Apple Chocolate Chip Cake

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  Sadly, this is also also the final SRC reveal for Group A. The Secret Recipe Club is coming to an end.  Started back in April 2011, SRC and has had a wonderful five and a half year run and connected hundreds of bloggers throughout the world with our love of food and support of our fellow bloggers. My first SRC post was in February 2013, and I've loved all the new bloggers I've met and recipes I've tried. I know we're all going to miss it.

My final secret blog assignment is Mother Would Know with the tag-line Home Cooking Beats Take-Out - which I whole-heartedly agree with.  Written by Laura, it's a great blog full of mouth-watering recipes and helpful kitchen tips.  While Laura has no 'real' cooking credentials, she began cooking in college, and she's got plenty of experience in the kitchen. She's always willing to offer help and advice - the kind of cooking questions you would love to ask your mother, but these answers come from a guaranteed 'no nagging zone' where you won't be asked about your love life or your job prospects.  So, like Laura says -'whether you already cook reasonably well, have a few simple meals you can prepare or just have the feeling that you had better learn how to cook before your take-out bill ruins your credit rating' - Mother Would Know is the place for you.  (for the record, my daughter uses my blog as her cookbook, and both my kids call me with their cooking questions, but not everyone can do that, so it's great that Laura offers such help)

I browsed through Laura's blog and find several recipes I definitely want to try. Sweet & Sour Brisket, Rhubarb, Apple, Pear Crisp, and Java Chip Ice Cream were just a few of them.

I wish more of the chocolate chips showed in this piece, but believe me,
they were there.  This cake has long since been devoured!

When I saw this apple cake recipe I knew I had to try it - just a touch of sweetness, studded with apple chunks and chocolate - why have I never thought to use chocolate chips in apple cake?  I also really want to try this Bundt Pan Apple Cake Laura mentions in the post, but first, the Apple Chocolate Chip Cake.

Apple Chocolate Chip Cake
from Mother Would Know

Ingredients:

• 4 cups peeled, chopped apples
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cut the apples and mix them with the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl; let them stand for at least 15 minutes, giving the apple chunks time to absorb the sugar.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 13×9-inch baking pan and set it aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix (or whisk) together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. After the 15 minute 'rest' for the apple/sugar mixture, lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add the oil and eggs to the apples. (I used the glass measuring cup I measured my apples in to beat the eggs - using the whisk I mixed my flour with - and to measure the oil)
5. Add the dry ingredients to the apple, sugar, oil and egg mixture in 3 additions, mixing thoroughly after each addition. The batter will be very stiff. 
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and then spoon the batter into the greased baking pan. Even it out with the spatula or the back of the spoon.
7. Bake approximately 40-45 minutes, until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

The only thing I changed about this recipe was to cut down the sugar from 1-1/2 cups to 1 cup, and to mix the cinnamon in with the apples and sugar instead of whisking it with the flour.  That last part probably didn't make a huge difference, but I think cutting the sugar down worked out really well because this cake was still plenty sweet.

My husband and I just had to try it the same day I made it.  It smelled so good!  And it was really good that first evening, but this cake gets even better after sitting overnight.  It's dense and moist, and absolutely delicious.  I took it to church to share on Sabbath, and we barely made it home with another piece for each of us.  Everyone seemed to really like it.  I will definitely be making this one again.  And again.

An InLinkz Link-up

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month is Thyme for Cooking Blog which is all about the food, and life in France.  I wish, wish, wish I had more time to spend poring through this lovely blog.  I want to know about restoring a French farmhouse, and I want to know how Katie, who started in Minnesota and Wisconsin, managed to end up in France - with a few other interesting stops along the way.  We lived in Wisconsin for 15 years, but I do not think there's any chance we'll be ending up in France.  I will most definitely be reading through Katie's posts more thoroughly whenever I find the time!  I love how all her posts include not only the recipe but also an interesting story about what is going on in her life.

For now, I'm glad she loves healthy food, healthy ingredients, and most of all Simple Recipes.  Of course, simple (but tasty) recipes are a big favorite of mine, but this month I really needed something simple.  I spent a week cooking dinners for approximately 90 people at Camp Outreach, and the weeks prior to that were spent planning, shopping, and cooking chicken and taco meat in advance.  If only I could have used a recipe from Thyme for Cooking Blog for camp...   That would have been awesome!  So, Katie, when you read this, feel free to point me to any of your recipes that may have been great camp fare.  There's always next year.  Maybe.

This Italian Beef and Cabbage might have been good.  I am definitely going to try that soon.  Chicken with Red Beets and Cabbage is on my 'to make' list too, along with Beef, Cabbage, and Feta on Barley.  I seem to see a cabbage theme here.

In the end I picked this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, because chocolate.  And not only chocolate, but double chocolate.  And also zucchini, and it's one of those simple recipes which I thought would be perfect to share, because, with the slightly longer 4th of July weekend, we decided to go visit my parents, and I always try to take something so Mom doesn't have to fix all the food.  This Apple Bread was also a possibility, but the chocolate won out.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
from Thyme for Cooking Blog

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 6-8 oz. chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Butter 2 large loaf pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Combine butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla in a large bowl and mix well.  Stir in zucchini.
4. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together; stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir gently to combine.
5. Add chocolate chunks and walnuts and stir just until combined. 
6. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans.
7. Bake 55-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before slicing.

This recipe is a definite keeper.  Deep, dark chocolatey, chunky and super moist.  The first words that came to mind when I bit into my first piece were, "Oh, Baby."  It is so good.  I stored it in the refrigerator because of the moistness, and I think that made it even better.  The two loaves did not last long when I put them out to be shared.  It really was hard to resist grabbing just one more piece.  And it didn't look like anyone was actually trying to resist.

Thanks for the recipe, Katie.  I will be making this again.  And again.  I see why you make it often.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sourdough Chocolate Cake w/ Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting

I've made bread and coffee cakes and pancakes with my sourdough starter, but until now I've never made a chocolate cake.  Did you know there was such a thing as a sourdough chocolate cake?  I had never even thought of such a thing until recently when I came across a recipe for one.  I'm not even sure where I saw that recipe so I just did a quick search to find one that sounded good.  And then I read the reviews and adjusted a few things.  Of course.

Let me just say that I love this cake!  It's dark and dense and not too sweet and may just be my favorite chocolate cake ever.  Just, so good.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 to 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Mix sourdough starter, buttermilk, and 1 cup flour together.  Let sit several hours or overnight, until bubbly.
2. When ready to mix and bake cake, preheat oven to 350°.  Generously grease 13x9" baking dish.
3. In large bowl, cream butter, oil, and sugar with electric mixer.  Add cocoa and instant coffee and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition then mix in yogurt and vanilla.
4. Add sourdough mixture and mix well.  Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and then mix into batter.  Beat until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool before frosting. (see recipe below)

Enjoy!

 Since I was making this cake to take for a potluck, I also made a couple cupcakes so we could taste it.  I figured that would be better than taking a cake with a couple pieces already taken out.  Though, judging from some of the other desserts, it's a perfectly acceptable and expected practice to get into your dessert before bringing it to the potluck.   But the cupcakes were perfect.

There was still plenty of batter for the cake. This recipe makes a lot of batter; be sure to use a large bowl to mix it.  It will be full.

Some of the reviewers on the original recipe page mentioned a cream cheese frosting on this cake.  Since I added the instant coffee powder to the cake, I decided to add some to my frosting too.  It turned out really yummy.

Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting
from Perfectly Sprinkled

Ingredients:

• 4 T butter, softened
• 4 T cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. instant coffee
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 to 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Mix butter and cream cheese together and then add instant coffee.  Allow mixture to sit for several minutes and then mix again to incorporate coffee.  Stir in vanilla.
2. Add powdered sugar a bit at a time, mixing well until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Spread over cooled cake.

For best results, store this cake in the refrigerator.  I learned that from the reviews, too.  I don't know if it's because it tastes better, or if it's just to make it last longer because it will be harder to get into.  Either way, this cake will not last long.  It's just that good.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana & Peanut Butter Bites

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Not Enough Cinnamon.  Born and raised in Paris, Marie now lives in Sydney, Australia.  Her blog is full of unfussy recipes you can actually make, with simple ingredients you probably already have. I love that approach! Many of Marie's recipes also focus on health and using real, unprocessed ingredients.

There were so many yummy sounding recipes to choose from!  Some that caught my eye were:

• Healthy Peach BBQ Pulled Chicken
• Mexican Sweet Potato Gratin with Chicken
• Chicken Rollatini stuffed with Pesto and Philadelphia
• Coconut Berry Popsicles
• Honey Lemon Ginger Glazed Chicken

I'm pretty sure I will be trying several of those recipes!  But the second I saw this recipe for Chocolate Covered Frozen Peanut Butter & Banana Bites, I knew I had to try it.  To be honest, I wondered why I'd never thought of it.  You're wondering the same thing right now, aren't you?  Three perfect flavors together, frozen, in bite-sized pieces. What could be better? 

Frozen Chocolate Covered  Banana & Peanut Butter Bites
from Not Enough Cinnamon

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 10 oz dark chocolate
• coconut oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice bananas and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon mat.
2. Put peanut butter on half of the banana slices and place a second slice on top.  Place in freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour.
   
   
3. Break chocolate into pieces and put 2/3 of it in a double boiler or place a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan filled with simmering water. On low heat, stir chocolate until melted. (Or place chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat at 15 second intervals until the chocolate has melted.) Add the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate and keep stirring until it is fully melted. This is to allow the chocolate to have a glossy texture and to set correctly.
4. Remove bites from the freezer and dip them in melted chocolate. Working quickly, so bites don't begin thawing, dip one bite at a time in melted chocolate and roll it to cover all sides. Use one fork to remove bite from chocolate and a second fork to remove excess chocolate and arrange bite back on baking sheet. You may want to leave most of the bites in the freezer and work with a few at at time so they don't start getting mushy.
   Note: I have not worked with chocolate much, so I had some issues with this.  The frozen bites made my chocolate stiffen up so that I couldn't coat any more of them.  I added about a T of coconut oil, stirring that into the chocolate, over low heat, until it was smooth and shiny again, and then I could coat the rest.  Only use coconut oil as needed.
5. Once all the bites have been coated in chocolate, return them to the freezer and freeze for at least 3 hours.  Slide a butter knife under each of the bites to remove them from the baking sheet without losing any of the chocolate and store in a covered container in the freezer.  Enjoy!

Oh yum!  I pretty much always have frozen bananas in the freezer.  Yes, they're great for making a batch of banana muffins, but they're also the perfect snack on a hot day.  Add some peanut butter and chocolate, and it's even better!  The hardest thing is going to be not eating all these at once.

An InLinkz Link-up

Brownie Macaroon Torte w/ Irish Cream Glaze

I found this recipe in my Pillsbury Bake-Off booklet (37th contest) - a booklet that I've had for ages. In fact, one of our favorite meals comes from that booklet, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos, but I had never noticed this recipe.  I'm not sure why because it's pictured on the front page of the booklet.  But this time, when I went to put the book away, I happened to notice the picture, and I just had to look up the recipe, and then I just had to make it.

I'm taking it for a potluck tomorrow, so I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells.

Brownie Macaroon Torte w/ Irish Cream Glaze
12 Servings

 Filling:

• 1/2 cup almonds, toasted and finely chopped or ground
• 1-1/2 cups coconut
• 2 T unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 egg

Brownie:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 box Brownie Mix (Large Size for 13x9 pan) 
• 3 T amaretto (or 1-1/2 tsp. almond extract + 1-1/2 tsp. water)
• 2 eggs

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 T Baileys Irish Cream

Garnish:

• 2 to 3 T toasted coconut (or toasted, slivered almonds)

Directions:

1.  In medium bowl, combine filling ingredients; mix well.  Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 350° F.  Grease bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.  In large bowl, combine all brownie ingredients.  Beat with electric mixer at low speed until moistened.  Beat at medium to high speed 1 minute.
3. Pour brownie batter into greased pan and spread evenly.  Using spatula, make a 1-inch wide circular groove in the batter, about 1 inch from the edge of the pan.  Make a second groove about 1 inch from the first one.  Spoon filling into grooves and press down gently so that it is level with the brownie batter.
4. Bake at 350° F for 55-60 minutes or until set in center.  Note: the center will raise up, but it settles down after the torte is removed from the oven.  Cool 15 minutes and remove sides of pan.  Cool completely - 1 to 1-1/2 hours in the refrigerator.
5. In a small bowl, combine Glaze ingredients.  Drizzle over top of cooled torte and garnish with toasted coconut.

To toast almonds: Spread almonds on baking sheet.  Bake at 350° F for 5 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown and fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Cool slightly before chopping.
To toast coconut: Spread on baking sheet.  Bake at 350° F for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.

I don't usually buy cake mixes or brownie mixes, but I just happened to have one this time.  I bet my regular brownie recipe can be used in this recipe, so I'll have to try that next time.  See, I'm already saying next time - because this smells so good.  Chocolate, coconut, almond, all kinds of yummy flavors together.  And then the Irish Cream glaze on top.  The original recipe called for a vanilla glaze flavored with amaretto and a chocolate glaze - and then a garnish of slivered almonds.  I bet that's really good, too - but, I decided to just go with the one Irish Cream glaze and toasted coconut, because the slivered almonds I found in my pantry were old and didn't taste good anymore.  Also, that vanilla glaze called for store-bought vanilla frosting, which I have never bought, so I was going to have to make something up anyway.  Baileys and Amaretto - it wasn't a huge stretch.

It's a miracle I didn't just cut into this already.  There's nothing wrong with taking a dessert to a potluck with a wedge or two missing, right?  Or not.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to grab a picture (and a taste) once it's cut.  I have noticed that anything chocolate seems to go quite quickly at potlucks, so we'll see.  I may just have to make another one really soon - especially since this recipe only uses about 1/2 the can of sweetened condensed milk.  I have to find something to do with that other 1/2, don't I?

Update:
It was yummy!  I managed to grab a small sliver, and the rest disappeared completely.  I talked to a few people who had some, and they all agreed that it was very good.

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ROLO Pretzel Delights

If you regularly buy ROLO Chewy Caramels in Milk Chocolate, you have probably seen this recipe.  I've only recently tried them, and they are really yummy - chocolate, caramel, what's not to love?  But, it was only after we'd finished the bag that I noticed the recipe on the back for these ROLO Pretzel Delights.  They sounded really yummy - chocolate, caramel, and crunchy, salty pretzels.  So I bought another bag just so I could try these.  Yep, they really are as good as they sound!  And so easy.

ROLO Pretzel Delights
from Hersheys.com

Ingredients:

• Small pretzels
• ROLO candies
• Pecan halves (or additional pretzels)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Place one pretzel for each treat desired on cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO.
3. Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to soften, but not melt. Remove from oven; top with either a pecan half or an additional pretzel, pressing down slightly. Cool completely.

The recipe said to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil, but I just placed my pretzels directly on my cookie sheet.  That seemed to work just fine.  I did half with pecan halves and half with additional pretzels, and I liked them both.  These are a really delicious and simple to make treat.

Spicy Chocolate Snickerdoodles

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Lisa's blog Sweet as Sugar Cookies.  As her blog title would suggest, Lisa is "all about the sweets" so there are plenty of yummy looking sweets to choose from.  There are, of course, lots of cookies and an entire list of recipes just for chocolate chip cookies.

I figured it was only right that I make some kind of cookies from Lisa's blog, and when I saw these Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles I knew they were the ones. I've always loved Snickerdoodles - though I haven't made them in ages - and the addition of chocolate with a kick of cayenne made them sound absolutely irresistible.

I did think about making these Strawberry Lemonade Muffins, but then I went right back to the cookies. I'll definitely be trying those muffins sometime, though!

These cookies bake up slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and cake-like on the inside.  I especially love that little bite from the cayenne, especially in the cinnamon sugar mix on the outside.  So good!  My husband doesn't like a lot of spice in his food, but even he enjoyed them, so they're not super-spicy - just have that little kick to make them fun.

Spicy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
adapted from Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. unbleached flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

For rolling:

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of cayenne pepper 

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugars together.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cayenne.  Mix in and stir until well combined.  Chill dough for about an hour.
3. Roll dough into 1" balls and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes at 350°, until cracked on top.  Cool 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 4 dozen

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

It's time again for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal!  My blog assignment this month was Melissa's blog I Was born To cook.  Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Melissa has always loved to cook, and she shares some great recipes on her blog.  Her Black Bean Quinoa Salad and Turkey Barley Veggie Soup look really good.  When the weather cools down a bit, I am making that soup!

Eventually I decided on these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins for my Secret Recipe Club post.  I wasn't able to have a garden this year, so I don't have any fresh zucchini, but thankfully I still have some in my freezer!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
adapted from I Was Born to Cook

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3 cups flour (part whole wheat)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease or line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in sugars and oil. Add the cocoa, vanilla, zucchini, and oatmeal and stir well.
3. Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom together. Mix into wet ingredients, just until moist.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling 2/3 of the way. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store loosely covered.

Makes 12

I cut the sugar down significantly in these muffins, because my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe calls for less sugar, and it's a cake.  I also used whole wheat flour - 1 cup regular whole wheat and 1 cup white whole wheat - and added 1/2 cup oatmeal, because I like my muffins to be dense and filling.  These definitely were!  They needed just a touch of butter, and they were delicious!  They don't look nearly as chocolatey as Melissa's, but they were chocolate; trust me.  And the spices were perfect.

Melissa was hoping she could get some vegetables into her daughter Bella with these chocolate muffins - but Bella would have none of it, even though she's a chocolate lover.  I had no problems with my adorable grandson Jason.  He loved these!  Of course, he loves green stuff, too, like green beans and peas.

YUMMY!

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Posted on facebook this morning, and I'm thinking I must try this.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook Revised and Updated, pg. 252

Makes 1½-2 cups sauce
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.

Ingredients:

• 5 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut in pieces
• 5.3-oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High 30 minutes. Stir.
3. Cover and cook up to another hour, or until chocolate and butter are melted and sauce is smooth.
4. Store in refrigerator.

Cover via Amazon
Serving suggestions: Serve over ice cream and cake! Or use it as a fondue for fruit!

Variation: Add ½ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter to Step 1.

Looks yummy, huh?
 

Fudgsicles

I found this recipe on Baking Bites a while back, but I couldn't make them because I was almost out of cocoa. And then I forgot - and couldn't find the link I'd shared on facebook. I went searching tonight and found the recipe again. I'm not trusting facebook this time.

Homemade Fudgsicles

• 2 cups low fat or skim milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup or agave syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cocoa powder, sugar, corn syrup (or agave syrup) and vanilla extract. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, and cook just until all of the sugar and cocoa powder is dissolved. Pour hot mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight, or until solid.

Makes 6-8 large popsicles (depending on the size of your molds)

I have cocoa now.  Time to dig out the Tupperware popsicle molds - even if it's not summer yet.
 

Reese's Bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
(Photo credit: nettsu)

This is for my daughter Beth. If you like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you'll like these. A lady I used to work with brought these to a potluck at work one time, and we all had to have the recipe!

Reese's Bars

• 1 package graham crackers (crushed)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 sticks melted butter
• 1-1/3 cups peanut butter

1. Mix ingredients well and press firmly into greased 13x9" pan.
2. Melt 12-oz bag of chocolate chips and spread on top.
3. Chill until chocolate is set, then cut and put back into refrigerator.  Be sure to cut around the edges, too.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a pan of these soon.

• Print this recipe

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Using the Egg Whites

The verdict is in, and we like the pudding without the egg yolks best.  It tastes better, and I'm more than happy to skip that extra step of adding egg yolks.  So, I won't always have egg whites to use.  But for this time, I went looking for something to do with them and found this whole list of Recipes to Use Left-over Egg Whites.  I ended up freezing the egg whites instead of using them - which I didn't know I could do.  But, when I have time, I think I'm going to make these Coconut and Chocolate Macaroons.

Coconut and Chocolate Macaroons
30 Cookies

From Ready for Dessert (Ten Speed)

4 large egg whites
1¼ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2½ cups unsweetened coconut (see note)
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a large skillet, mix together the egg whites, sugar, salt, honey, coconut and flour.

Heat over low-to-moderate heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir.

When the mixture just begins to scorch at the bottom, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature.
(At this point, the mixture can be chilled for up to one week, or frozen for up to two months.)

When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Form the dough into 1 1/2-inch mounds with your fingers evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Cool completely.

To dip the macaroons in chocolate, melt the chocolate in a clean, dry bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a microwave.) Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Dip the bottoms of each cookie in the chocolate and set the cookies on the baking sheet. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes, until the chocolate is set.

Note: Unsweetened coconut is available in most natural-food shops or you can purchase it online.

They sound really good!

Chocolate Pudding

My husband loves chocolate pudding.  Before we got married and even for a while after we were married, he was happy with the instant kind - add some milk, shake it up, and you've got pudding in a few minutes.  In recent years he's decide that he must have the cookin' kind.  He especially likes the 'scum' that forms on top.  I usually buy the large boxes of Jell-O  chocolate pudding at Walmart for $1, but the last several times I've been there, the spot on the shelf has been empty, and last night they had removed the price tag and spread the small boxes into that spot as well.  Maybe they're not going to carry it any more?  I can't bring myself to buy the small box for 84¢ when I know I could get the large one for $1.

So today I decided to follow the pudding recipe in my cookbook.  It was fairly simple - sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and milk - cook and stir until thickened pretty much like the Jell-O.  But then it has you add egg yolks and cook and stir again, and then add butter and vanilla.  It got me to wondering why I really needed the egg yolks and that extra cooking, so I went looking on the Internet for chocolate pudding recipes without eggs and found this one:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
 
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Source: allrecipes

Jeffrey said the pudding I made tasted good, but I'm thinking that I will try this recipe tomorrow.  Then we can compare the two and see which one is better - and then decide if the extra work is really necessary.

And now I have to find a recipe for the egg whites...

Update:  We tried both recipes side by side and decided we liked the way this one tastes better.  So, it's easier and it's better.  This is now my go-to chocolate pudding recipe.  I have it written on a Post-it note inside my kitchen cabinet - the cabinet that contains the cocoa, cornstarch, salt and vanilla.  And no more egg whites to worry about.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I hadn't made these in ages, but I recently saw them on someone's blog, and decided it was time. Then I went looking for recipes.  I could not believe how many recipes for Peanut Butter Blossoms are out there!  I ended up choosing the one from the Hershey's website - since they're Hershey's Kisses on top, after all.  Also, I liked that the recipe used more peanut butter and less sugar than some of the other ones.  I ended up sort of combining the recipe with the one in my cookbook - by using a little more flour to make the cookies easier to roll out and baking at a slightly lower temperature.  Oh, and I used Dark Chocolate Hershey's Kisses, because that's what I had.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening (margarine)
• 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar
• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES (or so)

Directions:

1. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are lightly browned. While cookies are baking, remove wrappers from chocolates.  
4. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie as soon as you pull them from the oven; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

I got about 55 cookies.  The original recipe has you unwrap all the Kisses at the beginning, but I unwrapped them as I put the cookies in the oven, so I had the right number of Kisses for the cookies I had.  And I only ate one or two...

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Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I found this recipe in the coupon section of the Sunday paper. It really looks good! And then today, I'm cutting out coupons only to turn the page and find that I cut right through the recipe. Why do they have to put recipes on the back of coupons? (or is that coupons on the back of recipes?)

I thought maybe I could visit the website and find the recipe, but no such luck - so I had to piece it back together and type it up myself. These sound so good I'm sure it was worth it, though.

Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Crust:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, and corn starch in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into a greased 13x9-inch pan.
2. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.
3. Beat eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in coconut and chocolate chips. Pour over crust. Return to oven.
4. Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture is golden. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

Makes 24 bars

Here's the list of dessert and baked goods recipes I did find on the website. Some of them look pretty good, too.

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Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Image by Another Pint Please... via Flickr

I found this recipe once a long time ago. I made the cake. It was wonderful. Then I lost the recipe I knew I had a recipe for this hot, gooey, chocolaty dessert, but I could not find it. After lots of looking, I found it! Now, I plan to keep this recipe somewhere safe and accessible.

This cake is quick, easy, and absolutely yummy. And since I didn't make anything for dessert this weekend, I think I'll make one of these!

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1-3/4 cups very hot water

• Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°. Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 T. cocoa, baking powder, and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir in nuts.
   
2. Spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour very hot water over batter.
3. Bake 40 minutes. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes and top with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving.

Microwave Directions
Follow above directions, making sure to mix everything in a microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave uncovered on medium (50%) 9 minutes; rotate dish 1/4 turn. Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 7 minutes longer or until top is almost dry.

Enjoy!

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German Chocolate Pie

This is Jeffrey's favorite pie. I got the recipe from his mom. He says I don't make it often enough, but I figure it's more special if he doesn't get it all the time, right?

German Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker's German sweet chocolate
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1-2/3 c. (14 1/2 oz. can) evaporated milk
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/3 c. angel flake coconut
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans
• 1 unbaked pie shell, fluted high

Directions:

1. Melt German chocolate and butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk.
2. In bowl, mix with electric mixer: sugar, cornstarch, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually blend in chocolate mixture.
3. Pour into unbaked pie shell and top with mixture of coconut and pecans.
4. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to stop browning and bake another 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool at least 4 hours before cutting or refrigerating.
6. Enjoy!

and I'm not giving away Mom's secret recipe, because I found (almost) the same recipe online at Cooks.com. You'll want to cut this pie into fairly small pieces because it is so rich.

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Chocolate Coconut Bars

I cut this recipe off my brown sugar package. It's been sitting on top of my canisters for a couple weeks just waiting for me. Today I finally made these bars - haven't tried them yet, but they smell wonderful!

Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces (6 oz.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cup coconut, flaked

Instructions:

1. Grease 13x9x2-inch-baking dish.
2. In large bowl using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers, combine first four ingredients until crumbly. Pat into baking dish. Bake 10 minutes at 375°F.
3. Sprinkle chocolate pieces over hot crust; return to oven about 1 minute to soften. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.
4. In medium bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and beat into sugar mixture. Stir in coconut. Spread evenly over chocolate layer.
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan and cut into bars.

Makes 2 dozen

This recipe was copied from the C&H website, slightly edited. There are lots more great-sounding recipes to choose from, too. It looks like I don't have to save the recipes from my sugar bags any more, just visit the web page and look them up.

ETA: These were a big hit at the church potluck.

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Chocolate Cherry Clusters

I found this recipe in a magazine and have been planning to try it for a while now. This is supposed to be a good, heart-healthy snack, and I thought it would be nice for Jeffrey to have as a snack because he loves cherries so much. I finally made them today.

Chocolate Cherry Clusters

Image via Wikipedia

• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 cups Cheerios cereal
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces

In medium bowl, microwave chocolate on high 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 1 more minute, until nearly melted. Stir until smooth. Quickly stir in cereal, cherries and nuts until well coated. Using a tablespoon, drop clusters on a baking sheet. Refrigerate 2 hours, until no longer sticky. Makes 24 clusters.
Per cluster: 137 calories, 2g protein, 15g carbohydrates, 10g fat (4g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 13mg sodium

I didn't have any bittersweet chocolate chips, but I do have some Hershey's extra dark baking bars. I figured those would work just fine, since the chocolate must be melted. However, I did not know how many squares I would need, so I looked it up and found this handy list of chocolate substitutions. For each cup of chocolate chips, I need 6 squares of chocolate - so that's 1-1/2 of those baking bars.

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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Cups

I found this recipe in the Kraft Food & Family magazine. I didn't follow it exactly, because I practically never follow a recipe exactly. Mainly, it called for a brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size), which I didn't have, so I made my own brownies.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Cups

for brownies:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
• 6 T cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 T vanilla

Combine cocoa and sugar; cream mixture with margarine. Add eggs; mix well. Add flour and mix. Add vanilla. Spoon batter into 20 paper-lined muffin cups; set aside.

for cheesecake:

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended. Spoon 1 rounded Tbsp. into center of batter in each cup, pressing down slightly into batter. Bake 30 minutes at 350° or until centers are set. Remove from oven and remove brownie cups to rack to cool. While they are still hot, place 4 or 5 chocolate chips on the top of each brownie cup. When chocolate chips begin to melt, use a knife to spread them over the top of each brownie cup.

I added the chocolate chips to the top because the original recipe called for Cool Whip and cherries on top, and that just didn't seem right to me, but they just needed a little something on top. I also changed the name from Brownie 'Babies' to 'Cups' because calling them babies made it sound like they should be made in the mini muffin cups, and they are definitely full size. And they are definitely yummy - I don't think you can go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

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