Adriane's Chocolate Heathwix Cake

2	cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
1 1/2	cups sugar
1/2	cup butter, softened
3	eggs
1	teaspoon vanilla
4	oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1	cup buttermilk       (I use this dried buttermilk)
1	can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/2	cup caramel topping
1	cup Heath bits or chopped Heath candy bars
1/2	bag fun-size Twix bars, chopped

1.  Oven: 350ºF. Pan: 13x9x2 inches, greased with butter; lightly floured.

2.  Dry ingredients first: In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt (& buttermilk powder); set aside.

3.  In large bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth and blended. Add vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk (or water if using dry buttermilk), beating after each addition until smooth. Pour into pan.

4.  Bake 35-40 min or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Immediately poke top of cake all over with toothpick or fork. Mix condensed milk and caramel topping; spoon over warm cake, allowing it to soak in. Sprinkle chopped Twix & Heath bits over cake. Cool cake as long as you can possibly wait before eating it.

adapted from this recipe- thanks, Betty.

twix salad

also served at briste's shower.

it's pretty much a joke to call this a salad... although it looks LIKE potato salad if you don't know what it is.

also known as "snickers salad," but I used twix instead because twix is just so much better than snickers. here's what I did:

• apples, chopped (I used crispin)
• twix, cut into bite-sized chunks
• cool whip (I used regular)

that's it!! I think I used 4 apples, 3 packs of the 99¢ mini twix packs & 3/4ths of a regular sized-cool whip. mix all together & chill.
christy says it's even more delicious with pudding... but I didn't have any & didn't have time to run back to the store. will try that next time, though.

steph will be watching you if you try to take her twix salad.

chocolate pistacio cake

i wish i had a pic of this cake but i don't. it's so yummy. seriously, if you haven't tried it DO and you won't be sorry. i got this recipe from melanie bascom in our ward and it's a cake doctor cake. so easy and super yummy. i made if for alanna's bday yesterday and it was delish. as a testament to it's yumminess, dave doesn't eat many desserts but he LOVES this cake.

Chocolate pistachio cake

½ cup chopped pecans ( I left this out)
½ cup choco chips ( I left this out too)
1 package plain white cake mix (NOT THE KIND WITH PUDDING IN IT ALREADY)
1 package (3.4 oz) pistachio instant pudding mix
½ cup sugar
1 cup water
½ cup veg. oil
4 large eggs
½ cup choco. Syrup


1. preheat oven to 350* . lightly mist bunt pan with veg. oil spray then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Sprinkle pecans and choco chips in bottom of pan.
2. Mix cake mix, pudding, sugar, water, oil and eggs together. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Scrap sides of bowl with spatula. Mix again on medium for 2 minutes, batter should be thick and smooth. Remove one cup batter and mix it with ½ cup choco syrup, until well combined. Set aside.
3. Pour regular batter into pan. Pour choco batter over the top, trying to keep the chocolate away from the edges. Swirl the chocolate batter into the regular batter with dinner knife.
4. Bake the cake until it is golden brown. 55-60 minutes (I NEVER COOK IT THAT LONG. I DO 50 MIN AND IT'S A TEENY BIT UNDERCOOKED BUT THAT'S HOW I LIKE IT)
5. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. Run a long sharp knife around the edge of cake and invert it onto a rack to cool completely. To serve, place the cake onto serving platter and glaze with Shiny chocolate glaze.

Shiny chocolate glaze:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/ 4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. melt butter in small heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add cocoa powder and cream and stir until mixture thickens, 2 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until mixture is smooth.
2. Spoon glaze over the cooled cake.

Making whoopie pies

Here is a little history of the whoopie pie: It has sometimes been called a "gob" or "black-and-white." It is a traditional cookie of the Pennsylvania Dutch. My Aunt Vicky is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and is a huge fan of whoopie pies. They bring back many childhood memories for her. For Christmas I have made a slightly different version of this cookie with peanut butter filling. Around Halloween time I also make pumpkin pie whoopies. These cookies would put a smile on anyone's face during these dark days of winter! my whoopie pies don't look as perfect as they do on epicurious, but they have character
For cakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar1 large egg


For filling

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

11/4 cups confectioners sugar

1 cup marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla


The step by step


Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilkand vanilla in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.
Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.


Make filling: Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Assemble pies: Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cooks' notes: • Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature. • Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

I found this recipe on epicurious.com

Enter to Win a Cookbook

I am entering a contest that I found out about at http://www.foodblogga.blogspot.com/. The rules of the contest are to post your favorite Christmas cookie recipe. To enter the contest click here. I encourage you all to enter this fun contest....and plus it is always intriguing to know what cookies people love to bake for the holidays!
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Chocolate Grasshopper Squares

I am entering a recipe that I have made for the past three years from Gourmet Magazine. It is for Chocolate Grasshopper Squares! These are decadent chocolate mint bars that has a taste that explodes in your mouth!

Here is the recipe (it looks involved, but don't be deterred):

Ingredients

For brownie layer

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter

10 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not extra-bitter or unsweetened and no more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

For mint ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream

10 oz fine-quality white chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons green crème de menthe

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

For chocolate ganache

1 cup heavy cream

10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

Make brownie layer:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan and line with 2 crisscrossed sheets of foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang on all sides. Butter foil. Melt butter and chocolate with brown sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until combined. Whisk in flour, cocoa, and salt until just combined. Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until set and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs adhering, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make mint ganache:

Bring cream to a simmer in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over white chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Stir in crème de menthe and extract and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 1 hour.

Make chocolate ganache:

Bring cream to a simmer in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over bittersweet chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 30 minutes.

Assemble layers:

Spread mint ganache over top of cooled brownie in a thin even layer using offset spatula, then chill until firm but still slightly sticky, about 30 minutes. Spread chocolate ganache over mint and chill until firm, about 2 hours.Lift dessert out of pan using foil overhang. Run a heavy knife under hot water and wipe dry, then trim edges of dessert (1/4 inch off each side). Cut dessert into squares and peel from foil.

Cooks' notes:• Squares keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, chilled in an airtight container 3 weeks.• We recommend Droste unsweetened cocoa and Lindt bittersweet chocolate for this particular recipe.

P.S. the other cookies that I have made thus far include honey lemon cookies, double chocolate biscotti, pumpkin whoopies pies, black and white cookies, lemon bars, Mexican wedding cookies and Chocolate Mexican cookies. Next year we'll have to have a cookie exchange!

Nutella Kisses

1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup nutella
sugar in the raw

preheat oven to 350. mix dry ingredients and set aside. cream butter and sugars. add egg and vanilla until smooth and then add in nutella. add dry ingredients slowly.

roll into balls and roll in raw sugar (any granular sugar will do). bake 8 min and remove from oven. top with chocolate kiss and back 3 more min.

Black Bean & Chocolate Chili

we met last night for our october book club meeting. we read TWILIGHT & decided to go with a fallish-halloweenish-vampireish food theme... I got this out of sarah a's moosewood restaurant celebrates cookbook & served it with fritos scoops.

2 TB vegetable oil (I used olive)
1.5 C chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small fresh chile, minced (I just used 1tsp cholula sauce)
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 C chopped bell pepper (I used one large green pepper)
3 C cooked black beans (2 - 15.5oz cans, rinsed/drained)
2 C undrained crushed canned tomatoes (14.5 oz can)
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB soy sauce
1.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (I used about 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips that I ground up in my food processor so it would melt faster)

in a saucepan, warm oil on med heat. add onion & garlic; sauté until onions become translucent, about 10min. add celery & chile (or cholula); cover & cook about 5 min.

reduce heat & stir in spices (cumin-salt) & bell peppers. cover & cook 5 min, until bell pepper begins to soften. stir occasionally to keep the spices from burning. if needed, add a little juice from the canned tomatoes.

add beans, tomatoes, lemon juice & soy sauce. bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 5-10min. stir in the chocolate. when it has melted, adjust salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste.

garnish with chopped scallions (green onions).

afghan cookies

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200	g butter (14 Tb if I did my math right?)
1/2	cup sugar
1 1/2	cups plain flour
2	tablespoons cocoa powder
1	cup corn flakes, slightly crushed
1/2	cup flaked coconut

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, sift together flour and cocoa and mix into butter mix, then fold in cornflakes and coconut.
2. Put teaspoonful balls onto lightly greased or baking paper covered trays.
3. Bakes at 325 F for 15-20 minutes.
4. Makes about 40 little cookies
   

Yummy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Dessert

I made and brought this to John's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. It tasted like a giant peanut butter cup, so yummy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert(sorry, no picture)
20 cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies, divided (oreos)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup powder sugar, divided
1 carton(16oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
25 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.9oz)instant chocolate pudding mix
Crush 16 cookies, toss with butter. Press onto bottom of ungreased pie dish(I used springform pan). In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and 1 cup powder sugar until smooth. Fold in half of the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with peanut butter cups. (save a few for the top)
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix, and remaining powder sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over peanut butter cups. Crush remaining cookies, sprinkle over the top and sprinkle with last few PB cups. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours prior to serving.