Rich Hot Cocoa

I had such a sweet tooth tonight. After going through the pantry a million times and finding nothing that suited my fancy, I finally decided to make hot cocoa from scratch. So, I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com and boy oh boy is it GOOD. Sooo rich and creamy. I served this to my parents and Carl and Sam and everyone loved it. We only had big marshmallows to put in it, but it was so yummy. I will definitely be making this in the future. Its so quick and easy.



Rich Hot Cocoa (from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 1/2 cups hot water
• Mini marshmallows (optional)

In large saucepan over medium heat, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt; mix well. Slowly stir in water. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Top with marshmallows, (optional). Store covered in refrigerator.

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

Here is another holiday treat that is super quick and easy to throw together. Seriously, it took all of 5 minutes to make from start to finish. I got this recipe from Good Things Catered Her recipe has golden raisins but I didn't have any so I used semi sweet chocolate chips instead. It was so yummy. These are so pretty when they are cut up. A perfect addition to your treat gift giving.

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

16 ounces good white chocolate, chopped
chopped walnuts
dried cranberries
chocolate chips

In a microwave safe dish, add the white chocolate and microwave for 30 seconds. Take out and stir until the dish no longer feels warm. Then microwave and stir in 15 second intervals, until smooth and creamy. Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread out. Top with nuts, cranberries and chocolate chips, pushing everything down into the white chocolate to adhere it. Let cool for 2 hrs at room temp, or 30 minutes in the fridge. Break or cut into the sizes you want.

Saltine Toffees

Wow I cant believe I haven't posted since Nov 19! Ive just been so busy. I have several pics taken, and I just need to write out the blog entry and get them posted! Here is a quick one that is so good! These are called Saltine Toffees. I actually got this recipe off a message board I frequent, called The Nest. This recipe was going around a few months back and I bookmarked it. I have no idea who posted the original recipe, so if its yours, let me know and I will edit my entry!

Saltine Toffees

1 package of saltine crackers
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds) about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or pieces

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place crackers onto baking sheet. On Medium low heat, melt butter and brown sugar. Dont stir it until its all melted. Then stir to combine and keep stirring until its bubbly and carmelized, about 3 minutes. Spoon the buttery sugar goo all over the crackers, then top with chopped nuts. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, then take out and immediatly sprinkle chocolate chips over all the crackers. Let cool, then store in air tight containers.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Id been promising Sam that we'd make some cookies for a few days. Finally I bought some chocolate chips and we were set. We made old fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I used the recipe that Ive always used since I was a kid...the original chocolate chip recipe, first made by Ruth Wakefield at her Toll House Inn, starting in 1930 back in Massachusetts. Its amazing to me that this popular cookie, which Id say is the most all-American cookie, was just invented in the last 100 years. If you'd like to know more about the history of Toll House chocolate chip cookies, you can click here. These are the best and easiest cookies to make from scratch. They really are better when you make them yourself. I think its the love that goes into them that makes them taste so good, along with fresh flour, butter and other ingredients. I know that now days, there are all the refrigerated cookie doughs you can buy, that make cookie making a snap. Sure they make your home smell good when baking and they serve the purpose of providing home baked cookies, but they just aren't quite as good as cookies made fresh from scratch.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto un-greased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Someone posted this recipe on the Nest and I just had to try it out. First I researched it a bit and found that it was posted in tons of discussion boards and lots of bloggers had tried it out already, but all the reviews I read were pretty mixed. So, I spent the 5 minutes it took to whip this baby up. Was it worth the 5 minutes? I have to say no it was not. It was very dense, not light like cake usually is. And it was pretty wet and rubbery, like a sponge that my fork had a hard time cutting. It was very bland and had almost no chocolate flavor at all. It was probably one of the most disgusting cakes Ive ever taken a bite of. And that is all I had, 1 bite and the rest of it went straight into the trash. So I would not recommend trying this one at home. LOL

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons cake flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips(optional)

a small splash of vanilla essence
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla essence, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

Big League Brownies

This afternoon, Sam and I were sitting around kind of bored while Charlie was taking his afternoon nap. Since Sam loves helping me in the kitchen, I decided we should bake something together. So I decided we would make these brownies that Id seen on the brownie box mix. Yes, I used a box mix. Its the easiest way when Im busy with my kids. We doctored these up though with a nice peanut buttery cheesecake filling. YUMMY. I wanted my filling to be more like cheesecake, so I subbed in some cream cheese for 1/2 of the butter. Also, I didnt realize it until after these babies were in the oven that this was a family size mix for a 9x13 pan. I poured it into a smaller pan, so we ended up with some THICK brownies. They were really yummy. And even with the cream cheese, the texture was still like peanut butter brownie. Please excuse Charlie's hand as he is reaching for the brownie. Its not always easy to photograph food and watch kids at the same time.

Big League Brownies

1 box Pillsbury Brownie Classics mix prepared and set aside

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup margarine or butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and margarine. Beat until smooth. Add sugar and flour, beat until mixed. Add eggs, blend well.

Spread half of the brownie mix in bottom of a greased pan. Carefully spread peanut butter mixture over brownie mixture in pan. Spread remaining brownie mixture over peanut butter mixture. Bake for 30-33 minutes. Cool 1 hr before cutting.