Triple-Layer Mud Pie.

The husband whipped up this simple & delicious dessert for his Mom's belated birthday dinner and it was really good! But you can't really go wrong with a triple layer of chocolate can you? Easy to make, delicious and totally not good for you, ummm do you seriously need more reasons to make this? So the husband goes to cut into the pie and the crust was rock solid. Seriously, we thought we might need to get out the power saw. At first we thought it was because he forgot to add the sweetened condensed milk, but after reading some of the online reviews it seems others had this problem as well. It didn't matter though, the triple-layer mud pie was still fabulous and cutting into each bite just provided lots of laughs for everyone!

Easiest Chocolate Cake.

Well of course you need a cake to celebrate the birth of a new baby! I wanted to make this recipe because it sounded & looked good, not to mention it didn't make a whole bunch of cake. There were only four of us and while we could eat a layered cake, we're all not as young as we used to be! This is another reason why I love this cookbook, it's designed for smaller mouths so all the recipes don't make a lot. Yeah, yeah I know you can divide recipes in half, but sometimes I don't want to think and I just want to eat.


Easiest Chocolate Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
sprinkle of salt
1 large egg
3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Grease and flour the sides of the round metal pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and mix.

4. In another bowl, use a whisk to stir the egg, sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla until smooth.

5. Still using the whisk, stir spoonfuls of the flour mixture and splashes of milk - switching between the two - into the sugar mix. Stir until smooth.

6. Use a baking spatula to scrape the batter into the pan. Bake about 50 minutes. Cool completely.

7. To unmold the cake, run a dinner knife twice around the edge. Set right-side-up on a baking rack to glaze and ice/glaze using your favorite recipe.

Yield: 1 8" cake

Recipe obtained from: Kitchen for Kids: 100 Amazing Recipes Your Children Can Really Make. (aka - my new favorite cookbook!)

My thoughts: I ran out of flour while making this and ended up using about 1 1/4 c. The cake was a little flatter as a result but didn't alter the taste or anything else at all.


To ice the easiest chocolate cake I went with my Grandma's famous caramel icing. It wasn't a party in our family without her chocolate cake & caramel icing! So here it is, my Grandma's famous caramel icing recipe - enjoy! This is my favorite icing...ever!

Caramel Icing

1/2 c. margarine (or butter)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 3/4 - 2 c. confectioners sugar

1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add brown sugar. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the saucepan from heat and cool. When the mixture has come to room temperature add the confectioners sugar.

*Add more milk if you add too much confectioners sugar.
** Caramel icing isn't really pretty to look at, but I promise you it tastes delicious!!

And of course the real reason for cake & celebration - baby Brynn!! Seriously one of the most adorable babies! Congratulations to K & J and their happy new little family!

Chocolate Two-Times.

Procrastination is my middle name. Why study, when I can make cookies - which is why studying from home is a bad idea sometimes. I returned some books from the library this morning and left with an arm-load of cookbooks, as if I need anymore. I found this cookie recipe in what appears to be my new favorite cookbook Kitchen for Kids by Jennifer Low. The
recipes are easy to make and the portions are just right for the husband & I. I'm thinking this book will make it onto my Christmas list this year.

Chocolate Two-Times

1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. white sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
sprinkle of salt
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown and white sugars, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. Melt the squares of chocolate and butter in a medium sized bowl at 50% power in the microwave (about 3 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway).

5. Stir in the vanilla into the melted chocolate. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Use a lightly greased tablespoon to scoop the dough and drop in mounds on the lined baking sheet. Make about 12 mounds, 2 inches apart.

7. Bake about 14 minutes, or until the edges are firm but the middle is still a little soft. Cool until lukewarm before removing from baking sheet.

Yield: 12 cookies

Recipe obtained from: Kitchen for Kids: 100 Amazing Recipes Your Children Can Really Make by Jennifer Low.

My thoughts: If your baking sheets are in good condition, you don't need the parchment paper. I used white chocolate chips, because they were already opened. Any kind of chip would be delicious. I used my melon ball scoop and got 14 cookies, I probably could have gotten 16 if I hadn't eaten the cookie dough.

P.S. You will definitely need a large glass of milk to go along with these cookies. They also remind me a lot of another easy brownie-like cookie I made awhile back, cocoa fudge cookie's.

A Top 5 Cookie.

Every time I go to the library I come home with a stack of cooking related books. This might seem strange to some, considering I already own a pretty substantial cook book collection; but I love to look at cook books! The library is a great resource for checking out new & different cuisines, techniques and just looking at the wonderful pictures. Sitting in a comfy chair with a cup of coffee and a stack of cook books is one of my favorite things to do!

Many of the recipes in the Cooking Light book I picked up, I'd seen before. But it's nice to have all of their most successful recipes located in one spot & not have to search around for them online or in the stack of magazines I have. Looking for ways to use up the large container of plain yogurt sitting in the fridge, I came across a recipe for cocoa fudge cookies. I love when recipes include everything I already have and seem really simple to make! I also wanted to be able to freeze these cookies to enjoy later and they seem suited for that.

These are one of the easiest & fastest cookies recipes I've ever made! Plus these cookies are healthy, how many times can you say that about a cookie! I'm also going to be bold & declare these cookies in my top 5 cookie recipes of all time, here's why:

1. If you've ever had a craving for cookies, but didn't want to go through the trouble of making them - this recipe is for you.
2. If you love eating raw cookie dough - this recipe is for you.
3. If you abstain from eating raw cookie dough for fear of salmonella , this recipe is for you because there are no eggs included.
4. If you love chewy, rich chocolaty, melt-in your mouth, deliciousness - this recipe is for you.
5. The husband said they tasted like a brownie and who doesn't love brownies?

Cocoa Fudge Cookies
1 c. All-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/8 tsp. Salt
5 Tbs. Butter
7 Tbs. Unsweetened Cocoa
2/3 c. Granulated sugar
1/3 c. Packed brown sugar
1/3 c. Low-fat yogurt, plain
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa and sugars. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons two inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2-3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.


Yield: 2 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)
Recipe obtained from: All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook.

Nutritional information: calories 78 (31% from fat); fat 2.7 g. (sat. 1.6 g., mono 0.8 g., poly 0.1 g); protein 1 g.; carbohydrates 13.4 g.; fiber 0.5g.; cholesterol 7 mg.; iron 0.5 mg.; sodium 54 mg.; calcium 12 mg.

What I did: I followed the recipe exactly as printed, except for the cooking times. My cookies were set after 8 minutes and I moved them to the wire rack after 2 minutes, but the end results weren't as crispy as I think they should be. Next time I'll let them cook the full 10 minutes, rest for 3 minutes and then move to the wire rack. I used a cookie scoop to mold the cookies, and ended up with 21 cookies instead of 24.

Fudge Freakin' Fantastic Oatmeal Fudge Bars

We're going boating and camping this weekend with my brother-in-law & his wife, and I wanted to make something sweet to take along . I've been eyeing this recipe for awhile and figured this would be a good time to make it, plus I already had the ingredients on hand. These bars were fudge-freakin'-fantastic and truly lived up to its Grand Prize wining status from Cook's Country's bar cookie contest. Everyone kept calling them brownies, they were so rich & fudgy and the oatmeal provided a nice contrast & texture. Delicious!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Crust & Topping:

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. quick-cooking oats

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly

Filling:

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 Tbs. instant coffee granules or espresso powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, chopped

3 large eggs

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 9 x 9" pan (see note below). Whisk flour, oats. sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir in butter until combined. Set 1 1/4 cups oatmeal mixture aside. Press remaining oatmeal mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

2. For the filling: Whisk flour, sugar, instant coffee, and salt in a bowl. Melt chocolate chips and butter in large bowl; whisk in eggs, then stir in flour mixture. Pour filling over cooled crust and sprinkle with reserved oatmeal mixture.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

*Note* For all bar cookies, spray baking pan with cooking spray and line with aluminum foil, allowing excess to overhang pan edges. Spray foil with cooking spray. Once bar cookies have been baked and cooled, use foil overhang to lift bars from pan.

Yield: 36 bars (All bar cookies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days)

What I did differently: I only have an 8x8" pan. I used old fashioned oats, instead of the quick cooking variety. One of my Dad's student's gave him some instant coffee mix from Vietnam - Nam Nguyen Caphe Sua, which has sugar & milk in the mix. I didn't notice a difference and honestly if I didn't have that on hand, I would have omitted it from the recipe. I also didn't get 36 bars, I forgot to count but it seemed more like 20 something.