Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Don't you love it when you take a chance to alter one of your favorite go-to recipes and it turns out AWESOME? :) I've been making this pumpkin muffin/bread recipe for quite some time. I had the brilliant idea to swap some of the flour for cocoa powder + add chocolate chips. These muffins are SO moist & heavenly. Best of all, no oil or butter makes them like super healthy, right? :) No seriously, pumpkin is so good for you. :) I used some whole wheat white flour too because that's what I had- no one knew the difference! :)

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
yield: 2 dozen muffins- halving the recipe works great too!

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
• 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 & line your muffin cups. Whisk dry ingredients together & set aside. Mix together applesauce & sugar in large mixing bowl with electric mixer. Add pumpkin until combined. Slowly add dry ingredients Add eggs one at a time until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups - do not fill more than 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes, or until top springs back lightly when touched. Cool slightly & enjoy. These are best when warm and the chocolate is melty! :) Yum.

Enjoy!

Ghiradelli Classic Brownies & Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes

I just posted this delicious & easy hot fudge sauce recipe. These brownies I made to enjoy with the sauce in a delicious brownie sundae. They are classic, fudgy & delicious.

A friend passed along another recipe for Truffle Brownies in which she recommended using this as the base, but G is not a fan of PB in baked goods, so I went with the simple version instead. These did not disappoint- they were perfect and I was very sad when the last brownie was taken from pan after I was looking forward to enjoying it in my sundae ALL day at work. That's OK- it was probably a sign...

P.S. Brownie sundaes are not complete without hot fudge, a dollop of marshmallow fluff & sprinkles. Fresh strawberries will take it over the top!

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

I don't know why I've been procrastinating writing up this recipe for so long! It's a really yummy one! Who doesn't love chocolate + caramel?? I used one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes- from my Reese's Cupcakes. I wanted to make a true caramel buttercream, but after my caramel ice cream burn fiasco last year, I wasn't quite ready for that ( I still have the scar to prove it!). This frosting is more of a brown sugar buttercream. It was good, next time I might just buy some caramel sauce and whip it into some buttercream frosting. We'll see how I'm feeling. These cupcakes did get great reviews though- yum yum eat em up!

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
From Ina Garten

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 TBSP) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature*
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 TBSP brewed coffee**
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

*I use buttermilk powder (follow directions) or juice of 1 lemon and add milk until it reaches desired measurement
** I do not drink coffee, so I "brewed" a cup using instant coffee granules

1. Preheat oven to 350. Get your cupcake pan ready with paper liners. 
2. In your electric mixer bowl (fitted with paddle attachment), cream butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
3. Lower speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, better well after each addition. 
4. Add vanilla & mix. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee.
6.  In a third bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 
7. With mixer on low speed, add buttermilk mixture and flour mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Mix until just blended and scrap sides with a spatula. 
8. Scoop batter evenly into cupcake pans (I do 2 medium scoops each). Bake on middle rack 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then place on wire rack to cool completely before frosting. You can cool faster in the fridge, if desired.

Caramel Frosting
From AllRecipes
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes, can be doubled if needed

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream + 1-2 TBSP
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and 1/2 cup cream to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. 

Add soda and boil for 1 more minute.This will cause it to bubble up a lot- don't worry. 

Remove from heat and pour into heatproof bowl. Add butter and DO NOT STIR. 

Cover & place in fridge for 1.5 hours. Once it is completely chilled, it is ready.
Remove and add remaining 1-2 TBSP cream and beat with electric mixer for several minutes, adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes & enjoy! 

Ina Garten's Reese's Cupcakes

Chocolate and peanut butter are a truly wonderful combo- as you are probably aware. Of course I've been dying to make some cupcakes like this for some time, but I was waiting for the right occasion.

A friend's birthday party came up and so I decided to make these - the only condition was that I could not take any home with me! The result? Success! :) Ina Garten is a genius!

I only had one- at the party. My craving was satisified and these received RAVE reviews. Everyone thought it was the perfect combo. Choppped reeses cup make the perfect topping, if you can resist snacking on them... :)

Oreo Cookes & Cream Cake

 

My mom got this amazing Oreo cookie pan from Williams Sonoma last year. I don't even remember when- I think sometime over the summer? How sad it that! I can't believe I waited this long to use it. I think what deterred me was that you can't ice the top of the cap since you would cover up the "cookie" part.

It was really yummy though with double the icing in the middle- just like a double stuff Oreo! :) Did I mention how I think this would make a fab ice cream cake too? I think I'll try that next time. This is definitely a crowd-pleaser and perfect for your favorite Oreo lover. Or yourself. I think I may be my favorite Oreo lover- is that allowed? Good. :)

The pans come with a recipe, but I really wanted to make a cookies and cream cake, so I used this one I found on My Recipe Finds Online. I followed it to a T and it was really good. The birhtday boy said this was his favorite cake EVER and said how moist and tasty it was. He also commented on how delicious the frosting was with the crunchy oreos. The oreos do soften up the next day, but I think its better that way myself. I never use cake mixes and I try not to use a lot of oil in my recipes, so I thought that although the cake was very moist, something tasted a little off. Next time I would use a mixture of oil and butter or maybe some unsweetened applesauce to try to cut the oily taste, but it was still very good.You could always use your favorite moist chocolate cake recipe, but you really do need to try this frosting. :)

Miss Debbie's No Bake Cookies

These cookies remind me of home. My mom (Miss Debbie) always wanted to make these with me whenever a craving hit. They are perfect since you just cook them up on the stove in a few minutes and then you let them harden on wax paper. I always used to swipe my finger around the warm, gooey edges to make sure they were good. By good I mean not poisonous. :) They never look perfect, but they always taste great- the combo of PB, chocolate and salty oats is very yummy in my tummy.

When my mom came to visit a few months ago, she told me on the way back form the airport that she had a craving! haha surprise surprise! We had to call my roomie to make sure we had "Quick Oats." Check!

The regular kind of oats will not be cooked thoroughly in this recipe and result in very chewy cookies.

One note- make sure you pay close attention to the cooking time- too little and they will not setup, too much and they will be like rocks... They taste best the first day, but they will keep for a day or two- best to give away!

Miss Debbie's No Bake Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen small cookies

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 heaping TBSP cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup salted butter (If you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I use creamy)
• 3 cups Quick Oats
• 1 tsp vanilla

First things first, spread some wax (or parchment) paper on your counter. In a large pot, melt sugar, cocoa, butter and milk over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until it comes to a boil.  Pay close attention! 

After it comes to a boil, reduced heat and boil for 1 minute while you keep stirring. Make sure your other ingredients are already measured out and ready to go...

Turn off heat and add peanut butter, oats and vanilla, stirring quickly until thoroughly mixed. 

Place onto wax paper by the spoonful and allow to cool and set slightly before eating.

Wash those sticky fingers and enjoy!

Bitty Baked Brownies

Salad justifies a brownie, right? Especially a bitty one. Good, because I'm pretty sure we had salad for dinner the night my friend Jessica and I made these little babies...And hey, we had a chocolate craving. What's a girl to do? Thank the Lord, I had all the ingredients on hand to make these. I had been wanting to make "The Baked Brownie" for a while, but it always seemed like too much work when I needed a brownie ASAP.

Since Jessica was over and willing to help, the prep time in half. Done.Now J is not normally a baker, but she was sweet to help me out. We learned how to halve a recipe haha- don't forget you must halve ALL the ingredients! :) We learned a lot too- did I mention that?

As for the brownies, they are so rich and decadent. You can really taste the quality in the chocolate. The directions said to wait until they were cool, but I thought they had a whole other dimension while warm and slightly gooey. With ice cream. :)

2 Minute Mug Chocolate Cake!

Say what? Say yes! I had a mad dessert craving the other night and did not need/want to bake an entire cake. I had heard of this before, so I did a little googling and less than 10 minutes later I had already over-indulged. :) Amazing, eh? This recipe could use a little tweaking, and there are so many variations out there, but I did not have time for that. Next time I would sub melted butter for the oil, and maybe cook a little less to make it more "lava" like. YUM! Can't really beat a cake in 2 minutes though!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I cannot tell you how much chocolate and peanut butter have been on my mind lately! I mean, it is a FABULOUS combination, but I have never craved it so much before! I do not usually eat a lot candy, but I have seriously been wanting some Reese's... I knew I needed to get my little craving out of the way, so I whipped these up in no time and brought them over to a little Superbowl viewing party. They were still warm and received rave reviews. I do have to say, that they are not very good the next day unless you warm them up, so make these for a party/gathering/sharing. Believe me, you won't want these in your peripheral vision while you're trying to convince yourself to go to the gym... 

Chocolate Banana Smoothie- Oh My!

This treat tastes way too decadent to be good for me! :) After I discovered the joy of banana smoothies, I was craving something sweet for dessert. I made a few alterations to that recipe and came up with this wonderful dessert smoothie that tastes like a rich milkshake! It would also be delicious with some strawberries if you have those on hand.