Tag: Hershey’s Cocoa

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Monkey Bread

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I guess you can tell from the latest posts that I am in a chocolate mode. We are just getting back from Corpus Christi where we go a few times a year to see my mom, who is 91. One of the first things I pack is the bag of peanut M&M’s, the bag of Hershey almond chocolate bars, Dove Chocolate with Toffee Chips and of course to wash the chocolate all down, my diet Dr Pepper. It is always good to be prepared in case we get stuck someplace and I want to always have plenty of chocolate. We got home Friday night and first thing Saturday after unpacking I went to the kitchen to make the caramel filled chocolate cupcakes that I posted last week. We had friends over Saturday night which enjoyed them. Last night we took them for dessert to our friends’ house where we dined on lobster and finished the evening with the cupcakes, They truly are divine. But today, this recipe caught my eye. Will be heading to the store to buy the biscuits.

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 tables unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teas cinnamon

1 cup butter, melted

2 (12 oz) cans refrigerated biscuits, cut into fourths

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cocoa and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, place melted butter. Dip each  cut biscuit in butter; dredge in sugar-cocoa mixture and layer biscuits in prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, covering pan with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool in pan 10 min. Invert pan onto serving platter.

*If desired, drizzle cream cheese frosting over inverted bread before serving.

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Company & Cards

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Tonight we are having some friends over for a light dinner and to play Hand & Foot, our new favorite card game. Wanting to keep I simple, I am serving sandwiches, chips & dips, deviled eggs, fruit, homemade oatmeal cookies*(this recipe is on blog) and chocolate cream pie. The chocolate pie is my mom’s recipe which I have made since the 70’s. Topped with whipping cream, it is just a winner, every time. FYI, as much as we have moved to different houses, I am accustomed to having  to adjust to different ovens. This gas oven bakes a lot faster than the electric oven I was using in California, so am having to really watch closely every thing I am trying to bake, until I get used to it. I finally got smart and instead of possibly ruining a whole sheet of oatmeal cookies, I baked two at first just to test the temperature and time that it took for them to get done before baking a whole sheet. The Chocolate Cream pie recipe is listed below. It I also delicious just served as pudding in a pretty glass, topped with whipping cream and toffee bits, or sprinkle crushed up Oreos on top.

3 egg, room temperature

3 cups milk

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teas salt

4 heaping tables unsweetened cocoa

1 cup sugar

3 tables butter

2 teas vanilla

Mix all ingredients except vanilla and butter, in a saucepan, whisking over low heat until all the lumps are all out and eggs are well blended in milk mixture. Turn up heat to medium and continue stirring until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, stirring until butter is melted and blended well. Pour into a cooled and baked pie shell or into individual glasses. Chill and top with desired toppings.  

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Sizzling Cupcakes

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Still in Arizona and when we get a minute to relax, after the 3 kids are given a half bottle each of Benydryl, (we just knew that they were going to get a runny nose so we were prepared, so we loaded up on it at CVS) and are sleeping ever so soundly, we turn our attention to The Voice and to leafing through magazines. This recipe caught my eye. I have been hearing all about maple and bacon flavored cupcakes, but until I saw this, never thought they sounded like something I would like. Am going to try these when I get back home.

Heat oven to 350; line 18 cupcake liners in cupcake pan. Whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder (Hershey’s), 2 1/4 teas baking powder and 1/4 teas salt. Beat 2 sticks softened unsalted butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar in a large bowl; beat in 3 eggs and 1 teas maple extract. Beat in flour mixture; alternating with 3/4 cup milk. Fold in 2/3 cup (10 slices) chopped bacon, cooked until crispy.

Divide batter among liners and bake at 350 for 21-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean.

Frosting:

Melt 1 cup milk chocolate chips in microwave and cool slightly. Beat 1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar, 2 sticks softened unsalted butter and 1/4 cup milk until smooth. Beat in 1 teas maple extract and melted chocolate chips.

Spread frosting over cupcakes. Garnish with additional chopped bacon.

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Black Magic Cake

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Years ago when I was working at a title company, one of my coworkers would bring this cake to the office quite frequently. It was always a hit. Today I came across the recipe he had given to all of us and thought it to be the perfect chocolate cake for those Halloween parties or fallish dinners, or when you are just craving a deep chocolate-coffee flavored dessert. Easy and quick to put together. 

1 3/4 cup flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa

2 teas baking soda

1 teas baking powder

1 teas salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong black coffee (allow to cool before adding to ingredients

1 cup sour milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixer bowl. Add eggs, coffee, sour milk (buttermilk) oil and vanilla.

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Batter will be thin.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9″ cake pans. Bake at 350 for 35-38 minutes. Five minutes longer if baked in a 13×9 pan.

Frost when completely cooled.

Glazed Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 (1 oz) square unsweetened chocolate, chopped up

dash salt

1/2 cup boiling water

1 1/2 tables butter

1 teas vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch; add chocolate pieces and salt. Pour boiling water over this mixture and cook in a medium sauce pan until mixture thickens. Add butter and vanilla. Stir will. Allow to cool slightly before spreading on cake. If you made the cake in the two layers, pour half of the frosting on top of a layer. Allow to set a few minutes. Place top cake layer on top of frosted bottom layer and pour remaining frosting onto top of cake. Allow to drip down sides of cake.

*If you used the 9×13 cake pan, double the ingredients for frosting and when cake is cool, pour frosting over top of the one layer cake.

Cakes · Chocolate

Chocolate Cherry Cola Cake

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Image

Taken from the summer issue of Taste of Home, this cake got great reviews last night when I took it to a dinner party. Before leaving home, I ate 4 cupcakes I had made with some of the batter, just to try it out, of course. Because of the marshmallows and cherry coke, the cake is so moist and the chocolate flavor is amazing.

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallow, ( I had found chocolate mini ones, so I used those)

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teas baking soda

1 cup butter, cubed (so it melts quicker)

1 cup cherry-flavored coke

3 tables Hershey’s cocoa

2 eggs at room temp

1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don’t keep this on hand, make your own with plain milk and vinegar)

1 teas vanilla

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow

2 tables cherry juice (recipe called for 2 tables frozen cherry-pomegranate juice concentrate, but my store didn’t have any so bought a can of sweet cherries in heavy syrup and used the syrup from that)

Fresh sweet cherries with stem for decor

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom of two greased 9″ pans with parchment paper; grease paper also after they have been put in pan. Divide marshmallows between pans.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and baking soda. In a small saucepan, combine the cubed butter, cola and cocoa. Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until blended.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add to flour mixture, whisking constantly. Pour into prepared pans, dividing batter evenly. Marshmallows will float to the top.

Bake for 25-30 in or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 min and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting:  *(IF you want enough frosting to frost sides of cake, double the frosting ingredients)in a medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in marshmallow cream and juice on low speed just until blended. Place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread top with 1 cup frosting. Top with remaining frosting.

Desserts

Chocolate Truffles

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Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Truffles

This past weekend, we were in Big Bear and went to a Chocolate Tour. One of the locations had these delicious little gems that were just chocolate truffles dusted with fairy dust, I mean powdered sugar. I came home and immediately found my old recipe that I use to make and use as decorations on top of chocolate cakes. They were the same consistency and the only difference was that they had added peppermint flavoring.

2 tables butter

1 (14 oz) can of Eagle Brand Sweentened Condensed Milk (not Pet Milk)

3 tables cocoa powder

*If desired, add 1/2 teas peppermint extract

1 cup chocolate sprinkles or powdered sugar or just coarse decorating sugar

Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Using a long handled spoon, stir in the Eagle Brand and cocoa powder. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to bubble and you can see the bottom of the pan. Grease a bowl with butter and pour the mixture into the bowl. Let cool about 30 min to 1 hour. Pour sprinkles into a bowl, (or powdered sugar or decorators sugar) into a separate bowl. Roll the cooled chocolate mixture into small balls (a little larger than a teaspoon, these are so rich you won’t want to make them larger)

Roll the balls in the sprinkles/sugar and place on a plate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate · Desserts

Christmas Chocolate Cookies

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I have decided that this Christmas season, every recipe will have the “Christmas” in it. That way, not only will it remind me that each and every day I need to be focused on the “Christ” in Christmas but also, it just makes the recipe sound so much better. Take these cookies, if they were just called Chocolate Cookies, you would just think, “hum…another chocolate cookie recipe” but calling them Christmas Chocolate Cookie, well…..you get the idea…just sounds so much “cookie classy”!

Actually I got these out of the Martha Stewart Cookie Recipe book and just made them this morning. They are easy and will pack beautifully if you are needing a cookie to box up to send to friends or family.

2 cup plus 2 tables flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch-process such as Hershey’s)

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

And a partridge in a pear tree….oops, got carried away there for a minute.

Sugar for rolling the balls of dough in before baking.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. (I have to admit, I never sift this mixture, I just stir in really well with a fork or knife until it is mixed)

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fully. About 2 mins. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce speed and gradually add the flour mixture until all is blended. Wrap plastic over bowl and set in fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Shape dough in 1″ balls. Roll each ball in sugar. Place on baking dish lined with parchment paper about 2″ apart.

Bake until set, about 10-12 min.Transfer to rack to cool. Cookies can be stored between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temp up to a week. If you house is like ours, they won’t last 2 days.