Rich Chocolate Cake Bars

 (Picture and recipe taken from allrecipes)

 
This week I've had the wonderful problem of needing to use up all the chocolate in the house before we move in a few days. I found a recipe that uses up 16oz of chocolate syrup and FOUR eggs. Considering we still have almost 2 dozen eggs this recipe made a good dent in my stash. I also doubled the butter called for, quite by accident. But since the idea here is to use EVERYTHING up, it was probably a good idea in retrospect. The recipe posted is for the original amount of butter. These came out great and were extremely fast and easy to make. I wasn't sure we could eat this much chocolate cake... but with the stress of moving we seem to be making good headway :D

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 ounce) chocolate syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• GLAZE:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large mixing, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in syrup. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture an mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. For glaze, combine the sugar, milk and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 1 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Add chips and vanilla; beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spread over warm bars. Cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Pooh Cookies

I have lots of fond memories of cut out cookies! Sitting at the kitchen table "painting" cookies at Christmas, Easter, and sometimes Halloween. Luke isn't quite ready to help decorate but he definitely liked eating the Pooh Bear cookies I made him for his birthday.

This is a great recipe. I always have trouble rolling out dough and especially getting it up with a spatula. I always work with cold dough, but still end up wrecking a lot of cookies. I started putting the cold dough between two sheets of aluminum or wax paper to roll them out. Much easier!!

I made these at Easter with a lemon glaze. For Winnie the Pooh though I used a little almond and vanilla extracts in the glaze. I think I am partial to the lemon though!


Sugar Cut out Cookies (yield 60)
(Allrecipes)

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 minutes for a soft cookies, 8 minutes for a crispy cookie in preheated oven. Remove from tray right away.  Cool completely before frosting.  

Glaze:

 2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp of any extract (I like lemon, or 1/2 tsp almond plus 1/2 tsp vanilla)

A few tablespoons of milk

Food coloring

 Mix together using enough milk to get a consistency somewhere between a glaze and a frosting. You don't want it too thin. Divide the icing into bowls depending on how many colors you are making. Add food coloring as needed.  Frost your cookies! Give them a good 24 hours to dry before stacking them in a container. 

Sandy's Chocolate Cake

Sandy was the winner of the Hershey's Chocolate Cake challenge a few years ago at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. I think she should just re-submit this cake every year as I can't imagine any could top this recipe! If you don't want a giant seven pound three layer cake you could cut back the recipe 1/3 for a 2 layer cake or in half for a 13x9. It's best with ice cream of course. Oh, and if you don't use all the frosting called for you really ought to add more ;) A certain lucky little boy had this cake for his second birthday.

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water
• FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake. 

EDIT: I've made this cake three times now. Most recently it baked in only 25 minutes. I'm not sure if the oven was just running hot that day or if I made a mistake setting the timer, but you might want to check the cake 10 minutes early just in case.

 This is also good with a vanilla whoopie filling in between the layers, like the filling found here...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whoopie-pies-vii/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=whoopie%20filling&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

A typical Friday night for us usually entails a large group of buddies crowding into our little living room, enjoying some party tunes and rowdy board games. Snacks are always well-received, but this special recipe was a true hit. They were DEVOURED. And the best part is--this recipe is super quick to put together!

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies (all due credit here)
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooling Time: 30 minutes

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This is a very dense, almost like a pound cake, and absolutely delicious recipe! I use frozen blueberries which means you should bake it longer at a lower temperature. That way the inside has plenty of time to bake without the outside getting too dark. If you are baking it in a bundt pan you should get some of that amazing cooking spray with the flour in it so your cake falls out of the pan without breaking. You can also make this recipe in loaf pans.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (175 degrees C). spray bundt or loaf pan with cooking spray plus flour.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Bake for about 70-80 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. 
4. It will be done faster if you are using fresh blueberries, so adjust time accordingly!