Brownies In Minutes, Turtle Styled with Marshmallow Creme

Brownies In Minutes, Turtle Styled with Marshmallow Creme

Hi everybody :)
I know it's been a while since my last post. I've been kind of busy around the house lately. But I do have a nice treat to share with you all today. My daughter and I were having some fun tweaking this recipe. This brownie was prepared in a microwave in less than 2 minutes. If you follow my blog, you'll know that I normally shy away from "microwave cooking," but today I'm taking the plunge. Seeing that the recipe didn't required eggs makes it so much easier for me to accept the challenge. (Cooking eggs, meats, or fish in the microwave is still taking me some time getting accustomed to.)   

Want a deliciously moist fudge brownie in less than 2 minutes? Well, let's get it started...   

Brownie In Minutes 

Modified from: Brownie In A Cup 

3 Tablespoons hot water
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee  (optional)
2 Tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I used 1 Tbsp. Special Dark & 1 Tbsp. Regular)
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon Jif Mocha Cappuccino Spread or chocolate chips (optional)
1 - 2 Tablespoon chopped pecans, toasted  (optional)
4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour (I used 2 Tbsp. all-purpose & 2 Tbsp. White Lily Self-Rising, to give it a little lift.) 

Topping  (optional)
Marshmallow Creme
Smucker's Caramel Ice Cream Topping or Homemade Caramel
Smucker's Fudge Ice Cream Topping  (I used Jif Mocha Cappuccino Spread) 
Toasted Pecans, chopped
 
Whisk together water, coffee, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. (You can use the microwaveable mug or dish you're cooking it in.  If you want to turn it out onto a dish after cooking, mix in a bowl and spray the mug or dish nonstick cooking spray before pouring in the mixture.)

Add the cocoa powder, sugars, mocha spread, and flour; stir until smooth. 

Place in a microwaveable mug or dish. Cook in microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (It took me 1 minute and 15 seconds) Check after the 1 minute mark. Center should still be soft. (The picture below is how it looked when finished cooking.)

 Top with marshmallow creme, drizzle with caramel and fudge and sprinkle with nuts.

The Taste: AMAZING! REPEAT, if you dare!! :)
ENJOY! Come again...
Linked to: 
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday
Show Case Your Talent  @What's Cooking Love
Thursday's Treasures Week 106
Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum 
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck 
From the Farm Blog Hop
Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #74
Marvelous Mondays Link Party 67
Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor 
Mix it up Monday!
Melt in Your Mouth Monday (Recipe Blog Hop #137)
Tuesday’s Table 
Tuesday Talent Show #104 

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi everybody :)
My daughter, Patrina, is stepping in once again to for me, since she had so much fun sharing the Oatmeal Scotchies  with you. This time she made these deliciously chewy oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips sprinkled about. The perfect after school snack with a glass of milk on the side. Once again, Patrina...

Hi, everyone.  I found the recipe for these cookies on the back of a bag of flour; the recipe is also available here.  I made the cookie dough one night around midnight and decided to bake the first batch the next morning, because the heat of the kitchen was too much, even at midnight.  I refrigerated the dough until morning.

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. 

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack

Tip: Cookie dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. If it becomes too firm, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.
Cookie dough can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 9 months. Thaw just until soft enough to handle.

  
What I Did and/or Think: I didn't add any chopped nuts.  I really wanted to add pecans, but looking through the freezer for them made my hands numb.  

Like before (I know my mom hates this), I did not measure the baking soda, salt, or vanilla.  I was beginning to feel tired at this point, and did not want to bother with the teaspoons.

I used margarine.  I also combined quick-cooking oats with old fashioned (about half quick and half old-fashioned).  Finally, I added extra chocolate chips to the dough, since the bag was nearly empty after I added the cup.
These cookies were very tasty!  I would love to make them again (but with pecans next time).  

ENJOY! Come again... 
Linked to :  
From the Farm Blog Hop
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 
Show Case Your Talent  @What's Cooking Love 
Food-Tastic Fridays @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes  
Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum  
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living   
The Country Cook:: Weekend Potluck
Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!  
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Marvelous Mondays #62

Skip To My Lou: Made by you Monday
Tuesday Talent Show #99
Tuesday’s Table

Wake Up Wednesdays

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

Chunky Chocolate Cookies  

Hi everybody :)
Graduation Day came and went and I'm back HOME! It's great being back. I've been so busy lately organizing after coming back home; trying to jam an apartment into an already packed house is hard work.

My daughter's ankle is still on the mend, but she's walking a little now, so her walking boot is useful after all. :) She will be taking the Bar Exam soon. I'm going to be the proud mother of a lawyer, y'all!! 
 
Enough talk about me and my family; now, on to the recipe, Chunky Chocolate Cookies. These cookies are made with a cake mix, so they are so easy to make for busy moms on the go. The nuts can be omitted and the chips exchanged to suit your taste. Let's get it started...


Chunky Chocolate Cookies
1 pkg. Duncan Hines Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick); melted
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix cake mix, eggs, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; stirring with a spoon until well blended.

Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by leveled measuring tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. (I used my medium cookie scoop and baked the cookies on parchment paper.)

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes for chewy cookies or 14 minutes for crispy cookies.  (I baked my cookies 8 minutes for chewy and 10 minutes for crispy.)

Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets and move to wire rack to finish cooling. Store in airtight container. 
Source: Duncan Hines 
What I Did and/or Think: 
The changes I made are in Bold, Italic, and Purple.

The Taste: These cookies were GREAT! Love the taste.  Definitely worthy of REPEATING!

ENJOY! Come again...       
Linked to:
Titus 2 Tuesday 
Zentmrs: Tuesday Table 
Wednesdays Adorned From Above 
Show and Share Wednesday Semi-Homemade Mom
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck

Chocolate Chips Cookies: Chewy or Crispy

Chocolate Chips Cookies: Chewy or Crispy

Hi everybody :)
I promised a recipe was coming soon so here it is, Chocolate Chip Cookies. I know, I know there are thousand of chocolate chip cookie recipe out there, but this one caught my attention because with few changes; you can make your cookies chewy or crispy. You decide. Anna Olson, Pastry Chef at Canada Food Network, noted for crispy cookies omit the cornstarch and replace the baking soda with baking powder. Now, let's get it started... 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks (I used 1 cup milk chocolate chips)

In an electric mixer cream together butter and sugars until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes with stand mixer. 

Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
In a bowl; mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks. 

(Dough can be refrigerated at this point and baked about an hour later, or shaped and frozen following the direction here  for an easy make-ahead recipe. If baking from a frozen dough add about two more minutes to baking time.)
 

Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet in an oven preheated at 350 degree. (I used parchment paper.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edge.

Source: Food Network
 

What I Did and/or Think: 
The changes I made are in Bold, Italic, and Purple.   Brown sugar also helps when making a chewier cookies especially dark brown sugar. Sometime when making cookies that call for brown sugar I like to use 1 part dark brown and 1 part light brown to get the amount of chewiness I love.

The Taste: I love the chewy chocolatey taste of these cookies and so does my daughter. She requested more after class. 

How do you like your chocolate chip cookies? Either way you choose, I think you will find this recipe a winner, so they're definitely worthy of REPEATS.

ENJOY!  Come again... 
Linked to: 
Foodie Friends Friday @Nosh My Way
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck 
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff 
Sweet Saturday Link Party: The Gingerbread Blog 
Wednesdays Adorned From Above

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party  @ Addicted Recipes

Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor  
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!
Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms 
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Tried and True Recipes Party  
Zentmrs: Tuesday Table
Titus 2 Tuesday 
Tuesday-Talent-Show:  Chef In Training    

Cereal Cookie Bars: Rice Crispy Treat Upgraded

Cereal Cookie Bars: Rice Crispy Treat Upgraded

Hi everybody :)
I was looking for something in my cookbook collection, that I can make to satisfy my sweet tooth in a hurry. These bars 'jumped up' at me from the pages of my cookbook. They're quick, don't require much cooking time, and loaded with goodies of the sweetest kind; so bars, it is. Let's get it started...

Cereal Cookie Bars
9 cups crisp rice cereal
6-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup cornflakes (I used crushed graham crackers)
1 cup flaked coconut
2 packages (one 16 ounces, one 10-1/2 ounces) miniature marshmallows
1 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used butterscotch chips)
1/2 cup raisins (I used white chocolate chips)
1/2 cup M&M's minis (I used regular)

In a large bowl, combine the cereal, oats, cornflakes and coconut; set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook and stir the marshmallows and butter over low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in honey. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until coated. Cool for 5 minutes.

Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and baking bits. Press into two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pans. 

 Cool for 30 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 dozen.
 Source:  Taste of Home 2008 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes or here.

 What I did and/or Think:
I divided the recipe in half and used a 13-in.x9-in. pan for thicker bars, otherwise the bars will be very thin. The other changes I made are in Bold, Italic, and Purple.
The Taste: I love the combinations of flavors. Great REPEAT. It's like a rice crispy treat upgraded to the next level. I think next time I will do a fruits and nuts combination.

ENJOY! Come again... 
Linked to:
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff
Show and Tell Saturday: Be Different...Act Normal    
Sweet Saturday Link Party: The Gingerbread Blog 
Finding the Delicious & Pretty Linky Party
Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party  @ Addicted Recipes

Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice

Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks 
Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday! 
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Watch Out Martha   
Tried and  True Recipe Party 3  
 The Country Cook:: Weekend Potluck

Samoas Chocolate Pudding Trifles

Samoas Chocolate Pudding Trifles

Hi everybody :)

Bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana’s Home Baking #chocolateparty and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farms and Land O’ Lakes® Butter.

I LOVE Girl Scout Cookies, my favorite are the Somoas. Every year I show my love and support by buying as many boxes of Somoas I can :) it's for a good cause after all ;). So whenever February roll around, I stack-up on these goodies.

Alas, February is quickly coming to an end, and soon March will be here, but before I bid it farewell... join me on my last journey for this month to 'Chocolate Land'. This trip is full of promises of the sweetest kind; dark chocolate pudding, bits of grated chocolate and caramel between layers of Somoas cookies topped with a chocolatey cream.   

The Chocolate Pudding
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa (I used 1 part dark & 1 part regular)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. 

gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. 

Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Spoon into individual serving dishes. Chill until serving. Yield: 6-8 servings. (I covered with plastic wrap, pressing down to the top of the pudding, removing all air pockets and refrigerate it overnight.)

Pudding Source: Taste of Home

To assemble the Trifles
2 package  Samoas Girl Scout Cookie, broken into large pieces plus 6-8 halves or whole for garnishing
1/4 cup Chocolate Fondue or Chocolate Fudge Frosting
1 (8 oz. container) Cool Whip, thawed or 3/4 cup Whip Cream, whipped
1 tablespoon Chocolate Liqueur, optional
Caramel Ice Cream Topping 
1 Chocolate bar, grated  
6 - 8 Somoas Cookies halves or whole for garnishing

Mix fondue and cool whip until light and fluffy, add liqueur; set aside. 

Place in layer in this order: cookies pieces, pudding, caramel, cool whip mixture, grated chocolate, and pudding. Topping each trifles off with the cool whip mixture, caramel drizzles,  grated chocolate and cookie halve or a whole cookie.
 
What I Think: 
Any thing that's chocolatey is worthy of REPEATS!
This dessert is definitely one of them.

 
Just because February is ending soon; the chocolate indulgences don't have to stop. If you're just tuning in to my blog, every month I post at least 2 recipes dealing with chocolate, from the creamy white to the deepest dark that promise to fulfill  your chocolate fantasy delight. If you missed a trip, don't worry there still time to play catch-up; just look under the Chocolate Label to reach your chocolate destination. But to ensure you won't have that problem, subscribe now and follow me. I will take you on an trip you won't soon forget :)

ENJOY! Come again.... 
Linked To:
Shaken Together Life: {what's shakin' link party} 
Miss Information: I Freakin' Did It Friday  
Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum 
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living  
I'm Lovin' It Fridays @ Tidy Mom 
Finding the Pretty & Delicious Linky Party #6. 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks 
Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday 
 Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor 
Roxana’s Home Baking #chocolateparty