Not Oreos

 

These are not Oreos. These are better than Oreos. Oreos are very good in their own way, there’s still nothing like pulling one apart, licking out the vanilla center, putting the wafers back together and dunking them in milk. But sometimes that vanilla frosting in the center leaves a funny film on the roof of your mouth and then you usually have to go brush your teeth immediately afterwards or risk having little specks of black wafer lurking, just waiting to wedge themselves between your front teeth and embarrass the heck out of you.

These cookies don’t want to embarrass you. And, while a tall, icy glass of milk is a perfect complement to these cookies, they don’t need it to camouflage the store-bought taste of them. Because they’re not Oreos. They are Homemade Chocolate Sandwich Cookies.

You’ll want to make these today. Really. Truly. Today.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the chocolate wafers:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder (You know how much I love King Arthur’s.)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

For the filling:

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set out 3 baking sheets.

In your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add to the batter and mix very well.

Drop by tablespoonsful onto the cookie sheets, 12 to a sheet. Dampen your hand with a little water and press down slightly on each ball of cookie dough.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to cooling racks.

While they’re cooling, make the filling!

In your mixer’s bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until well incorporated.

Add the vanilla and mix well.

Sift in (using a mesh sieve, for Heaven’s sake, not an obnoxious, old fashioned sifter!)  the powdered sugar and mix to combine.

Scoop the frosting into a pastry bag and pipe onto the underside of a cookie. Place another cookie on top and press lightly to seal them together. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Serve to your newly turned six year old, alongside a tall, icy glass of milk, and hear all about how he gets to marry the princess the next day at recess, but only if he can save her from the robots and swamp monsters.

Just a Suggestion

 

Well, my week of chocolate is over. *sigh* But I thought I’d round up all my chocolate recipes that use cocoa powder for when you get your King Arthur Flour Bensdorp cocoa powder. Because if you ordered it last week it should be arriving soon, right? Hee hee :)

Chocolate Comfort Cookies chock-full of toasted hazelnuts and tart cherries.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies with cayenne and black pepper, they taste warm loooong after they’ve left the oven!

Alton Brownies (in bite sized nuggets), one of the best brownie recipes I’ve ever found! Thick and fudgy and when baked in a square pan, the middle piece never quite sets up. Consider it a boon to the baker, top it with ice cream and enjoy the ooey-gooey deliciousness yourself! 

  

My favorite whoopie pie! Dark and super chocolatey, I like mine with cream cheese frosting and made into smaller-than-conventional portions.

 

Chocolate Spice Cake with Cardamom-Scented Ganache, a beautiful, elegant cake perfect for Fall!

Good ole’ Chocolate Cake. Sturdy enough to stand up to gobs of American buttercream, just how my kids like it!

The Carrie Cupcake: A devil’s food chocolate cupcake, filled with salted caramel, dipped in bittersweet chocolate, and topped with salted caramel buttercream.

Blueberry Tart. A melt in your mouth chocolate crust filled with a delicious creamy filling and topped with blueberries.

Hot Chocolate (from a homemade mix) with softly whipped cream. The perfect drink to sip at the bus-stop while you’re waiting for your kindergartner to get home from school!

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

These have been some of my favorite cookies for a long, long time. They have cayenne and black pepper in them, which, I’ll admit, does sound weird, but it gives them a wonderful, warm depth. When I make these especially for men, I always double the amounts of the peppers. They go nuts for them! It is a tad early to be thinking about Christmas, but they nicely round out a tray of assorted cookies, if you’re into that sort of thing! (Which I always am!)

Mexican Spice Cookies a.k.a. MAN Cookies

For my dear, late friend, Nick. I wish I could make these for you again.

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup +1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

generous pinch CAYENNE pepper

generous pinch ground black pepper

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Frosty cups of ICE-COLD milk, for serving

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until well incorporated.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pop the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Drop by rounded teaspoonsful onto the baking sheet, 12 per sheet. Smash the balls of dough fairly flat, they won’t really spread out on their own.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are just set, but NOT HARD! Let them finish cooking for two minutes on the tray and then remove to cooling racks.

Serve with ice-cold milk and enjoy!

Gentle reminder:

Today is the last day to enter the King Arthur Giveaway!

Please leave a comment on this post to enter before 11:59pm!

Hot Chocolate

 

So, we had a little heat wave a few weeks ago when Hurricane Earl was heading up the coast. Then, for the next few weeks it got really cold, and I went on a bit of a hot chocolate spree! After trying out more recipes than I’d care to confess to, I have two new favorite recipes. One is adapted from Nigella Lawson (hers is alcoholic) and has to be cooked on the stove. For the other one, you make your own mix and then you can make the cocoa in the microwave if you’re in a hurry. Both are MUCH better than the kind you buy in little packets at the grocery store. And yes, if you follow me on Facebook, you probably saw that I couldn’t make that kind. Here’s the story. . .

One chilly morning Reese asked me for hot chocolate, and being a sucker for warm, soothing drinks myself, I had no problem granting his request. I went to the cupboard and got out some Swiss Miss that promised to be a marshmallow lover’s dream. Now, before I tell you the rest of the story, I just want to say – this was first thing in the morning and I didn’t really have my wits about me. So I started some water boiling in the kettle and ripped open an envelope of mix and poured it into a mug. When the water was boiling I filled the mug. And then stared into it in a great deal of confusion. At which point my dear, sweet husband walked in to the kitchen and asked what was so interesting in the mug. I was still confused and told him that it was just a bunch of marshmallows but it was supposed to be hot chocolate mix. Anyway, we pulled out the box and found that the packets came in pairs (I’d just torn one off) and that one side had marshmallows and the other had the mix. Jay laughed himself sick and has given me no end of grief about not being able to make hot chocolate from a packet. The end.

 

Not a terribly funny story, but since then I’ve been (probably unfairly) a little negatively prejudiced against Ye Olde Swiss Miss. Anywho, this recipe is much more chocolatey and comforting, really easy to make, yields about 8 servings, and is much, much better than the packaged stuff. With the added bonus not of having any confusing additions of pathetic, dehydrated little bits of glue marshmallows. Would make a lovely gift too!

Hot Chocolate Mix

yields 8 servings

1/2 cup of the best cocoa powder ever

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup powdered milk

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Place cocoa powder, sugar, powdered milk and chocolate chips into the bowl of your food processor.

Blitz in 15 second bursts until the chocolate chips have disappeared into the mixture. Don’t blitz too long in one go because it could cause the chocolate to start to melt.

Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor, whisk the cocoa, sugar and powdered milk together. Then finely, finely, finely! chop the chocolate and add it to the mix.

Store the mix in an airtight container.

To make the hot chocolate: Heat a cup of milk in the microwave or on the stove.

Add 1/4 cup of the mix and stir well to incorporate.

Top with softly whipped cream and enjoy!

Also, I like to use my microplane to grate some chocolate over the top. It grates it so finely that it starts to melt right away, yum!

 

The next one is a recipe I don’t think I could live without. It’s the Nigella one, and oh.my.gosh. is it amazing!!! It’s a bit thicker and more full-bodied than the mix one. This would be a great one to serve to guests after dinner with a big pile of cookies. And it is the perfect drink to make when it’s dark and stormy and you just want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and a good book. Makes me drool just thinking of it!

 

Super Rich Hot Chocolate

adapted from Nigella Lawson

Serves 2

2 cups milk

3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (I used my favorite Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips)

1 cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

 

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, chips, cinnamon stick, honey and brown sugar.

Heat over medium heat, mixing constantly, until the chocolate completely melts and the milk starts to foam. This takes about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the cream into your mixer.

Sift in the powdered sugar, stir to combine.

Whisk the cream until soft peaks form.

Ladle the hot chocolate into cups.

Dollop the soft cream into the hot chocolate.

Sip slowly and attempt not to swoon, it would make a huge mess and be a waste of chocolate!

P.S. I used to use a kitchen scale to weigh out the chocolate, until I realized that 1 of my handfuls of chocolate chips equals about 2 ounces. And I don’t even measure out the rest of the ingredients anymore, I just spoon in the brown sugar, mix in a good glug of honey, etc. This is definitely a recipe that doesn’t require precision! I gave the original amounts more just so you can have a starting point.

 

Gentle reminder: Two more days to enter the King Arthur Giveaway for 1 pound of Bensdorp cocoa powder and a box of unbleached cake flour! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post! Giveaway closes at 11:59pm Thursday, September 22.

How Long Until the Bus Arrives???

 

I really enjoy having a kindergartener. He gives me an excuse to make lots and lots of cookies! (Like I needed an excuse!) He’s been in school for three weeks now and every day when he gets off the bus he comes in the house and has cookies and milk with Amelia and they discuss their respective days. It is the cutest thing EVER! I really need to get a picture of them. *makes mental note*

Anywho, this cookie was a huge hit with them. And with Jay. And with Jilly. And with me! Just a huge hit all around. It’s got a laundry list of ingredients, but this is definitely a cookie you should tackle! It’s from Diane Mott Davidson’s The Grilling Season, which is a murder mystery not a guide to grilling outdoors. It’s a great read, like all her other books.

And, of course, this cookie will be made that much better by using King Arthur Flour’s Bensdorp cocoa powder instead of the Schmershey variety. Just sayin’. Okay. . . . on to the cookies!

 

Chocolate Comfort Cookies

Adapted from Diane Mott Davidson’s The Grilling Season

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (I just used part of an 85% cacao LIndt bar I had hanging around.)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups+2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Bensdorp cocoa powder

1 cup marshmallow cream

 

Preheat the oven to 325. Line your cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.

On another baking sheet, spread the hazelnuts. Toast in the oven for 7-12 minutes until they are lightly browned and some skins have loosened. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.

In a large bowl, combine the chips, cherries and cooled nuts.

In your mixer’s bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat well.

Add the egg and mix until creamy and smooth.

Add the milk, melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.

Add the flour mixture to the batter. Mix in the marshmallow cream.

Stir in the fruit mixture and mix until well combined.

Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough onto the cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet.

Bake 10-15 minutes until they are puffed and set, then remove from the oven and let cool on the tray for another 2 minutes. Then remove to a wire cooling rack.

Lather, rinse, repeat with the remaining dough.

Enjoy with hot chocolate or a glass of ice-cold milk!

Makes a bazillion cookies. Or thereabouts.

 

Just a friendly reminder:

To enter to win a pound of Bensdorp cocoa powder and a box of unbleached cake flour from King Arthur Flour, just go to this post and leave a comment!

Easy peasy!

Full of Chocolatey Goodness!

I was going to tell you about this giveaway last week, when I debuted my new blog makeover. But I couldn’t decide which recipe to show you. I fought and argued with myself all week, trying to pick my favorite chocolatey recipe. But I’ve been on a chocolate kick lately and I couldn’t decide on which one, so prepare yourself to be inundated with chocolate goodies!

You’ve probably heard celebrity chefs and cookbook authors say that you should always buy the best ingredients you can afford and that is the secret to great cooking/baking, right? They’re not kidding. And I have one ingredient for you that will change every single recipe you use it in from ‘mmm, that’s good’ to something more like, ‘HOLY MOSES! That is AMAZING! You MADE this????’ That’s not hyperbole, its the truth. And I think you can handle the truth.

You know that can of cocoa powder you have in your cupboard? Stand up, go to the cupboard, grab that tin and throw it in the garbage. Really. Now. Go. I promise you’ll thank me later. Now, go to King Arthur Flour and purchase this, Bensdorp Cocoa Powder. It’s absolutely amazing. My sister-in-law’s mother-in-law (you follow? good.) gave me a pound of this stuff last year and it’s changed my life, people!!! And really, it only costs three dollars more per pound than that tin you just tossed, the one that you can get in every grocery store in America. The one that starts with an ‘H’. And ends with an ‘ershey’. You don’t want that stuff in your house. You want this. . . . .

 

I mean, look at it!!! It’s almost red. It is noticeably richer. When you open the package it smells deep and chocolatey and almost earthy. If you were to smell the box of the stuff you already threw away (but you can’t because you trusted me when I told you to hock it, right???), it smells sugary sweet. Like candy, almost. This Bensdorp cocoa smells like ooey gooey brownies. Or devils’ food chocolate cake. Really, it’s the difference between a chocolate bar of, well, one that rhymes with Schmerchey, and a bar of Valrhona, or Ghirardelli or Scharffen Berger. They all make cocoa powders too, but I think this one is the best. (P.S. Please don’t tell my hubby that I’ve tried all those or how much they cost. He’ll blow a gasket. Thanks.)

Now, one of you will get the chance to try some for yourself! King Arthur Flour has generously offered a bag of their Bensdorp cocoa powder to one of my readers!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post!

I’ll pick a winner on Friday and that person’s life will never be the same! You’ll shudder when you see that box of drab, flavorless stuff sitting there on the baking aisle, telling shoppers that it will make their chocolatey dreams come true. It’s a liar! Or at least, deluded.

But, that is not all. Oh, no! That is not all! (Name that children's book.) King Arthur Flour is also offering a box of their unbleached cake flour for our giveaway! I’d show you a side by side comparison of that too, but I don’t want to buy a box of the bleached stuff just for a photo op. (I only had a tin of the Schmerchey stuff because it was down in my basement pantry from when we moved in and I had forgotten that it even existed.) But when I tried out the King Arthur’s cake flour I got to see it next to a dab that I had left of some other brand I’d gotten at the grocery. I was sort of expecting the unbleached to be a lot darker. It wasn’t. The bleached stuff was stark white, and the KA cake flour was nice and creamy colored. And it made a wonderful cake! As light and fluffy as you could wish for! I am DEFINITELY making the switch to this stuff. I noticed that my grocery store is carrying it now, how convenient!

So, this is the recipe I finally decided on. For Day One anyway! When I got the box of cake flour from King Arthur I was sort of in a quandary. I had been wanting to make a spice cake, but then there was this really great looking chocolate cake recipe on the back of the box. So, I decided to just combine them, since the quantities were so similar to my spice cake recipe. Oh. My. Gosh. It made SUCH a wonderful cake!!! And my house smelled absolutely incredible while it was baking. I made a simple ganache scented with cardamom to drizzle over it, which I did while the cake was still warm, so it soaked into the cake a bit and made it absolutely scrumptious!

 

Chocolate Spice Cake

Adapted from King Arthur

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

3/4 cup cocoa powder (use the good stuff, not that Schmershey stuff)

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

4 eggs

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 round 9” pans with baking spray and set aside.

Place a strainer over you mixer’s bowl and sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, cocoa and sugar.

Add the butter and mix at low speed for a minute. While the mixer is running, add the oil and continue mixing until the mixture looks like sand.

Combine the vanilla, milk and water and add all at once. Mix for a minute at low speed, then scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well and mix another 30 seconds until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well at medium-high speed between additions. The batter will be thin.

Pour into prepared pans and bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

While the cakes are cooling make the ganache.

P.S. We had a lot of treats around when I baked these, so I only served one layer. After the second layer was COMPLETELY cooled I wrapped it well with cling wrap and stashed it in the freezer.

 

Ganache Glaze

4 ounces dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

a scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

 

Put the chips in a heat-proof bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream, sugar, water and cardamom to a full boil.

Pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then gently stir the chocolate together. It should take 3-4 minutes before you get a gorgeous, shiny glaze.

Pour the glaze over your still warm cake and spread it around to coat the sides.

Makes enough glaze for one 9'” cake. 

 

So, to enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post!

I’ll pick a winner on Friday, so get your entry in by 11:59pm Thursday!

Good luck!

Blueberry Tart

 

 

I’ve had such a wonderful summer! And part of it was definitely due to the 20 pounds of blueberries I got last month! I’ve had so much fun making yummy treats with them! I didn’t get around to posting any recipes yet because I’ve been busy with my family here, we were having too much fun! But they’ve gone home now and I can get back to business.

This tart is such a nice summery treat! The chocolatey crust is baked, but only for 15 minutes, nothing outrageous when it’s hot outside. The creamy filling is made with white chocolate and marscarpone cheese. I added a smidge of sugar and it’s just dreamy. This would be a great dessert to make when having guests over because you could easily do everything up in advance and just put it together before serving. The tarts are made in individual tart pans which my kids just loved! They love getting their own little dessert all to themselves. Sometimes sharing is overrated!

Chocolate Blueberry Tarts

Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon ice water

2 ounces white chocolate

1 cup +2 tablespoons mascarpone

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 pints blueberries

6 tartlet pans with removable bottoms

 

For the tarts: In the bowl of your food processor combine the flour, cocoa, sugar and salt and pulse to blend.

Cut the butter into small pieces and pulse with the flour mixture until it looks crumbly.

Beat the yolk and ice water together and add to the mixture.

When it comes together, turn it out of the processor and work it together with your hands. Form into two discs and wrap in plastic. Let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 6 equal portions. I cheated and used my kitchen scale.

Roll each portion into a circle a bit larger than your tartlet pan. Form the dough to the pan with your fingers. Don’t stress if it tears, it patches like a dream!

Freeze the tartlet pans for 30 minutes. While the pastry is freezing, preheat the oven to 350 and slip in a baking sheet.

Pop the tartlets into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove and cool.

While they are cooking, melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Try 30 second bursts, stirring in between.

Beat the marscarpone, sugar and cream together and fold in the melted, cooled chocolate. If the filling still feels thick add a bit more cream.

When the shells are cool, remove them from their pans and fill with the cream.

Top with the blueberries and enjoy!

Reese’s Birthday

We had a pirate party for Reese today. He’s five years old, I cannot believe it!

I had so much fun putting together his pirate party! I just don’t have it in me to go totally all out for a kids party, but we had some cool things! When the kids arrived we marched them upstairs and had them ‘fish’ through this vent we have (essentially a hole in the floor) for a bandana, eye patch, tattoo and mustache. (The birthday boy got a Captain’s hat too.) Then we came down and tried to get their pictures in front of the flag. Being as we had 7 kids between ages 8-2, well, that didn’t go over real well.

I just have to show you this again. I’m just so please with how it turned out :) P.S. It really is centered in the middle of the fabric, it’s just scrunched over to the left in this picture.

I made the flag from a 2 yard long piece of black twill. I went online and found a picture of a skull and crossbones and just blew it up on my printer. Then I traced it onto freezer paper, cut out the stencil and ironed it onto the fabric. Then I used regular acrylic craft paint and filled in the stencil. (I did two coats because I wanted it really bright.) The freezer paper just pulled right off afterward and left me with a perfect skull and crossbones! I’ve seen people all over Blogland do cool projects with freezer paper and was a little skittish about trying it, but MAN! It was a piece of cake! It probably took me about 2 hours start to finish, including the time it took to hem it and make it into a curtain. (It’s destined for the window in Reese’s room.)

After the kids were all pirated up, we played a really clever version of ‘Pin the Tail on the Donkey’. I found the directions online somewhere, I’ve already forgotten where, sorry! Anyhow, you draw a treasure map. . .

Disclaimer: I did not draw this. I can draw stick figures. . . poorly. It’s awesome having an artist in residence!! Thank you, Jay!

On the back of the picture you affix a large X. Then you make little Xs for the kids with their names on them.

You can blindfold them or not, doesn’t matter. They put their Xs on the map and then you take it off the wall and hold it up to a window or a light. The X on the back shows through and the kid with the closest X wins! Isn’t that super clever? I wish I HAD thought of that on my own :) This game was a HUGE hit with the kiddos!

 

Then we played a version of Musical Chairs. We just slapped some construction paper squares on a board as a plank and put down a blue towel as the ocean. Then when the music started they had to Walk the Plank and run around and walk the plank again until the music stopped. The kid in the ‘water’ was out and we went again and again. Once they got the hang of it they had a great time!

 

This is the kids hunting in Tick-Tock Croc. I especially liked this game. It was quiet!!! I made a little croc out of felt and left an opening in his tummy. Then we put a kitchen timer in it and hid it in the living room. (So it’s like the croc in Peter Pan, get it?) The kids had to come in and listen for the tick-tock and find the croc! They really liked this game, more than I expected. And I liked the brief hiatus from all the noise!

That blurry thing is the croc ;)

 

But I think the best game was the treasure hunt. I’d given Reese a couple of riddle clues earlier in the week and he just looked at me blankly like I was some kind of idiot. So I dropped the riddle idea (I’m not great at coming up with that kind of thing anyway) and took close ups of the places I intended to hide the loot. There were 7 kids playing and I took pictures of 10 spots, so three of the spots had little, hmmm, I don’t know, neiner neiner cards that said to keep on looking.

I printed all the pictures out onto cardstock and then burned the edges. (with my creme brulee torch, haha!) They actually ended up looking pretty cool and the clues were just the right toughness for the kids.

I went online and found a site with pirate lingo and borrowed heavily from that for these cards!

I had so much fun with their treasure boxes. I loved things like this when I was a kid, little treasure chests and jewels and things! These had pirate coins, chocolate coins, plastic jewels, a pirate pouch, a skull ring, extra moustaches and tattoos, and beads for the girls. I sprung for some really yummy chocolate coins from Honest Foods, but I probably could have gotten away with the cheaper more cost efficient ones. Most of this stuff came from Oriental Trading.

 

This is Reese’s cake. It’s chocolate on the inside and and my favorite frosting on the outside. I used some really wonderful cocoa powder from King Arthur’s Flour that my sister-in-law’s mother-in-law gave me (you follow? Good!) and it was to die for. The cake was almost black with chocolate! My kind of cake!!! I had grand plans of forming a pirate ship out of rice crispie treats and covering it in fondant for a cake topper. But when we went to my friend April’s son’s birthday (you follow? Good.) he had a cake with a real Lightning McQueen and Mater toys on it and all the kids thought it was SO COOL. “You get to keep the Lightning McQueen!!!!” So I decided to just slap on the pirate I had bought Reese as a gift so he could keep the pirate!!!!

Then I stumbled across a set of pirates at a local shop. $6 for 12. Sold. They look like cupcake toppers to me!

 

Super cool cupcake toppers!!!

 

The birthday boy was thrilled with his cake! And he got to keep the pirate!!!

 

So I’ll leave you with the cake and icing recipe. This icing is really wonderful. It’s got cream cheese in it and it really cuts the sweetness and gives it a nice tang. The cake is my go-to chocolate cake recipe. I’ve used it for years. I think it’s originally from Martha.

Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pans

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 cups hot water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8” round cake pans (or two 6” round pans and 24 cupcakes) with Baker’s Joy and parchment paper.

Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into mixer bowl.

On low, stir in eggs, buttermilk, hot water, oil, and vanilla; beat until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary.

Pour into prepared pans and bake, rotating the pans once, 35-45 minutes. (Less for the cupcakes)

Remove cakes to a cooling rack and let cool in the pans for 15 minutes before unmolding.

When the cakes (and cupcakes) are completely cool, frost with icing.

 

Best Frosting Ever

1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 bricks (16 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 pounds confectioner’s sugar

1 TABLEspoon vanilla

food coloring of your choice

 

In your mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

With a mesh sieve, sift the powdered sugar into butter mixture and mix on low to incorporate.

Add vanilla and food coloring.

Enjoy!

(This makes plenty of frosting. Enough for my 6 inch cakes and cupcakes with a little leftover. Leftovers are yummy smeared on graham crackers. Just sayin’.)

I’ve Been Makin’ Whoopie

with this guy. . . . . . 



I saw Gesine’s recipe for Whoopie Pies the other day and immediately stood up and removed butter from my fridge. I’m suggestible like that. The only changes I made were to use dark chocolate (because I didn’t have a good bittersweet one around!) and then when I tasted the cookie they were so rich (and delicious!) I decided to go with a less sweet cream cheese frosting instead of the 7 minute one she suggests. They were terrific! 

Whoopie Pies

 

Adapted from Gesine at Confections of a Closet Master Baker

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cups non-fat buttermilk

¾ cup hot water

2 ounces bittersweet premium baking bar, cut into small pieces and melted in the water. (I used dark chocolate)

2 cups Ghirardelli's semi-sweet MINI chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Add chocolate to the hot water and set aside for it to melt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  

Scrape down bowl and add eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated.

Combine buttermilk and chocolate mixture and alternate this mixture with the flour mixture until all elements are incorporated.  

Whisk quickly on high to insure perfect distribution.

Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet and using a large ice cream or cookie scoop, place cookies onto parchment lined baking pans, 12 per pan.  

Bake for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently touched.

Pipe a generous dollop of frosting onto half the Whoopies and sandwich with the remaining cookies.  These will keep up to 2 days in an airtight container.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature

4-6 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon of vanilla

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together. 

Sift in the sugar and mix on low until incorporated.

Add the vanilla and almond and mix well.

The Carrie Cupcake

I can't believe Jillian is six months old already!!! Last night I was going through all our videos since before Christmas and found all the footage from her birth. I hadn't seen it before and it feels like it all happened last week! I was a little surprised at how upsetting my c-section was to watch, because I didn't feel that way at the time! Did you know some guy poked me with a freaking needle? Just to poke? 'Cause I didn't know that! I did think it was pretty dang funny that my mom and I were discussing cupcakes while they were working on me! I loved seeing all the footage of Jilly now that I know her better. Seeing her reactions to everything was just so . . . her! She's such a calm, sweet baby!

Devil's Food Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

I made these cupcakes for my friend's birthday. Very, very belated birthday. (Sorry, Carrie!!!) They were scrumptious!!! The cupcake is from Martha Stewart (Thank you, Sarah, for the recipe!) and I filled it with a salted caramel buttercream, dipped it in dark chocolate and piped more buttercream on top. I had to give them away so I wouldn't eat them all myself!

The Carrie Cupcake
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine.
Remove from heat and pour into your mixer's bowl.
On medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined.
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through, about 20 minutes.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

3/4 cup salted caramel
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 lbs. of powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons cream

In your mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
Sift in about half the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined.
Add the caramel and mix well.
Sift in remaining powdered sugar and mix.
Add in cream and mix well.
Sift in more powdered sugar as necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Bad Mood Brownies, now with Recipes!

First of all, since it's Friday, run over here real quick. No, it's okay, I'll wait. . .

Oh good, you're back! And speaking of chocolate, I promised you the recipe for the Chocolate Covered Cherry Brownie Bites I made the other day. For the brownie I turned to my favorite fudgy brownie recipe. It's from Alton Brown and it is sooo good! Word to the wise, that center square of brownie never quite gets all the way done, so don't overbake the brownies on its account. Just cut them like usual and snag that center one for yourself. Plop some ice cream on top and enjoy the ooey gooey chocolatey goodness yourself :)

Alton Brownies
Adapted from I'm Just Here for More Food

1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
boiling water to cover the cocoa
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325.
Prep a mini muffin pan and/or an 8" square pan. (I use two strips of parchment, one going each direction.)
In a medium bowl, steep cocoa in boiling water for 5 minutes. Just keep adding a little water until you get a nice liquid chocolate going on. Maybe a cup worth.
In your mixer, whisk the eggs until light in color and texture.
Whisk melted butter into the chocolate slurry.
In a small bowl, mix the sugars together.
Slowly add the sugar to the eggs.
Add remaining ingredients, altering wet and dry.
Spoon batter into muffin cups and pour the rest into square pan.
Bake the muffin pan for 12-18 minutes. The square pan will take about 45-55 minutes.

The cherry component was this wonderful frozen yogurt that I found on Mike's Table. (I'm totally claiming the cool points too, Mike :)

Mike's Cherry Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate Stracciatella

3 cups cherries
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup greek yogurt (I used my mom's yogurt, which I left sitting in a mesh strainer overnight.)
1 Tbsp cognac (I left this out)
few drops of almond extract
Optional: 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (I used a whole bar of Lindt Extra Dark.)

Pit the cherries.
In a pan over medium high heat, stir together the cherries and sugar.
After the cherries release most of their juices, about 10 minutes, remove from heat.
Pour cherry syrup into blender and puree until smooth.
Pour into a bowl set over an ice bath and let cool, about 20 minutes.
Mix in the yogurt, cognac and almond extract and park it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Churn in your ice cream machine.
When you're a few minutes out chop the chocolate and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts.
Let it cool a bit, and then slowly pour it into the churning ice cream, attempting to avoid the beater.
Pour into a freezerproof container and freeze overnight. (Or at least restrain yourself for 4 hours. It's better to wait, but sometimes crises arise. I get it.)

To serve, place a scoop of ice cream on top of each mini-brownie. (My mini scooper is one of my favorite kitchen tools!) I topped it with a little melted chocolate thinned with some cream.

Now I need to take a minute to rave about the stracciatella. I am SO happy to have learned this method of getting chocolate into ice cream! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, but I rarely bring it home anymore. I went on a taste testing rampage and tried every brand our grocery carries. I cannot remember which it was that didn't have the big, nasty, waxy chunks of chocolate in it!

Anywho, I can't wait to make my own mint chocolate chip and introduce the chocolate with this method. The chocolate ends up in tiny, little, MELTable flakes of goodness instead of massive, rock hard chunks. (Well, there was one big chunk that got caught on the blade, Reese got to eat that.)

Enjoy!