Tag: chocolate

Bars, Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

Sarah

These gooey and quick from-scratch cookie bars are filled with lots of chocolate and butterscotch. They’re perfect for when you wanted dessert an hour ago. 🙂

These gooey and quick from-scratch cookie bars are filled with lots of chocolate and butterscotch. They're perfect for when you wanted dessert an hour ago. :)

There’s nothing worse than wanting dessert an hour ago and not getting it, right? My problem always is that I talk myself out of making something, and then a couple hours have gone by and I still want that yummy treat I didn’t make! Ugh, I hate when I do that to myself! In those cases, you have two choices. You can go out and get something [but I’m so frugal and such a homebody that option doesn’t appeal to me very often] OR you can make something quickly. In the latter scenario, you need recipes that do not require softened butter. Because softening butter in the microwave never works. At least not for me!

In the past, my go-to solution for this was these brownies. They’re chocolatey, they’re delicious, and they have you melt the butter on the stove. Perfecto! [And you can make them sans mint too, btw.] Sometimes though, you want something that isn’t quite so intensely chocolatey. Enter these Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars! They are cookie bars through and through–crisp tops and chewy middles. Not quite a blondie, not quite a cookie. Cookie bars are their own entity, and they are pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself. 🙂

These gooey and quick from-scratch cookie bars are filled with lots of chocolate and butterscotch. They're perfect for when you wanted dessert an hour ago. :)

These cookie bars are bursting with tons of butterscotch flavor… from the brown sugar to the butterscotch chips, their flavor has the best sweet butter/molasses/sugar notes you can ask for. And the chocolate chips? Well, they’re just a bonus. A delicious bonus! Enjoy! 🙂

one year ago: Butternut Squash and Mushroom Tart
two years ago: Oatmeal Fudge Bars
three years ago: Neely’s Lemon Pasta Salad
four years ago: Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki Chicken
five years ago: Sweet and Tangy Pork Chops with Pineapple with Coconut Toasted Rice

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

  • Servings: 24
  • Print

from Just a Little Bit of Bacon

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, 12 ounces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 6.5 ounces
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl or saucepan, melt butter in the microwave or on the stove. When butter is melted, add brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Bonus–you can use the same bowl or saucepan! Just move the saucepan off the heat.

One at a time, add in the eggs and stir until incorporated. Then add the vanilla, salt, and baking powder and stir to combine. Add flour and stir until almost combined, then fold in chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Do not overbake! The bars are done when the tops are set and a little shiny, golden brown in color, and pulling away from the side of the pan. Cool completely [or most of the way] before cutting into bars if you want them to look pretty. Otherwise, they can be cut pretty soon; they just might be messy. Enjoy!

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Coffee Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins #bookclubcookbookCC

Sarah

When you have leftover coffee, why not turn it into some chocolately streusel muffins?!? These muffins are dangerous to have around your kitchen. 🙂

Coffee Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins #bookclubcookbookCC - these chocolate & coffee filled muffins are SUCH a treat!

OH MY MUFFIN GOODNESS! These are fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And I owe them all to a book. Not any old book though, one of my new favorite books–A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This month for a #BookClubCookBookCC, our hostess was Emily at Life On Food. She asked us to make a recipe inspired by this wonderful classic, and suggested chocolate russe, a cake that the book’s main character, Francie, idealized as a dessert of the rich, only visible to her in the fancy bakery windows, never in her [poor] home where all the dessert she got was stale pie and sugar buns. Well, chocolate russe sounds delicious and all, but I’ve reached a point of lazy cooking and baking these days so muffins it is!

Coffee Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins #bookclubcookbookCC - these chocolate & coffee filled muffins are SUCH a treat!

I promise you this–even though these muffins aren’t the recipe for the month, or even something mentioned in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, they are definitely inspired by the book. If you haven’t read this classic, you should. It’s one of those that I never read as a kid or in school, but read as an adult a few summers ago [I actually listened to the audiobook]. The book takes you through Francie’s life, from early chidhood to college. It is truly a coming of age story that captures a poor family in Brooklyn in the pre-war era. It is lovely and full of wonderful character descriptions. Since her family is so poor, food is a large part of their daily existence and coffee is their daily luxury–even the kids! The vivid descriptions of how the kids would be served as much “hot strong coffee” as they liked, with a pre-determined amount of sweetened condensed milk [to stir in or spread on toast] was crazy to me. As a kid, I didn’t like coffee at all! My dad prefers instant [gross] and my sister and I were talking recently about how he used to pay us a quarter to try his coffee. Haha! Unsurprisingly, Francie and her brother Neeley didn’t like the coffee either but still take a cup as their luxury and to be a little more grown-up. So, muffins. Coffee as a nod to Francie and Neeley [my favorite character!] and chocolate chips for the chocolate russe. And because chocolate is yummy. 🙂 If you can’t tell, I ADORE this book and am so glad I got to make a recipe inspired by it!

Coffee Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins #bookclubcookbookCC - these chocolate & coffee filled muffins are SUCH a treat!

If you love coffee and chocolate, these muffins are for you! The coffee flavor is mellow but unmistakable. They’re perfect with a glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee… but it’s the streusel that wins the award! Since I made the streusel with melted butter, almonds, and oats, you really have press it onto the batter… but it bakes up nice and crispy creating a fantastic crunchy texture. Yum! I can’t get enough of these muffins. Hope you love ’em too! Thanks for hosting this month, Emily!

P.S. Scroll down for the giveaway, running through the end of the month!

one year ago: Mujaddara: Mediterranean Lentils and Rice with Carrot Slaw
two years ago: Apple Rubies in Coconut Milk
three years ago: Double Blueberry Walnut Muffins
four years ago: Quinoa Pancakes
five years ago: Lemon Blueberry Bread

Coffee Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins

  • Servings: 12-14
  • Print

slightly adapted [mainly the streusel] from Bakerita

Ingredients:

for muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour [or all purpose]
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, chilled or at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

for streusel

  • 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour [or all purpose]
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced and toasted almonds
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee, chilled or at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease cups with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, coffee, oil, and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.

Divide batter between muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full. I use silicone baking cups and got 14.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, and almonds with a fork. Pour in butter and mix to form crumbs. Streusel will be thick. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon on top of each muffin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops turn golden brown and streusel starts to caramelize. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Serve warm! Muffins also freeze well.

Giveaway
This month Emily at Life on Food, this month’s host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!
One of our lucky readers – US and Canada only! – can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from March 1st till March 31st at 6 o’clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

*Disclosure: Emily received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

 

Cakes, Desserts, Recipes

SRC: S’mores Bundt Cake

Sarah

This incredible S’mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs–no flour–and is so delicious you won’t be able to stop at just one slice! You’ll always want “s’more!” Hahaha. But seriously, even though it’s super rich, you will. 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

Heyyyy it’s another Secret Recipe Club Monday! Yay! And it’s Presidents’ Day so Ben has a three day weekend. I decided to take the day off too… what fun 🙂 This month I was assigned to Margaret’s blog, Tea and Scones. She has lots of great recipes, which is no surprise because with a food blog, who doesn’t? Hahaha lame, sorry. Anyway, Margaret loves to bake and cook and share her culinary adventures with the world. 🙂 Her favorite thing to bake is scones, preferably if they can be enjoyed with tea, so I should have baked scones from her blog. Instead I made an AMAZING s’mores bundt cake. Seriously, this cake can’t be missed! But in case you do want to miss it, or eat something else besides sugary sweet cake that you can’t get enough of, maybe one of her other recipes suits your fancy. Swedish Meatballs, Baked Carbonara, Sweet Potato Muffins, Cantaloupe Pie, Cinnamon Graham Cracker Ice Cream… the list can go on… seriously, this blog is FULL of deliciousness, and sweetness too because Margaret just sounds wonderful! 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

Speaking of sweet, if you don’t like sweet, this cake isn’t for you. Good thing I don’t know too many people like this, because this cake is insanely good! It may just be my new go-to party dessert. I don’t think anyone would mind. 🙂 This cake has SO much deliciousness in it. And on it. 🙂 I normally don’t do all the fancy toppings but I’m so glad I did this time!

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

First, you have yourself a graham cracker bundt cake. Sounds pretty good right? What if I told you that there’s NO flour in the cake, except what’s in the graham cracker crumbs? Sounds pretty weird, but it works! There are five eggs, butter, and sour cream all coming together to make truly delicious and moist [sorry! It is though.] cake. Next, inside the cake is a layer [Margaret calls it a hidden surprise!] of chocolate chips and marshmallow fluff. Yum! My fluff puffed up through the batter and actually became a little caramelized in the oven, so it was more s’mores like. #nocomplaintshere On top, you have not just one but TWO toppings–a rich chocolate ganache AND a silky smooth marshmallow glaze AND some extra graham cracker crumbs. Ohhh man. This cake just got real, folks. Double of each ingredient. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. What a great combination!

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

This s’mores bundt cake is intense, and almost better than the real deal because you don’t have to stand over a fire to make it. 🙂 I recommend making it for a special occasion because it is rich and a wee bit time consuming and kinda sorta messy. You should have seen my kitchen explode after I made it. I just made it because it sounded yummy… is that special enough? Hope so! And I hope you give this cake a try soon! My recommendations for this recipe are sky high! Thanks, Margaret, for a great recipe! 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

one year ago: Crumb Topped Apple Pie
two years ago: Fresh Cranberry Coffee Cake
three years ago: Go-To Pancakes
four years ago: Mexican Chicken Alfredo
five years ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

S'mores Bundt Cake

  • Servings: 12
  • Print

from Tea and Scones

Ingredients:

  • 2 2/3 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs [about 8 ounces]
  • 2/3 cup coconut flakes [I omitted]
  • 2/3 cup chopped nuts, either pecans or walnuts [I omitted]
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 5 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 1 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 8 ounces chocolate chips, divided
  • 13 ounces marshmallow fluff, divided
  • 1/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
  • additional graham cracker crumbs, for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, coconut, nuts, and baking soda.

With an electric mixer, beat together sugar, brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolks, then beat until combined. Next, alternate between adding graham cracker crumb mixture and sour cream, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Do not overmix.

Place egg whites in a separate bowl, and beat with a whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.

Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips and top with half of the marshmallow fluff. You’ll want to press down gently to better incorporate the marshmallow fluff in the batter. Top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cake in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When cake is cooled, place on a serving platter, then make chocolate ganache and marshmallow glaze.

To make ganache, add remaining chocolate chips and half and half/heavy cream to a small saucepan set over low heat. Constantly whisk until chocolate has melted and cream has been incorporated into the chocolate. Mixture will thicken slightly. Let cool off heat for a few minutes before drizzling on cake.

While cool, place 2 tablespoons butter with remaining marshmallow fluff in another saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until melted and smooth. Pour over top of ganache, then top with additional graham cracker crumbs, if desired.

Enjoy!

Be sure to check out all the other recipes for SRC today at the link below!

Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Coconut Oil Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sarah

Perfectly soft, chewy dark chocolate chip cookies… made with coconut oil for a little extra deliciousness. 🙂

These soft and chewy coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are absolutely wonderful! My new favorite! :) Find the #recipe on thepajamachef.comCan I let you in on a secret? I don’t really like making cookies. In fact, I find it kind of… tedious nowadays. I feel bad saying that, because I have such great memories baking cookies throughout the years with my mom, sister, and grandma, with friends and roommates, even with Ben. I think it might be more enjoyable with someone else, so you can share the measuring and mixing, scooping and rolling, and even the cleaning if you’re lucky. But when you do it all alone, it’s ALL on you. It’s not that making the dough or rolling it out or baking it is hard exactly, but it’s a constant dance of getting everything in the oven and cooked the perfect amount without burning anything, then waiting for the cookie sheets to cool before putting more dough on. On and on it goes. So much work!

These soft and chewy coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are absolutely wonderful! My new favorite! :) Find the #recipe on thepajamachef.comThat being said, I find it funny that so many people would rather bake cookies over anything else. I’m happy to make muffins or cake or pie or cookie bars any day but asking me to bake [and/or GASP decorate] a bunch of cookies for something makes me freak out. Weird, I know. I will never be that person showing up at a bake sale with impeccably decorated cookies. Oh well.

These soft and chewy coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are absolutely wonderful! My new favorite! :) Find the #recipe on thepajamachef.comYou might think it’s strange that I’m rambling on about how I don’t really like making cookies… while I’m sharing a COOKIE RECIPE. Geeze, not good endorsement there. Ha! And yes, maybe that is a bit weird. But truthfully, these cookies are worth the trouble and the fuss! They’re worth every bit of that measuring and scooping and rolling and tedious baking process. They’re soft and chewy, with just a hint of coconut goodness, especially when freshly baked. Plus, if you don’t want to bake all the cookies at once, you can freeze the dough balls and pop them out to bake on a random Thursday afternoon for no good reason at all. Something fun to pull out of the freezer, me thinks. 🙂 I hope you love ’em as much as I do!

These soft and chewy coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are absolutely wonderful! My new favorite! :) Find the #recipe on thepajamachef.comone year ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
two years ago: Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal Cookies
three years ago: 30 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
four years ago: Pumpkin Biscuits
five years ago: Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Coconut Oil Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Servings: 32 small cookies or 16 larger cookies
  • Print

from Leelalicious

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature [consistency of softened butter]
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or coconut extract
  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

With a mixer, cream together coconut oil, sugars, egg, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy–about 3 minutes. Add flour, cornstarch, and baking soda, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into balls–about 32 small balls or 16 larger balls. When chilled, dough will be hard to roll so do this first! Then place on a baking sheet or plate, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. At this point, you can either bake the cookies or freeze for later.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place dough on a lined baking sheet [with a silpat or parchment paper], then bake for 9-10 minutes until edges are just set. Do not overbake! Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or enjoy right away!

Cakes, Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Sarah

This is the BEST zucchini cake I have ever had! And it doesn’t even have frosting. Crazyyy!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake - a great summer dessert with some chocolate for good measure | thepajamachef.comI never had zucchini anything until I met Ben. He opened up a whole world to me! Zucchini muffins, bread, cookies, pasta, cake… well, I guess he opened up basically a whole new world of sweets [with the addition of some veggies so you can pretend to be a little healthier]. HA! The first summer after we were married, we were served zucchini cake for dessert by some of our new church friends. This chocolate zucchini cake was amazing… and had the best, thickest chocolate frosting ever. It was positively scrumptious!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake - a great summer dessert with some chocolate for good measure | thepajamachef.comProblem was… every time I made zucchini cake after having hers, I wanted layer upon layer of chocolate frosting. But sometimes that’s too much work. Or you don’t want to wait for the cake to cool completely before that. Or you want to be able to eat the cake for breakfast. Or ___ [insert other “problem” here]. SIGH. But guess what guys?!? Once I discovered THIS cake, my problems were solved. Hallelujah!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake - a great summer dessert with some chocolate for good measure | thepajamachef.comThis zucchini cake, aptly named Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake, is equally chocolately yet requires not one layer of chocolate frosting because of the abundance of chocolate chips used to top this masterpiece. Genius, I say! Alright, so there aren’t mountains of chocolate chips on top of this cake, but there ARE enough to enjoy in just about every bite. The middle pieces have more so I recommend eating those yourself. Or, you know, not being selfish like me and sharing with those you love. I’m so nice! Each bite though, no matter if it comes from the side or the middle, is unbelievably soft and melts in your mouth. Buttermilk in cakes is fabulous, I think! It also has a teensy bit of warm spices to intensify the chocolate flavor even more. Hope you enjoy this cake as much as we did… and don’t forget to eat your veggies! 🙂

one year ago: Dark Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Blondies – with vegan and gluten free options!
two years ago: Eggplant Potato Frittata
three years ago: Baked Flounder
four years ago: Lavender Lime Scones
five years ago: Tasty Corn

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

  • Servings: 18
  • Print

from What Megan’s Making

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cups peeled, shredded zucchini [1 medium]
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in the zucchini. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy! This is also great with ice cream.