Chocolate Linzer Heart Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!  It's a chilly, three-day weekend here in the nation's capital, and there's nothing better to stay warm than get a little love in your heart...or these cookies in your tummy!  The flavors of chocolate and raspberry come together perfectly in these little sandwich cookies.  One of the things I like about this recipe, is that the dough doesn't need to be chilled (I hate having to wait longer than necessary for cookies!).  If you don't have a Linzer cookie cutter - all you need is a round biscuit cutter (about 2 1/2") and a smaller cookie cutter of any shape.

Chocolate Linzer Heart Cookies

• 2 cups butter (cold, cut into pieces)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• Raspberry jam (preferably unseeded)
• Powdered sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In bowl of electric mixer, add butter and sugar and beat until well blended.  Add extracts.
3. Slowly add flour, cocoa powder and salt until a dough forms.  If dough seems too dry and crumbly, you can add vodka or amaretto (or milk) just until the dough comes together.
4. Take half of the dough, and roll out onto a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out bases of cookies (about 32). Roll out the other half of the dough, and cut out the tops of the cookies, along with the heart cutout (about 32).  Reroll dough scraps to cut more cookies.
5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until just golden brown.  Cool completely before assembling.
6. To assemble, first set the tops of the cookies on a cookie sheet and  sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Then turn the base cookies upside down and add 1 tsp raspberry jam.  Place tops onto the bottoms to complete the Linzer cookies.

Yield: about 32 cookies  

Baking Club Adventure: Lava & Pudding Cakes

In September, the Baking Club tackled Lava & Pudding cakes, after being inspired by the mug cakes that have become so popular on Pinterest.  I got hooked on the simplest chocolate mug cake recipe (just powdered sugar, cocoa powder and an egg!) - and may have made it almost every night for a few weeks, even serving it for dessert for guests who stopped by!  All of us in the baking club had different interpretations and results from the recipes we chose - but we all agreed - they're best served immediately from the oven, while the lava or pudding filling is still gooey and oozy. 

KLARE: Chocolate Lava Cake (via Huffington Post) & Lemon Pudding Cake (via Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook)

Klare brought two dishes to our meeting: a chocolate lava cake and a lemon pudding cake.  The chocolate lava cakes are made in small ramekins and slightly underbaked, so that when you serve them right out of the oven, they'll spill out some ooey gooey chocolatey-ness!  The lemon pudding cake was made in a larger baking dish (though, you could make it in individual ramekins) and is sort of a magic cake - you pour in the batter and during the baking process, a gooey pudding layer is created on the bottom of the cake.  When you scoop into the dish, you reveal the pudding layer underneath!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Lemon Pudding Cake

GINA: Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cake & White Chocolate Lemon Lava Cake

Gina also brought two dishes to the meeting: a raspberry lava cake - where the raspberry jam was mixed into the batter - so every bite had a fruity, chocolatey taste; and a white chocolate lemon lava cake - the white chocolate was subtle, but the lemon shined through nicely.

Raspberry Chocolate Lava Cakes

White Chocolate Lemon Lava Cakes

LIBBY: Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Butter Sauce (via Betty Crocker)

In my search for a recipe, I came across this apple pudding cake - and with it being the fall, a spiced apple cake sounded delicious.  Wasn't sure how pudding-y it was going to be, though, but decided to go with it any way.  Well, the cake didn't exactly have a lava or pudding element to it (it had more of a bread pudding consistency) - but what it did have was a delicious caramel sauce that was poured over the top.  And Oh. Yum. G. This sauce is crazy good.  If I never make this cake again (and I would), at least I got the caramel sauce recipe out of the deal!

Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Butter Sauce

BONUS: Chocolate Lava Mug Cake

And as a bonus - here is the chocolate lava mug cake that I've made so many times (and will definitely make much more in the future!)  Chances are you already have all the ingredients in your pantry!

In a mug, mix 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 pinch of salt, splash of vanilla and one egg.  Mix thoroughly until fully combined.  Optional: add a tablespoon of cold hot fudge (from a jar) or a tablespoon of peanut butter - let sink to the bottom - but don't stir - this is how you'll get the "lava" on the bottom! Cook in the microwave for 1 minute.  The cake will rise above the rim of the mug - but don't worry, it won't over flow.  When done, invert the cake into a small bowl or plate, letting the gooey lava of the fudge or peanut butter flow over the cake.  Serve with whipped cream and/or ice cream, if desired.

Happy Blogiversary!

Hello readers!  Can you believe it's been one year since this whole crazy thing started?  One year ago I was stuck at home in the snow and decided to finally start this blog - and I am so glad I did!  I've had so much fun sharing favorite recipes from my personal recipe box as well as trying out new recipes and techniques.  Whether the recipes were simple or a little more complicated, what they all had in common is they were OyuMG delicious!

Since this blog started with a St. Patrick's Day recipe, I thought it was only fitting that we celebrate its blogiversary with another holiday recipe: Pretzel Shamrocks!  I found this recipe to be 1) stinkin' adorable and 2) super-duper easy to make.  All you need is a baking sheet and and oven.  No bowls, no spatulas - just a little assembly and you've got yourself some festive treats for office or classroom celebrations!

You may be familiar with the chocolate pretzel concept, where you top a Snaps pretzel with a Hershey's Kiss or Hugs, put it in the oven for just a few minutes to soften the chocolate and top with an M&M in a color that fits your theme.  There are tons of variations out there (like using Rolos and pecans to make a Turtle-inspired treat) - and this treat is just one more variation on the theme.

This time, you take three pretzel twists and arrange them in a shamrock formation and top with a Hershey's kiss in the middle, where all three pretzels come together.  Then carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake at 300 for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate is softened.  Take a pretzel stick and press into the Hershey's Kiss at the base of each shamrock and then place a single M&M on top, pressing down so the melted chocolate spreads a bit and sticks to all the pretzels.  Let the pans cool and then transfer to the fridge to fully set the chocolate.

Then take them to the office or send with your kids to school - and you'll have a treat that will have everyone smiling and feeling the "luck o' the Irish"!

Thanks for a delicious first year - here's to many more!

Chocolate Toffee Grahammies

The Grammy Awards are tonight and I was inspired to make something to snack on while I watch the show.  I thought about some options related to music or some of the songs nominated this year, like maybe "Chocolate Shake-It-Offs" or "Bang Bang Shrimp Cocktail".  But then I thought about graham crackers... or "grahammy" crackers and what could I do with the box of graham crackers in my pantry.  After a little research, I came up with what looked to be a pretty quick and easy recipe featuring caramel sauce, chocolate and pecans.  What could go wrong?

Well, apparently, quite a bit.  That's right...I had an epic food fail - of unfixable proportions.  The recipe called for butter and sugar to be brought to a boil on the stove.  Having just made caramel corn in the microwave, I thought to myself, "I don't need to dirty another pot.  I can just make it in the microwave."  So that's what I did.  The recipe said to boil for about 4 minutes - so I thought 5 minutes in the microwave should do just fine.  Five minutes later, I did have melted butter and dissolved sugar, but as I started to stir with a spatula, the butter would not incorporate into the mixture and the sugar was a little grainy.  So I got a whisk...maybe whisking it in will work better.  Nope.  I thought, "maybe my immersion blender will really bring it together".  Instead, I had hot butter flying over my counter, splattering on my hand and fully saturating my dish towel.  At this point, I literally threw the dish towel in and decided to start over.

Out came the saucepan, the proper measurements of butter and sugar (I may not have been super exact the first time around), and I brought the mixture to a boil. Stirring constantly, I was rewarded with a perfectly colored caramel sauce - golden and delicious.  From there, it was smooth sailing and the rest of the recipe came together in no time.  The hardest part was waiting for it to cool so I could dig in to this highly snackable treat.

Chocolate Toffee Grahammies

• 16-17 graham crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted & chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Lay graham crackers in the pan until completely covered.

In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar.  Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.  Pour the caramel sauce over the graham crackers.  Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Immediately, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel and wait about 2 minutes for the caramel to melt the chocolate chips.  With a knife, spread the melted chocolate over the entire pan.  Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and let cool about 2 hours before breaking into big pieces. (You can also pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process, cause you know you wanna dig in as soon as possible.)

Note: If you don't have graham crackers on hand, you can also use saltines or pretzel thins as your base.  Be creative!

The BEST Brownies...EVER

OK.  I realize that's a very bold statement to make: that I have the recipe for the BEST brownies ever. But it's true!  I've made my fair share of homemade and box mix brownies and none hold a candle to this recipe.  These brownies have it all: triple chocolate flavor, super thick fudginess, the flaky crust on top.  Best of all, they only require one bowl, a whisk and a spatula.  No fancy kitchen gadgets required here!  And with a baking time of about 30 minutes, they can be whipped up in no time at all! They taste like the best box mix brownies you've ever had...but better (and let's be honest, box mix brownies are pretty hard to beat)!

I've been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while now, as I've made it at least half a dozen times since discovering it earlier this past summer.  They're a perfect treat for birthdays, road trips, church potlucks, or those days when the only thing that will make life better is chocolate.  So without further ado...I give you the BEST brownies.  EVER.

The BEST Chocolate Fudge Brownies...EVER

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp boiling water
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 glass pan with foil (leave some hanging over the sides so you can use as handles later on) and grease with nonstick spray. Trust me, do not skip this step! 

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, espresso powder and boiling water.  Add the finely chopped unsweetened chocolate.  (Note: Make sure you buy unsweetened squares (like Baker's brand).  To easily chop the chocolate squares, place them in a Ziploc bag and give it a few whacks with a meat pounder.  So much easier that trying to chop with a knife.)  Whisk until the chocolate is melted.  

Add in the melted butter and oil (the mixture may look curdled, but it's OK).  Add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla next and mix until the mixture is smooth.  Whisk in the sugar until fully incorporated. Switching to your spatula, gently mix in the flour and salt until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few soft crumbs attached.  Let cool for about an hour on a wire rack before lifting out of the pan (this is where those foil overhang handles come in handy) and return to the wire rack.  Let cool completely (or just nearly completely if you can't wait to have warm fudgy brownies!)

Cut into 2-inch squares, serve and watch them disappear!

Yield: 24 brownies

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.