Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Over a year ago, Tom and I went out to dinner with a few members of his family. As most folks sat eating their desserts, my nephew's wife pulled a chocolate bar out of her purse, opened it up and asked if anyone wanted a piece.

"What kind is it?" I asked.

"Chocolate Chili," she said.

It was the first time I'd tasted sweet chocolate and heat together. I loved it.

Fast forward. I decided to try the combination in a chocolate cookie, attempting to emulate the flavors in Mexican hot chocolate, but with a little kick. I took my best chocolate cookie recipe, added cinnamon, vanilla extract, Ancho chili powder and cayenne. The result was a cookie that is chewy, sweet and chocolatey at first bite, but once it begins to melt in your mouth, the flavor of the Ancho chili emerges and you feel the heat of the cayenne. They were, in a word: delicious. They were so good, in fact, that I didn't really want to share them, but I had to or we would have eaten every single one of them.



Who would have thought a cookie would be unpopular? Not me.

Color me shocked when I took a bag of these cookies into the Clothes Closet where I volunteer and came home with a bag still full of cookies minus maybe half a dozen tops. The feedback was too spicy, except for the volunteer in his 80's who smacked his lips, held up his second cookie and said with a twinkle in his eye, "these are good!"

Well, Tom and I thought so too. We happily ate the remaining cookies!

I had toyed with the idea of using a chocolate cookie recipe and adding bacon, but I sort of already did that with the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies. And I wasn't all that sure about adding bacon to something with such a delicate balance of spices, so this time I left out the bacon.

I know. I know. Some of you will chastise me for the omission. But trust me, you won't miss it.

If you must have bacon, fry up 3 or 4 pieces, drain them well, chop them up and add them at the same time you add the chocolate chips. I won't be offended.

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 1 - 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne and espresso powder. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a cup at a time, mixing gently on low speed after each addition until all the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix. Use a silicone spatula to stir in the chocolate chips (and chopped bacon, if you are adding it).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Drop nice rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on to the cookie sheet about 2-inches apart. I have a small 1-1/2-inch inexpensive ice cream scoop I use strictly for scooping cookie dough. It measures the dough perfectly and the cookies come out uniform.

Bake for 12 to 14-minutes. Cool on a wire rack covered with paper towels.

I dare you to eat just one.

Peanut Butter - Bacon - Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have I mentioned I have a freezer full of bacon I bought on sale? Nine pounds of it. Yeah, I think I have a time or two.

It's not that I want to use all of that bacon up quickly. It's merely that I'm now obsessed with everything bacon. Appetizers, like this recipe I found for Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip that I've been wanting to try. The Bacon Vodka I made a while back.

The Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese that I made last summer.





Or that addicting Bacon Jam





But more than that, I've been completely fascinated with preparing pastries and other sweets containing bacon, which is how I came to make the Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Bacon Streusel





So last week I made Peanut Butter~Bacon~Chocolate Chip Cookies. I mean, really. You cannot go wrong with peanut butter, bacon and chocolate chips.

When I took the bulk of the batch into Wesley Church where I volunteer in the Clothes Closet, I heard a lot of  Mmmmmmm's as folks passed by our door. One of our oldest volunteers, an 80-year old gentleman, peeked his head in the door of our room and said, with a big smile on his face, "Terri, these are good!"

Yes, they were good. They are so good that I had to get rid of them. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't share with my fellow volunteers because I'm a sweet, giving person. I had to get those cookies out of my house before Tom and I ate all of them!

You are going to start by cooking some bacon until it's crisp and reserving a little of the rendered bacon fat.





Then you'll mix the dry ingredients together and set aside while you beat up some softened butter, peanut butter, the reserved bacon grease, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Then you'll add the flour, chopped up bacon and some mini-chocolate chips and that's it.

I thought if I baked the cookies just as they came out of the scoop, they'd flatten while baking. That didn't happen. When I started like this...





They came out like this....





Round little morsels. But I wanted more of a "cookie" form, so with the second tray I decided to smoosh them down a little before I baked them...





And you can see the difference...





But you can make which ever way you think you would prefer.

Peanut Butter, Bacon, Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Endless Meal

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 strips bacon, preferably thick cut
• 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat, reserved from cooking bacon
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium to medium high heat until all of the bacon is crisp, turning frequently. Remove from the pan to a paper towel. Measure 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat into a small pinch bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a whisk, mix the ingredients together until completely combined. Set aside.

Roughly chop the bacon pieces and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter or margarine with the reserved bacon fat until the mixture is smooth, about a minute. Add the peanut butter and beat until smooth, about another minute. Beat in both sugars until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Using a spoon or rubber spatula, mix in the bacon and chocolate chips.

Form the dough into 1-inch balls (I use a 1-inch ice cream scoop for this) and place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2-inches apart. If you prefer a flatter cookie, press down gently on the dough with your fingers to slightly flatten the cookie ball.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes for chewy cookies, or 10 - 12 minutes for crispier cookies.

Let the cookies cool about 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

So what's up next? I'm thinking Maple Bacon Baklava. Stay tuned....

Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Bacon Streusel

Chocolate. Cream cheese. Bacon. Oh my!

I'm on a quest and I'm bacon obsessed.

Two weeks ago I bought three 3-pound packages of bacon on sale, less than $8 a package for what would normally cost almost $12. Nine pounds of delicious thick-sliced, hickory smoked bacon. Once I got them home, I divided each package into three 1-pound packages, vacuumed sealed them (love my Foodsaver!) and tossed them in the freezer.

Okay, Terri, I thought. Now what are you going to do with all of that bacon, besides making bacon and eggs?

Soups? Stews? Cupcakes? Yes, cupcakes. I saw the recipe over at Endless Simmer, pulled one of the those 1-pound packages of bacon out of the freezer and off I went......with just a few little changes.

I didn't have Dutch process cocoa powder for the cupcakes, just a box of Hershey's Cocoa Powder. It would have to do. And I didn't have any sour cream on hand, so I used Greek yogurt instead. It worked fine.

When it came to making the frosting, I was just as ill-prepared. I only had a package of low-fat cream cheese, so that's what I used. And I know when a recipe calls for "maple syrup," it means real maple syrup, not the cheapy stuff, but all I had was the cheapy stuff.  In hindsight, I wish I would have used a touch of maple extract for a more pronounced maple flavor.

I liked the streusel, but I think next time I make these I'm going to decrease the almonds to 1/4 cup and increase the bacon by 2 slices. I just loves me some bacon.

I tried sprinkling the streusel on top of the frosted cupcake, but it didn't adhere as well as I liked. So, instead, I poured the streusel on to a plate and dipped the frosted cupcake into the streusel. Way better. A good amount of streusel stuck to the frosting, which is what I was looking for.

Although I'd make the same substitutions to the recipe, these were yummy.  The cupcakes were tender with a nice chocolatey flavor and the spicy bacon streusel was the perfect contrast to the creamy sweet frosting.


Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Bacon Streusel
Adapted from Endless Simmer

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup sour cream (I substituted Greek yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and baking soda together and set aside.

In another small bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the salt to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add in the 2 whole eggs and beat until well combined. Finally, add in the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Set the mixer aside and use a rubber spatula to begin gently folding in the sour cream mixture and flour mixture, alternating each mixture a third at a time, with each addition folding until just combined. Put paper cupcake liners in your cupcake pans and fill them two-thirds full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25  minutes.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

For the Frosting:

• 1 - 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup (I would also add 1/4 teaspoon of maple extract or flavoring)

Using an electric mixer on medium low speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the powdered sugar. Start on low or you're going to have powdered sugar all over yourself and slowly increase the speed and beat until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla and maple syrup (and maple flavoring, if you are using it) and mix until combined.

For the Bacon Streusel

• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cups slivered almonds
• 8 pieces of thick-sliced bacon (cooked, cooled and broken into pieces)

Put all the streusel ingredients into a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse in 2-second bursts three to five times until mixture resembles a very coarse crumble.

Oreo Cookie Cake

I came across a recipe for this cake several years ago. It is supposed to be a copycat recipe for a cake that was served at TGI Friday's, but I cannot confirm that. I haven't eaten at TGI Friday's in years and when I did, I only ordered the Asian Chicken Salad. I never looked at the dessert menu.

The recipe includes directions for a homemade chocolate cake, but the cake didn't impress me all that much. So the next time I made it, I substituted a Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake. The texture was much better.

The cake is a little time-consuming, but it's worth it because it is a stunning presentation. The tricky part is using a long serrated edge knife to cut the cake layers in half horizontally. This video from Zoeybakes.com demonstrates how to accomplish this quickly.

The cookies add that familiar Oreo cookie crunch. The filling is creamy and luscious. One slice is laden with calories, but it's delicious.

I hope you give it try.

Oreo Cookie Cake

• 1 box Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake, baked according to package directions using 9-inch pans.
• 4 - 1 ounce squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1/4 cup butter
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 20 Oreo Sandwich Cookies (not Double Stuff), divided

Bake the cake using according to package directions in two 9-inch cake pans. When the cake is done, cool in pans for 5 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove the pans and cool the layers completely.

When the cake is cool, crush 12 Oreo cookies into coarse crumbs in a plastic bag Zip-lock type bag. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream into soft peaks. Set aside.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in the whipped cream and crushed cookies.

Cut one cake layer in half horizontally. Place one slice on a cake plate and spread with about a quarter of the filling. Place the second slice on top and spread with more filling. Cut the second layer in half and repeat, finishing with a layer of the filling on top of the cake.

Place the chocolate squares and butter in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, checking and stirring every 30 seconds, until the butter and chocolate are melted and combined. Do not overheat the chocolate. Cool 5 minutes.

Crush the remaining 8 cookies.

Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crushed cookies while glaze is soft.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Top Five Most Popular Desserts of 2011

When I do my year in review, I don't usually single out a specific category of food because my stat counter doesn't count categories, only general activity and page views relating to specific posts.

But, because many of you have asked specifically for desserts.... well, who am I to question what you like to read about....or is the photos?

No matter. What's that line from the movie? "As you wish..."

So, I gathered all my stats, did the math and came up with the top five desserts that received the most hits during 2011.

Number 5: Chocolate Raspberry Panini - Originally posted February 15, 2009

I made a simple pound cake from a box mix and sliced it. Then I covered one slice of the pound cake with squares of a Hershey bar and topped it with a few raspberries. I used a George Forman grill to brown both sides at the same time, but you could just as easily use a frying pan and brown both sides as you would a grilled cheese sandwich.
The pound cake is like a sweet toast. The chocolate gets all melty and oozey and the fruit is softened and luscious.

All I can say about this is.....Yum!

Number 4: Orange Mascarpone Tart - Originally posted December 26, 2010



We've made many dishes from Bon Appetit magazine and this is one of them.

I love the combination of the creaminess of the mascarpone cheese and the sweet freshness of the orange.

Although the original recipe called for the tart to be sprinkled with chopped pistachios, we didn't think they added much to the flavor of the tart, so the second time Tom made it he merely sprinkled it with shaved chocolate. Better.

Number 3: Sugar Donut Mini-Muffins - Originally posted February 26, 2010



One word: addicting.

You know those two-bite brownies you buy in a bag at the grocery store? Don't buy them. Make these.

Tender little mini-cupcakes with the texture of a moist cake donut, brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar or even rolled in powdered sugar. Betcha can't eat just one.

Number 2: Oreo Cream Cheese Cupcakes - Originally posted January 30, 2010



What is it about Oreos that elicit such love?

I don't know a faithful blog reader who doesn't collect a cache of recipes containing Oreos.

And every food blogger I know tries to create some new dessert using Oreos. I'm certainly not any different.

I've added crushed Oreos to brownies. I made these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie 'n' Oreo 'n' Fudge Brownie Bars



And I've even made this Oreo Cookie Cake, the recipe for which I've never posted. But that's another post.



And Number 1 ~ You guessed it: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie - Originally posted April 27, 2011



Can you say 'sugar induced coma'?

It's still a favorite in many readers' households.

So what's in store for 2012? I'm good at keeping secrets so you'll just have to stay tuned.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie 'n' Oreo 'n' Fudge Brownie Bar

I'm not a dessert person. I know you can't tell from my blog posts because I post so many of them, but they're not for me. I'm happy with a bite or two or maybe nothing at all after a good meal. But Tom, my sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, other family members, friends and guests...that's another story. They all have their favorites and I aim to please.

When I saw this dessert at Kevin and Amanda's, I knew I'd have to bake it.

Now the photo isn't as pretty as theirs, but I think you get the overall idea: THIS IS GOOD!

Look at that. A layer of chocolate chip cookie, topped with a layer of double-stuffed Oreos, topped with a layer of soft, fudgey brownie. I took the recipe one step further by adding a cup of peanut butter chips to the brownie batter. Top it with a scoop of ice cream and a little warm caramel and it's as good as any dessert you'd get anywhere in town.

How good is it? The day I baked it, Tom looked at the pan and said, "Get most of that out of here or I will eat the whole thing by myself." So, I cut a nice big piece off, leaving about a third of it for us, put the larger piece in a pan and Tom took it to our next door neighbor who has three growing girls. A couple of days later, my neighbor brought back the clean pan with two handmade thank you cards. This is how much my 11-year old neighbor loved this dessert (I've erased her name to protect the innocent):



You just can't get a better endorsement than "It fell from heaven."

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie 'n' Oreo 'n' Fudge Brownie Bar
Adapted from Kevin and Amanda
PRINTABLE RECIPE

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12-oz package) of chocolate chips
• 1 package Double Stuf Oreos
• 1 package family size (for a 9X13 pan) Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• 1/4 cup hot fudge topping (this goes into the brownie batter)
• plus you will need the ingredients called for in the brownie mix: eggs, water and oil
• 1 cup peanut butter chips (this is my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch X 13-inch pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper goes all the way up the sides, folding in the corners of the pan so that it lays flat against the sides. Spray generously with cooking spray.

Cream the butter and both sugars together in a large bowl for 3 to 5 minutes at medium speed with with an electric mixer until the mixture is light fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Turn the mixer back on to low and slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the butter mixture until the flour is just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos.

Make the brownie mix according to package directions, adding in the hot fudge topping and peanut butter chips. Mix well to combine. Pour the brownie batter over the Oreos and cookie dough. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes.

Note: The parchment paper makes it easy to remove the entire bar from the pan in one piece for easy service. And, of course, you may not want to double up on the bars as I did in the photo. A single brownie bar with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce or chocolate sauce, though not as spectacular looking, is just as satisfying...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Last weekend when I posted the recipe for the Apple-Apple Butter-Custard Pie, I mentioned that it was the second easiest pie I'd ever made, the easiest pie being the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie that I made that didn't survive long enough for a quick and simple photo shoot.

This time I hired very big, very muscular, snarling men to stand guard as the pie came out of the oven....

Okay, I lied about the snarling men. But I made it very clear that before anyone [read: husband and sister] had even a small bite, photos were going to be mandatory. Non-compliance was not an option and could result in bodily injury or worse.

So, here it is....flakey crust, gooey chocolate, crunchy nuts and soft, sweet cookie dough, with ice cream.

The recipe is from the Nestle website and you can print it there.

This pie is easy and quick to assemble using primarily staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand.

I used a pre-made refrigerated pie crust, which turned out better than any other time I've used them. The uncooked pie filling is more like a cookie dough rather than a pourable filling, so the pie crust bakes up flakey instead of soggy.

When you are filling the pie crust, you will think that there isn't enough dough, but, trust me, it will be fine after it's bake.

If you use a refrigerated or frozen pie crust, bring it to room temperature. Take your butter out of the refrigerator at the same time and they will both be ready.

Once this is baked, the recipe instructs you to "cool on a wire rack." You will be lucky if it lasts long enough to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

• 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer in a medium sized mixing bowl until they are light and foamy.

Add the flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until smooth, then beat in the butter.

Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts and spoon evenly into the pie shell.

Bake for 55 - 60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

How Could I Have Forgotten??

Three years ago today I started blogging about food! I didn't even realize that today was my 3rd Blogoversary until Teena in Toronto left a "Happy Blogoversary! :)" comment on my last post. Thank you, Teena!!

I haven't been a regular food blogger of late. I've been very preoccupied with our financial situation here at home, what with the bad economy which has finally hit our area (central Arkansas) the past few months. Right now we are keeping our heads above water, but just barely.

Anyway, what better way to celebrate a momentous occasion than with a giant cookie!!

When I saw these Giant S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies made by Jenny @ Picky Palate, I knew I HAD to make them. If you haven't ever visited Picky Palate, I encourage you to do so. That woman makes some of the most seriously decadent desserts and goodies I've ever seen! And these cookies were just as good as they look.

When I visited my oldest son and his family last March, I wanted to bake some cookies with my granddaughters, Lily and Zoey, but we were so busy enjoying playgrounds, rollerskating and having fun just being together, cookie baking was pretty low on the priority list. So since we didn't have time to bake cookies together, I sent them some of these. I think they were a hit, don't you?



If you've never used a muffin top pan to bake giant cookies, this is a great recipe for a first try. I've seen muffin top pans all over the internet, from Amazon.com to Cooking.com, but I picked mine up at our local T.J.Maxx for $5 bucks. When I made these, I wished I had purchased two. It would have made the process faster, but one worked fine even if it did take a little longer. It was worth it.

When it came to taking photos, I started with the obligatory close-up...



Then after dinner when we were ready for dessert, Tom suggested we have them with some ice cream (low-fat, no-sugar), so I started to plate the first one and take the photograph before the ice cream melted....



Just as I finished snapping the photo, Tom asked, "How about this?

On the counter behind me, Tom had also been plating cookies and ice cream, but in his own ever-creative manner....





Oh, yes. His plated version included not one, but TWO cookies AND a drizzle of chocolate syrup. And his version tasted way, way better than mine. And the next day the rest of the cookies were packed in a box and sent west to California in order to save us from ourselves.

PRINT RECIPE: Giant S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

Giant S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from the recipe posted by Jenny @ Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter
1 Cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown and it worked fine)
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
4 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips
3 regular size Hershey’s chocolate bars
3 whole graham crackers
5-6 large marshmallows cut into quarters

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place butter and sugars into a stand or electric mixer; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

Place flour, salt and baking soda into a separate large bowl and mix the ingredients together.

With the mixer on slow speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then add the chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

Scoop a heaping 1/4 Cup of cookie dough into muffin top pan cups (I used an ice cream scoop). Press the dough gently into the cups, then gently press chocolate bar squares, graham cracker pieces and marshmallow slices on top of cookie dough.

Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are just turning brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes 18 LARGE cookies from the muffin top pan.

**Note from Jenny: This recipe may also be done without the muffin top pan. Just flatten out your cookie dough slightly onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and press your s’mores toppings over the dough**

All You Food Purists, Please Move Along....There's Nothing to See Here. Move Along Now.

Between you and me, this recipe is not for our food purist friends. It calls for two package mixes - cake and instant pudding, both of which are enough to send a purist screaming from the kitchen.

Although I generally prefer to use fresh ingredients and make dishes from scratch, when a recipe has worked very well for a number of years...and, of course, the ingredients don't put your life or well-being in danger...I say, why change it?

I've been making this cake since the early 1970's when I received the recipe from a friend and co-worker. The cake is so flavorful, it stands, undressed, on its own merits very well so I used to just finish it off with a dusting of powdered sugar. But several years ago I decided a chocolate glaze would be even better and I was right.

This is a rich, dense, moist and very chocolaty cake that's easy to make and freezes well. I usually cut the cake into quarters and freeze three of the pieces for a later date.

Triple Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

• 1 - 18.25 ounce packaged devil's food or chocolate fudge cake mix (I prefer to use the chocolate fudge cake mix)
• 1 - 5.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, gently beaten
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 - 1 ounce squares semisweet baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a bundt pan by wiping generously with shortening, butter or vegetable oil or spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, dump the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, eggs and water together. Mix well with an electric mixer on medium until completely combined and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool the cake thoroughly before glazing.

For the glaze:

Put the butter and baking chocolate squares into a small microwavable bowl and heat on high in the microwave, checking and stirring every 15 seconds, until just melted and chocolate and butter are combined and smooth. While the glaze is hot, drizzle over the top of the cake, allowing the glaze to run down in inside and outside of the cake. Allow the glaze to cool completely, cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE

Oreo Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes....Ooooo Baby!

I knew the weather was going to be bad. The meteorologists had been predicting it for days. First sleet, then ice pellets (which I think are still technically considered sleet), then snow. So I went shopping Wednesday morning and picked up the Oreos to make these little babies.

I found these delights at Dishin' and Dishes. Katie adapted the recipe from the book, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

The base of the individual cheesecake is a whole Oreo cookie and the cheesecake mixture is punctuated with Oreo cookie pieces. The only change I made to this recipe was drizzling a little chocolate glaze on the top of each cupcake, the method for which I will add at the end.



Oreo Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table
Adapted from Katie Johnstonbaugh of Dishin- & Dishes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes 30 cupcakes.

For the Cupcakes:

• 42 Oreo cookies. Leave 30 cookies whole and coarsely chop 12 cookies. One bag of Oreos is enough.
• 4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (I used "1/3 less fat")
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream (I used "lite" sour cream)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Chocolate Glaze:

• 2 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 275°.

Line 30 muffin tins with paper liners. Place one Oreo cookie in the bottom of each cup.

Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat one minute. Beat in vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in sour cream and salt. Turn mixer to low and mix in chopped cookies just until incorporated.

Spoon the cheese mixture on top of the whole cookie and fill each muffin cup almost to the top.

Bake about 22 minutes (mine took about 7 minutes longer). The filling should be set.

Remove from oven and refrigerate the cupcakes still in the tins for 4 hours.

To Make The Glaze: Put the chocolate and butter in a small glass bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time for about 2 minutes, until the butter and chocolate are melted enough to be combined. Drizzle the glaze on top of the cold cupcakes and return to the refrigerator to completely set.

To serve, remove the paper lining.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE


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No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds - November! ~Thomas Hood

I know. It's been a while since I last posted. I honestly don't know why. I have been cooking...every single day... unless I just get sick of it and ask Tom to cook, like I did last Thursday when I asked him to please cook Saturday and Sunday. He obliged.

The weather in Arkansas has turned much cooler and has been damp for a couple of days. I don't usually do a weekly menu. My moods are much too unpredictable to put anything in writing and actually stick to it. But I made a menu last week, which I have, for the most part, followed until this morning. I went to bed planning to have Cashew Chicken for dinner, but when I woke up this morning to another gloomy, damp day, all I could think about was soup. So I have a huge pot of Minestrone soup on the stove and I am much more satisfied already.

So, what have I been cooking? Well, for a week I wasn't cooking anything because I was driving to and from Las Vegas in 5 days. But since I've been back, I've been furiously feeding my body and my soul with food. AND making lots of desserts and giving half of them away to the neighbors.

Last Friday, this cake was kind of an after-thought. Early last week I used a new recipe for gingerbread cookies. They weren't my cup of tea. I liked the soft, cake-like texture, but they lacked that nice gingerbread flavor. I gave most of them away. But I still had a sweet tooth, which is a rarity for me. Then I saw this recipe on Friday Friends. Dense, rich, simple, easy, non-pretentious. My kinda cake. The only change I made was that I did not use the cream cheese based frosting. The cake recipe is Debbie's of Friday Friends. The frosting recipe is mine. The recipe for Debbie's frosting is at the link above.

Chocolate Cake
adapted from Friday Friends

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/s teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals (which I did not have, so I used instant espresso)
1 cup cold water

Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Dissolve the coffee crystals in the cold water and add to batter. Beat on low speed until smooth (batter with be thin).

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Frost when completely cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

5 tablespoons butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 to 5 tablespoons milk

In a medium bowl using a mixer, combine butter, sugar and vanilla and beat well. Add the peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of milk slowly, beating until it is very cream. Add up to 3 more tablespoons of milk to achieve the desired consistency. Frost the cooled cake.

Debbie suggests sprinkling the cake with about 3 tablespoons of miniature semisweet chocolate chips, but I used the regular because that's what I had. I couldn't think of a better way to massage my sweet tooth!

Were We Discussing Brownies ??

My husband, Tom, is fruity drink drinker. A pina colada, tequila sunrise, strawberry margarita, if it's fruity, he'll love it. Add a couple maraschino cherries... all the better. He's been known to mix himself up a vodka and ginger ale, add about 6 maraschino cherries to the glass and pour about 1/4 cup of maraschino syrup into the drink for good measure. I will continue when I stop shuddering...

So, on to the brownies part of this post. For Father's Day, I wanted to make Tom something that I knew he would really like. I started rummaging through the cupboards and pantry for ingredients I had on hand, sort of as a catalyst for a creative idea, and I came across a pound of candied cherries. You know, the kind you use for fruit cake and Tom is the only person I know that LOVES fruitcake. I also had one box of brownie mix that I didn't use for our Memorial Day cookout. I thought, Cherries...Chocolate. Why not?

They turned out great and Tom loved them!

Chocolate Cherry Brownies
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

1 box Duncan Hines Family Style Brownies, Chewy Fudge
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cherry extract
1 - 1 pound container candied cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 13-inch X 9-inch baking pan by lightly coating with vegetable oil or spraying with cooking spray.

Cut half of the cherries in half and coarsely chop the other half. Put all of the cut up cherries in a small bowl and set aside.

Make brownies according to package directions to make "fudgy brownies," adding the cherry extract to the mixture.

Add the cherries to the prepared brownie batter and mix well. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until done. Cool completely before cutting. Hint: Refrigerating the brownies until cold before cutting keeps them from crumbling.

"Among life's mysteries is how a two pound box of chocolate can make a woman gain five pounds." ~ Anonymous

I don't love chocolate as much as most people I know, but I don't cook for just myself. I love to cook for others.

The Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend, Tom and I invited my in-laws (his parents and his sister and her family) over for a cook-out. We fixed my son, Christopher's, recipe for ribs, which I will share after the 4th of July weekend because he is making them for a family reunion dinner). Along with that, I served a big fruit salad, a tomato-cucumber-onion salad, and a pasta salad made with orzo. My mother-in-law could not get passed the fact that the "pasta" salad looked like rice, but wasn't rice. All afternoon, she kept asking anyone who would listen, "Did you try the salad? It's pasta. It's not rice."

When she was getting ready to go home, she asked for a small container of the pasta salad to take with her. She wanted to take it to Richard. Richard is the head cook at the retirement community where my in-laws live. I told her, "Mom, I think Richard probably knows how to make pasta salad." But she was determined, "I want to take it to him and tell him that it's not rice." I don't know why, but her fascination with the orzo still makes me laugh.

But this isn't about the pasta salad. It's about the brownies I made for dessert.

I searched my cookbooks and the internet for an easy but special dessert that I hadn't tried before when I came across Ina Garten's Oreo Crunch Brownies recipe. I had every intention of making them. They sounded and looked delicious. But after I had time to think about it, I just couldn't do it to my aging in-laws. A full pound of butter, over half a dozen eggs and a pound and a half of chocolate !! I'd be rushing them to the hospital with instantaneous coronary blockage !! I opted to recreate the brownies with a brownie mix and oreo cookies. They turned out delicious and were a hit. We gave our guests the option of a plain brownie or ala mode. They all chose theirs to be served with ice cream, but everyone had a second brownie without ice cream, too.

Try them and I think you will agree.

Oreo Crunch Brownies
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table


1 box Duncan Hines Family Style Brownies, Chewy Fudge
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
40 Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the whole cookies into a large zip lock bag. With a mallet or rolling pin, crush the cookies into medium sized pieces (not too fine. You'll want some larger chunks.) Set aside.

Grease a 12 X 9 inch baking pan with vegetable oil or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix the Brownie mix, eggs, water and vegetable oil as directed on package for "fudgy brownies." Add the crushed cookies and mushed up cookie filling to the brownie batter. Mix until the cookie crumbs are coated with batter.

Gently spread the batter evenly into the baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until done. Cool completely. Frost, if desired, and cut to serve. I did not frost my brownies and I cooled them in the refrigerator before I cut them (the cold brownies don't fall apart when you cut them.)