Red Velvet Cupcakes

Nick and I watched the last session of General Conference at Nick's sister Allison's home.  After conference we had a thanksgiving feast (Allison's tradition for conference).  I volunteered to bring rolls and dessert.  I didn't decide what dessert to make until Saturday night and I didn't want to go back to the store so red velvet cupcakes it was (and it was a great choice)!

All the recipes I looked up for red velvet cake had tons of red food coloring!  First off I only had half a bottle of it and second I didn't really see that turning my tongue and teeth red was really necessary so I cut down on the food coloring and they were still pretty red and very delicious.  Oh, and the cream cheese frosting on top is to die for!

Tip:
If your cupcakes usually burn on the bottom place muffin pan on top of jelly roll pan/ cookie sheet and then place in the oven.

INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 c canola oil
1 c buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:
1/2 c butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 c powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 2 muffiin pans with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Make a well in the mixture and add the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour batter evenly into muffin tins (about 2/3 full).  Bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
In a medium bowl beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with a hand mixer until smooth.  Slowly add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Place frosting in a pipping bag with a tip (1M) and top cupcakes with it.

–Melanie

Baklava

When Nick and I were dating one of his favorite places to eat was Jason's Deli.  He would always get a pastrami sandwich and baklava.  Nick has occasionally suggested I make baklava for dessert but I was always intimidated by all the layers of dough and I had never seen anyone make it let alone heard of anyone make homemade baklava.  Well, we got together with some good friends to play games and decided to finally try it out.  We thought it would be fun to have our friends help make it with us and it was a good thing we did because another pair of hands to help handle the tissue paper thin phyllo dough is very useful (maybe even required).  Well it turned out awesome and we all really enjoyed it!

Ba-kla-va: (noun) A dessert originating in the Middle East made of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in honey.

INGREDIENTS
1 (16 oz) pkg phyllo dough*
1 lb chopped pecans
1 c butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c water
1 c white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c honey

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 in pan.

Toss nuts with cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.  Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a dampened cloth to prevent it from drying out.  Place 2 sheets of dough in the pan, brush with butter, and repeat until there are 8 sheets layered.  Sprinkle with 3 Tbsp nuts.  Top with 2 sheets, butter, nuts, and continue.  Top layer should be layered with 6-8 sheets.

Use a sharp knife and cut into diamonds or triangles.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until it is golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, make sauce while baklava is baking.  In a small sauce pan boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved.  Add vanilla and honey and simmer for 20 minutes on low.

When Baklava is done, remove from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it.  Let it cool and then serve.  Leave baklava uncovered or else it will get soggy.

*Phyllo dough can be found in the freezer section near the frozen fruit.

–Melanie

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Unfortunately I just can't get my cookies to be as thick as what my mom made for me growing up.  Maybe cookies just turn out better when made in the midwest.  I made half of this recipe and added 1/4 cup more flour and then chilled the dough for 15 minutes before cooking and that seemed to improve the thickness a bit.

I altered the recipe a bit by adding 1/2 cup peanut butter chips which only took these chocolate goodies to the next level (who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter, except those who are allergic?!).  My sister-in-law quickly stopped by our place the day after I made these cookies and she took one on her way out the door and right when she got to her car she texted me and said that these were her favorite cookies I've ever made!  It was a great compliment and just shows you how delicious they are! ;)

Suggestions:
-Don't over cook!  I only cook mine 8 minutes and mine were still soft and chewy the second and third day but I'm not sure about the forth... they were too irresistible to last that long in our home.
-Only cook one pan of cookies and save the dough already formed into balls in the fridge so that you can have fresh cookies in a few days after you eat (devour?) the first batch.
-You can also easily make pizookies by putting a ball of dough straight from the fridge into a custard cup and then onto a pan and cook for about 14 minutes.  When done let cool for a few minutes and then use a hot pad to place the custard up on a plate and then top with ice cream and serve immediately.  Nick and I really enjoy these! :)

INGREDIENTS
1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl or mixer beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs and beat well.  Add flour mixture a little at a time and mix well.  Add in chocolate chips and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet using a cookie scoop.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Let cookie cool for a few minutes on the pan and then remove onto a wire rack.

Yield: 4 dozen

–Melanie

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Frosting

Happy... day?!  Usually cakes of this size are made for holidays, special occasions, or for large gathering but I don't have any of those as an excuse.  Nick was in the mood for cake with peanut butter frosting and we decided to make a full recipe for the sake of pictures and for lots of leftovers and sharing with others!

At the beginning of my pregnancy I couldn't even stand the thought of sweets!  Nick had to make himself dessert and he actually did a pretty good job.  I was actually kind of excited that this pregnancy was going to help me change my eating habits but that only lasted the first trimester.  I have definitely been indulging in desserts a little too much but I'm still a few pounds below what I should be so I should eat more cake right?! Well, I should probably choose healthier options.  Don't worry I'm still eating pretty healthy and staying active.

This cake tastes a lot like my cupcakes because it has the same frosting so yeah, it's really good and you should try it.  The cake part of the recipe is from one of Hershey's recipes but I think I like my cake recipe still a little better.

INGREDIENTS
Cake:
1/2 c cocoa
1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening
1 c water
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Frosting:
5 T butter, softened
1 c creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 c powdered sugar
1/3 c heavy cream

Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 c butter, softened
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

Chocolate Drizzle:
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with shortening and then flour.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking soda and set aside.  In a medium saucepan bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil over medium heat being sure to stir often.  Once it comes to a boil  remove from heat and blend into the flour mixture.  Mix in buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Pour batter into pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans onto wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Place one cake on a plate or platter and top with chocolate frosting.  Place the other cake on top.  Frost the top and sides of the cake with the peanut butter frosting.


Peanut Butter Frosting:

With an electric mixer beat butter, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar and heavy cream and mix until smooth.

Chocolate Frosting:

With an electric mixer beat butter, cocoa, and vanilla together in a small bowl.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar and milk and mix until smooth.

Chocolate Drizzle:

Melt chocolate chips in microwave for 1 minute in 30 second increments and stir until smooth.  Put chocolate into a plastic bag and cut off the corner.  Squeeze chocolate out over cake with a side to side motion letting it drizzle off on the sides.

–Melanie

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

This post is a day late (my bad).  I've been spending all my free time creating my food/nutrition website that I hope to launch in March.  I never realized how much work goes into building a site (I'm building it from scratch so I'm learning a bunch of computer languages).  

This cookie recipe is already on the blog under Soft Sugar Cookies but I just had to post these heart shaped ones!  I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are The Best sugar cookies!  They are super soft (not hard and dry like most sugar cookies) and the frosting is so creamy.  I shared these with my co-works and from the looks of how many they each ate they would second my declaration.  One asked for the recipe and another said "they look professional but taste homemade!" (homemade=really good).  I love sharing the joy of food with others!  For those of you who I couldn't share with, feast with your eyes... and then go make em!  (I only made a half recipe and got 3-4 dozen cookies but that will depend on the size of cookie cutter you're using.)

–Melanie

Cream Puffs

Nick loves cream puffs and has been begging me to make them.  I was pretty hesitant because I'm not a big cream puff fan and I had never made them before.  They were good and Nick really liked them.  These have more of a custard/pudding filling than just cream so I'm going to try to find another recipe to try... but these are still pretty tasty!

I think I made the shells a too small so next time I'll go bigger.

INGREDIENTS
1 (3.5 ounce) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c milk
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c water
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 flour
2 eggs


DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl mix together pudding, cream, and milk.  Cover and refrigerate to thicken.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium pot bring water and butter to a rolling boil.  Stir in flour and salt and mix to form a ball.  Remove from heat and transfer the dough to medium mixing bowl.  Whisk in each egg one at a time until well combined.  Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet (about 12 but less if you make them bigger).

Bake for 15-20 mintues until golden brown.

After the shells have cooled fill them by cutting a slit or using a pastry bag and pipe.
–Melanie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Heart Cookies

I'm trying to take better pictures so I've read up on food photography and also got photo shop on the ipad.  Sometimes it is hard to capture the deliciousness with a camera but hopefully my developing photography and editing skills will help.

This is the Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie but made with Hershey's heart shape chocolates (made for Valentine's day) instead of Hershey's kisses.  This different shape of chocolate has taken these five stars cookies to 6 stars.  Really??  Yeah... I know.  Way good!  I still think the kisses make the cookies look super cute but that tall point always made it a little difficult to bite into.  The flat chocolate heart makes savoring this cookie with as many bites as one can take a cinch!  (and I think the size of the heart is bigger than the kiss so more chocolate!)  After valentines day Hershey's will only have its kisses so I'll try Dove chocolates.

Now the key to making these cookies super good is to not over cook them.  Baking time depending on your oven and how big you roll the balls of dough.  I set my timer for 8 minutes and then check them.  I usually end up cooking them 9 minutes total.  You know when they are done when they begin to slightly crack (the large cracking you see in the pictures happens when you push the chocolate in).  It is also important that you press the chocolates in the cookies right away while the cookies are still on the baking sheet.  Remove cookies onto a wire rack a few minutes later.  (If you press the chocolate in while on the wire rack you'll push the cookie into the rack making a grid impression on the bottom of the cookies.)

–Melanie

Banana Cream Pie

This is another pie my mom made at Thanksgiving. Remember, this pie will need to be eaten within a few days because the bananas start to turn brown... so have a party!

INGREDIENTS
5 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar ¼ tsp. salt
2 ½ cups milk
¾ cups half-and-half or whipping cream
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
Baked 9” pie shell

DIRECTIONS
Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a 3 quart saucepan. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Pour small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; blend thoroughly, then pour back into saucepan. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto filling in saucepan, so as not to dry out and form a curst on top, and let cool to room temperature. When cool slice 2 bananas into bottom of pie shell and pour filling over top. Cover pie with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for at least 2 hours. When ready, serve with whipped cream.

–Melanie

Monster Cookies

I altered this recipe to make it a bit smaller and altered the candy in it to use what I had on hand. To give a little more crunch use raw sugar instead of white.

So this is a recipe from back in St. Louis and this one along with any other cookie I made growing up always turns out flat when I make them here in Utah! So frustrating! I always end up adding more flour after I take out the first batch of flat cookies. :( It's pretty amazing how much altitude can make a difference.

INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Quaker oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heath bar chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS
Mix butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add oats, flour, salt and soda and mix again. Fold in the candy and scoop onto a cookie sheet. Bake @ 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

–Melanie

Pumpkin Sour Cream Pie

This is my mom's delicious pumpkin pie that she made at Thanksgiving.  Tastes as good as it looks!  

INGREDIENTS

1-9” baked pastry shell

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

¼ cup cold water

3 eggs (separated)

1/3 cup sugar

1 ¼ cup canned pumpkin

½ cup sour cream

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice or nutmeg

¼ tsp. ginger

¼ cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

Soften gelatin in cold water.  Beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar until thick and lemon-colored.  Add pumpkin, sour cream, salt, and spices.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boil.  Reduce heat; cook 2 minutes (stirring constantly).  Remove from heat; stir in softened gelatin.  Stir until dissolved; cool.  Beat egg whites until frothy; add ¼ cup sugar gradually, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold into cooled pumpkin mixture.  Whip cream; add powdered sugar and vanilla.  Spoon half of pumpkin mixture into cool pie shell; spread half of whipped cream on top. Repeat.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.  Makes 8 servings.

–Melanie

Gingersnaps Dipped in White Chocolate

My mom made these when we visited for Thanksgiving and pretty  much everyone (except my niece Elizabeth) LOVED them!  

Funny story: So my mom sent me and my siblings this recipe in an e-mail and a few days later sent an update e-mail because she forgot to list an ingredient.  It made me laugh that the title of the e-mail was "Recipe Alert!!!".  Isn't my mom so cute!?!  I love her and that I have developed the same passion for cooking... now I need to develop all her skills!

Awesome news: My mom and I are getting a recipe organizing software (thank you groupon!) in a few short days that will make it really easy to organize all of our recipes and share them with others (YOU)!  We are both super excited!!!!  And it makes it super easy to make a cookbook!  I have wanted to make a cookbook for the longest time so hopefully this will get me to hunker down and get it done.

(This cookie was made by my mom.  Everything she makes turns out beautiful!)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar

1½ cups canola oil

2 eggs – room temperature

½ cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice
3 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

Additional sugar for rolling balls of dough

2 pkgs. white Ghirardelli chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening

DIRECTIONS:

In mixer, combine sugar and oil.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add molasses and mix on low speed. Combine the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. 

Shape into ¾ inch balls and rolling sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. (I baked 325 degrees convection for 9 minutes.)  Remove and place on wire racks to cool.

In a microwave, melt chips until smooth.  (Check and stir after 60 seconds and then heat in 30 second increments until melted.)  Stir in 1 Tbsp shortening to each bag of melted chips.  Dip cookies halfway into the melted chips; allow excess to drip off.  Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.  

*Ghirardelli chocolate can be pricey but you can get it the cheapest at Walmart
–Melanie

Pumpkin Spice & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Yay!  I am finally making progress on actually making some of the food I have pinned on Pinterest!  I love fall! It kind of makes me miss St. Louis where there are billions of trees with so many beautiful colors. Utah is pretty too with the colorful leaves up in the mountains, but nothing like driving through my childhood neighborhood in good ole STL! So fall has gotten me in the mood for fall foods like squash and PUMPKIN! I haven't made too many cheesecakes but the ones I have made have made have been a little dry because I cook it too long but this time I cooked it exactly as the recipe said and OMG I might just beat my mom in a cheesecake competition (she makes the best!).  K so here is the recipe!

(before sour cream topping. See the swirl!?)

INGREDIENTS

Crust
14 chocolate sandwich cookies

White Chocolate Cheesecake
2 8oz pkg cream cheese (room temp)
6 Tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
6 ounces white chocolate

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
2 8oz pkg cream cheese (room temp)
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs

Topping
2 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Garnish
2 ounces white chocolate


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Base
In a food processor or blender, blend cookies into crumbs.  Empty into the bottom of a 10-in spring-form pan.  Spread and firmly press crumbs down.

3. White Chocolate Cheesecake
Melt white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Mix cream cheese and sugar in a medium sized bowl with an electric hand mixer until smooth.  Add eggs and melted white chocolate and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
Mix cream cheese and sugar in a medium sized bowl with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

5. Pour large dollops of alternating batters side-by-side, in one layer and again for a second layer. Used a knife to swirl layers together.

6. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 35 minutes.

7. Topping
While the cake is baking, mix sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. When timer goes off remove cake from oven and let it set for at least 5 minutes. Pour sour cream mixture on top of cake and cook cake for another 10 minutes.

8. Let cake cool to room temperature on a wire rack. When completely cooled, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (best if over night).

9. Before serving, add white chocolate shavings to the top of the cake by shaving off chocolate curls from white chocolate bar using a peeler. (Chocolate peels better if slightly warmed by hand or in the microwave for 5 seconds.)

10. Cut each slice using a sharp long knife.  Be sure to wipe the blade clean with a paper towel between each cut.

Yield: 12 slices
–Melanie

White chocolate and Craisin Cookies

So I was planning on making white chocolate macadamia cookies but the nuts were bad. My mom moved a few months ago and if you have ever been in our basement (or small market) you would see that there was no way she was going to move all that food storage so I offered to take a small load, mainly just the macadamia nuts. I don't know when or where my mom got them and I couldn't find the expiration date on them but they were defiantly bad. They didn't look bad just tasted almost rancid. I guess it is lucky that I tasted a nut before cutting and adding them to my cookie dough.  I instead added craisins to the mix and the cookies turned out delish and lower in fat since if you didn't already know, macadamia nuts are basically the highest fat nut (21g per 1/4 cup). I combined a few different recipes and gave and took a few ingredients so I claim this masterpiece as my own.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter, softened
1/3 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c oats
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 c craisins
3/4 c white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs and blend well. Blend 1 cup of oats in blender or food processor to make oat flour.  In a separate bowl combine oat flour, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and blend.  Fold in the last 1/2 cup oats, chocolate chips, and craisins. Place 12 balls of dough onto cookie sheet using a cookie scoop and bake for 10-13 minutes. (I put a second pan under the pan with the cookies to prevent the bottoms from cooking too fast.)
~Makes about 3 dozen

–Melanie

Strawberry Lime Cake

I found this on one of my favorite blogs: melskitchencafe.com.  It is a perfect summer dessert!  I wanted to change it to Raspberry Lime but I didn't have enough raspberries. :( Next time.  When I made this I had loads of left over lime cream and frosting so I adjusted the recipe so you now only make what you actually need. I also just used my homemade strawberry jam instead of the strawberry puree. To make this recipe a little easier you could just make the cake from a box mix and add a small box of instant vanilla pudding to make it more moist.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 c white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/3 c buttermilk
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites

Strawberry Puree:
1 pint strawberries, cleaned and hulled
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Lime Cream:
2 limes (1/4 c lime juice)
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c heavy whipping cream

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 Tbsp water
1/2 envelope (1 tsp) unflavored gelatin
1 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 cake pans. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds with and electric mixer.  Increase to medium for 2 minutes. Add egg whites and beat 2 more minutes. Scrap down sides of bowl while mixing as needed. Pour batter equally into cake pans and bake for 28-30 minutes. Cool cakes on wire rack for 10 minutes and then loosen sides with knife and remove from pans.

Strawberry Puree:
Blend strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in blender until smooth.  You can also just use 1 1/2 c strawberry jam.

Lime Cream:
In a medium bowl zest and then juice limes. Mix in sweetened condensed milk. Beat in whipping cream using an electric hand mixer until it forms medium-stiff peaks.  Cover and refrigerate.

Whipped Cream Frosting:
In a small bowl add the water and sprinkle gelatin on top letting it stand for 3-4 minutes.  Microwave for 20 seconds to dissolve gelatin and then allow to cool to room temperature but not set up.  While it is cooling mix cream, sugar, and vanilla with electric hand mixter until slightly thickened.  With the mixer on low, slowly add cooled gelatin to cream mixture. Increase to high and whip until stiff peaks form.

Assembling the Cake:
Slice each cooled cake evenly in half.  Place one half on a cake platter and add a layer of strawberry puree (or jam) and then a layer of lime cream leaving a 1/2 boarder around the edge.  Repeat two more times. Top with final cake half and frost the top and sides of cake with the whipped cream frosting. Garnish with limes and strawberries and chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

–Melanie

Molten Lava Cakes

Last summer Nick discovered the show Master Chef.  Nick and I love this show (Surprisingly Nick likes it even more than me!).  Anyway, the other week for one of their challenges they had to make a chocolate lava cake cooked to perfection.  They have to make everything from memory but luckily I had a recipe from ourbestbites.com to follow but of course I altered it just a bit and made it smaller since this type of dessert is to be eaten right away.  It is pretty much the best dessert because you have the chocolate, brownie batter (I LOVE batter... always leave extra in the bowl), ice cream, and fruit!  These are individual molten lava cakes for two! If you are not up for a big dessert I suggest splitting because Warning or (to those like me) Good News: very rich!

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter
1/6 c sugar
2 medium eggs
1/6 c flour
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 c semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 ramekins with butter using wax paper. Sprinkle with granulated sugar to coat the entire surface of the ramekin and discard extra sugar.

In a medium sized bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Slowly add flour and salt and mix until just combined.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments until melted.  Add melted chocolate to mixture. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins and then place on a baking sheet.  Fill about 3/4 full.

Place baking sheet with ramekins in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Run a sharp knife along the edge of the ramekin and then invert cake onto a plate.  Dust with powdered  sugar and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit. (You can also just eat it right out of the ramekin.)

Topped with bananas and a side of French Vanilla Tillamook ice cream (best ice cream but only sold in Utah at WinCo).

Check out that chocolate lava!  Although my cake didn't collapse by itself on the plate the lava should be a smidgen thicker.  Next time I'll cook it another minute longer.

–Melanie

Blueberry Crumble

Nick and I got to visit my parents at my childhood home in St. Louis for one last time last week since they are moving in just 2 days.  It was sad to say goodbye to my home and town where I lived since the age of 2.  We did have a good time visiting my parents and my sister and brother-in-law though.  Despite the stress and need for much packing my mom still managed to make us tons of her awesome food.  For dessert one day she made this blueberry crumble (Gourmet's Best Dessert).  It is a great refreshing dessert for the summer, especially in the humid heat of St. Louis.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pints blueberries, rinsed
3/4 c sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c flour
3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 tsp salt
vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS
Grease 11x8 inch pan and preheat oven to 350 F. Put blueberries in baking dish and sprinkle with 6 Tbsp sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  In a bowl combine flour, butter, remaining 6 Tbsp sugar, and salt and work the mixture to a crumble.  Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the blueberries and bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes.  Serve with ice cream.

–Melanie

Blueberry Pie

Growing up I never liked pie.  At Thanksgiving or Christmas while everyone else ate pie I had a bowl of ice cream (my fav!).  Nick loves pie so I finally broke down and made this pie recipe a few months ago.  It totally changed my view on pie!  My sister and brother-in-law got to try some and loved it too!  Nick requested that we have this pie instead of cake for his birthday.  This recipe is from Williams-Sonoma and tastes delicious served warm with ice cream on top.

INGREDIENTS

Crust:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
6 Tbsp cold water


Filling:
4 c blueberries (if frozen increase cooking time 10-15 min)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 c sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar and salt.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbles with butter pieces  no larger than small peas.  Add water and mix with fork until dough pulls together (may need to use hands toward the end).  Divide in two and transfer the dough to a work surface.  Form each piece of dough into a ball and flatten into a disk.  Lightly flour work surface and roll out each dough disk to at least 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.

Fold 1 dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie dish.  Unfold and press the dough into the pan.  Trim the edge of the dough leaving a 3/4 inch overhang.  Set the pan and other dough round in the fridge.

Place blueberries in a large bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice and toss.  In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle the mixture over the berries and stir to coat evenly.  Immediately transfer the sugar coated berries to the dough-lined pan.  Dot with small pieces of butter.

Fold reserved dough round in half and place over filled pie.  Unfold and trim the edge leaving 1 inch overhand.  Fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp edges to seal.  Cut an asterisk into the top crust using a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.

Refrigerate pie for 20 minutes.  While dough is firming lower oven rack to lower third of oven and preheat to 375 F.

Bake the pie until the crust is golden, 50-60 minutes.  Transfer to trivet and let cool for 1-2 hours.  Serve at room temperature or rewarm for 10-15 minutes at 350 F.

–Melanie

Hershey's Best Brownies

These brownies are seriously the best brownies.  They truly satisfy a chocolate craving!  

Brownies:


INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter (melted)
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped nuts



DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack and frost.

Frosting:


INGREDIENTS
3 T butter
3 T cocoa
1 T light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c powder sugar
1-2 T milk

DIRECTIONS
Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

–Melanie

Magic in the Middle Cookies

This recipe is from melskitchencafe.com.  Rebecca told me about it awhile ago and I finally tried it and wish I would have sooner!  Chocolate and peanut butter is the best combination (sorry to those who are allergic to peanut butter)!  These take a little longer to make but are so worth it!  They remind me of the peanut butter blossom cookies but reversed.

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Dough:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar (plus extra for covering)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk

Peanut Butter Filling:
3/4 c peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
3/4 c powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Dough: Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.  In another bowl beat sugars, butter, and p until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat to combine.  Add dry mixture to sugar mixture and blend well.

Filling: In a small bowl mix peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth.  Flour hands and roll filling into 26 balls.

To make cookies: take 1 Tbsp of dough and make an indent with your thumb.  Place peanut butter ball into indentation and bring cookie dough up over it and press edges together.  Roll the cookie in hands to smooth out.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  Roll cookies in granulated sugar and place on baking sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies.  With the bottom of a greased drinking glass flatten each cookie to 1/2 inch thick.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, remove from oven, and cool on a rack.
–Melanie

No Bake Cookies

Nick loves these cookies, I love these cookies, my family loves these cookies... who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?!

INGREDIENTS
1 cube butter
2 c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
½ c. milk
¼ tsp. salt

½ c. peanut butter
3c. oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in pan and add in sugar, cocoa, and milk.  Bring to boil and let it boil one minute (not any longer or else your cookies will be dry and crumbly). Remove from heat and add peanut butter, oatmeal, and vanilla.  Using a teaspoon (or cookie scoop), drop on waxed paper to set.  I always like to leave a little in the pan to eat warm.  My mom would even let us put some in a little Dixie cup and eat it with a spoon.  So good!

Cooling and setting up on wax paper

–Melanie