Very Decadent Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Very Decadent Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

COOOOOKIES!!!

Is anyone else out there a chocolate fiend like me? I love anything chocolate. Cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, brownies, ice cream, fudge.. the list could go on for eternity. I have always been a chocolate lover and appreciate trying all sorts of different recipes so when I came up with this one, it just made my heart sing. Truly. It did.

I have been primarily gluten free for the past 1.5 years but occasionally I'll eat gluten; but whether or not you eat wheat or are gluten free, these cookies should be made at least once in your house. I have a wheat version and a gluten free version for you. Aren't I so sweet?

Plop those bad boys onto a baking sheet

Ingredients:Yields approximately 36 cookies

3 sticks of butter, softened
2 eggs
1Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
*2 cups gluten free flour blend (See below) *or* 2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2tsp (one and one half tsp) baking soda
1/2tsp sea salt or 1tsp regular salt

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Look at the delicious babies!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees after the batter has chilled in the refrigerator at least one hour.

Mix the softened butter and sugar until creamed then add the vanilla and eggs - one at a time until nice and smooth. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and then slowly incorporate that into the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is mixed well. Next add the chocolate chips. Refrigerate at least 1 hour then bake at 350 degrees on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 11 minutes. The cookies will continue to cook while they are cooling on the cookie sheet. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Once cooled, move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Serve with a glass of milk if you're so inclined

*Gluten free flour blend:
Makes approximately 3 cups
1-1/4 brown rice flour

3/4 cups sorghum flour or millet flour

2/3 cups cornstarch

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1tsp xanthan gum
Thoroughly mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.



Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Printable Recipe

 

 

I really enjoy baking in the fall. Summertime baking is fun, but baking those fall desserts really makes me happy. I love it!

My mom has a great sweet potato pie recipe and I asked her for it. Hope it's okay to share mom! I made a paleo version of it so if you'd like that recipe, check it out at my other blog "The Girl Who Went Paleo." So here is the sugary version made with a wheat crust. It's just so delicious! I love this pie warm but it's even better after it's been refrigerated over night. Can't wait to make this again so I can eat the whole thing!

 

Really.

I'm the only one here who will eat it. SCORE!

 

Ingredients:

Makes 2 pies

Find my pie crust recipe here.

 

4oz. unsalted butter, softened (1/2 stick)

2cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2cups granulated sugar

1 - 5oz. can of evaporated milk (1/2cup + 2Tbsp)

1tsp vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2tsp cinnamon

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, potatoes, sugar and milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs and cinnamon and mix well. Pour into the unbaked pie shells and bake for 1 hour or until set.

 

Tip: If you'd like, you can assemble the pie and freeze it, un-cooked. When you're ready to bake it, let it thaw out completely and bake accordingly.
Also, if you bake this pie and want to freeze it, cut the remainder of the pie into slices and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Freeze. When ready to eat, thaw at room temperature or microwave it for 15-20 seconds until thawed. It's delicious warm or cold.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Delicious Angel Food Cake

Delicious Angel Food Cake

Printable Recipe

 

 

I can't tell you why I've never tried to make an angel food cake. I guess  making it was a challenge since I'm not the best at "folding" ingredients together, especially when egg whites are involved. Nonetheless, I went on towards reaching a goal and success! The first two angel food cakes I made were amazing. I also made some down right delicious gluten free cakes and they were also great. The GF ones fell a little but they tasted great regardless of the way they looked.

Today's recipe is for a regular wheat-based cake but I will be providing a GF cake recipe one day when I have enough time. This blogging thing really is a lot of work. It usually takes an hour or more for one blog post. (In case you didn't know.)

 

Any who, let's get to the recipe, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

2cups superfine sugar (granulated, fine sugar)

1 1/3cups sifted cake flour

1 1/2cups egg whites at room temperature (I used liquid egg whites)

3/4tsp salt

1 1/2tsp cream of tartar

3/4tsp vanilla extract

 

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure your oven is ready to go or your cake will fall flat.
Combine 1/2cup sugar with the flour and sift together 4 times. This really does make for a light and airy cake so I highly recommend doing this.
Place the eggs whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on high speed until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the egg whites. Whisk until thick and shiny then add the vanilla extract and whisk until thick, about another minute. Sift the flour mixture into the liquid mixture 1/4 at a time and fold into the batter with a rubber spatula.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top and bake 35-40 minutes until it springs back to the touch. I baked mine 45-50 minutes so please watch your time carefully.
Remove the cake from the oven and invert on a cooling rack until completely cool.

 

 

Notes: The top of the cake is slightly crunchy while the remainder of the cake is light and airy. Cut any remaining pieces and wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze up to 6 months. Remove from freezer and thaw on counter or microwave a few seconds until warm.

Eat this delicious treat and enjoy!

Homemade Gourmet Marshmallow's

Homemade Gourmet Marshmallow's

Printable Recipe

 

 

During my visits at being a vendor at my local market, I thought I'd give marshmallow making a try. The first recipe was a flop ... do not use pectin!
The second, third, fourth etc.. were awesome and spot on every time. This recipe is so simple but I must warn you, you need to have a stand up mixer. This will need to mix 15 minutes and I honestly don't know if you could do it with a hand-held. That's all you have? Give it a try and come back and let me know how it worked!

 

These pictures were from the marshmallow's I made for a beach-themed baby shower and the lucky lady was having a girl. Apparently when I left, the last few were fought over because they were so good.. and yes, they're so much better than store bought and taste amazing roasted! MMM!

 

 

Ingredients:

1.5cups water (3/4cup in sugar mixture, 3/4cup in gelatin mixture)

4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

3cups granulated sugar

1 1/4cups light corn syrup

1/4tsp salt

2tsp vanilla extract

1cup (more or less) powdered sugar

 

Directions:Lightly spray a large jelly roll pan or 9x13 pan with any oil and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixter, combine 3/4cup water and the 4 gelatin packets.
Over medium-high heat, combine 3/4cup remaining water, granulated sugar, light corn syrup and salt and bring to a boil until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
With the whisk attachment on the mixter, carefully pour the hot mixture into the gelatin/water mixture on high speed for 15 minutes. The mixture will be light and fluffy and very stiff. After 15 minutes, add the 2tsp vanilla until completely incorporated.
 

 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula. Let rest 10-15 hours.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of marshmallow's and then flip out onto a cutting board (powdered sugar side down). Then sprinkle again on top. Cut into desired shapes and roll into remaining powdered sugar to prevent sticking.

 

I added about 10 drops red food coloring and swirled it in for a pink baby shower marshmallow.

I went a step further and dipped these halfway into chocolate and toasted coconut. I made some for the kids with mini chocolate chips on top of the dipped chocolate and also did a chocolate/white chocolate swirl.
*Note: If you dip these in chocolate, dust the excess powdered sugar off first or the chocolate won't stick.
These can be stored 2-3 weeks in an airtight container in the pantry or about 6 months in the freezer if tighly wrapped.

 

 

These also make excellet rice crispy treats as well as smores and can be placed on top of your coffee or hot chocolate. So good!

Eat and enjoy!



Paleo Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Paleo Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

 

On my new paleo blog, The Girl Who Went Paleo, I posted a paleo creation for pumpkin breakfast cookies. The texture is chewy and the cookie is hearty. It's great for a quick grab-n-go snack and wonderful for the kids.

Check out the recipe here, and let me know what you think!

 

 

 

Enjoy!



Pumpkin Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips
Printable Recipe

Anyone else ready for the fall to roll around? This summer in Florida has been very hot, humid and extremely rainy. So much for being called the Sunshine State. I'm always ready for spring and fall and enjoy watching summer and winter go away.

Who's in the mood for pumpkin? Who's ready for sweater and scarf season? I know I am! My girlfriend requested an order of pumpkin bread so I made her mini loaves and put dark chocolate chips in them. So delicious!

I also made a paleo version of it ... then I made breakfast cookies with the pumpkin. MMM! Be on the lookout for those recipes.

Ingredients:
Makes 1 loaf or 10-12 muffins
1 1/2cups organic all purpose flour
1cup organic pumpkin purée
1/4cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/2tsp salt
1/2cup sugar
1tsp baking soda
1/2cup water
1tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4cup (or more) dark chocolate chips

 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a greased loaf pan for bread, muffin pan for muffins or any size pan you’d like to use. Sprinkle with dark chocolate chips.
Bake at 350degrees for 40-50 minutes for a loaf pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes for muffins. Bake 20-30 minutes in any 8x8 or 9x9 or 9x13 pan.

Eat and enjoy!



Blueberry Sauce

Blueberry Sauce

Printable Recipe

My husband and kids are in love with pancakes whether it has chocolate chips inside or some sort of liquid topping such as maple syrup of a fruit sauce. My husband loves fresh blueberry sauce on his pancakes and asked me to make him some the other day and his tummy is very happy that I did.

This recipe comes together in 5 minutes or less so while you're making your pancakes, get this recipe started on the stove. You'll be happy you tried it!

Ingredients:

Makes 3 cups

2cups fresh or frozen blueberries (any fruit will work)

1/2cup water

1/2cup sugar, I used organic cane but you can use maple syrup or white sugar instead

2Tbsp lemon juice

2Tbsp arrowroot powder (or corn starch) mixed with 2Tbsp cold water

Directions:

Over medium heat, add the blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice to a pot and bring to a simmer. Once small bubbles form, stir in the arrowroot powder mixture and stir until thickened, approximately 1 minute.

Serve over your favorite pancakes or french toast and enjoy a tasty treat!

French Quarter Beignets

French Quarter Beignets
Printable Recipe

I love donuts. Any kind; any flavor; any size. As long as they're fresh, I will eat them until I get sick. My mom and I were talking about making sopapilla's and I asked her if they were similar to beignets so she brought all of her stuff to my house one night and we made some awesome pastries!

If you have the time to make these and have a good system going, you've got to try them. They are light and fluffy and crunchy and sugary and just darn delicious! And because I love Paul Deen and her sweets so much, this recipe comes from Food Network so check it out here. My mom made the batter ahead of time. The only thing she did different was half the recipe and it fed 8 of us plus she took some home for her and her husband. We ate and ate and ate. I could've eaten the whole batch and I'm not lying.

Anyway, here's the delicious recipe! New Orleans doesn't have anything on this recipe. I'll stand behind that 100%.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups bread flour

1/4 cup shortening

Nonstick spray

Oil, for deep-frying

3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350degrees.
Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper bag and set aside.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

As Paula would say, "These are 'slap-your-mamma-good!'"

Eat and enjoy with some friends.

Chocolate Cloud Pie

Chocolate Cloud Pie

Printable Recipe

I will admit, I'm not a big fan of pie but I like to give diversity here so I thought I'd try and make a pie just for you. Don't you feel special now? Well, you should because when you make this, you'll thank me!

WARNING: This pie is made with dark chocolate chips and marshmellows. This is a very decadent pie!

Okay, now that I have your attention, let me tell you that it's a very simple recipe to do and only takes about 10 minutes to make. There is waiting time for it to cool down in between steps but overall it takes no time at all.

Ready?

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust (or you can buy the kind in the freezer section)

2cups mini marshmellows or 20 large marshmellows

1/2cup milk

2cups dark chocolate chips (or a 12oz. package)

1cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400degrees and poke holes in the bottom of the pie crust for ventilation. Bake the pie crust at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Please follow the directions on your pie crust if it's store bought. Cool on the counter for 20 minutes.

In a microwave-safe bowl, add the milk and marshmellows and cook approximately 5 minutes at 50% stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Pour in the chocolate chips and stir until melted, which takes about 30-45 seconds. If they don't melt, pop back in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time.
Pour 1cup of the melted mixture into the cooled pie crust and spread out evenly then store in the fridge. Cool the remaining melted mixture on the counter to room temperature.

In a cooled mixing bowl, add 1cup heavy whipping cream and beat until peaks appear and it becomes light and fluffy.

Gradually mix in the remaining melted mixture until combined.

Pour on top of the chocolate layer in the pie crust and cover.

Refrigerate 4-6 hours or until well chilled.

Eat slowly and enjoy!

Ru's Paleo Muffins

Ru's Paleo Muffins

Printable Recipe

What's a "Ru", you ask? It's me! My middle name is Ruth and my sister hated calling me Angela so she tried "Angie" and mom hated that so she started calling me "Ruthie." Yah, I was that girl. That girl was super skinny, wore braces and had stringy dirty-blonde hair. "Ruthie" wasn't a good image for me and I'm thankful it was changed to "Ru" when we started playing softball for our church leage .. back in 'Nam. Now only my closest friends call me Ru and it's very strange hearing "Angela" because it's hardly used.. unless you're a telemarketer!

Anywho, I made the muffins on a whim the other day praying they'd turn out and they did! After a year or so of following recipes someone else has created, I've also been creative and made several of my own. Cooking is an art, and once you have the basics, you can go anywhere with food! I hope you try these Ru Muffins; and if you do, please let me know!

*These are grain free, dairy free and egg free!

Ingredients:

Makes 6 muffins

1/2cup almond meal/flour

1/4cup almond butter

pinch of salt

1/8tsp baking powder

1/2tsp vanilla

1/4cup chocolate chips

1Tbsp pure maple syrup

1Tbsp coconut milk, or water (aka H2O)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, add the almond meal and pulse. If you have almond flour, skip this step. Add everything in except the chocolate chips and pulse until combined. Add in the chocolate chips and fold in by hand.
Spray a muffin tin and add batter about 1/3 of the way, making sure there's enough left to make 6 muffins, or go crazy and fill 'er up. You're eating these, so do what you want with them :)
Bake approximately 10-13 minutes or until cooked through.

Cook about 2 minutes in the pan then make sure you cool on a cooling rack or the bottoms/sides will get mushy.

If you're going to store these, do so in an airtight container and refrigerate. These are best eaten on the day they're made but if you need to, refrigerate and pop them in the microwave for 5 seconds to reheat when ready to eat.

Eat and enjoy!