Christmas Goodies

Hello all! Merry soon-to-be Christmas! I know that my posting is quite sporadic now, but I must say that I have been really busy lately. Thankfully school is now out for a little while and I can work without having to study during my lunch break, which is hard to do when there are loud baristas lurking around the corner trying to scare you or saying something funny (I do love you Starbucks though). :)

I have some wonderful and exciting news to report to any of you faithful followers who still happen to stumble across my blog every now and then. I AM ENGAGED!!! Oh my...I don't think I even knew it was possible ever to be this happy. I am marrying a man who is the perfect fit for me and is way too good to me.

There will be much more on that later though. :) On to the food...because I make minimum wage and I must pay rent and utilities, and then Christmas presents this month, I didn't have much money to spend on nice ingredients. I turned to my Cake Mix Bible and knew that I could find some cute little Christmasy goodies to make for the holiday. I found these cupcakes and cookies and look pretty good if I don't say so myself :). The cookies are meant to be smaller and rounder, but I was lazy and didn't want to wait a long time for all of them to bake so I just made them bigger.

The pictures aren't pretty this time b/c my roommate is gone for the holidays. :( I'm sorry you have to bear with my awful pictures. BUT, she gave me an Anthropologie cooking apron for my Christmas present! This is my second favorite gift this year (my engagement ring is my favorite). :) :)

Monkey Bread

For some reason or another, I only think to make Monkey bread during the holiday season--especially Thanksgiving. In my mind it is the sacred and essential Thanksgiving breakfast...a cinnamony beginning to the start of a day of feasting. This recipe can't be any more simple. You buy the cheap canned biscuits (Kroger has them for 48 cents a can), cut them into quarters, roll them in cinnamon and sugar, pour some margarine and honey on top, and you're done! Nothing is more fulfilling and strangely fun than picking off pieces of this dessert/bread masterpiece. (You can also easily add toasted walnuts or pecans to this and it would taste really great too).

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

4 cans of biscuits

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. honey

1 stick margarine

Directions:

Cut biscuits into quarters. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Drop biscuits into sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place biscuits in a Bundt pan. Melt margarine. Pour margarine and honey into sugar-cinnamon mixture. Pour over biscuits. Bake 20 min. at 350 degrees. Turn out of pan immediately.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Thanks to my inability to read, I picked up a recent cookbook thinking that it was the "Cake Bible," and instead I got the "Cake Mix Bible." Instead of returning it (it was only $7), I decided to keep it and see what recipes I could use. Although there aren't many recipes that look impressive, this cheesecake looked beautiful in the picture. It is a standard cheesecake recipe, but I do think that a chocolate crust using a cake mix is a pretty good invention.

Ingredients:

1 package DUNCAN HINES Moist Deluxe Devil's Food Cake Mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1 tsp. all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 10-inch springform pan.

2. Combine cake mix and oil in large bowl. Mix well. Press onto bottom of prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 min. or until set. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

3. Place cream cheese in large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed w/ electric mixer, adding sugar gradually. Add sour cream and vanilla extract, mixing until blended. Add eggs, mixing only until incorporated. Toss 1/2 cup chocolate chips with flour. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour filling onto crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 5-7 min. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Bake at 250 degrees for 60-70 min. or until set. Loosen cake from side of pan with knife. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pan Dulce

As I was flipping through the pages of one of my new cookbooks, the name of this bread caught my eye. It is a sweet bread made throughout Mexico. It has a dense bread-like texture with a sweet, crumbly topping. I would recommend everyone to try these simply because they are different. They are best served warm and in Mexico they are served with jam or marmalade for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

2 tsp. active dried yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tbsp. caster (superfine) sugar

2 tbsp. butter, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

For the topping:

6 tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup all-purpose flour

Recipe:

1. Pour the milk into a small bowl, stir in the dried yeast and leave in a warm place until frothy.

2. Put the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl, add the butter and eggs and mix to a soft, sticky dough.

3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and dredge it with a little more flour. Using floured hands, turn the dough over and over until it is completely covered in a light coating of flour. Cover it with lightly oiled plastic wrap and leave to rest for 20 min.

4. Meanwhile, make the topping. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then gently mix in the egg yolk, ground cinnamon and flour. The mixture should have a slightly crumbly texture.

5. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape each of them into a ball. Space well apart on greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with the topping over the breads and press it lightly into the surface.

6. Leave the rolls in a warm place to stand for about 30 min. until they are about one and a half times their previous size (mine weren't that large). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and bake for 15 min.

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

With fall approaching I felt the impending desire to bake something involving the seasonal flavors: cinnamon, pumpkin, apple, etc. Thanks to the recent purchase of a few new cookbooks, I found a recipe that fit the majority of my "fallish" food cravings. These cinnamon and apple muffins are in fact supposed to be larger than pictured here, but I decided to make a few more smaller ones as opposed to six big ones...plus I didn't have any paper muffin liners and I thought that they would bake and come out of the tin more easily if they were smaller. Perhaps that logic is twisted because now that I think about it, it really makes no sense at all. :) Oh well, regardless the picture in my recipe book is of course much prettier and the muffins look much healthier and meatier, but I like my emaciated muffins just the way they are thank you. :) Feel free to use any kind of apple in this recipe as well. I chose the Gala apple because it is in season (and on sale [yes I am a cheap college student I admit]). Although Granny Smith apples are my favorite to eat by themselves, I wouldn't recommend them for this muffin because I think they would be a little too tart and clash with the flavor of the cinnamon. That of course is my own opinion...feel free to choose whichever apple you like. Ok enough of my ramblings and on to the recipe. Happy September all!

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp. caster (superfine) sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I added a lot more)

2 small eating apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

For the topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. (or more) ground cinnamon

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large muffin tin with six paper cases (or in my case, not...)

2. Mix the egg, sugar, milk, and melted butter in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the chopped apple and mix.

3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases. To make toping, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the uncooked muffins.

4. Bake for 30-35 min.

Frozen Honey Cheesecake with Praline Crust

Hello to everyone who has been faithful enough to keep up with my blog! I know it's been awhile since I've posted a recipe on here and I am simply hoping that someone is still possibly visiting my website occasionally. I could go into the details as to why it's been so long since I've posted anything, but I highly doubt that anyone out there cares about the happenings of my personal life.

Needless to say, there will be a slight change in the recipes posted on here. As of recently, I have been tampering and falling in love with new and more evolved flavors other than my typical favorite--chocolate. Because of this, many of my upcoming recipes are going to be a little more advanced in their taste as opposed to more mundane brownie recipes. I hope this is ok with everyone--I hope that these new flavors will excite you as they did me as I was working away in the kitchen with my Itunes on shuffle. :) I also have the wonderful and new addition of my roommate and her awesome camera and photography skills, so the pictures posted on here should be elevating from what they used to be.

Crust:

3 1/2 oz. flaked almonds

6 oz. (3/4 cup) sugar

7 oz. plain sweet biscuits (I bought regular biscuit dough and added some white and brown sugar on top when I baked them).

3 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 13-oz. can condensed milk

2 oz. (1/4 cup) honey

10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) cream

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. To make the praline, spread the almonds on a foil-lined, greased baking tray. Put the sugar in a pan with 1/2 cup water and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then simmer without stirring until the toffee is golden brown. Pour over the almonds (don't touch it!), then set aside to cool and harden before breaking into pieces.

2. Lightly grease a 23 cm. (9 inch) diameter springform tin and line the base with baking paper. Reserve about half the praline and finely chop the rest with the biscuits in a food processor. Stir in the butter, spoon int the base and press firmly on the side of the tin (I "skipped"/didn't see this step, so I just put all the mixture on the bottom for a thicker crust). Bake for 15 min. and then leave to cool.

3. To make the filling, process the mascarpone and cream cheese together until soft and creamy. Add the condensed milk and honey. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and then fold in slowly. Pour into the tin, sprinkle with cinnamon and swirl gently with a skewer or knife. Do not overmix. Freeze for several hours, or until firm, and decorate with the remaining praline.

Crust:

3 1/2 oz. flaked almonds

6 oz. (3/4 cup) sugar

7 oz. plain sweet biscuits (I bought regular biscuit dough and added some white and brown sugar on top when I baked them).

3 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 13-oz. can condensed milk

2 oz. (1/4 cup) honey

10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) cream

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. To make the praline, spread the almonds on a foil-lined, greased baking tray. Put the sugar in a pan with 1/2 cup water and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then simmer without stirring until the toffee is golden brown. Pour over the almonds (don't touch it!), then set aside to cool and harden before breaking into pieces.

2. Lightly grease a 23 cm. (9 inch) diameter springform tin and line the base with baking paper. Reserve about half the praline and finely chop the rest with the biscuits in a food processor. Stir in the butter, spoon int the base and press firmly on the side of the tin (I "skipped"/didn't see this step, so I just put all the mixture on the bottom for a thicker crust). Bake for 15 min. and then leave to cool.

3. To make the filling, process the mascarpone and cream cheese together until soft and creamy. Add the condensed milk and honey. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and then fold in slowly. Pour into the tin, sprinkle with cinnamon and swirl gently with a skewer or knife. Do not overmix. Freeze for several hours, or until firm, and decorate with the remaining praline.

Hersheys Quick'N'Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

I have not made cupcakes in SO long and oh my goodness it was a blast. Since the last time I made them, my decorating skills have slightly evolved, hence the more elaborate icing design than just slapping it on with a knife (which is just as good too!). I added some chocolate chips to the batter because I need multi-textured food; it really is bad I know. I also doubled the icing recipe, but shh...don't tell anyone. :)

Seriously, these were probably the best cupcakes I've ever made, thanks to Hersheys of course.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup shortening, softened (usually I HATE using shortening, but don't substitute here. This really did make a lot of difference in the texture).

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup hot water

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or milk)

Creamy Fudge Frosting-recipe below

Directions.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper baking cups.

2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening, eggs, milk, water, and vanilla; beat on low speed of mixture for 1 min. (try doing this without a mixer...your arm will get a good workout I promise). Beat on medium speed for an additional 3 min or until mixture is smooth. Fill cups 1/2 full with bater.

3. Bake 15-20 min. or until the center of each cupcake springs back when touched lightly in the center. Remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. 

4. Prepare frosting and frost the cupcakes however you desire. 

CREAMY FUDGE FROSTING:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1/2 cup cocoa

3 2/3 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

1/3 cup of water (you may not use all of this. If you add too much, just add more sugar).

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa; stir until smooth and well blended. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt alternately with water; beat with a spoon or whisk until smooth and creamy.

Hersheys Mixed Nut Crunch

So yes, there are going to be 3 new posts today...and no I did not make them all today. I made the pie this weekend and this recipe and the next ones were made today. This recipe is from my Hershey Best-loved Recipes cookbook. I've been using various recipes from online so much recently that I've really missed using an actual cookbook. Originally the recipe is called "Cashew Macadamia Crunch" because it uses only cashews and macadamias, but I had a big tub of mixed nuts and I thought it was discriminatory only to use those 2 nuts. :) 

This is a salty and sweet pleasure for anyone! Unless you hate nuts, I can't imagine anybody not liking this candy. The nuts are held together by a gooey, sugary, and buttery mixture. The recipe also originally called for only milk chocolate chips, but after years of experience, I found that using half milk and half semisweet chocolate usually yields the best results. Hope you guys enjoy and tell me if you try it! :)

INGREDIENTS:

 2 cups (11.5 ounce package) Hershey's Milk Chocolate chips (or 1 cup Milk chocolate, 1 cup semisweet)

   *of course they tell you to use EVERYTHING Hershey, but I won't tell anyone if you don't. :)

2 cups mixed nuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Grease foil. Cover bottom of prepared pan with chocolate chips.

2. Combine nuts, butter, sugar, and corn syrup in large saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins to cling together and turns a light golden brown.

3. Pour mixture over chocolate chips in pan, spreading evenly; cool. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Remove from pan and peel off foil. Break into pieces (you might need to use a knife). Store tightly covered in a cool, dry place (I kept mine in the refrigerator b/c to me it tastes better cold). 

Ingredients

Strawberry Margarita Pie

I was in the mood to make a pie, and I definitely don't have a lot of money to spend on ingredients so I went for this yummy sounding pie recipe I found off the pillsbury website. The picture they have makes the pie look a whole lot bigger, but in reality it's slightly smaller. I also added about 1 cup of crushed graham crackers to my crust to make it a little thicker. Pay attention to the fact that the whipping cream, whipped, is used IN the pie. I, having a dumb moment, thought it was just for a whipped topping and I skipped on buying it at the store. Then I realized, one: there is no whipped cream on the top of the pie in the picture, and two: that it actually goes IN the pie. Oh well, I used the small amount of Cool Whip I had in addition to a touch of milk. There were, consequently, a few little white dots from the Cool Whip, but it still tasted really refreshing and light! This is a perfect summer dessert. 

INGREDIENTS

Crust
1 1/4	cups crushed pretzels
1/4	cup sugar
1/2	cup margarine or butter, melted
Filling
1	(14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/2	cup frozen concentrated margarita mix, thawed
1	(10-oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed
1	cup whipping cream, whipped Directions: In small bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press firmly in bottom of ungreased 8 or 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling. n large bowl, combine condensed milk and margarita mix; beat until smooth. Add strawberries; beat at low speed until well blended. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust-lined pan. Freeze at least 3 hours or until firm. To serve, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Garnish as desired. Store in freezer.

Butterfinger Mounds and Chocolate Clodhoppers

Two candies in one post today! The Butterfinger mounds are from cookiemadness.com and the clodhoppers are from bakingchambers.com The butterfingers really do taste a lot like the actual candy. You could dip them in chocolate or just drizzle it on top if you want, but I was lazy and didn't feel like it today. The clodhoppers, also called chocolate brittle...AWESOME. Definitely use Hershey milk chocolate bars with this one.

Butterfinger Mounds

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups corn flakes

Place butter, sugar and corn syrup in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir to dissolve sugar. Quickly stir in butterscotch chips and stir until chips are melted. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla and stir until smooth. Stir in corn flakes.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Let sit until firm or chill until firm.

Makes around 12

 Chocolate Brittle (Homeade Clodhoppers)

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup sugar (either white granulated sugar or light brown sugar both work, but I prefer to use the white sugar for taste preference)
20-30 Graham crackers (amount depends on size of cookie sheet)
Approx. 400g of your favorite chocolate bar (I like to use either Cadbury's milk chocolate bar, Hershey's cookies and cream bar, or Lindt's dark chocolate bar)

1) Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2) Melt butter and sugar over medium heat stirring occasionally and bring to a boil
3) Arrange graham crackers to fit evenly on cookie sheet
4) Pour butter mixture over graham crackers and spread to cover all graham crackers evenly
5) Place in oven for 8min then cool completely on a wire rack
6) Once cooled, break sugar coated graham crackers into bite size pieces
7) Melt chocolate in large pot over low heat stirring frequently
8) Once melted, add graham bits to melted chocolate and stir to cover each piece equally
9) Pour chocolate covered grahams back onto lined cookie sheet and spread evenly
10) Place in fridge to cool, once cooled break into pieces again and enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Yet another cookie recipe from Anna's website cookiemadness.com 

Oh my goodness...these are AMAZING. I don't like cherries at all, but these cookies I can handle. It's like a warm chocolate/gooey chocolatey cookie with a cherry in the middle. The very best part of the cookie is the homeade chocolate frosting on top. Sweetened condensed milk + chocolate + cherry juice=the best frosting ever.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1  cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 jar maraschino cherries (10 ounce)

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and cocoa. Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl, beat margarine with an electric mixer at a medium-high speed, about 30 seconds until softened. Add sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, beating well until combine. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheet. Press down center of each ball with thumb. Drain maraschino cherries, reserving juice. Place a cherry in the center of each cookie.

In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. Heat until chocolate is melted. Stir in 5 tsp. of reserved cherry juice. Spoon about 1 tsp. of the frosting over each cherry on unbaked cookie; spreading over to cover cherry. (Frosting may be thinned w/ additional cherry juice if necessary).

Bake in preheated oven set on 350 degrees for about 10 min. or until done. Remove to wire rack and cool. Cover and store at room temperature up to two days.

White Russian Tiramisu

This came from the website www.myrecipes.com I had bought some ladyfingers at an Italian shop awhile ago and wanted to use them, hence the tiramisu recipe! I actually it a light recipe. Each serving is 134 calories and 4.5 fat grams. It calls for Kahlua, a coffee liquor, but I wasn't able to find it unfortunately. I think it would've added even more flavor to it, but w/o it it's still really amazing! Personally it tastes exactly like the kind you buy at the Italian restaurants. 

Ingredients:

1 cup ground coffee beans

2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup Kahlua (coffee-flavored liquer), divided (I used a sugarfree vanilla syrup instead)

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) mascarpone cheese

1 (8 ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

24 ladyfingers (2 3-ounce packages)

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa, divided

Directions:

Assemble drip coffee maker according to manufacturer's directions. Place the ground coffee in the coffee filter or filter basket. Add cold water to coffee maker and brew. Combine the brewed coffee and 2 tbsp. Kahlua in a shallow dish, and cool.

Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Beat at a high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and 2 tbsp. Kahlua, and beat until well blended.

Split ladyfingers in half lengthwise.

Quickly dip 24 ladyfinger halves, flat sides down, into coffee mixture; place, dipped sides down, in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish, slightly overlapping landyfinger halves. Spread half of cheese mixture over ladyfingers; sprinkle with 1 tsp. cocoa. Repeat procedure with remaining ladyfinger halves, coffee mixture, cheese mixture, and 1 tsp. cocoa.

Place 1 toothpick in each corner and 1 in the center of tiramisu (to prevent plastic wrap from sticking to cheese mixture); cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 2 hours.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Does it come to anyone's surprise that a recipe from Paula Deen is great? I mean really, if I could have any mother-in-law in the world, it would be her. I think one of her sons is still single--maybe I should get to work on that.  

In the meantime, here is a Paula recipe from http://www.foodnetwork.com It's essentially chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the raw egg) dipped in chocolate to make a truffle.  What drew me to this recipe was the use of sweetened condensed milk, which makes it sticky and wonderful. This recipe is for all your cookie dough lovers out there who make cookies just to scrape the bowl...I know you guys are out there--don't hide it, be proud! :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
• 1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

Directions

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours.

*Cook's Note: Since the dough is sticky, roll your fingers into flour. This will make it easier to roll.

Melt chocolate bark candy coating in a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies (Small Batch)

I found this recipe for a chocolate chip cooking using a hard boiled egg (it sounds gross doesn't it?) on a blog called http://kevnkoi.blogspot.com I heard a lot of great feedback and comments regarding this cookie recipe, so skeptically I decided to give it a shot. Oh...my...goodness...it literally puts any other normal Nestle Toll House cookie to shame. It's absolutely enormous, and it has a bit of saltier flavor to it. It is THE  best chocolate chip cookie I've ever eaten.

Also, here's my thing with cookies (also with pizza too). I like them, but one doesn't satisfy me whatsoever, so knowing that I'll need a large quantity to be happy, I usually stay clear from them. So it comes to no surprise that I'm giving you guys a recipe for a HUGE cookie. The bigger the better right? :) Go get to boiling those eggs!

Amazing Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies! (Small Batch)

3.1 oz all purpose bleached flour (2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour)

2 ounces cold unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 of a hard boiled egg  (Update:  it's now been tested using only hard boiled egg (1/2 egg and no raw egg) and it's even better!) 

1 tablespoon lightly beaten egg

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract  
1/4 cup or how ever many your want of semi sweet or milk (or both!) chocolate chips (I added more of course)

Combine flour and butter in food processor. Pulse until mixture is mealy and coarse. Add the salt and baking soda and pulse to mix. Add both sugars and hard boiled egg. Pulse again until mixture is mealy looking. Add in the raw egg and vanilla and pulse until mixture just begins to come together.

Dump mixture into a bowl, add chocolate chips and shape into two balls. You will see egg whites in dough – they’ll disappear as the cookies bake.

Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until cookies appear lightly browned around edges. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

Important: Let cool completely before serving. The texture gets better as the cookies cool. It’s even better if you cool the cookies, freeze them, then thaw them.

Makes 2 big cookies (about 4 oz. each)

French Silk Pie

This recipe comes from http://www.suite101.com/

I've never made a French Silk Pie before, and I must say that I'm kind of proud of my first endeavor. I did make a few minor adjustments of my own to recipe of course.

*it does contain raw eggs 

French Silk Pie Recipe

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 3 large eggs

Directions:

*You can make your own pie crust, but I just used a pre-made graham cracker crust. I melted 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips and spread over the crust. Put in the freezer for a few minutes; this creates a chocolate layer in between the pie and crust and it's really good.

Part 1:

1. Melt chocolate in a small bowl over hot water. Do not let the chocolate harden up.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter at medium to high speed about 1 minute.
3. Add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time and continue to beat until light and fluffy. This will take 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl often. It must be mixed long enough so it is no longer gritty.
4. Slowly add the melted chocolate to the butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed until the chocolate is well blended and mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape again.
5. On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating after each one before adding the next egg.Scrape bowl.
6. Add vanilla and give it one more mix.
7. Spread into a pie crust. 

Part 2:

• 1 cup Whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• Chocolate curls, optional for garnish

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, beat cream until it sets up. There is no way to explain how long this will take. Every mixer is different. It should be light and fluffy and look like soft whipped cream. Do NOT let it get to the butter stage which can happen very quickly. If in doubt, under mix. You can always whip it a little more after the sugar is added.
2. Add powdered sugar and and vanilla and beat until fluffy and stiff. Do not over beat.
3. Put whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate the pie. Or pile the cream on high with a spatula.
4. Sprinkle with chocolate curls.
5. Refrigerate pie and any leftovers.

Makes one 9 inch pie

Cheerio Cookies

YAY FOR CHEERIOS!

8 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon EACH - baking powder, baking soda and salt.
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal (not instant)
1 1/2 cups Cheerios
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (a little more if you like chocolate)

1. Cream the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer. Stir in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla. 

2. In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder, baking soda and salt, then add the flour mixture to the butter mixture; stir until incorporated. Add the oatmeal, cheerios and chocolate chips.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes.

Yields 18 big cookies, 24 normal size cookies.

Peanut Butter Filled Yellow Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting

This cake is for all of you out there who don't have much time to make something, or if you don't have many ingredients. I don't typically use canned icing, but like i said this is an easy-made cake. I had a few icing decorations from my cake decorating class so I put them on top. I made up some variations of this cake, namely the mini chocolate chips, peanut butter filling, and addition of extracts. I didn't try it, but my mom LOVED it. I must say that it does look pretty awesome. :)

Cake: 

Prepare a yellow cake mix by following the directions on the box. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tsp. butter extract. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour into two floured and greased 8-inch cake pans; cook for 40 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Filling: 

1 1/2 powdered sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 stick of butter, softened

1 tbsp. of milk

Add all ingredients in mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer.

Frosting:

Using a can of regular chocolate icing, add 1 tsp. almond extract.