Rocky Road Squares

  Post #3 out of 3. This is the most work I've done in about a week. I have to say, the mental stimulation, while simplistic, is certainly welcome.

  These squares are some of my favourite squares ever, and I demand them for Christmas every year. Despite protests from my siblings, who don't appreciate the layered flavours the way I do. I would try to describe it you, but really I would just be listing the ingredients and their respective tastes. I will let you figure it out on your own.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (Almonds work as well)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk

3 oz. semi sweet chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Mix the graham crumbs and melted butter and press tightly into a 9x13 pan. (And when I say tightly, I mean pack that bugger down as hard as you are physically able, and then some.)

2. Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the graham crumbs.

3. Then Sprinkle, in this order, the nuts, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows.

4. drizzle the condensed milk over the surface of the squares evenly.

5. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Remove from oven and drizzle with the melted chocolate.

7. Let cool and cut into bars.

Little tips from me:

  These squares taste best fresh, so for best flavour, make them only the day before. You could always freeze them too, but it doesn't taste the same.

Yummy Cream Cookies

  Post #2 out of 3.
  So these cookies are great for anyone who likes cream in their coffee/tea. I like cream in all my hot drinks, but even if you buy one of those really small containers it never seems to be gone before it goes sour. But I don't like to throw it out because its such a waste, so when my mom told me that she had a recipe for cookies that used sour cream, I was ecstatic.
  These cookies have a very mild cream flavour best accentuated by a chocolate icing, and a glass of milk. Easy to make and easy to store, you can freeze them for weeks in advance, These cookies work great for lunches, snacks, or just to enjoy at teatime.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cream. (Use cream that has soured for best flavour)
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix together cream, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
2. Add the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. Place 1 1/2-2 tablespoons worth of dough onto the cookies sheet in a 3x4 grid and flatten slightly.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
5. Let cool and ice with Betty Crocker's Chocolate Icing.

Little tips from me:
  To make these cookies more seasonal, before the icing hardens lightly coat with appropriate sprinkles.
 

Coconut Truffles in a Cup

  Hello nerds. Merry belated Christmas to all! I would apologize for not updating sooner, but really, it's Christmas break. Today I'm actually going to be posting 3 recipes. These are the recipes that we made for Christmas sweets but I never got around to writing the blog posts for.
  This first recipe is for something that resembles a coconut truffle in taste and a peanut butter cup in appearance. They are not incredibly time consuming, but will take a few hours to make. They are very sugary and very coconuty. I happen to hate coconut. With a passion that burns as strong as the sun itself. So I have no input on this recipe other than that my entire family seems to love them. That's 6 against 1 for those of you that like statistics. Maybe that will be enough to convince you that they taste good...

Ingredients:
3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
milk chocolate melting chocolate. ( make sure to have plenty of this)

Directions:
1. Set plenty of melting chocolate to melt on a medium heat.
2. In a large bowl combine coconut and powdered sugar.
3. Add the milk and coconut oil. Stir constantly until it's reached a gooey consistency. Set aside.
4. Line an mini cupcake tray with mini cupcake liners and pour enough melted chocolate in each one to just cover the bottom. Set in the fridge(or freezer if your in a huge hurry) and let harden.
5. Scoop 1/2 table spoon of the coconut filling into each cupcake liner and cover with chocolate.
6. Place in the fridge again to harden.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 until all the coconut filling in used up.

Little tips from me:
  Add 1/4 cup brown sugar for each recipe you make to give it some depth.
  If you make a double recipe you can use the entire can of condensed milk. It's easier than measuring.

Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing

Yes, two post In one day. Like I said in the last one, I've been being lazy and I figure  should just get this out of the way while I'm at it.
  So I have posted a lot of recipes, but never did I post my favorite type of sweet on here. Chocolate cake. I love the stuff. I can never get enough of it. This was the first layered cake recipe i have ever tried. And I must say, It was everything I thought it would be. Now I have tried more different kinds of chocolate cake, and my favorite is devil's food cake, but that recipe is for another time.
 My passion for all things sweet is shared by nearly every member of my family, so I was hardly disappointed when my little brother Adam said that he wanted my third favorite cake for his birthday.
  This cake is a very rich and sweet cake. I would recommend serving it in small slices, or you won't be able to finish your piece. It is best served as an evening dessert with a tall glass of milk to mellow the richness of the chocolate.

Ingredients:
  Cake:
3 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp powdered espresso mix dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  Icing:
6 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tsp vanilla
10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) butter, melted

Directions:
  To make the cake:
1. Melt the chocolate.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
3. In a different bowl, mix the butter with both types of sugar, and add the eggs.
4. Then beat in the vanilla, dissolved espresso, and melted chocolate.
5. Now add the buttermilk and the flour mixture. Beat until no lumps remain.
6. Grease three 8 inch pans with butter and flour, and pour the cake dough approximately equally into the three pans.
7. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely. (If you plan on eating it the same day you make it, sticking it in the freezer for 30 minutes usually does the trick.
  For the icing:
9.Melt the chocolate.
10. In a medium sized bowl combine confectioners sugar, the butter, the buttermilk, the vanilla, and when the chocolate has melted, add that too. (If it is too thin to spread, set in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.)
  To assemble:
11. First trim the round bump off the top of each cake, to make it relatively level.
12. Put one of the cakes onto a plate and place about 1/2 cup of icing onto it.
13. Spread the icing all the way to the edge, and repeat with the other 2 cakes.
14. Take spoonfuls of icing and set the on top of the cake right close to the edge and use your knife, or spoon, or offset spatula, to spread the icing down and into all the gaps between the layers of cake. Make sure all the cake is covered.
15. Now stand back and admire your handiwork. (This can take up to 30 minutes.)

Little tips from me:
  My mother doesn't like buying buttermilk because you cant get it in small cartons and we never use all of it, so we use the substitute instead. 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. It doesn't taste as sour, and the icing remains softer than it does with real buttermilk.
  If you don't have an offset spatula for your cake decorating, GET ONE! My dad just got me one a couple weeks ago while we were in the big city and this cake was the first time I used it. It makes a heck of a lot of difference. It's so much faster. An icing job that would normally take 30 minutes, was done in 5. So seriously, get one.

Lemon Cheesecake

  Hello again. Sorry it's been so long. I have been very preoccupied. I wish I could say it was because of something important, but really i was just watching T.v. and got lazy.

  Anyway. So a while ago I post a regular cheesecake recipe, and I told you all how much my family loves cheesecake. Well, several years ago my dad got these great recipe boxes from our local Costco. The boxes were full of recipes using popular ingredients or equipment. We got a Philadelphia cream cheese one, an Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk one, and a Crock Pot one. We've only ever used the cream cheese one. When we first got those, of course we wanted to try a cheesecake like normal people have (keeping in mind we had lived an hour away from every town for about 4 years, and all our relatives were Mennonites). So we made a lemon cheesecake.

  This was the first time I had ever had anything other than plain cheesecake with fruit on it. And also the first time I had made anything with lemon in it. We all loved it.

  This cheesecake is very creamy and lemony, with a beautiful tangy flavour laced throughout. It works great for any time of day, but because of it's delicate taste, I prefer it at teatime with a cup of earl gray. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs

1 1/4 cups sugar divided

3 tbsp butter, melted

3 pkg (8 oz. each) cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

Grated peal and juice from one medium lemon

3 eggs

Directions:

1. Mix the graham crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the butter.

2. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture, and press the rest into a 9 inch round pan.

3.Beat the cream cheese and remaining cup of sugar in a large bowl with an electric beater until well blended.

4. Add sour cream, lemon peel, and juice. Mix well.

5. Add the eggs and beat vigorously until no lumps remain. This can take up to 20 minutes.

6. Pour over crust and sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the surface.

7. Bake at 350 for 50-70 minutes, or until center is almost set.

8. Turn the oven and let door sit open slightly for 30 minutes, then remove from the stove and run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and let cool completely before removing.

9. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve.

Peanut Butter Cups

  Hello nerds. Sorry it's been so long, I've been shirking a little. But anyways; who likes peanut butter cups? This is a trick question as there happens t be aright answer. And the answer is everyone. Everyone love peanut butter cups. Well, a few years back my mother came across a recipe for peanut butter cups in  one of her ancient recipe books and we made them for Christmas sweets. Since then we've made them every year. It's practically tradition by now.
  These peanut butter cups pretty much are what they sound like. The peanut butter filling is sweeter than with the Reese's which tend to lean more toward the salty side of the spectrum, but they still taste just as good. These take a bit of work to make, so do it on an afternoon when you aren't super busy.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine, melted
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups or so milk chocolate melting chocolate
Parowax to thin the chocolate to a pouring consistency. About 1/3 cup or so

Directions:
1. Set the chocolate and wax to melt in a  double boiler on the stove.
2. Mix together in a medium bowl, the peanut butter, margarine, icing sugar, and vanilla.
3. Line mini muffin tins with size appropriate muffin liners.
4. Using a spoon, pour just enough chocolate in the bottom of each muffin liner to coat the bottom.
5. Move to a fridge and let set for about 10 minutes.
6. Take 1/2 tablespoon of the peanut butter mix and roll into a ball. stick one of the balls into each muffin liners. press down with your thumb until it reaches the sides.
7. Now pour enough chocolate on top of that to reach the rim of the muffin liner.
8. Set in the fridge again until it's set.
9. Turn the muffin tin upside down on the table to remove the peanut butter cups, and repeat steps 3-8 until you run out of peanut butter mix.

Little tips from me:
  You will probably need a lot more chocolate than this recipe says. I don't even keep track anymore, I use so much.
  These can be made way in advance and stuck in the freezer.

If anyone is even still reading at this point, Then I would recommend coming back again on Friday of next week. I'm making fruitcake on Monday, and I guarantee that this will be the best fruitcake you've ever tasted.

Chocolate Covered Gelatin Cookies

  Hello peoples. So, many of you are aware that Christmas is right around the corner (Apologies to those of you that don't celebrate Christmas. you can just ignore this part). Christmas is my favourite time of year to make goodies. For obvious reasons. A few days ago I decided to get a jump start on Christmas treats, so I baked one of my all time favorite desserts.
  These cookies require an insane amount of work so we usually only make them every few years at Christmas time. They have 2 different recipes rolled into one, and the results are amazing. They are just a simple syrup cookie, iced with a thick layer of gelatin, and coated with chocolate. Basically they're just s'mores cookies but better.
  This post will have the recipes for both the cookies and the gelatin. I don't know if anyone will be seeing this until after Christmas, but if you have the time to make these, I would highly recommend it. And just as an early tip, the recipe for cookies is really big so I usually only make a half recipe.

Syrup Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups brown sugar
2 cups melted butter
2 cups syrup
8 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
12 cups flour

Directions:
1. Mix the sugar and butter together in a frickin' MASSIVE bowl.
2. Add the syrup, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Stir.
3. Now add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and beat until no lumps remain.
4. Place about 2 tablespoons worth of dough onto the cookie sheets and bake at 350 for between 8-13 minutes or until golden brown.

Vanilla Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp or 2 packets gelatin

1. Put in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.

1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt

2. Put in a medium pot and boil for 10 minutes stirring frequently.
3. Move the boiled mixture to a large bowl in a sink of cold water and add the gelatin mixture.
4. Beat with an electric mixture until you reach a marshmallow-like consistency.

  When you have both the cookies and the gelatin ready, scoop gelatin onto the cookies. There should be between 1/4 and 1/2 inch of gelatin on top of the cookie. You have to do this really fast, as the gelatin doesn't stop thickening when you stop beating.
  Stick the now gelatin coated cookies on cookie sheets and stick them in the freezer right away. leave them in there for at least 3 hours and at most 2 days.
  Now melt some milk chocolate in a double boiler. Make sure you have a very deep amount as you don't want the cookies to touch the bottom. thin the chocolate up with wax until it reaches a very runny consistency.
  Take one tray of cookies from the freezer and quickly dunk each one into the chocolate. Try to make sure all the gelatin is covered. Do this as fast as humanly possible. you don't want the gelatin to warm up at all or it will melt when the chocolate touches it and you'll get this really awful looking melty, gloppy, mess.
  When you have the all the cookies in one tray chocolate coated, return them to the freezer for another 3 hours or so. Then do the next one, and so on. Then, when they have all been refrozen, move to containers for storage. If you are planning to store them for more than a few days, I would recommend keeping them in the freezer. And don't worry, they taste just as good frozen.

Little tips from me:
  If you make the full recipe for the cookies, you will need 2 recipes of gelatin. Make them one at a time!!!!! I cannot stress how important this is. The gelatin will keep thickening over time, and it thickens pretty fast. If you make more than one recipe at a time you won't get it done fast enough and the last half of your gelatin will be unspreadable.

  And just a side not from me:
WOOHOO!!! 200 views!! But still no comments :(. I would really appreciate some feedback. So, to anyone that has the time, please leave a comment. Thanks a billion!

  And yes, the picture was taken on the floor. :)

Hamburger Cookies

Hello again. It really hasn't been long this time. I've been baking like a mad man because I'm behind in my food course
  So anyway, I asked my mom what recipes she had that would take a long time to make. She pointed me strait to this recipe. This is one of my fathers favourite kinds of cookie.
  These cookies have a mild chocolate flavour with a much richer pudding-like icing squished in between. These cookies work for absolutely anything and are incredibly delicious.

Ingredients:

  Cookies:
4 cups flour
6 cups oatmeal
1 cup cream
4 cups sugar
2 cups butter
8 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

  Icing:
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
  For the cookies;
1. Mix the sugar and the butter together in a large bowl.
2. Add the cream, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Now add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir until no lumps remain.
4. Place the dough in 1/8 cup sized lumps on baking pans.
5. Bake at 350 until cookies spring back at a slight touch.
6. Let cool completely
  For the icing.
7. Mix all the icing ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
8. Spread a heaping tablespoon full of icing onto the bottom of a cooled cookie and squish another cookie down on it.
9. Stick immediately into a airtight container and let sit in the container for at least 3 hours to let the cookies soften.

Little tips from me:
  You will need 2 recipes of icing for every 1 recipe of cookies for maximum enjoyment.
  Best served with a tall glass of milk.
  Leave the cookies in their respective containers for overnight to achieve the softest possible cookies.

  I will be enclosing multiple pictures into this post. The first one will show how many cookies 1 recipe will make. The next pictures will show you about how much icing should go on the cookie. And the last picture is the finished product.

Lazy Daisy Cake

  Hey y'all. How are you? Sorry it's been so long. My family and I went Christmas shopping in the big city that we live 6 hours away from so I haven't really had the chance to bake anything. But I'm back now! And I'm out of touch with my baking skills apparently, cause' I really screwed this one up.
  The way my mother had written this recipe down was specifically for an 8x8 pan, but when you have 7 people in your family, 8x8 just doesn't cut it! So of course I had to double the recipe and put it in a 9x13. Easy, right? That's what I always thought too. But I guess I was just having a bad brain day, because when I read the amount of milk needed for the cake, I thought it said 1 cup. It said 1/2 cup. And I ended up putting twice as much milk in as the recipe called for. The cake still tasted good, it was just really dense and the texture resembled the boiled dough of a perogy.
  This cake is typically a very soft fluffy dough with a decedent coconuty caramely topping. If you were here for the oatmeal cake recipe, It's pretty much like that but without oatmeal so it's a little less healthy. You can eat this cake at pretty much any time of day, so go nuts. It's not really a dessert either. I like it best for breakfast or lunch.

Ingredients:
  Cake:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
  Topping:
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp melted butter
5 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cream
2/3 cup coconut

Directions:
  For the cake:
1. Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk.
3. Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. beat until no lumps remain.
5. Pour into an 8x8 pan.
  For the Topping:
6. Mix all the ingredients for the topping into a bowl until fully incorporated.
7. Using your hand sprinkle the topping over the cake batter making sure to get all the way to edges.
8. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Little tips from me:
  If you double the recipe it makes a perfect amount for a 9x13. Just remember to get the right amount of milk! ;)
  Serve with a generous helping of whipped cream to mild the flavour a bit.

The picture in this post is of my really screwed up cake, so if you make this, don't expect it to turn out like in the picture.