Chocolate Cake w/ Nutella Buttercream Frosting

 original recipes found here and here

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢2 cups sugar
• ▢3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢2 tsp baking powder
• ▢1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢1 tsp kosher salt
• ▢
• ▢1 cup buttermilk
• ▢1/2 cup vegetable oil
• ▢2 large eggs
• ▢2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢1 cup boiling water

1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lightly flouring.

2) Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl. Whisk through to combine or until combined well.

3) Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.

4) Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.

5) Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minute before removing from the pan, then cool completely on a cooling rack.

6) After completely cooked, frost cake with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

1.5 cups salted butter, room temperature

4 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup Nutella 

1 TBSP vanilla extract

3 TBSP buttermilk

1/4 tsp salt

1) Mix softened butter and powdered sugar until combined. Mix in Nutella, then the vanilla, buttermilk and salt. Frost cake!

Jumbo Double Chocolate Cookies

 Ingredients

1 2/3 cups dark chocolate morsels
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

–Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.

–Melt 2/3 cup morsels in a microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 30 seconds; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. Microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Set aside.

–Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add melted chocolate and mix well. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well blended. Add flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in remaining 1 cup morsels. Drop dough by level 1/4-cup measure 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

–Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops have a cracked appearance. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

 original recipe found here

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup white or light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup short grain white rice (I used arborio)
• Pinch of salt
• 
  
• 1) Whisk together the egg, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
• 2)  Add the milk, cream, rice and salt to a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
• 3) Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• 4) Slowly add about half a cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the egg mixture.
• 5) Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining rice mixture. Stir everything together and continue heating on low heat for about another 5-10 minutes, or until thickened. Don’t boil. It will thicken quickly. Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so you don’t want it to be too thick before you take it off the heat. A touch soupy still is ok.
• 6) Remove from heat and serve warm.

Cherry Crumb Bars

 original recipe here

• 1 cup unsalted butter melted, cooled to room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 4 cups fresh cherries, pitted, each sliced in half
• ▢ 2 TBSP cornstarch
• ▢ 2 TBSP lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tsp granulated sugar

1) Preheat oven to 375°

2) Spray 9x13" greased pan

3) In a medium mixing bowl, stir together cherries, cornstarch and lemon juice.

        4 cups fresh cherries, 

        2 Tablespoon cornstarch

        2 Tablespoon lemon juice

4) In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar. 

        1 cup butter, melted

        1 cup granulated sugar

5) Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs.

        3 cup all-purpose flour

        1 tsp baking soda, 

        1 tsp baking powder

        1/2 tsp salt

6) Reserve 1 1/2 cups of crumb mixture.

7) Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Spread cherry filling over the crust, then sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over cherries. Then, sprinkle 2 tsp of granulated sugar over top. 

8) Bake bars for 25-30 minutes OR until the top is golden.

Raspberry Cream Pie

 Original recipe here

Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies 

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 TBSP orange juice

1 tso vanilla extract

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping:

1 cup sugar

3 TBSP cornstarch

3 TBSP water

2 1/2 cups frozen raspberries

1) Combine the wafer crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. pie plate.

2) In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, orange juice and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Spread into crust. Chill until serving.

3) In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water and 1-1/2 cups raspberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until chilled.

4) Spread topping over filling.

Coconut Cream Pie

 *original pie filling recipe found here 

*original graham cracker crust recipe found here

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 TBSP butter, melted
-Mix ingredients well. Press into pie plate, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pie Filling:
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup corn starch
14 oz. can of full fat coconut milk
1 cup half & half
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut
2 TBSP butter
1 1/2  tsp coconut extract

Make the coconut filling: Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together. Set aside. Whisk the coconut milk, half-and-half, granulated sugar, and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisking occasionally, bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then reduce temperature to medium-low heat. Once boiling, remove about 1/2 cup of the mixture and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolk and cornstarch mixture. Keep those egg yolks moving so they don’t scramble. In a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pot.

The pudding will immediately begin to bubble and thicken. Whisk and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut, butter, coconut extract.

Pour warm filling into cooled pie crust. Cover tightly with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight until chilled and thickened. Pie may be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

3 TBSP powdered sugar

3/4 tsp coconut extract

-Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft/loose peaks and stiff peaks and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts.

-Spread the whipped cream on top, then sprinkle toasted coconut over whipped cream.

*Refrigerate uncovered, or serve immediately

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Original recipe found here

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter (I always used salted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz. crushed Heath bar
1 cup toasted Hazelnuts (see original recipe link for how to toast)
12 oz. semi sweet mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 325*. Combine all wet ingredients in stand mixer, then add dry ingredients. Mix well.

2) Place dough on lined cookie sheet using a large size cookie scoop. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

3) Let cool for a couple minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Southern Apple Crumble

 Original recipe found here

Filling:

3 cups apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

-Heat oven to 300°F. Spray bottom and sides of 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, toss filling ingredients. Spread mixture in baking dish.

-In same large bowl, stir cookie mix and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.

-Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with pecans. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

Original recipe found here

Filling recipe found here

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 TBSP boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cups flour
2 cups quick oats

-Preheat oven to 350º.

-Cream brown sugar, butter, and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and mix. Mix baking soda and boiling water, then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour and oatmeal and mix well. 

-Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets so that you have rounded heaping teaspoons. Bake for 10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely.

Filling:

5 TBSP Flour

1 cup Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Butter

1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

-In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens (you want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is).

-Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature (it must be completely cool before you use it in the next step).

-Stir in vanilla.         

-While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the completely cooled milk mixture and beat THOROUGHLY (if it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough!). Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

-Using a small size cookie scoop, put a scoop of filling on one oatmeal cookie, then top with a second oatmeal cookie. Lightly press together.