The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies from Williams Sonoma

I love chocolate chip cookies, but I like them crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside with a lot of chocolate. These cookies from Williams Sonoma are perfect, exactly like the name of the recipe and exactly the way I like them!  They are slightly crunchy, soft and chocolatly. 

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Recipe  from Williams Sonoma

1 1/4 cups  unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick ) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup  firmly packed light brown sugar

6 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silphat baking liner. 

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Then slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. With a wooden spoon stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough mounds 2 inches apart. 

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, at 350 F until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned about, 10-13 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. 

I love these cookies! I love the raw dough, I love them warm from the oven and even two days later! These just might be the perfect chocolate chip cookie, if not they are pretty close!

I hope that you try them!

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

If you have read this blog more than once than you know that I am continually on the hunt for the "best" chocolate chip cookies, the most moist, chocolate cake and of course the fudgiest brownies. I think I may have discovered the best brownies I have ever made. These brownies almost never made it into the oven because I ate so much of the batter. 

The brownies are perfect just the way the original recipe from Cafe Delites is made, I just decided to frost them because I had leftover frosting from another project. I love them plain and frosted. 

The Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Recipe from Cafe Delites

1/2 cup unsalted butter. melted

1 tablespoon cooking oil

11/8 cup superfine sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lighly grease an 8in square pan and then line with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Combine melted butter, oil and sugar together in a medium bowl and whish for about a minute. This will give the brownies a nice crust. Then add the eggs, and vanilla and whisk for another minute. 

Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt, stirring just until the ingredients are combined. Do not over beat or you will end up with cake brownies. 

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you test for doneness with a toothpick the pick will come out with thick fudge crumbs. The brownies will continue to bake while in the pan cooling. 

Cool to room temperature. 

Enjoy!

Dulce de Leche Fluff Brownies

Do you like marshmallow fluff, how about dulce de leche? I love them both and when you add them to rich, fudge brownies you have the most delectable dessert that I have had in awhile. I think they would make a fabulous addition to your Fall parties. 

Dulce de Leche Fluff Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chunks, bars or chips

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

5 eggs

1/3 cup dark cocoa powder

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 130z can of dulce de leche
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan with cooling spray or oil, then set aside. In a medium sauce pan place butter and let it melt a little then add the chocolate. Melt the butter and the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside the chocolate and let is cool for a little bit. Then whisk in the sugar and the vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time making sure each is incorporated. 

In a medium bowl sift together the salt, cocoa and the flour. Whisk into the chocolate mixture until just combined. 

Bake the brownies for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. 

In a microwave safe bowl heat the dulce de leche for 1 minute or until softened. 

Remove brownies from oven and spoon marshmallow cream in dollops over the top then drop dollops of dulce de leche between the marshmallow. Let stand for a few minutes to soften and then swirl with a knife. Cool pan on wire rack.  

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Savvy Southern Style

Ultimate Brownie Muffins

I love muffins but it is so hard to find a good chocolate muffin, you know one that actually tastes like chocolate? While perusing Pinterest I discovered a recipe not only for chocolate muffins but one that is a combination of brownies and a muffin. Does it get any better than that?

Ultimate Brownie Muffins

Pretty Simple Sweet

4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped

1/2 cup buter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with liners. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl place the chocolate and the butter. Heat for 20 second increments in the microwave until the chocolate and butter are melted, whisk to combine. 

In a small bowl sift the flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine eggs and sugar and beat on high speed until thick and pale, about 4 minutes. 

Reduce the speed to low and add the chocolate.

Stop the mixture and fold in the flour until just mixed, DO not over mix. 

Divide the batter between the lined muffin cups, fill 3/4 full.

Bake 13-16 minutes or until the a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Do not over bake or they will be dry.

Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
Warning: Do not over bake, when in doubt under-bake these muffins.

These muffins are fabulous, they are rich, dense, chocolaty and they have a crunchy, crackly brownie top. To be truthful I had to make them twice because I baked the first ones too long and they were a bit dry. The second batch came out perfect. 

Devils Food Cake with Buttercream Icing

Cakes with lots of frosting are one of my favorite desserts, especially a good chocolate cake. I have several "go to" chocolate cake recipes but I have never made a devils food cake. When I was perusing my cookbooks I came across this recipe from Cooks Illustrated, after all I have never made anything from their books that has not been great. 

This classic cake  is rich, dense, almost like a cross between a brownie and a cake and delicious. 

Devils Food Cake 

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate chopped

1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

11/4 cups boiling water

3/4 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup plain cake flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

11/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 9" cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a bowl combine the cocoa powder and the unsweetened chocolate. Pour the boiling water over this mixture and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda and salt, set aside. 

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium until light and fluffy. Then add the brown sugar and beat in hight for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl then add the eggs one at a time on medium speed. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and mix 1 minute. Then add the 1/3 flour mixture, 1/3 chocolate mixture, repeat with 1/3 of each, then again ending with the flour mixture. Beat just to combine, do not over mix. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the sides to be sure everything is combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Remove to wire wrack let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely. Once cooled frost with your favorite frosting. 

Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

1 stick softened butter

3-4 tablespoons heavy cream

11/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

In the bowl of your mixer, mix all of the ingredients on low until combined then mix on medium/high until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes. You can add more cream to get the spreading consistency that you like. 

Enjoy!

Linking to
Savvy Southern Style

Bailey's Hot Fudge Sauce for the Perfect Sundae

Summer is all about ice cream and cool treats. They are the perfect things to make if you do not want to turn on the oven. When I was a child my favorite thing ever was hot fudge, I would eat it from the jar by the spoonful with or without a little ice-cream.

My grandmother always made us homemade hot fudge to go with the hand churned ice cream that we used to make. Do you remember the ice cream makers with the ice and the salt, the kind that seemed like it too all day to make and crank the handle? 

This Bailey's Hot Fudge sauce is the perfect accompaniment to any ice cream that you make or buy and frankly it tastes delicious right from the jar as well. It is very easy to make, you basically put everything in the sauce pan, stir and eat. Although I do recommend letting it sit for 20-30 minutes. Now, if you do not like alcohol or Bailey's than just omit it from the recipe and you have traditional hot fudge sauce. 

Bailey's Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

pinch of salt

8 oz. dark chocolate (I use 70-85% dark chocolate bars)

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

4 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

Place heavy cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa, salt and half of the chocolate in a pan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil then let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly otherwise the mixture will scotch and burn.

Remove pan from heat and add the rect of the chocolate, the butter, vanilla and the Bailey's. Mix well and then let rest for 20-30 minutes. Pour into jars to store or over ice cream to enjoy immediately. 

Enjoy!

Fudgy Raspberry Brownies

I am always in search a my new "favorite" brownie, it has to be fudge, moist and most of all chocolaty. Usually I am a purist and like to eat them plain with no chips, chunks, or additions but this time I thought as it was summer and berries are everywhere that I would combine my new favorite brownie and raspberries which happen to be my favorite berry. The deep rich chocolate with the burst of juicy berries is scrumptious.

This recipe could not be easier as you basically make it in one pot and then pour it into the prepared pan. 

Fudgy Raspberry Brownies

Recipe from Belle of the Kitchen

1 cup unsalted butter

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chunks, bars or chips

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

5 eggs

1/3 cup dark cocoa powder

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups fresh or frozen berries

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan with cooling spray or oil, then set aside. In a medium sauce pan place butter and let it melt a little then add the chocolate. Melt the butter and the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside the chocolate and let is cool for a little bit. Then whish in the sugar and the vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time making sure each is incorporated. 

In a medium bowl sift together the salt, cocoa and the flour. Whisk into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Gently fold in some of the berries, then pour mixture into pan. Dot the top with the rest of the berries. NOTE, if you use frozen berries the brownies take longer to cook. 

Bake the brownies for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Remove from oven and let cool. For a sharper cut place cooled brownies in the freezer for a few minutes and then cut with sharp knife.

Enjoy!