Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Chocolate-Dipped Oreos

If all else fails...dip it in chocolate. There. I just saved you hundreds of dollars in therapy visits. If you've read the past few posts, you know that I am currently attempting to bake for Tim's 10 million co-workers for the holiday season.

Okay. Fine. There are only 18. But that's almost the entire Duggard family coming over to your house for dessert. Feel up to the task? Me, either.

I always get motivated at work. Or church. Or anywhere other than my kitchen. But I get these magical vision of me wearing my cute little apron with my hair effortlessly, yet elegantly, pulled back, baking and singing Christmas carols. Of course I'm completely rested after my full day of work and my 5 am workout. I also have a dash of flour on my nose, which my husband finds endearing, yet a little bit sexy.

Not.

I walk in the door and I still have to cook dinner. My lovely husband who promised to help with the dishes has lapsed into a food coma in front of re-runs of Sister Wives. I should know by now that spaghetti does that to him. I have 3 loads of laundry to do, there are 75 Christmas cards calling to me from my corner of the bedroom, and to be quite honest, I stink a little bit. Somehow I've managed to come home sweaty in 55 degree weather. Only me.

This is the path that has lead me to the chocolate-dipped Oreos. Granted, the Oreos are only one of many things I am dipping. They are fun, though. Here are the simple ingredients and instructions:

Ingredients:
  • 1 large bag semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon Crisco
  • Oreos
  • Sprinkles
  • Wax paper
Directions:
  • Slowly melt chocolate chips over very low heat on the stove. You can use a double broiler if you have one; I don't even know what one looks like, so don't feel like it's a necessity.
  • Make sure you stir constantly. You don't want to overcook the chocolate. It messes with the texture. Just make sure it gets to a nice, creamy consistency that you can easily dip cookies into.
  • Dip the Oreos either halfway or fully into the chocolate. Apply sprinkles immediately and set on wax paper to cool.
  • Eat. With milk. Next to the tree. And try to remember why Christmas is "the best time of the year."
Trust me. It's easier to dip things than bake things. I've done both. Several times.

Love and dipping,
Rachael

6 Layer Smith Landing Cake

Believe it or not, I'm not really into cake; however, I know many individuals who are dedicated "cake people." I created this cake based off of two recipes I found: one from Saveur, and one from Group Recipes. The moment I saw it, I just knew. You know that feeling? Love at first sight, some might call it. This was more than that. I felt converted to the cause of cake, as I like to refer to it as. I think what was most interesting (and tasty) about this was the way that the recipe called for the boxed yellow cake to be doctored. I will forever and always make my boxed yellow cakes this way.

Ingredients:
  • 8 large Reese's cups, frozen
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • Flour
  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 2 1/2 cups evaporated milk
  • 16 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 6 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa
Directions:
  • Throw the Reese's in the freezer the night before you make this cake.
  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray as many 8" round cake pans as you have with cooking spray, then dust with some flour and knock out the excess. Set aside.
  • Put the cake mix, 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk, half the butter, vanilla, salt, eggs and 1/3 cup water into a large bow.
  • Beat until light and fluffy
  • Add 1 cup of batter to each cake pan and bake 10-12 minutes or until cake is golden brown and thoroughly cooked
  • Continue this process until batter is gone
  • Combine the remaining milk, sugar and cocoa in a medium pot; stir well, then add remaining butter.
  • Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted, which normally takes 4-5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, continuing to stir well
  • Spread each cake layer with about 1/2 cup of frosting until all your layers are completed. Frost the outside of the cake with remaining frosting
  • Take the Reese's cups out of the freezer, remove packaging and put in ziplock baggy. Using a tenderizer, hammer, or the fists God gave you, smash them into little pieces
  • Top cake with Reese's crumbs and refrigerate until ready to serve
This cake is peculiar in that Smith Landing cakes are normally 10 layers, and I only did 6. I did this for  two reasons: 1) I was sick and tired of baking, and 2) the original recipe lied and said I would only need 1 box of cake mix, when you actually need 2. So if you feel like going the distance and doing the whole 10 layers, then double all the cake/frosting ingredients. I know you can do it.

Love and waaaaaaay-too-much-cake,
Rachael

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies



We all have our days. I have more than most people. Or maybe I convince myself of that so I'm justified in baking creating these as often as possible. My mother actually introduced these to me, which is no surprise. She is the queen of effortless and fabulous, but I have to admit, I was skeptical. I'm one of those people who ashamedly believes that the harder you work and the more expensive the ingredients, the better the food will taste. While that's true in some cases, this is not one of them. So next time you have a day, forget baking. Just make these.

P.S. I've heard these can also be called cow patties, but I wouldn't advice googling that. It'll significantly decrease your appetite.

Ingredients:
  • 3 1/2 cups oats, divided
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of cocoa
Directions:
  • Before starting, lay out a few pieces of wax paper on your counter. And ask God to forgive you for the calories you are about to consume. Maybe pray twice.
  • In a large pan, melt butter slowly.
  • Once the butter is melted (but not sizzling), add the milk, sugar and cocoa. Lightly stir.
  • Turn up the heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil. 
  • Remove from the heat once it's boiling and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Combine.
  • Add the oats. Mix that in, too.
    • P.S. Use a wooden spoon. You don't want to know the fate of my plastic spatula.
  • Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls onto wax paper.
  • Let cookies cool until they are set. To speed up the process, place cookies in the fridge or freezer.
    • Side note: my mom dropped off some of these when she was in town and threw them in my freezer for an "emergency." I forgot about them, and about 6 weeks later had a minor chocolate-emergency. Guess what? They were still perfect.
In the words of Rachel Zoe, "These.are.everything."

Love and cheap thrills,
Rachael

Rice Krispy Treats...dipped in chocolate



Ever heard of these? I made them up myself. Okay, not really. But this was the first time I ever made them (seriously). And you know what? I break the laws of physics. Or the law of something that makes no sense. See, I can make a mean chocolate souffle. And homemade bread. And a steak that will melt in your mouth.

But this was one of the most difficult things I've ever made.

I blame Kellogg's. See, they don't include enough marshmallows in their recipe. So I'm going to fix it. Because I fix things. Then, we're going to put a fun twist on things and dip some of them in chocolate and make kind of a smorgasbord of marshmallow chocolatey goodness.

Ingredients:
  • 3 tablespoons
  • 6 cups of Rice Krispy Treats
  • 1 1/2 jar marshmallow fluff
    • The original recipe calls for one jar, but I didn't think it was enough.
  • 1 bag chocolate chips
  • Crisco
  • Fun toppings, which include (but are not limited to):
    • Reese's cups
    • White chocolate candy bar
    • Oreo cookie candy bar
    • Oreos
    • Nuts
    • Sprinkles (the brighter, the better)
Directions for Rice Krispy Treats (according to Kellogg's website):
1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.


MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

Now, for the chocolate-dipping part...
  • Melt chocolate on low heat in a double broiler or small pot
  • Add about a tablespoon of Crisco or other shortening
  • Let it melt very slowly. We're talking heat setting 2 here.
  • Once the chocolate is melted and the treats are cooled and hardened, it's time to do some dipping
  • You have two different options for how to shape these things. I cut large bars whenever possible, but used some of the more "crumby" sections and balled them into miniature bites
  • Dip the bars halfway into the chocolate, and dip the bites all the way into the chocolate. Place on wax paper and add toppings before it cools. Here are some decorating options:
    • Melt candy bars (not Reese's) in the microwave in a bowl for about 30 seconds and drizzle on top of bites and/or bars
    • Add sprinkles. Lots of sprinkles.
    • Drizzle chocolate on plain rice krispies (not dipped in chocolate)
    • Crumble up Reese's or other favorite candy bar and toss the chunks on before chocolate hardens
    • I happened to have a few extra Reese's, so I dipped half of each one in the chocolate for .2 seconds (any longer and it'll melt) and immediately poured sprinkles all over it. Just a thought.
You've got options here. I'm not going to tell you what to do. But I am going to tell you that this is cheap, thrifty, and de-LICIOUS. And purty.

Love and marshmallows,
Rachael


Easy breezy peanut butter cups

Very rarely, if ever, do I have a real.chocolate.craving. I'm more of a salt girl myself; however, all those Valentine's Day commercials got me wanting...nay, needing some serious chocolate. So you'd think that I would drive to any gas station, Walmart or grocery story to grab a $1 box of chocolates, right? Wrong. I decided to make ten thousand of these to give to my co-workers (job security, people).

What I loved most about making these bite-sized treats is that my wonderful husband helped me make these, without having to be asked. That should prove just how easy this is to make.

I love you, honey.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips (which is about a full bag, so go ahead and use the whole thing)
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • Mini muffin pan
  • Mini cupcake liners
Directions:
  • Combine chocolate chips and shortening. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted, which takes about 5 minutes
  • Combine butter and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
  • Stir in confectioners' sugar 
  • Place liners in the mini pan
  • Spoon a small tsp of chocolate mixture into each liner, making sure it fills no more than 1/4 of the liner.
  • Add a dollop of peanut butter
  • Cover with another tsp of chocolate mixture
  • Refrigerate until set (about an hour, maybe a bit more depending on the temperature of your fridge) or freeze to speed up the process.
If I'm being real here, it is much cheaper and easier to spend $2 on a big bag of Reese's minis. But how much fun is that?

None. I'm sure of it.

Love and cups,
Rachael

Red velvet cake balls



In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm baking my life away. See, I was granted a 4-day weekend at work, and instead of sitting on the couch and relaxing like I should be doing, I'm baking a hundred different types of treats for none other than mine and Tim's co-workers. This is one of the goodies, and while it was my first time making it, I'm partial towards anything that involves a) red velvet cake, b) cream cheese frosting, and c) melted chocolate. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with me. That's just how I feel.

Ingredients:
  • 1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
  • 1 16 oz. container of cream cheese frosting
  • 1 bag chocolate chips (regular or white chocolate)
  • 2 tbsp. shortening
  • Wax paper
 Directions:
  • Bake the red velvet cake as directed on the back of the box
  • Let cool completely
    • I left mine to sit for 30 minutes
  • Add the container of cream cheese and mix.
    • Some websites will tell you to use your hands. Trust me when I say that is not a good idea.
  • Roll into quarter-size balls and place on baking sheet
  • Let cool in the fridge for an hour+, or in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It's just important that they're extremely firm.
  • While that's cooling, pour the chocolate chips and shortening into a sauce pan over low heat, stirring every 2-3 minutes until melted.
    • Please do yourself a favor and don't get aggressive and try to turn the heat up to speed up the process. It will burn the chocolate.
  • When the cake balls are firm, roll them in the melted chocolate
  • Place on wax paper and let them cool (I put mine in the fridge)
  • Drizzle with leftover chocolate to top it off.
This is one of those recipes that you will never need to look up again because you will never forget it. If you're looking to transport these around town like me, wrap them individually in tinfoil.

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Rachael



Chocolate bundt cake with glaze

Surprisingly, my picky eater is picky about desserts, too, not just the main course. This recipe is incredibly easy, and unless your picky eater hates chocolate, this should be a hit.

Ingredients:
*1 package dark chocolate cake mix (I'm all about a good milk chocolate, but for this, dark is better)
*1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
*3 tablespoons milk

*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2 of your favorite candy bars (optional)
*Chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
*Prepare/bake cake as instructed, except in a bundt cake pan (you can buy one for a whole $5 at WalMart). Note: Instructions on the back of the box will say how long to cook a bundt cake with that specific mix
*Crush candy bars in a zip-loc bag and pour into mix (optional). This adds a kick and some texture.
*After baking, let sit and cool
*Flip cake cautiously onto whatever plate you plan on serving it on
*Mix milk, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract
*Slowly pour glaze over cake, allowing the remains to drain into the center
*Top with sprinkles
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