Chocolate · Desserts

Magic In The Middle Chocolate Cookie

This recipe is from Just A Pinch Recipe Club and it is so awesome. It just hits the spot when you are wanting to sit down with a cup of coffee or Coke and bite into something ooyie gooie with a special treat of combined chocolate/peanut butter taste. Worth the little extra time it takes to make them.

Ingredients
– 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
– 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1/2 c granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
– 1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
– 1 stk butter, softened – 1/4 c smooth peanut butter
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 lg whole egg
– 1 lg egg yolk
– 3/4 c smooth peanut butter
– 3/4 c confectioners’ sugar

Directions
1. DOUGH: Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk, beating to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well

2. FILLING: In a small bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup of peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.

3. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.

4. FORM COOKIES: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough. Make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out into ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

5. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

6. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.

7. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they’re set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Chocolate · Desserts

Dark Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

Paula Deen does it again, where does she get thesegreat recipies? Do you think she just lays in bed at night and comes up with more delicious ways to use butter? No matter where she gets them, they are always delicious and this one even has dark chocolate in it, so I feel better about eatting the cookies, saying that, “I am only eatting them because they are healthy. They have fruit and dark chocolate in them, which makes them healthy” Are you on board with me on this?
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teas baking powder (if you are a new baker or cook, you will discover that cookies with baking powder instead of baking soda tend to be a little more softer than ones baked with baking soda. The ones with the baking powder bake up fluffier (is that a word) than the ones made with baking soda, which tend to spread more on the cookie sheet and get a little more crispy)
1/4 teas salt
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped unsweentened dark chocolate
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in cherries and chocolate and chill 1 hr or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by tablespoons 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-14 min, depending upon your oven or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on wire racks. (I don’t do this, I cool cookies on paper towels as I think cooling them on the wire racks makes them more crispy than I like them. I love soft fluffy cookies so if you do also, cool them on paper towels. You may also substitute bittersweet chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.

Chocolate · Desserts

Nutella Cheesecake Bars

I admit it, I have copied this recipe right off another person’s blog. But they are absolutely delicious and wanted to share this recipe with you. It comes from the Moonbakers Blog (I think that is the correct name) These are so simple and so tastefully delish that you will bake them over and over……

Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars

– 8 Chocolate Graham Crackers

– ½ Stick Unsalted Butter, melted

– 16 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature

– 2 eggs, at room temperature

– ½ C. Granulated Sugar

– ¼ + 1 Tbsp. Heavy Cream

– 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

– ¼ C. Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter an 8 x 8 baking pan and line with parchment paper, making sure that the parchment is well pressed in the corners. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse chocolate graham crackers until they become crumbs (like bread crumbs). Add in melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press graham cracker mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake crust in the center of the oven until set, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Clean out the food processor. Add cream cheese, eggs, sugar, ¼ C. heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pulse until smooth. Put 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add Nutella and 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream to remaining 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in the processor. Pulse until smooth.

To assemble, spread the vanilla cheesecake mixture over the cooled graham cracker base, being careful not to disturb the crust. Pour Nutella cheesecake layer on top of vanilla layer and spread evenly. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve, lift bars out of the pan by lifting up the parchment paper (it should release easily). Slice into 16 squares and serve.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Cheesecake Style Cake

Oh My Gosh, I just read this and cannot wait to try it. It was on the Paula Deen Website and was sent in from one of the readers. It sounds just marvelous. Am going to bake it as soon as I can….

Servings: 16 servings
Cook Time: 75 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients Add to grocery list
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) German Chocolate cake mix

Cream Cheese Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Frosting:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed (not margarine)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top; spread to edge of pan. Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. For frosting, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks .Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Chess Squares

These are amazing! Very gooey and chocolatey and will satisfy your chocolate cravings instantly.
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter (very cold)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tables cocoa
1/8 teas salt
2 tables butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1 teas vanilla
1/2 chopped pecans (opt)
Combine flour and powdered sugar; cut in 1/2 cup butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Press mixture evenly into a 9 in square pan. Bk at 350 for 15 min or until lightly browned.
Combine sugar, cocoa and salt. Add 2 tables butter and eggs; beat 2 1/2 min at medium speed with mixer. Add milk and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in pecans; pour mixture over crust.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 min or until middle is set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 2 hrs. Cut into squares. Store in frig. Yields: 3 dz.

Chocolate · Desserts

Coconut Chocolate Pie

Oh boy, this had my name written all over it. I was looking through an old Taste of Home Magazine from 2006, found this recipe and it is now one of my favs…use a bought chocolate crumb crust and it could not be simpler to make, but hard not to eat the whole pie at one sitting.
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teas salt
1 1/2 cups milk
16 miniature Almond Joy candy bars, chopped
1 teas vanilla
1 chocolate crumb pastry shell
Whipping cream
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Stir in milk until smooth and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened (mixture will thicken quickly). Remove from the heat. Add chopped candy bars and vanilla, stir until chocolate is melted. Pour into pastry shell. Press plastic wrap onto filing and refrigerate about 4 hrs. Remove plastic wrap. Slice and serve with whipping cream. *If you don’t like coconut, try using the minature Reeses Peanut Butter cups (I believe these bars come in packages of 8 ea. and are a $1.00 at wallmart for the package).

Chocolate · Daily Thoughts

Brownies in a Jar

Thought you might like to use this idea. For Easter, I have several ladies who I would just like to give a little something to tell them “thank you for opening up their hearts and homes to us here”. It has made it so much easier to feel “at home” and also has helped us to already have some great beginnings to new friendships. Since I love to bake, I thought it would be nice to give them something homemade. I went on-line and found a recipe for Double Fudge Brownies, which you can mix up the dry ingredients, put in a mason jar and give away. All they have to do is add the eggs, butter and vanilla, pour in a pan and they have a great bunch of homemade brownies. WalMart has mason jars, sold by the dozen, cute little lids, squares of fabic, already cut and matching labels. So for the prize of $20.00 or under, I am able to make about 8 or 9 gifts to give away. Below is listed the recipe I used. I have made the brownies and they are so fudgy and good. Baking a blessing…………Trudy (of course you will want to use your name, not mine, ha)

Each qt jar will hold the following:
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
Throughly mix all of the above and pour into a cleaned and throughly dried qt jar. I mixed up the ingredients before pouring them into the jar. Then attach to the jar:

Double Fudge Brownies
Makes 24
1 cup softened butter
4 eggs
2 teas vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 12×9 in pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter, adding the eggs one a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and then the brownies mix. Continue to stir until all is smooth. Spread the mixture into the greased pan and bake for 35-40 min. I sprinkle about 1 tables granulated sugar over the top as soon as they come out of the oven.

Chocolate · Desserts

Minty Ice Cream Pie

I know, here I go again with the chocolate, but I just can’t help it. I see these recipes and immediately, I have to go make them when they sound this good. And….it is! Perfect for those spring dinners and great to have in the freezer for unexpected friends dropping by.

1 (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 tables sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1 chocolate crumb crust (9 in)
2 pacakges (4 3/4 oz each) chocolate covered min candies, divided
1 pint chocolate ice cream or fudge ripple ice cream
1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
2 tables powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and 2 tables sugar until blended. Beat in 1 cup cream until soft peaks form. Fold in nuts and spread into pie crust. Coarsely chop 1 package mint candies and fold into softened ice cream. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Drizzle with fudge topping. Freeze for 1 hr.
In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until it begins to thicken. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Garnish pie with whipped cream mixture and remaining candies. Freeze. Remove from the freezer 15 min before serving.

Chocolate · Desserts

Turtle Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know this has a very long name, but it starts with a mix and is so easy. The fudgey tastes is awesome.
1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 (7.4 oz) packages Martha White Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
48 foil-wrapped chocolate-covered caramel candies, unwrapped (Hershey’s or Dove)
5 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped pecans, if desired

Heat oven to 350. Coat cookie sheet with Pam. Microwave chocolate and butter in bowl until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in condensed milk. Stir in muffin mixes until blended. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls.
Dip bottom into pecans, if using pecans. Place on sheet with nut side up, 2″ apart. Bake 7-8 min or just until cookies look slightly cracked and centers are still soft. Press a chocolate covered caramel candy into center of cookie. Place on rack. Swirl chocolate gently with knife while candy is warm.

Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate-Pecan Cobbler

This is so good. You know those nights when you are sitting down watching Dancing With the Stars or Harry’s Law and you are craving something chocolate, but don’t have a piece of candy in the house. This takes 10 min to whip up, throw it in the oven and by the time Wheel of Fortune is over, you have this warm, gooey chocolate dessert to dish out and go enjoy the rest of the night. Plus, this is a Paula Deen recipe, so that right there should tell you how good it is.
6 tables butter
1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 cup self-rising flour *
*(By the way, if you have not ever bought this flour, do so, it saves you measuring the baking powder and salt and seems to save so much trouble and time)
6 tables unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
1/2 whole milk
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup toffee bits
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Ice Cream
Chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Place butter in an 8×8 in dish; place in oven until butter melts (about 3 to 4 min). Remove dish from oven and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, flour and 2 tables cocoa. Add milk and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Pour over melted butter in dish. In a separate medium bowl, combine pecans, toffee bits, remaining 1 cup sugar and remaining 4 tables cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Slowly pour the boiling water over top of cobbler. Bake 40 to 45 min or untill top appears set. Serve warm with ice cream and more pecans if desired.