homemade heaven

Have you ever made homemade brownies? I hadn't until a few weeks ago. And now I don't think I can ever go back to a mix again. Oh man, they are good. Yesterday, I made a quick half batch to welcome the big kids home from school and the little ones up from naps. Find the recipe here. You won't be sorry.

lately

 It has been stormy, which it never really is here, so Elliot and I made the most of it one afternoon with sips of hot chocolate and a cozy viewing of Roman Holiday.

 Sometimes Elliot has a hard time waiting until after we pick up Stella from preschool to have a morning nap. That makes us a little bit clingy and whiney. Mabel was chosen to be in the school spelling bee and did a great job! Mike and I have to speak in church on Sunday and I am very very nervous. But I keep telling myself that if Mabel can get up in front of the school for the bee, then I can get up in front of our congregation and read my little talk.

This morning found us at Mike's office, which has a ginormous white board. So much fun. And I've been baking all week, it seems. We finally delivered goodie plates to our neighbors last night. These mini chocolate peppermint cake bites made it on the list this year. It's hard to tell, but they were so pretty and sparkly. (I also included caramel layer cocoa squares, pumpkin gingerbread bars, and molasses cookies.)

What is your favorite thing to give your neighbors at Christmas?

pumpkin + chocolate

Pumpkin recipe no. three was good. Despite the nearly full can of pumpkin puree called for in the recipe, this chocolate cake has a very subtle pumpkin flavor, which makes it an easy crowd pleaser. After all, I know that not everyone is as obsessed with pumpkin desserts as I am. It is super moist and chocolatey and delicious. But my favorite part by far is the pumpkin spice butter cream frosting. I am trying to think of other things I can spread it on. Graham crackers? Brownies? My fingers? Yum!

This just in: this cake is even more delicious the next day.

Chocolate Earthquake Cake

How did I not know that this cake existed? I can't believe I've never heard of it. Have you? I was looking for dessert ideas yesterday and entered "chocolate cake" and "cream cheese" into my ingredient search on allrecipes.com. Three versions of this cake popped up, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did. It was gooey and rich and really delicious.

Chocolate Earthquake Cake

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (3.5 ounce) package flaked coconut

1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9x12 inch cake pan. Cover the bottom of the cake pan with the chopped nuts and the flaked coconut.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter over chopped nuts and coconut.
3. Melt butter or margarine, add cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Stir until blended. Spoon over unbaked batter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 42 minutes. Please note: you cannot test for doneness, as the cake will appear sticky even when it is done. The icing sinks into the batter as it bakes, forming the white ribbon inside. Makes 16 servings.

Some notes: I left out the walnuts (Mabel is allergic) and I was out of coconut, which was a bummer because I love coconut. I used a Devil's Food mix instead of German Chocolate, and I only had 4 ounces of cream cheese. Despite all of that, it turned out pretty well. It was best warm from the oven, as the icing hardened a bit after it cooled and stuck to the bottom of the pan. Oh, and mine overflowed in the oven, although it did settle back down nicely once it was out.

I'll have you know, I exercised extreme restraint and threw the leftovers away before I went to bed last night. Otherwise it would have been breakfast, and that would not have been a good idea.

Be Mine

Mike and I usually don't do much for Valentine's Day, as our anniversary is the next week (this year will be our tenth!). So instead of flowers or chocolates, I baked a chocolate cake. And I shared it with my honey. I was even feeling festive and put a powdered sugar heart on it.

Tip: If you are using a cake mix, try melted butter in place of the oil. It will make it taste better.

Happy Valentine's Day.

I like to bake cakes.

It gives me an excuse to use a pretty cake stand. And to eat cake. This one is for my friend, Mel. We're having a little party for her tonight and she requested something oreo. Let me tell you a secret: this cake has an oreo truffle filling inside. I'm kind of nervous about it. I hope we don't all die from the richness.

1,079 reviewers can't be wrong.

It's been a very lazy Saturday at our house. We've spent the day reading, napping, relaxing, and getting over our colds. It's been really nice. Add baking cookies to the list, and the fact that it's a beautiful day outside, and this just might be my idea of heaven.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

from allrecipes.com

I've been wanting to make homemade ice cream sandwiches for a while now. I thought this cookie recipe would go really well with the peanut butter cookie dough ice cream that has been sitting in my freezer. And boy did it. They turned out great. The recipe had 1,079 positive reviews, so I figured it must be a good one. It did not disappoint. I baked mine for a full 10 minutes, and plan to store the ones not employed in my ice cream sandwich operation in my air tight cookie jar, so hopefully they will not dry out, as that was the major complaint of most of the reviewers. They are crispy, soft, and positively loaded with chocolate.