Mini Chocolate Tiramisu Cakes

I wanted to make something fancy for our New Years Eve party...something bite-sized and chocolate. I found a fabulous recipe in my new Pampered Chef recipe book. These were so easy to make and really delish! I made the cakes ahead of time and then filled them just before the party started. A big taste in such a small dessert!

Of course, you know that I had to improvise a little bit with the recipe! I used a box of cake mix and doubled the rest of the ingredients.

The Recipe

Cakes
1 small pkg. (9oz.) devil's food cake mix (I used a regular box cake)
1/4 c sour cream
1 egg
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp water
1/3 cup coffee liqueur**

Filling & Topping
1 1/2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping
8 oz. mascarpone or cream cheese, room temperature (I found & used coffee flavored mascarpone! Yum!)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine cake mix, sour cream, egg(s), coffee granules and water. Mix together.

Batter will be really thick. Divide batter evenly among cups (I used a small scooper-worked like a charm!)

Bake 8-10 minutes or until wooden toothpick test is clean.

Looks like a few more minutes are needed!

Meanwhile....

Place whipped topping into large resealable plastic bag; secure and set aside. For filling, combine the cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Place filling in a resealable plastic bag; secure and set aside. (I did this way after the fact)

Remove cakes from oven and press tops with lightly floured mini-tart shaper to make slight indentations. ( I had no desire to take out the flour, nor do I own a tart shaper...so I used the top of a wine stopper!) Cool for a couple of minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack.

It worked perfectly fine.

Brush tops with coffee liqueur*** and cool completely. (I did not have coffee liqueur, so I followed the recipe for the imitation non-alcoholic version)

***Coffee Liqueur Substitution***
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp coffee granules
1 tsp rum extract

Combine all in a glass bowl and microwave 1-2 minutes and let cool.

Trim corners of both bags that were set aside. First pipe the cheese filling over cakes. Pipe whipped topping over filling. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired. I would- it looks pretty!

Easy Cherry Crisp

This recipe originally ran in December 2009. I decided to pull this out to warm up the house as the cool fall air rolls in. This is so easy and quick.

The Original Post:

Ok...I'm going to try to post a "Recipe-A-Day" for the week due to holiday baking in my kitchen. I started with Pizzelles (an Italian waffle cookie) and the house is beginning to take on the aroma of a bakery! Today I made Chocolate Chip cookies- which I know in my house will not last until Christmas. However, to keep hands out of the holiday cookie stash, I need to make something to divert attention!

My dad shared a very simple Cherry Crisp recipe that he tried over the weekend. He said it was so easy and good that the pan did not last long. He suggests trying with vanilla ice cream. I can't wait to make it either!

The Recipe:


Easy Cherry Crisp

2 Cans cherry pie filling
1 1/2 C quick oats
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C pecans, chopped
1 stick butter, softened

Pour pie filling into 9"x13" ungreased baking dish. In separate bowl, combine butter, oats, sugar and pecans. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture over pie filling. Bake in 350` oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with ice cream. **If there is a nut allergy, omit pecans**

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

I just spoke to my dear friend Kim the other day and she asked me for this recipe. I saw this on the Food Network during the Halloween holiday and Giada De Laurentiis had made this for the Trick-or -Treaters. She made these rolled in orange sugar and placed a Hershey Kiss on top (like a peanut butter blossom cookie). I did not make them the same way (omitted the kiss) - surprise, surprise; but they are so yummy, especially warm, right from the oven!


The Recipe:

1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup Nutella

Mix flour, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl (or in your mixer) cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Add Nutella and mix until creamy. Gradually add dry ingredients. Make walnut size balls and roll in sugar*. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place cookie balls on tray. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 8 minutes.**

*Giada's recipe rolled the cookie balls in orange sugar crystals and
** after 8 minutes, she placed a chocolate Kiss in center of cookie and returned to oven for an additional 3 minutes. 

I neither had orange sugar or Kisses at the time I tried these. I rolled in regular sugar and then just baked them. They came out of the oven so warm and gooey and I kid you not, lasted no more than 15 minutes in the kitchen!

I just bought a fresh jar of Nutella, so when I bake a batch I will take pictures and add to this post.

Chocolate Chip Cake

This was not on the family favorite recipe list...but it is now! I was looking for a quick easy dessert to serve after dinner last week to celebrate the end of mid-term exams.  I pulled out a cookbook that I have had for ages Kitchen Keepsakes by Bonnie Welch & Deanna White. My husband and I used to go to Vermont every weekend to explore antique shops and would always stop in The Jelly Mill establishment while in Manchester. This is where I purchased this cookbook and have kept it handy because my favorite apple pie recipe is included, which I will share later.

This was a last minute idea, so I do not have pictures, but I will take them the next time I make this cake. And there will be a next time!

The recipe:

1 1/2 Cups boiling water
1 Cup oatmeal ( I used Quaker Oats- Quick Oats)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup shortening ( I use Crisco)
2 eggs
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cocoa ( I use Hershey's)
1 Cup chocolate chips (I use Nestle Toll House)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Pour boiling water over oatmeal in small bowl and let stand 10 minutes.  Cream sugars & shortening in separate bowl; add eggs and beat until smooth.  Add oatmeal and mix well. Add flour, soda, salt and cocoa. Beat 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips ( I used the mini chips). Pour into greased and floured 8 x 12" pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup chips ( I used mini) and 1/2 cup nuts*** over top.  Bake in 350` oven for 35-40 minutes.

***I have this after the nuts because I do not like chopped nuts in my cakes. So this is purely a preference thing and I just wanted to let you know that the original recipe did include them.

This cake came out warm and gooey and was very good! I believe my family invented their own favorite take on this too-

Take 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream and place in bowl with 1 piece of cake. Microwave for 15-20 seconds. Mash and stir the ice cream and cake together. Apparently, this made "THE best dessert EVER".

Cujidatta Cookie

Cujidatta (coo-ji-da-ta) Italian cookies are what is cooking in the kitchen today. I have promised my dad to make his most beloved Christmas cookie again this year, but they are a pain in the you-know-what!

My great grandparents were both from Palermo, Sicily and this is a cookie that they brought with them from the "old country". As the story goes (as told by my dad), my great grandmother and her sister would start making these cookies around Thanksgiving.  My father and his cousin would plant themselves in the kitchen when they heard all the swearing. They knew what that meant. Cookies! The sisters would make batches and batches and store them in old potato chip tins. When my great grandfather would try to sneak one, his wife would slap his hand away and yell in Italian. The two boys would giggle and she would hand them each a cookie. This would make my great grandfather throw up his hands in defeat.

My father loves to tell stories; and he is a great at it. He would reminisce about this every holiday, hoping that one day he would be able to once again taste his childhood treat. See, when my great grandmother passed away, so did the making of this cookie. My father could never find the recipe. Then, one year, his cousin told him that he had the family recipe. He sent it to my father and he in turn gave it to me. We held onto it for a few years because we could not find the one ingredient needed for the cookie- sour cherry jelly.

When apple picking one fall, I was looking through the gift shop and could not believe that on the shelf among the pretty packaged jars of jams and jellies sat sour cherry! I immediately bought 2 and surprised my father with his cookie. The first year I made them they were ok...the flavor was there but the size and shape of the cookie was not quite right.  The following year, I hit the jackpot and my dad has requested them ever since.  When sharing a tin with his cousin, they are both brought back to the days of being young boys and the magic that happened in that Italian kitchen.

When I have pictures, I will post.

The Recipe:

3 lb. (9 cups) Flour
1-1/4 lb. (2-1/2 cups) melted Crisco
1-1/2 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp Baking powder (heaping)
1-1/2 Cups milk

On stove, melt sugar and milk together. Add to flour, crisco and baking powder.  Dough should be pliable and easy to handle.

Filling:

1/2 lb. each (or 1-3/4 Cups), chopped
*Filberts
*Walnuts
*Almonds (toasted)

1lb. (2-3/4 Cups) Dark raisins
1/2 lb. Light raisins
1 small jar of Sour Cherry Jelly
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all filling ingredients together and set aside.

From dough ball, pull a ping-pong ball sized piece. Shape and roll about an 1" thick disc between plastic wrap. Fill carefully with about Tablespoon of filling mixture. Fold over to one side to cover filling and seal. This should take on a crescent moon shape.

Bake in a preheated 350' oven on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Icing:

1/2 Cup powdered sugar, melted in 3/4 Cup water. Add enough water to mix to hold together, not too watery.  Dip top of cookie into icing and let set.

When I saw the ingredient list, I knew why my great grandmother and her sister would swear while making these. It's like it never ends!

So when I call my dad in a few hours to let him know how much I hate making these &*@$ cookies, I'll make sure the pot of coffee is on and get a plate ready to share while waiting for him to arrive.

Monster Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the very same cookie that gets top honors as the picture you see in the header of this blog. It is a cookie that is both huge in size as in flavor.  I first made this recipe a couple of summers ago.  We had some neighbors over for a cookout and I wanted something different to serve for dessert. I decided to make these into ice cream sandwiches. We had to split them in half, because this cookie could truly be a meal in and of itself!

The original recipe is from Paula Deen (Three Chocolate Cookies), but I have used different variations of chips and such that it does differ from her recipe.

Now this cookie is NOT low fat! But when you are craving that ultimate chocolate chip cookie, this big, bad boy is it!

The Recipe:

1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 Cup shortening

3/4 Cup sugar

1-3/4 Cups firmly packed brown sugar (light)

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-3/4 Cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 bag Nestle` Toll House Semi-Sweet Chunks

1 bag Nestle` Toll House Milk Chocolate & Caramel morsels (This is very hard to find**see note below)

1/2 Bag Nestle` Toll House Semi-Sweet Mini-Chips

** I have had a hard time finding the milk chocolate & caramel swirl chips...so I have been substituting a full bag of Milk Chocolate morsels and about 1/2 cup of Kraft Caramel Bits

Preheat oven to 350'.

With electric mixer, beat butter and shortening until creamy; gradually add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to butter mixture until well blended. Stir in chips. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls about 3" apart (or 6 drops per sheet).  Bake 12-15 minutes, (depending on your pan) or until lightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes and transfer to cooling rack (or dinner plate to keep extra soft).

Peanut Butter Fudge

I found this recipe one year while reading a cooking magazine. It was simple and quick. Once I tasted this fudge, I knew it was a keeper. When I want to give something special for Christmas I make a few batches of this and box it up in a pound candy box (with a knife) and a nice bow. If you like peanut butter (like me!), then this is truly decadent!

The Recipe:

2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup milk (I use skim)
1-1/3 Cup creamy peanut butter (I only use Jif)
1 jar (7oz) marshmallow creme (believe it or not, Walmart brand is the best!)

In a saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil; boil for 3 minutes.


Beginning to boil

                                                                       2 minutes

3 minutes

Add peanut butter & marshmallow creme. Mix well until creamy smooth. Quickly pour into a buttered 8" square pan.  * I like to line the dish with foil and then I butter the foil. It's much easier to get out of the pan and easier to cut this way.
Let pan chill until set. Cut into blocks or squares.

NaNa's Sandtarts

If there was a recipe that was tried and true to make the Christmas season complete, it is my grandmother's Christmas cookie recipe. Every family has that one recipe that gets handed down from family member to family member and this is one of them for our family.

I started making these as a young baker. The recipe is simple, basic and time consuming! Time consuming in the fact that this recipe makes A LOT of cookies! They are crisp, not too sweet and are divine to dunk in tea or coffee. My dad loves the "burnt" ones. The secret to these cookies is to roll them very thin. (I will post pictures later to show)

I have the dough ball chilling and will be ready to roll after this post!

The Recipe:

1 Box 10x sugar (or 3 3/4 C. confectioner sugar)
4 eggs
4 Cups flour
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks), softened
1 egg for egg wash

Mix sugar and butter. Add eggs & flour. Wrap dough in saran wrap and chill for 1 hour (makes it easier to roll). On a floured surface, roll out a softball size piece of dough with rolling pin until very thin (thickness of CD or less).

Cut with favorite cookie cutter shape. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush lightly with egg wash and decorate with colored sugar sprinkles. **I also make a cinnamon sugar topping 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon** Bake in 350` oven until light golden color (about 6-8 minutes).*

**note** ah, here is were this recipe is challenging. You have to watch the cookies, because if left in too long they  will "burn" or come out dark brown. They are so thin that they cook very fast! At least Dad likes the burnt ones, so no cookie goes to waste!

Easy Cherry Crisp

Ok...I'm going to try to post a "Recipe-A-Day" for the week due to holiday baking in my kitchen. I started with Pizzelles (an Italian waffle cookie) and the house is beginning to take on the aroma of a bakery! Today I made Chocolate Chip cookies- which I know in my house will not last until Christmas. However, to keep hands out of the holiday cookie stash, I need to make something to divert attention!

My dad shared a very simple Cherry Crisp recipe that he tried over the weekend. He said it was so easy and good that the pan did not last long. He suggests trying with vanilla ice cream. I can't wait to make it either!

The Recipe:

Easy Cherry Crisp

2 Cans cherry pie filling
1 1/2 C quick oats
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C pecans, chopped
1 stick butter, softened

Pour pie filling into 9"x13" ungreased baking dish. In separate bowl, combine butter, oats, sugar and pecans. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture over pie filling. Bake in 350` oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with ice cream. **If there is a nut allergy, omit pecans**

Pumpkin Roll

I have finally done it. I have made a pumpkin roll. Now, some of you may say "Yeah, so what?", but this is the FIRST time in all my baking years that I have made a "roll" cake. I have always been afraid that I would mess one up, so I never bothered to make one, although, I love to eat them! So, today I decided to put caution to the wind. I needed to post a baked good recipe anyway. I can't wait to try it in an hour or so to see how it came out!

Why a pumpkin roll and not a jelly roll cake? Well, the reason is of pure function. I have an old recipe for pumpkin cookies (that I will share very soon) that I make every fall. I started making them when the kids were little to hide the fact that they were getting something nutritious in their treats. The only down side is that the recipe uses only a portion of the canned pumpkin, which has left exactly 2/3 Cup of pumpkin left over. I just made these cookies a few days ago (and are now gone by the way) and I thought not again! I can't waste another small amount of this; so I started reading the recipes on the label and what do you know! A pumpkin roll cake requires exactly 2/3 Cup!

This recipe is directly from the Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin 15oz. can. I did modify the filling a little bit, because I didn't have enough butter softened.  I'll note my change with an ** .

Recipe:

Libby's Pumpkin Roll (Makes 10 servings)

Cake:
Powdered Sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine softened ** I used 4Tbsp. butter & 2 Tbsp. margarine**
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Now, I think my fear of making this is routed in I needed pictures to see how it was supposed to look! Now I have them and you do too!

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 375' F. Grease 15x10" jelly roll pan. ( I used a small cookie sheet); line pan with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. (sprinkle with nuts).** I did not put in nuts, because I think this cake should be smooth; it is a preference thing.**

Bake for 13-15 minutes ( found this was done after 12 minutes) or until top of cake springs back when touched.  Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together starting with the narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For Filling: Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.  Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Pumpkin roll, you ain't so bad......

Oatmeal Cookie Preference

I am in the kitchen today and contemplating what to add to Oatmeal cookies. Do I add butterscotch chips? Raisins? Both?

What do you add to your Oatmeal cookies?