Hmm, Hmm, Good

These are really tasty. I've tweeked a few things but the original recipe is here at JustJenn Recipes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1½ cups brown sugar, packed
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
3½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1¼ cups jelly or seedless jam

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter. Add both sugars. Add eggs, one a time. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined.
4. Scoop out about a tablespoon of cookie dough and flatten in your palm. Place a teaspoon of jelly in the center and pinch the dough around the jelly to seal the cookie.
5. Bake about 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Don't over bake. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Revised March 13, 2013
This is my version of this recipe that I found on Java Cupcake. They are s-o-o-o-o-o good.  You'll definitely have to try them. I've changed the instructions and ingredients a bit.

Cookie Dough Filling
Mix together and set aside:

¾cup flour
⅛ tsp. baking soda
⅛ tsp. salt

In mixing bowl, cream together:

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
¼ brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

 ½ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Blend dry ingredients with creamed mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide into 14 balls. Refrigerate again until ready to use.

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup flour
½ cup baking cocoa
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup hot water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Line muffin pans with 14 cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 375°.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add water, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Batter will be thin. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full.

Gently place a cookie dough ball into center of each cupcake. Don't press down. The cookie dough ball will drop while baking.

Bake for 15-16 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake (not in cookie dough center) comes out clean.

Frosting
¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ cubes), room temperature
1¾ cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup flour
1½ Tbsp. milk (1 Tbsp. + 1½ tsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
handful of miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add flour, milk and vanilla. Blend until well mixed and fluffy.

When cupcakes are cool, scoop prepared frosting into decorator bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip and pipe frosting in a circular motion, beginning with the outside and working inward toward the center. Sprinkle with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips. Check out these great tutorials for frosting a cupcake at Our Best Bites.

Enjoy!

A Very Rich Dessert

Fat Man's Chocolate Cake

Actually that's not the original name for this cake; but after you taste it, you will see why I've named it that.

Chocolate Cake:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup baking cocoa
1½ cups sugar
1¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup milk
⅔ cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease bottoms of two 9-inch cake pans. Then place parchment paper cut to size on the bottom of each pan and then grease paper. (I didn't have 9-inch pans so I used 8-inch pans. If you don't have parchment paper, you can grease and flour pans but make sure that the flour goes up sides a bit or you will have trouble getting the cake out without breaking it up. Parchment makes it a snap.) Mix dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and add hot water and mix well. Divide batter between two prepared pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in pan. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting:
1½ cups butter, room temperature (that's what makes this so rich)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar
4-5 Tbsp. milk
⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Beat together until fluffy.

Assembling Cake:
Trim tops off cake layers with long bread knife so the tops are flat. Discard or better yet, eat trimmings. Place one layer cut side down on platter. Crumb coat the outside of cake--take a small amount of frosting and put in separate bowl and spread very thinly around cake. Place in freezer for a few minutes to harden. This seals the chocolate crumbs so they don't pull through and show in the final layer of frosting.

Mix semi-sweet chips with 1 cup frosting. These are regular sized chips--mini might be easier to chew.

Spread frosting/chip mixture on top of bottom cake layer.

Place second previously crumb-coated layer on top.

Frost entire cake with remaining frosting, making sure to seal frosting to platter along the bottom.

Ganache:

¾ cup heavy cream

¼ cup butter

1¾ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat cream and butter in saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove before it gets to boiling point. Place chocolate chips in small bowl and pour cream-butter mixture over top. Mix until smooth.

Let cool until thickened but still pourable. Whisk occasionally to keep smooth consistency. Pour over cake, letting it drip down the sides.

 I added that little Snickers® football since it was Super Bowl Sunday.

The challenge is trying not to eat more than one piece.