On the Sixth Day of Christmas…Chocolate Revel Bars

Wednesday night, I sat down with my cookbooks to try to find a recipe for the sixth day of Christmas. My go-to cookbook is always my America’s Test Kitchen one. It is the BEST COOKBOOK EVER. You should go buy it right now.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

But I’ve been feeling like I’ve been ignoring my former go-to cookbook, the Better Homes and Gardens one. You know, the red and white plaid one? So I decided to flip through it and see what I could find.

And there, I found Chocolate Revel Bars. Oh sweet, yummy chocolate revel bars.

Have you not heard of them? Don’t worry, I hadn’t either. But the ingredients seemed like a good combination. Oatmeal. Butter. Brown sugar. Chocolate. Sweetened condensed milk. Pecans. That could work.

So I put it all together, popped it in the oven, and this is what I got.

They’re gooey and rich and oh so good! My favorite reaction to them was: “THESE ARE SICK.” She meant sick in the good way. Because that’s what all the cool kids are saying these days.

Chocolate Revel Bars
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Set aside 2 tablespoons butter. In a bowl beat remaining butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour and oats.

For filling, in a saucepan combine chocolate, reserved butter, and condensed milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Press two-thirds (about 31/3 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1 baking pan. Spread filling evenly over top of the oat mixture. Dot remaining oat mixture on top of the filling.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. The chocolate will still look wet. This is OK and exactly how you want it so you don’t over bake! Cool in a rack. Cut into bars. These are yummy right out of the oven. But, they’re more of a plate and fork bar, as the chocolate is yummy and gooey

On the Fifth Day of Christmas…Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Last year, for the 12 days of Christmas goodies, I did all cookies. For twelve days.

Every. Single. Day.

This year, I vowed that I would mix things up a bit. So on day five, I decided to do my favorite muffins.

My friend Kari is famous for these muffins. I don’t normally love pumpkin, but these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are delcious, moist, with a good balance of spices.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 c. melted butter
2 c. chocolate chips (I use semisweet, but if you prefer milk chocolate, that would work too)

Mix flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, mix egg, pumpkin, and butter. Stir in chips. Pour wet ingredients over dry and fold in until moistened.

You can either use muffin cups or grease the pan, either works. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Makes about 24 muffins. (48 mini muffins)

On the Fourth day of Christmas…Lime Meltaways

I thought for day four, it was time to change things up a bit. No chocolate.

Shocking, I know.

As much as I love chocolate though, I also love citrus. So when I found a recipe for lime meltaways, a lime slice-and-bake cookie covered in powdered sugar, I decided to try them.

And I was really pleased with them. I tasted one before the powdered sugar, and I was a little concerned. But the powdered sugar was the perfect finishing touch. Sweet, but not too sweet, and the lime wasn’t overpowered. They were quite yummy, if I do say so myself!

Lime Meltaways
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

You could also keep the logs frozen for up to two months.

Yield: 5 dozen

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 4 tiny or 2 large key limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (a.k.a. 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies until barely golden, 15-17 minutes, turning pan halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, just three or four minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Homemade Tomato Soup

I’ll get back to the Christmas goodies later tonight, but for now I wanted to give you alittle something to make on those cold winter nights.

I love soup, but this was the first time I ever made homemade tomato soup. And it was sooooo yummy!

And really easy, too. Sure, it took a little longer than heating up a can of soup, but the taste was so much better. And you can tailor it for your own tastes. I put dried basil in mine, but you could try other spices, or turn up the spice a bit.

Oh, and I have a confession to make. To go along with my soup, which was delightful and yummy, I made cheese toast. With plastic, processed, nasty cheese. But y’all, that’s what I was craving. I didn’t want fancy cheese. I wanted that kind that gets all shiny when it melts, and nasty and wrinkly when you pick up the bread.

And then I guess the kitchen gods got mad at me, because look what I pulled out of the oven.

But I don’t even care. Because I made some more, and I ate it with gusto. I figure the soup balances it out, right?

Tomato Soup
(adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Use canned diced tomatoes packed in juice (rather than puree) for this soup; you will need some of the juice to make the soup. Serve with croutons.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained with 3 cups of the juice reserved
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream (or less, if desired)
Salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper
Dried Basil

Directions
1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the drained tomatoes, onion, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and the tomatoes begin to caramelize, about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowely stir in the broth and the reserved tomato juice, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a blender (or food processor) until smooth.

(OPTIONAL STEP–I like my tomato soup really smooth, so at this point, I put the soup through a fine mesh strainer, and kind of pushed it through with a wooden spoon. That way, all of the seeds and other unpleasant textures was gone, and I could go about my anal, merry way. Of course, you can skip straight to step three)

3. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the cream. I actually just poured in a few splashes of cream (probably about half of what the recipe called for–but you can use as much or as little ass you like!) Bring to a brief simmer, then remove from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, dried basil (or any dried or fresh spices you like) and cayenne to taste before serving.

To make ahead:

This soup can be prepared through step 2, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat over low heat before proceeding with step 3.

On the Third Day of Christmas…Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oats. Good.

Chocolate. Good.

Butter. Good.

Cinnamon. Good.

These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are yummy! I went with the chocolate chips instead of raisins because people tend to have visceral reactions to raisins. Big babies.

And I really like these cookies, from my red plaid Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. They’re chewy, not too sweet, and just plain good.

You should make them

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from Better Homes and Gardens)

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 to 2 cups semi-sweet chips

1. IPreheat oven to 375.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butt on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in rolled oats and chocolate chips.

3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire wrack and let cool.

On the second day of Christmas…Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I’m actually not a huge fan of chocolate cookies. I’m not sure why, but they tend to taste kind of flat to me, and overly sweet. But this recipe, which I got from Joy the Baker, is really good. Rich chocolate taste, depth of flavor (I feel like I say that a lot). They were nice and chewy, and just plain yummy.

Oh, but I did have to slightly modify the recipe from the original, because when I cooked them for the recommended 11 minutes, they were a bit dark on the bottom, even with parchment paper. So, I decreased the cooking time to 9 minutes, and made sure I rotated the pan halfway through.

(And again, picture at the bottom is not mine. But day 3 will be! I need to give credit where credit is due, huh )

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

yields 26 cookies without chips, 30 cookies with chips (seriously though, why wouldn’t you put the chips in!)

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)

3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon espresso powder (I used instant coffee, because it’s what I had)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup chocolate chips (optional) (but not really, because, seriously? put the chips in!)

In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. You don’t need a mixer, just do it in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you’re using them. Refrigerate the batter like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle. (Or just be like me, and scoop them up anyway because you’re running late for work–it was fine)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) baking sheets.

Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2″ between the dough balls, as they’ll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked, turning pan halfway through. They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

On the first day of Christmas…Peanut Butter Blondies

I got this recipe from Good Things Catered–one of my go-to food blogs. Her food is yummy, so you should check it out. Her link is over there, to the right.

These are yummy, peanut buttery blondies. Great flavor. I cut them pretty small, partially because they’re a little rich, but mainly because my office is filled with greedy little pigs, and I knew some people would take three or four, so if I cut them small, everyone should get at least one.

Oh, and the picture at the bottom is not mine. I thieved it. Remember the mean elf messed up my photo card. Starting on day three though, the pictures will be mine, all mine. Be patient

Peanut Butter Blondies
adapted Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter, almost melted
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 c. milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c. chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/3 cup honey roasted peanuts)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 pan with foil and lightly grease.
-In a small microwave safe mixing bowl melt the butter for 20-30 seconds until melted.
-Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
-In bowl of stand mixer, add oil, peanut butter and butter and mix until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
-Add the brown sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir until smooth, about 1 minute.
-Add the egg and stir to combine thoroughly.
-Add milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the peanut butter mixture and stir just to combine (will be quite thick).
-Gently fold in chocolate chips (or chocolate chips and peanuts).
-Place into prepared pan and use a greased spatula to evenly spread mixture in pan and level the top.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set in the middle.
-Cool completely.

And so it begins…

For the second year in a row, I am doing the 12 days of Christmas Goodies for my department.

They love me.

A lot.

So, the next 12 posts will be those cookie recipes. And sadly, the first two days’ photos were lost when a mean elf reformatted my photo card.

It had to be a mean elf. It surely wasn’t something that I did.

So prepare yourselves. It’s about to get really sweet in here!

Oh, and this is exactly how I look when I’m baking. Seriously. It’s amazing.

Oh my word that’s good Chocolate Frosting

I recently shared my favorite cupcake recipes with you. And I still stand by those cupcakes. But, i will admit that I didn’t love the frosting on those cupcakes. It was kind of watery, didn’t really fluff up, and I didn’t think the taste was all that great.

Recently, I made a bunch of cupcakes for work. I used the same white cupcake recipe, but this time, I decided to go with a plain chocolate frosting. And I will never look back again.

Y’all, this frosting was so good. Literally, the best frosting I’ve ever had. Rich and creamy. Depth of flavor. In short, soooooo good.

As most of my best recipes are, this one is from America’s Test Kitchen. I slightly tweaked it (semisweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate–you can use whichever you fancy) and my techniques were a little different (they used a food processor).

But who cares about any of that. I could still eat this frosting with a spoon, right out of the mixing bowl.

Maybe I did.

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or whatever chocolate you prefer)
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Pinch salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled

1. Place the chocolate, corn syrup, and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Heat heavy cream to just boiling , and pour over chocolate mixture, with the mixer on low. Process for one minute.

2. Add the confections’ sugar slowly and continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running add the butter, one piece at a time, and process until smooth.

3. Let the frosting cool at room temperature, stirring frequently until thick, about 1 hour.

You can make this up to 2 days ahead of time, and refrigerate, covered tightly. Before using, let stand at room temprature to soften and then whisk briefly to re-fluff.