I'm back! My apologies for the November hiatus. Work was busy as ever, and since that pays the bills, sometimes blogging ends up getting pushed aside.

But back to the good stuff -- and by good stuff I mean more chocolate. In particular, this amazing chocolate cake. I've been holding out on you with this one. I actually made it this summer (hence the summer platter you can see in the pictures). I don't know why I haven't posted it. I already have one cake on here that I declared the "best-ever" chocolate cake, so it seems like if I say the same about this one I'm just throwing out that award left and right. 

But really--I don't know what else to say about it. Maybe they can be tied? Given that I posted that old one almost a year ago it's hard to say which is actually better. At the time I made that one, I thought it couldn't be knocked from its top spot. Then I made this one and thought the same thing. I may have to do a bake-off and eat both of them at the same time so I can declare a winner. Such a hard task, but I'd do it.

This cake is rich, chocolaty, moist and delicious. The espresso powder adds an extra level of richness the same way that the coffee does in the other recipe. Coffee or espresso powder are always great additions to chocolate baked goods. Either one brings out the chocolate flavors and gives the recipe a depth that you wouldn't be able to achieve without it. I kept this cake in the refrigerator, and it got better every day. That said, I don't think it made it past the morning of day three, so the timeline is short. 

This is a perfect cake for making for family for the holidays. You could decorate it with red and green accents or top it with fun holiday sprinkles.

Enjoy!

The Best Chocolate Cake

Recipe from Robyn Stone,  Add a Pinch

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
4. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
6. Frost cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Chocolate  Buttercream Frosting
Recipe from Robyn Stone, Add a Pinch

Ingredients

• 1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

Instructions

1. Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
2. Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
3. Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.
4. Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
5. If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

Obviously I have no issues with excessive chocolate on this blog. Rich chocolate cake with rich, whipped chocolate icing -- bring it on. I'm one of those odd people who doesn't even need milk or ice cream to balance it out. I just go for it. And though I didn't keep this word in the title, this cake is incredibly moist, and that's one of the main reasons I decided to make it after seeing it on other blogs. Funny how everyone (myself included) hates that word, yet it's just about the top adjective I want to describe any baked good.

I first made this for round one of my family's Christmas dinner. We had this before Christmas itself this year, and all of my step-siblings and brother/sister-in-laws were there. As I've mentioned before, I have a large family (this dinner was for 16), so whatever I choose has to feed a crowd. That's where cakes are great. The only risk in trying out a new cake recipe for an occasion is that you will spend hours baking and perfectly decorating it only to discover after slicing into it that you don't like it..at all. It's happened to the best of us.

Thankfully this cake spared me that experience. Everyone loved it. In fact, everyone loved it so much that when I was debating what to make for my family's Christmas dinner on Christmas day (a different large group), I decided I'd make it again. Points detracted for lack of originality, but no one complained.

I like my cake cold, so that's how I served it. Because it's such a moist cake, the longer you allow it to set in the fridge the better your slices will look. I had it in the fridge for 4-5 hours before serving, but it was even easier to cut the next day. With all of the cakes I've made I probably start to sound like a broken record on here with things I like in a cake, but I'll say it again, every bite should be a good bite. This cake falls in that category. It's my new favorite chocolate cake, and on a blog titled Chocolate Therapy I think that's saying something!

Enjoy!

Rich Chocolate Cake

Recipe from Foodess

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans (or line with parchment paper circles) and set aside.
2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. Batter will be very runny.
3. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
4. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then run a butter knife around the edges of each cake. Place a wire cooling rack over top of each pan. Wearing oven mitts, use both hands to hold the racks in place while flipping the cakes over onto the racks. Set the racks down and gently thump on the bottom of the pans until the cakes release. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Recipe from To Food With Love

• 1½ cups butter (375g), softened
• 1 cup cocoa
• 4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup milk (approx)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
2. Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
3. Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar has been added. You may not use up all the milk if the consistency is right i.e. not too runny.
4. Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
5. If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

I'm sorry to put up two peanut butter recipes in a row, but the proportion of peanut butter recipes I make to other recipes is so high that this sort of thing is inevitable...and these cookies are amazing, so you need them in your life sooner rather than later.

Back when my metabolism was still going strong, I used to love Lofthouse cookies. I realize I haven't really cut back on my cookie consumption since then, but somehow making homemade cookies instead of store bought helps me justify eating a cookie or two a day (I wish I was lying). The amazing thing about Lofthouse cookies is the incredible, inexplicably soft cookie paired with the overly sweet and amazing frosting. If you can't think of what they look like, here's the website for reference. If you've never them, go to your grocery store immediately and buy the ingredients for this recipe as well as a box of the real deal. It's not excessive. It's just necessary.

Anywho - I've never had a bad batch. They literally melt in your mouth. I'm not sure if it's some sort of preservative that we've never heard of, or just plain magic makes the cookies so soft, but I wouldn't want the Lofthouse elves (or equivalent) to change a thing.

Averie, being the queen of all things delicious, came up with this copycat recipe to try to achieve that same combination of soft (not underdone) cookie and sweet, creamy frosting. As she acknowledges, they aren't exactly like Lofthouse cookies, but they are still incredible. I prefer everything cooked no more than the amount of time called for in the recipe, and usually a little less depending on the recipe. Cooking time is essential with this recipe. Some people like crispy cookies. I get that. This is not the recipe to tweak to make them crispy. Because of the ingredients they will not get crispy. Instead they will just be dry, and no one wants that. I cooked mine about nine minutes for a full cookie sheet. I also love the idea to freeze this cookie dough for quick baking at a later date. Enjoy!

Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from Averie Cooks 
Yield: about 13 medium cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: about 8 minutes
Total Time: 3+ hours, for dough chilling

Ingredients:

Cookies

1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour (no substitutions)
2 teaspoons cornstach
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4  teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
one 10-ounce bag Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (about 1 2/3 cups)

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (use Peter Pan, Jif, Skippy, etc. -- Not homemade or natural PB because they'll separate and so will the frosting)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (half of 1 stick), softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
pinch salt, optional and to taste
splash cream or milk, if needed to achieve proper consistency
chocolate sprinkles, optional for garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Cookies - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5 ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don't overmix.
3. Add the peanut butter chips and mix until just incorporated. Dough will be on the sticky and tacky side.
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 13). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet  for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking. Meanwhile, make the frosting.
6. For the Peanut Butter Frosting - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), combine the peanut butter and butter, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
7. Slowly add the sugar, optional salt, and mix until frosting comes together.
8. Add a splash of cream or milk as necessary to achieve desired consistency.
9. Add a generous dollop (about 2 tablespoons) to each cookie, and smooth it as desired with a knife or spatula.
10. Optionally garnish with sprinkles or chocolate chips. Serve immediately.

Note from Averie: Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I'm okay with leaving buttercream frosting at room temperature for a couple days; if you aren't, refrigerate the cookies, knowing they'll dry out more. Unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

 

Something about anything Little Debbie or Hostess always makes me slightly nostalgic. I know most people complain about terrible school lunch food, but from middle school until I could go off campus for lunch in high school, I LOVED school lunches. It could be because this was all before they started making school lunches healthy. I remember getting a box of chicken strips with honey mustard, a cup of fries, a large lemonade and a triple stack of freshly baked cookies for $5 in high school. What a deal! Ah, to have that metabolism again. In middle school I was more of a plastic-wrapped dessert, fries and lemonade type of person. I'm sure my mom is cringing at the thought that I spent my lunch money on that for so many years.

I feel like everyone I know had a very specific style to eating Ho Hos. I personally was a Swiss Cake Roll kinda person, but I'm pretty sure Hostess' Ho Hos are the exact same thing. I'm also quite certain I've had both in my lifetime. Anyway, if you just chomped right into one of these, they'd be about four bites total. It'd be like the iced Christmas trees that you could eat 14 of because they're practically air and icing. So, you had to make it a process. 

My personal style was to break off the chocolate coating in sheets to enjoy that part first. Next, I unrolled one at a time and ate the chocolate and icing part wherever the cake would naturally break while unrolling. That's how you turn four bites of Ho Ho into a 10 minute activity. 

I saw this cake and immediately knew I needed to try it. Unfortunately I realized my favorite part about Ho Hos was never the taste, it was the art of eating them. When you make a 13x9 cake...it's still just a cake. No chocolate sheets. No careful unrolling. What a letdown. On the bright side, this cake tastes much better. It also cuts perfectly, so it's easy to share and serve (unless you want the whole 13x9 to yourself).  My only suggestion would be to make sure you use a flavorful chocolate cake for the base. You can use boxed cake mix, but make it a good one because the top and bottom layers hold the majority of the flavor. The middle is just a nice add-on to complement the others (still good, just a more subtle taste). Enjoy!

Ho Ho Cake
Recipe from Scrumptious and Sumptuous 

Ingredients

Cake
Use either a boxed chocolate cake mix (18.25 ounces) or Make a Chocolate Cake from Scratch (adapted from Hershey’s Chocolate Cake):

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. (7.45 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp.Hershey’s cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional, but it helps deepen the chocolate flavor)

Cream Filling

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 5 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Icing

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 2 tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch brownie pan (mine is 9 x 13 x 1.5 inches). If using boxed cake mix, use a larger jellyroll pan, 10 x 15 inches. If you have the larger jellyroll pan and make the cake from scratch, use the full Hershey’s cake recipe, so check the original link to Hershey’s. I altered it to fit the smaller pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat on medium speed with mixer for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake before adding other layers.
6. To make cream filling: Combine the milk and flour in a small saucepan; cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding, 5-8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
7. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
8. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture; beat on high for 7 minutes.
9. Spread onto the cooled cake. Refrigerate until set. (I didn’t alter the ingredient measurements to fit the smaller 9 x 13 cake, so you’ll end up with some extra cream.)
10. To make icing: Melt chocolate using the double boiler method by placing a heatproof bowl over a pan filled with water that reaches just below the bowl and heat the water to a simmer, not a boil. Alternatively, melt in the microwave by heating in 15-30 second increments, stirring between each increment, until melted. Cool slightly.
11. In a large bowl, use electric mixer on medium-high speed to mix together powdered sugar, melted/cooled butter, melted/cooled chocolate, milk, hot water, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
12. Spread icing over cream filling.
13. Serve either at room temperature or cold, from refrigerator.

For two months this summer I lived 20 feet away from a Trader Joe's. Sometimes I'd go multiple times in a day. I went and got free samples almost every day (is that even allowed?). I became addicted to their dark chocolate espresso beans. I have been both the first and the last person in the store. Let's just say it was an obsession. Another of my favorite things about Trader Joe's was their 19 cent bananas. 19 cents!? Bananas have to be the most affordable fruit out there. I'd go and stock up and bake banana bread galore. 

Well, now I don't live next to a Trader Joe's, and even though bananas are only 75 cents, I haven't purchased them since the summer. Maybe I've just been mourning the loss of a convenient grocery store. Thankfully I've come to my senses. So, I'm starting back my banana craze with these great banana muffins with cream cheese frosting. Bananas and cream cheese...it's perfection. 

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Blissfully Delicious 

Ingredients
2-2/3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 sticks butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk (milk or coconut milk can be used here as well)
1 cup shredded coconut (I skipped them since I didn’t have any in hand)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with a kitchen mixer using paddle attachment. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time while continue to beat at low speed and vanilla. The mixture will be silky smooth – add banana and lower speed.

Mix in the flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

Fill into cupcake pans (fill up about 2/3-full, you should get approximately 18 cupcakes), bake them for about 18-minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Alternatively, you can also bake these as layered cakes, pour into 2 9-inch pans, and bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before inverting on wire rack to cool.

The cupcakes can be stored in room temperature for up to 2 days, or they will become dense and unappealing!

Yield: ~18 cupcakes

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter with 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar. Continue to beat while adding remaining sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Add vanilla, and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

I like to store things in giant ziplock bags. It's not what I would call entirely organized, but it's as organized as I can get. As long as I confine my ziplock bag use to baking goods it's not a problem. Things got a little crazy when I decided it was a brilliant storage device when moving. The next thing you know I had jewelry bags, junk bags, paper bags, pen bags..etc. Those ziplocks have yet to be unzipped. Anywho, in my kitchen I have a sprinkles bag. I don't know why at 22 years old I still gravitate towards sprinkles and bright colors, but I've accepted it. I'm a seven year old at heart.

Of course, for these I decided I wanted to use my favorites, the dinosaur sprinkles. So I guess I'm a seven year old boy at heart. Aside from opening a bag of cake mix all over my kitchen, these are a breeze to make. I bought a tube of crescent dough at the grocery store, but everything else I had on hand. My only advice would be to make sure the icing is a bit runny. I didn't measure (whoops) and proceeded to use the thicker icing instead of adding more milk (read: I was lazy). It covered up the cute little swirled tops. Lesson: don't be lazy, use your better judgment.

Enjoy!

Mini (no yeast) Cake Batter Cinnamon Buns
Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

• 1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)
• 1/4 cup sprinkles
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• cake batter icing (recipe below)
• sprinkles for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350F (or whatever your tube of crescent roll instructs). Spray 16 tins of a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Roll out half of the dough (4 triangles) and close the seams together by pinching. Flip over and pinch those seams together as well.
3. Sprinkle the dough with half of your sprinkles and smooth out with a rolling pin. You want the dough to be totally seamless and the sprinkles to be pressed into the dough as much as possible. I do not have a rolling pin in my tiny apartment, so I covered the dough with parchment paper and rolled over it with a glass cup. The dough needs to be completely smooth and 1/4″ thick.
4. Brush dough with 1 Tbsp melted butter and cover with 2 Tbsp of the cake mix. Brush 1 Tbsp melted butter over the cake mix and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
5. Roll into a log and cut into 8 equal buns.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 with the other half of the crescent roll dough.
7. Place 16 buns into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the buns are lightly browned.
8. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and spoon icing (recipe below) over top each bun. Top with sprinkles.

Cake Batter Icing

• 3/4 cup SIFTED Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)*
• 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp half-and-half (or milk)

Whisk together sifted cake mix and half-and-half until fully combined.  Add more or less half-and-half depending on how thick you want the icing.  Spoon over warm cinnamon buns and top with sprinkles. Store cinnamon buns in fridge.

French toast reminds me of Sunday mornings when I was growing up and living at home. My mom always cooked something delicious for breakfast on Sundays. I guess it was her way of making the kids get up for church. That's the effect it had on me, at least. There was no way I was going to miss blueberry pancakes, waffles or french toast. Such are the motivators for the average teenager (they'd probably still work on me). 

Alas, I never really have it anymore. I think I get distracted on brunch menus by other delicious things, and somehow french toast gets the short end of the stick. I have no idea why. The aroma fills the air, the cinnamon, syrup and powdered sugar come together in perfect harmony...what's not to love? So, what happens when you take everything that's wonderful about french toast and put it in cookie form? Yep, harmony. Again. I'm sorry french toast, oh how I under appreciated you. 

The best part of these cookies is the icing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this considering french toast is nothing without it's maple syrup counterpart. Rich, maple frosting dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Now we're talking. 

My camera is still glitching. Sorry for the odd coloring on the pictures! 

French Toast Sugar Cookies

Recipe by The Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Icing:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

• 1 lb. powdered sugar

• 2-3 tsp. maple extract

• 2-4 Tablespoons milk, or to desired consistency

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream sugar and butter with mixer; add egg and beat until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients to a sifter. Alternate adding milk and dry ingredients to the butter mixture while mixing. Then add vanilla and stir.
4. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll out on floured surface, cut into squares and bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes, being careful not to over-bake.
5. To make the frosting, cream softened butter with 1 cup of the powdered sugar and then slowly add in the rest.
6. Add maple extract (I used 3 teaspoons) and milk, and stir. The consistency you’re looking for is thick and spreadable; not runny.
7. Once cookies have cooled, frost the tops with the maple icing and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Sometimes it shocks me that I've filled three years of blog posts with my thoughts on food. But then I think about it a little more and realize I could fill 10 years of blog posts with my thoughts on food. I was once told in seventh grade that my brain was like an encyclopedia of food. I took that as a compliment. Somehow I think that wouldn't have gone over as well with the majority of seventh grade girls. To me Encyclopedia suggests some great knowledge. I may know more than some people, but mainly I think I just have a lot of opinions on food. Every food. Most ingredients. I've got something for ya.

For example, after a great deal of thought, I've come to the conclusion that icing makes the average cookie 10x better. Think about it: cookie cakes, Oreos, whoopie pies, Oatmeal cream pies, those cookies you get at Mrs. Fields with a 3:1 frosting to cookie ratio... you get the picture. Now, I'm not one to throw icing on just any old cookie. Sometimes I don't want icing. Most of the time I don't need icing. However, I'm fairly certain it almost always makes a cookie better (in moderation, Mrs. Fields).

Case in point, these little cookie cups. This is the kind of dessert you could make and have an entire room unanimously agree on. It's not just the cookie. It's that each bite delivers the perfect combination of cookie and icing. The recipe also makes about 65 cookies (I didn't count, that's entirely an estimate). This massive serving has been going strong since Thursday, and we even had friends over this weekend to help make a dent. I rely on the weekends to rid me of all extra baked goods. Why are these delicious things still in my kitchen?

Frosted Cookie Cups
Recipe from What Megan's Making

Cookie Cups:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp water
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Frosting:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the cookie cups: Preheat oven to 325. Spray 40-48 mini muffin tins with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the water. Add the flour mixture gradually, beating to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the dough into the mini muffin tins until 2/3 full. Bake 6-8 minutes, or until the tops just turn golden brown. Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in the milk or cream, a little at a time, until the frosting is the desired consistency. Spoon frosting on top of cookie cups.

This is one of those desserts I feel guilty just looking at. It's got everything you could ever want in a cookie (minus chocolate), and on top of that you get two for one because it's a whoopie pie! I've had the recipe bookmarked for a month or two now, but I was contemplating whether I wanted to make the filling. Not surprisingly, I opted to add the buttercream. Why I ever thought I'd be able to resist is beyond me.

I found this mini cake stand while browsing through the plates/cookware section of TJ Maxx the other day. It was sitting right next to a shelf of Kate Spade kitchenware (our TJ Maxx is a goldmine). I'm sure it's meant for a six-year-old girl's birthday party or something of the sort, but it was the last nudge I needed to finally make the whoopie pies. I gave myself a little pat on the back for resisting the Kate Spade items, and off I went with my pink polka-dotted stand.

I'll admit that these took me the better part of an afternoon to make. I made them in mini cookie sizes, so it took forever to get through all the dough. The cookies on their own are amazing. If you don't feel like making frosting, just stick with the cookies. No one will complain. That being said, if you're ok with using a total of four sticks of butter and spending a little more time on these, fill 'em up. My brother, who is not really a sweets person, said these were one of the best things I've made yet. My mom, not one to ever have more than one cookie in a sitting, had three over the course of a roadtrip drive (I chose not to mention to her that is basically six cookies).

Point is: funfetti never disappoints and these are amazing. Bring on the sprinkles. And the butter.

Funfetti Whoopie Pies
Recipe from Yammie's Noshery

Cookies:
2 sticks softened butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon imitation butter flavor
1 egg
2 cups cake flour
2/3 all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup colored sprinkles
More sprinkles for rolling (I used the little round kind)

Beat the butter and sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes or until fluffy. Add the vanilla, butter flavor, and egg. Beat until well combined. Sift in the flours, soda, and salt. Mix to combine. Stir in the sprinkles. Chill the dough. If you're in a hurry, throw in in the freezer. I put it in a gallon ziploc bag and pounded it down flat so it would get cold faster. Preheat the oven to 375º. Take a small piece of the dough, dip in the sprinkles and roll into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until the sheet is filled. Bake about 7 minutes. Keep the remaining dough in the freezer while the other are baking. They will flatten out as the bake and puff up a little when they're done. Sandwich cooled cookies together with filling if desired (recipe below).

Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks cold butter, chopped into small cubes
2 tablespoons sprinkles (I used the little round ones)

Beat the cream and vanilla until slightly thickened. Beat in the powdered sugar until thick and smooth. Beat in about one fourth of the cold butter cubes at a time on high speed. Beat for about 10 minutes on high speed in your stand mixer until smooth. Don't be afraid if it looks weird at first. Just keep beating! Fold in the sprinkles. Use to fill cooled cookies.

 

I have a good one for you today. A homemade cake that is absolutely perfect for the busy days when the last thing you want is to deal with a long list of ingredients and a sink full of bowls (and the first thing you want is chocolate cake). This cake batter is mixed in the pan. What a concept! I was skeptical, but oh my...this cake is good.

The cake itself is super moist and fluffy, undoubtedly homemade, and it's just as easy to make as its boxed counterpart. You've done it again, Martha Stewart. Seriously, I was slightly disturbed by the size of the piece I just ate. The seven-minute icing is a classic recipe that goes back decades (or so I'm told). I'm living back with my parents for the next month before I make my way up to DC. This basically means I'm baking up a storm before I get cut off and thrown into the real world. I'm ok with paying for my housing, transportation, etc., but I am incredibly worried about paying for my own groceries. I've been watching extreme couponing to prepare myself. How does this all relate to this wonderful, simple cake? It's dirt cheap and you probably already have everything on hand! This will be a new dessert staple.

Enjoy!

Busy Day Chocolate Cake
Recipe from Dinners for Winners (adapted from martha stewart)

• 1 1/2 cups  flour (all-purpose)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 6 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBSP white vinegar **
• 1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In an 8-inch square baking pan, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and coarse salt.

Making a well in the center of the pan, add remaining ingredients and whisk until well combined, taking special care in the corners of the pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out cleanly. Let cool in pan on a wire rack.

** DO NOT LEAVE THIS OUT! It does not affect the taste, and it is essential to the recipe.

Seven-Minute Frosting
Adapted from Martha Stewart

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP light corn syrup
• 3 large egg whites, room temperature

Bring first three ingredients to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan, stirring, making sure sugar dissolves. Once boiling, cook without stirring until 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Occasionally wash down sides of saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent any sugar crystals.
Meanwhile, whisk egg whites with a stand mixer until soft peaks form. As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, with mixer running, pour in a slow, steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl. Really slowly. Raise mixer speed to high and beat until thick and shiny and cooled, 5 to 10 minutes (about 7, i’d say!). Turn off the mixer and lick the beater. You have created a masterpiece.

All criminal history aside, Martha Stewart is amazing. I wish I had the encyclopedia of all things crafty, delicious and beautiful that is her brain. It doesn't even matter when she runs out of ideas now because I'm sure there is a whole team that comes up with even more (not that they get any of the credit). Instead, I just try to read Real Simple and pretend that level of organization and craftiness is achievable in my life.

This cake is a masterpiece. The raspberry jam in between layers makes the whole thing moist and flavorful..and the icing. Oh lord. My mom is a huge meringue fan so she is the one who initially picked this cake out for Easter Sunday. The icing is like a meringue and frosting hybrid. It spreads on smooth, but peaks out and tastes like meringue. My granddad called me the next day to tell me how much he liked this cake. While he would never say he didn't like something I made, the extra phone call says it all. There's nothing like having an appreciative audience!

The cake is perfect for any sort of event. It's not one of those "middle of the week, I think I'll bake a cake!" cakes (yes, I realize some people don't find that normal behavior). It is beautiful, and it deserves a crowd. I somehow lose cake pans all the time, and so I had to make do with two 9-inch pans instead of three 8-inch. I swear there is a ghost in my house who likes to steal things. Cake pans, sifters, one half of my double broiler...they are all among the long list of odd bakeware disappearances in my house. As if baking wasn't already an expensive enough hobby.

Also, I'm sorry for being m.i.a. these past two weeks. I had a big advertising competition on Friday and now that it's over I have my life back. Woohoo! Just in time to enjoy the last week of my senior year of college. And to enjoy all of the delicious food that comes along with graduation parties. Get excited.

• Raspberry White Cake
• Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/2 cups raspberries (8 ounces)
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup large-flake dried unsweetened coconut (I just used bakers unsweetened and toasted it)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat three 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line bottoms with parchment, and coat again. Whisk together flour, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, beat together cream, milk, baking powder, and egg whites until mixture thickens. Whisk in vanilla, almond extract, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Fold in flour mixture. Fold in raspberries, then divide among pans. Bake until golden and top springs back when touched, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pans 30 minutes. Remove; let cool completely on a wire rack.

Spread half the jam over top of 1 cake layer, and sandwich with another layer. Repeat with remaining jam and layer. Swirl frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top with coconut.

Meringue Frosting

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions

Bring 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, the corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons water to a boil, stirring. Wash down side of pan with a wet pastry brush, and cook sugar syrup, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites with a mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Add sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream down side of bowl. Beat on high speed until thick, fluffy, and cool, about 7 minutes.