushed it with melted butter. I then took another piece of dough and repeated it until I had 10 sheets of layered dough with butter between them all. I then took half of the apple mixture and spread it in a across one section of the dough and then rolled the dough up. I brushed butter on the top and sprinkled slivered almonds and white sugar over the top. I copied these steps exactly for the second strudel, but I added in dried cranberries.

I popped them in the over at 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (I'm sorry, I didn't time them, so this is a guess). They came out looking beautiful! Honestly though, the one with the cranberries was WAY better tasting. :)

Crock Pot Cobbler

A few weeks ago, I had purchased a bunch of frozen raspberries for a dessert I was making for a family party. Unfortunately, the turnout at the party was not nearly what I had planned, and I was left with two bags of thawed raspberries that I could not re-freeze. In an effort to avoid wastefulness, I began scouring the internet for an easy recipe that I could use these raspberries in. Lucky for me, I came across this AMAZING crock pot berry cobbler recipe!

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen strawberries
• 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen blackberries
• 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen raspberries
• 1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on your level of preferred sweetness
• 1/2 cup baking mix

Topping:

• 2 1/4 cups baking mix
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Spray the insert of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, toss together all the frozen fruit, sugar and 1/2 cup baking mix. Transfer the fruit to the slow cooker. In another large mixing bowl, stir together 2 1/4 cups baking mix, 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter and milk with a wooden spoon. With your hands, drop bits of dough on top of the fruit in the slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the dough and place the lid on the slow cooker. Turn the power onto high and slow cook for 3 to 4 hours until the topping has puffed and the fruit is bubbling.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

My assumption is that you can use any type of berry in this recipe, but I just included my favorites. I love this recipe because it's fast and amazingly delicious! The prep only took me about ten minutes, and then I just left it for 4 hours. With 4 kids at home, my time is precious, so I really love the simplicity. It's a perfect dessert recipe!