Very Chocolate Cookies

I came across this recipe the other day as I was looking at recipes on my AllRecipes Dinner Spinner app. Apparently I was having a sugar craving as all I was looking at was desserts! :) Tonight I was making some dough up to make Valentine sugar cookies which had to chill in the fridge for an hour. I guess I had a bee in my bonnet and decided to make these as I was waiting. I think they are rather delicious, but Malcolm my non-chocolate lover, thought they were too chocolaty. I've never heard of anything having too much chocolate! So chocoholics, enjoy!

Very Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto unprepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not overbake. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

*My first batch came out with VERY flat cookies. I ended up adding maybe another 1/2 cup of flour and then they were beautiful and round after that. I think maybe it has something to do with where I live, as I ended up having to add a little bit more flour to my sugar cookies as well, as they were coming out the same as usual. So if they come out flat, add a little bit of flour! Mine cooked for exactly 10 mins. It's hard to tell when chocolate cookies are done. 

Chocolate Lava Cakes

This is one of my favorite desserts and it's SO easy! These little cakes are a little bit of heaven with vanilla ice cream. I made these for Marion and Shaila while they were here and Shaila suggested I put it on our blog.




Chocolate Lava Cakes

1 stick of butter
4 Squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 C. Powdered Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
6 T. Flour

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter and chocolate in microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and whisk together until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add powdered sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and flour. Butter 4 custard cups and divide batter evenly into cups. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cake-like on top. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto plates. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I was really craving those red velvet cupcakes that Melanie posted. I was all ready to make them today and realized, I didn't have any cocoa, and forgot it at the store!! I was in the chocolate mood, which is hard when you don't have cocoa. So this is as close to chocolate that I'm getting today. My sister in law Laura posted this quite a while ago and I've loved it ever since. Now go and make it and don't share it with anyone else. You won't be sorry!!Chocolate Eclair Cake

Crust:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Bring the water and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and add flour. Beat in the eggs with a spoon one at a time. Bake in a 9x13 greased pan at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool.

Filling:
1 (6 oz) package vanilla instant pudding
2 1/2 cups milk
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
Mix the milk and pudding, fold in the cream cheese and pour over crust. Put in refrigerator until set.

8 oz. Cool whip

Top with cool whip.

Chocolate:

3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Melt together milk, choc. chips, butter. Add powdered sugar. Cool, then drizzle over cool whip. Refrigerate.

'Nothing Bundt Cake'

This is the homemade version of a Nothing Bundt Cake. It's a great bakery that specializes in, um....bundt cakes :). Check out the link and see their website, they have some yummy sounding cakes and serve them very cute. Now I want to copy all the flavors! Anyway, we love them so much we make my mom lug one on the plane as her carry on when she comes to visit. I looked around online last night and found this version and it's extremely close to the real thing. If you love chocolate, this cake is for you!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake

1 pkg. devils food cake, German chocolate cake, or chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
3-4 c. powdered sugar (or more)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bunt cake pan (cooking spray works best, my cake just fell out of the pan). Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 mins. Remove from pan. (you can wrap it well in Saran Wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting and serving, this is the kind of cake that tastes better the next day) In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. I added the full 4 cups because to frost it like they do, you want the frosting pretty thick. It made a ton though, enough to cover 2 cakes so it next time I would cut the frosting recipe in half. I also used a gallon ziploc bag with a corner cut off to pipe it on and that added more frosting that necessary. After we were finished we all felt like death by bundt cake. But it was death by cake in a good way!

(Thanks for the photos Marion!)

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is a close version to the Texas Sheet cake in the cookbook, only it uses buttermilk. It is SO SO good!! And one of those recipes that is even better the next day. It's from this website.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.