Frosty S'more Cups

Thanks to us hosting Small Group again, I have a reason to bake! Although, I have to admit that my baking and cooking adventures have continued despite my lacking of posts here. Because of that, I may change my format here a bit. You see, like I said, I've been baking and cooking plenty. But taking pictures...not so much. And updating blogs. Ugh, Don't even remind me.

But back to the S'more cups..delicious. Though billed as a "summer treat" with the crazy weather we have been having, it still feels like it's summer around here despite that we are almost into October. So these were still the perfect, frosty treat that makes the memories of summer linger, just a little bit longer. One note: I didn't have a mini cheesecake pan so I opted to use muffin cups/wrappers instead. It still worked out great though for the next time, I may just look for a specialized tin, just for the sake of it :o)

Frosty S'more Cups
by EasyBaked

INGREDIENTS:

• 18 graham cracker squares (9 sheets or about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. whipping cream
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1 1/2 c. cold milk
• 1 box (4 servings, 3.9 oz)instant chocolate pudding
• 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (as topping)

DIRECTIONS

• Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs.
• Melt butter and add to graham crackers, mixing until well combined to make crust.
• Prepare pan by placing disks into the bottom of each cup.
• Evenly divide crust mixture into all 12 cups, saving about 1/4 cup to use as topping later. (I used a Mini Tart Shaper to press crumbs firmly into the bottom of each cup).
• Place milk chocolate chips and whipping cream into a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
• Spoon chocolate into a zip top bag, cut a tip off and evenly pipe chocolate into the center of each cup, on top of the crust.
• Divide Marshmallows among cups.
  Mix cold milk with pudding on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the Cool Whip container (the rest will be used as topping). 
• Spoon filling into a large zip top bag (and ZIP it or you might have a mess!)  Clip a corner off and pipe pudding into each cup evenly.  Try to pipe it in between the marshmallows so that the whole cup is filled.  I did have a little left over (which was really tasty straight out of the bag!) 
• Use a knife to smooth the tops level with the top of the pan. 
• Freeze for at least a couple of hours. 
• Allow the pan to warm just a bit before popping each dessert cup out.  Poke a finger up through the hole in the bottom of the pan and grab that s’mores cup by its crust.  Remove the disk from the bottom and you are ready to add topping.  
• For topping, I just piped a little bit of the left over Cool Whip on each dessert using a decorating tip.  Then I sprinkled the remaining crust and mini chocolate chips on top. 
• Serve cold right away– or put them in a sealed container and freeze until you are ready to serve.
   

Chocolate PB Cake

This past Sunday was Jacob's birthday, but since he wasn't going to be in town, we decided to "celebrate" a little early.

I made a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and crumb coat, chocolate frosting then a chocolate ganache poured over the top. Followed by some chocolate chips for the bottom border and pb balls nested in piped ganache. So rich, so decadent, so good...Too bad I didn't take more time to take pictures in better lighting.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

So what do you do when you have some bananas that are overly ripe and strawberries that are on their way out? Make Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana muffins of course!

I don't even remember when and where I first saw this recipe, but I must have bookmarked it thinking that it looked intriguing. And then it was forgotten about in the depths of my internet bookmarks...until Jacob came over one day asking if I could take some black bananas off his hands. So I dove into the archives and rediscovered this recipe.  

I have to admit, I was slightly apprehensive about this concoction the more I thought about it. Strawberries and Chocolate? heavenly. Chocolate and Bananas? Excellent. Strawberry Banana? Perfect. But all three? together? at once? But I decided to take the plunge anyway, and I am oh so glad that I did.

 

Perhaps it is just a phase, but these are probably one of my favorite muffins right now. I've made them a couple of times since first trying out the recipe and they have never lasted more than a few days, even with just Brad and I! And the great thing is, is that others enjoy them as well, so I know it's not just me and my funky pregnancy hormones. :op Plus, it only makes 12 muffins, which is a perfect amount I would think.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
by For the Love of Cooking

• ½ cup of butter, softened
• ¾ cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 overripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 10-12 fresh strawberries diced
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.

Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together, mix well. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

Add most of the diced strawberries and most of the chocolate chips then gently mix them into the batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin tin. Place the remaining strawberries and chocolate chips on top of each muffin. 

 

Place into the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

 Let the muffins cool on a rack. Slather with butter and enjoy!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

A couple weeks ago, Brad and I started to watch a very yummilicious episode of America's Test Kitchen and how to make some delicious cookies. One that really caught our eye were the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies" because they sounded oh so tasty while describing the baking process on t.v. and looked even better.

 

A moist, chewy cookie with toffee flavors and crisp edges? Yes, your mouth can start drooling now.

So I bought the Ghiradelli chips (they had done a taste test in the same episode and described the dark chocolate flavor with layers of chocolate rather than sporadic chips) but for this reason and that wasn't able to make a batch. That was until this past weekend. We were getting ready to go on a 6 hour road trip to Clare, MI for an old GLMers wedding  (Congrats again Wave and Ginger!)  and I knew we were going to need something to snack on. So, at 9 pm at night I began to construct the "perfect cookie".

Problems? Only one, I have having trouble getting my butter to that rich, warm, brown color however that may have something to do with the fact that I was using margarine rather than real butter. Though the dough offered toffee flavors, the end result only had a hint. One the other hand, So. Many. Compliments! Etch got addicted to them over the weekend and Jumpin' Jack continued to fixate on them for moments after eating one, thinking of how they would taste in a variety of different scenarios and situations. We all decided that these were very close to the best, if not, THE best chocolate chip cookie. Soft, chewy, thick, delicious...I can't wait until I make them again, and I know a large number of people who feel the exact same way.

 

As I mentioned, I did use the recommended chips, Ghiradelli 60% cacao as well as only baked one tray at a time. Perfection!


Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:
by America's Test Kitchen

Rich and buttery, with their soft cores and crispy edges, chocolate chip cookies are the American cookie-jar standard. We wanted to refine this recipe to create a moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie with crisp edges and deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness—in short, a more sophisticated cookie than the standard bake sale offering.

Melting a generous amount of butter before combining it with other ingredients gave us the chewy texture we wanted. Since we were melting butter, we browned a portion of it to add nutty flavor. Using a bit more brown sugar than white sugar enhanced chewiness, while a combination of one egg and one egg yolk gave us supremely moist cookies. For the crisp edges and deep toffee flavor, we allowed the sugar to dissolve and rest in the melted butter. We baked the cookies until golden brown and just set, but still soft in the center. The resulting cookies were crisp and chewy and gooey with chocolate, and boasted a complex medley of sweet, buttery, caramel, and toffee flavors.

Makes 16 cookies

Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips, see related tasting.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes.

Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. 

 

Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny.

 

Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute.

 

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.