Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Joan's Chocolate Cake

2 1/2 Cups flour
2 Cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
2 eggs
1/3 Cup cocoa
1 Cup oil
1 Cup sour milk or cream or buttermilk
1 Cup boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs and milk and beat heard. Sift cocoa, flour, salt and soda. Add to first mixture and beat. Add boiling water and vanilla. Bake in pans coated with shortening and flour. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

**This cake recipe was made for high altitude. I don't know how well it works in normal altitude, but it is super good, and worth a try.
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Peanut Butter Icing

1 Cup Confectioners' sugar
1 Cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioner' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix on medium-low speed until creamy. Scrap the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

**I double this recipe to cover a two layer cake.
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Chocolate Buttercream Icing

1/2 Cup shortening
1/2 Cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
4 cups (approx. 1 lb.) sifted confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder (or three 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate, melted)
4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. Add cocoa. Will seem very dry. Add milk and beat on high until light and fluffy.
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Make the cake and then freeze the layers, wrapped in plastic wrap, over night. Torte the layers and add chocolate buttercream and then the peanut butter icing for the middle layer. Then cover the whole cake in the peanut butter icing. Add Reeces peanut butter cups.

Dirt cake

This is the cake that I made for the boys birthdays this year.  There are so many ways to make it but I really like this way the very best.  You can change it up for the holidays with the mint christmas oreos and for Halloween use Vanilla wafers as tomb stones.  For girls make it into a potted plant.  I mean you could really go crazy I am sure that you guys have a lot better idea out there.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,
• softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla
• pudding mix
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped
• topping, thawed
• 32 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling ( I totally used the Walmart brand because they were a dollar cheaper.)

 

1.	Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear.
2.	Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl.
3.	In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.
4.	Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.
5.	Layer in flower pot, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers.
6.	Chill until ready to serve

Fruit Tart

Ingredients:
1 and 1/3 c flour
2/3 c butter
1/3 c brown sugar
1 package whipped cream cheese
fresh fruit
glaze/honey

Ingredients for glaze (optional):
1 c sugar
3 tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 c orange juice

Use honey instead of glaze or use what ever that really healthy stuff is that Brigitte uses. ;)

Step 1
Cut together flour, brown sugar and butter and press into 12" pie pan. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Step 2
When crust is cool, spread cream cheese on top and fresh cut up fruit. (I have only tried strawberries but I hear the peach or peach/strawberry is great. You can also sprinkle pecans on top of the fruit too.)

Step 3
Drizzle with Glaze or honey.


*pictures coming soon, of course if I don't eat it too fast...

... well, I did forget to take a picture of the final product before we served it but I went to take a picture of what was left of it and I walked in to find that Shaun was scraping the pie plate! lol

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

I needed a good easy chocolate pudding recipe, ya know for those rough days! I only could find a good vanilla one that I liked. I also needed one that I didn't need to keep chocolate chips in the house cause we all know that chocolate chips don't last a New York minute in my house. I don't eat raw cocoa powder a lot so I thought that a recipe with that in it alone would be a safe bet! So at last the Recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I am sick of hanging onto the empty chocolate chip bag, and what better place to record one of our favorite cookie recipes? They work with any kind of chocolate chips but Ghirardelli is the best!
(makes 4 dozen cookies)

• 2 cups Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional - I don't like them in there)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at meduim speed until creamy and lightened in color (about 4 minutes). Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts if desired). Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Chinese Noodle Haystacks

Sorry no pics, I ate them too fast. Next time though!
This is my new favorite treat! These were served at our Relief Society meeting and she said she got the recipe out of the friend. In honor of the Chinese new year, I submit to you Chinese Noodle Haystacks (not the real name, mind you. I don't know what they are really called). Basically they are a Chinese noodles covered in chocolate/butterscotch goodness.

You will need:
3 cups chocolate chips
3 cups butterscotch chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (recipe called for crunchy but I did smooth)
Peanuts (optional)
2 1/2 cups chinese noodles

1) Melt chocolate and butterscotch in microwave or in a double broiler on stove top.
double broiler = just boil water in a sauce pan, put another on top with chocolate in it
w/lid and stir (that explanation part was for me, Emily.)
2) Take off stove top once melted, add vanilla and peanut butter and peanuts (I just skipped that peanut part, I like smooth haystacks)
3) add Chinese noodles (I add extra Chinese noodles to compensate for the lack of nuts).
4) Stir and glop onto a sheet covered in aluminum foil, make sure to glop, not plop.
5) freeze (solidifies chocolate, doesn't take very long).

Don't try to eat them right out of the freezer, they are hard and will hurt your teeth. They are the best when room temperature.

The best chocolate chip cookies ever!

Hey gals, So I know it has been a while, but today I had to make cookies for my class and I am not a cookie maker, so I searched high and low for a good recipe and I found one, so I thought I would share.

ingredients:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 cups butter, softened 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips

Directions:

	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
	In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
	Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Some Holiday goodies I made today!

Oreo Truffles 1 container of regular oreos (you can use double stuffed, but they will be a lot harder to form into firm balls.) 1 8oz. brick of Cream Cheese In a food processor crush up all the oreos until it looks like dirt. Then add the cream cheese (which should be room temperature) and combine together until it looks even. Form in small balls, refrigerate at least an hour and then dip in chocolate! Yummy! You can do a lot of variations, like mint ones, peanut butter ones, whatever you can think of. You can get real fancy with the decorating too, and melt white chocolate and drizzle it over the top. That is what I do with the plain ones, the mint ones I put a little green food coloring in the white chocolate and drizzle it over so they know it is mint. These are great and easy! ENJOY! CHOCOLATE DIPPED COCONUT BALLS

1 box or 1 lb. powdered sugar 1/2 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk 1/8 lb. butter 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/16 lb. paraffin (parawax) 8 oz. chocolate chips 1/2 lg. box coconut Place powdered sugar in large bowl. Make a well in center. Pour in the milk, softened butter and vanilla. Blend until a soft paste is formed. Work in all sugar; add coconut. Mix well and refrigerate. Now, with hands, make small balls of the paste; refrigerate again. The balls must be cold when dipped. Put chocolate chips and shredded wax in top of double boiler. When melted, dip each ball into the mixture. Roll until coated. Dip out with a fork; place on waxed paper. Keep the chocolate over the hot water all the time. With a little practice, your chocolate can be swirled on top of the ball for a professional look. Microwave Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Ingredients 1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan 1 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 pound powdered sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder Directions Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla, cocoa and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Homade Vanilla Pudding

2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter



DIRECTIONS
In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.

My Bean Sneaky Chocolate chip cookies

SNEAKY CHEF’S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 cup Flour
Blend (1/3 cup white flour, 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/3 cup wheat germ)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup rolled oats, finely ground in a food processor
2 tablespoons blanched, slivered almonds, finely ground in a food processor (omit if allergic)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup White Bean Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe below)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove butter from refrigerator to let soften.
In a large bowl, whisk together Flour Blend, baking soda, salt, ground oats, and ground almonds (optional). Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and White Bean Puree. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Stir in chocolate chips. Make two-bite cookies by dropping rounded half-teaspoonfuls, spaced 2 inches apart, onto nonstick or parchment- lined baking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a metal rack.
Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature.
Makes about 50 two-bite cookies
Sneaky Chef’s Make Ahead Recipe—White Bean Puree
1 (15-ounce can) white beans--great northern, navy, butter or cannellini
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Rinse and drain the beans and put in the bowl of your food processor. Pulsing in on/off turns, puree the drained beans with just 1 tablespoon of water in processor until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. The goal is a smooth, but not wet, puree. (You are aiming for the consistency of peanut butter.) If necessary, thin with a little more water by one teaspoonful at a time until there are no flecks of whole beans visible.
Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.
Makes about 1 cup of puree. Double this recipe if you want to store another cup of puree.


Just a side note I don't use sugar I use Xylitol which is a natural sweetener! I also try to use grained sweetened carob or chocolate to eliminate sugar!