Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Thanks to Cooking Light, you can “have your cake and eat it too.” CL is one of my most favorite websites for finding quick and healthy recipes that actually taste good.

From comfort food to chocolate-chocolate chip muffins, you can still enjoy good food while cutting back on the calories.

If you’re a lover of all things chocolate, especially when it comes to breakfast, you must give these muffins a whirl. Not only are they super easy to whip up, they actually taste pretty good.

The texture reminds me more of a cupcake than a muffin. With that said, they are NOT cupcakes…. they are muffins. So, what’s the difference between a chocolate cupcake and a chocolate muffin?

CUPCAKES:

sweet
tender
rich with eggs and butter
dessert item, not an everyday breakfast
always topped with frosting

MUFFINS:

not too sweet
relatively healthy
dryer and slightly more dense in texture than cupcakes
breakfast or snack item

These muffins literally take 12 minutes to prepare. Simply whisk together all the dry ingredients.
Then whisk together the wet ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and combine. Don’t forget to add in your chocolate chips.

Pour the batter in 12 individual muffin liners and throw them in the oven.

15 minutes later and you can enjoy a nice, pipping hot, extra chocolatey muffin.

Don’t they look good?

Forgive me for taking so many pictures. I just can’t get enough of them!

Take a big bite and enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep time: 12 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 27 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

7.9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine 1 cup water and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups, and coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips evenly over batter. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Serving size: 1 Calories: 191 Fat: 7.6g Saturated fat: 1.9g Carbohydrates: 29g Sodium: 197mg Fiber: 1.5g Protein: 3.1g Cholesterol: 15mg

Notes

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Happy National Pecan Pie Day!

Happy National Pecan Pie Day! I don’t know who makes up these “holidays”, but they’re fun to celebrate, especially when you can make this Toffee Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie recipe that my Aunt Robin made for Thanksgiving a few years ago. The pie is to die for, so get to your kitchen and start baking!

As you all can probably figure, I’m from Texas, and sometimes people say us Texans talk funny. So, I want to ask you…which nut pronunciation do you use for “pecan”? Is it National Peh-Kahn, Pih-Can, Pee-Can or Pee-Kahn Day?

I say peh-kahn, but my extremely Southern, East Texas, country and twangy mother-in-law (Paula) would probably say pee-can!! (Oops, I was wrong…I just talked to Paula and she pronounces it peh-kahn.)

Anyways, I want to hear from you! How do you say “pecan”? Leave a comment in the section below!

P.S. You’ve got to try this Toffee Chocolate Pecan Pie!

Sinful Saturdays: Mud Hen Bars

If you’re like me, you may tend to “blow it out” on Saturdays and eat HORRIBLE after a week of eating healthy. I’m not a nutritionist, but I’ve heard you need to have one “cheat” day and satisfy your deep cravings. This tends to be the case with me, and I normally bake up something sweet for my husband and me.

Since it’s Saturday, here’s a sinfully sweet recipe that will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth….maybe even a little too much! I made these mud hen bars a while ago, but waited to post them since I nearly made myself sick eating so much! I have never eaten a cookie bar like this one, so I kept cutting myself another piece to make sure I “liked them”.

I want to warn you…. these are very sweet! The brown sugar/egg white topping is surprisingly rich, so a little goes a long way. My husband thought these were “weird”, however my friend made these for a small group get-together at church and everyone loved them!

What do you think? Do you have a love or hate relationship with mud hen bars? I would eat them again, plus they are very pretty.

**By the way, did I mention these are from a Neiman Marcus compiled cookbook? I LOVE Neimans! 🙂

Mud Hen Bars
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, whole
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pecans, chopped (I did about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup light brown sugar

Directions
1. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
2. Spread into 9 x 13-inch pan which has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with pecans, chocolate chips and marshmallows.
3. Beat remaining 2 egg whites until stiff, then fold in brown sugar. Spread on top of cake.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes. Cut into squares

Yield: 10-12 servings
Pigtails and Froglegs: A Family Cookbook from Neiman Marcus

Boog’s Chocolate Chip Cake

This chocolate chip cake has been in the family for years. Matt’s grandmother, Boog, started making this cake for Matt’s dad (Tony) when his parents were dating. She got the recipe from a lady at church who regularly made this cake for her husband and Tony to enjoy at work. Tony had told her it was “the best cake in the entire world,” and so the lady told Boog that she must start making it.

Thirty years later, Boog is still making this cake and we all just love it! This is now known as Boog’s “go-to-cake” and she brings it to every church luncheon, friend/family get-together or special event.

One of those special events happens to be trips to our family lake house….

Enjoying the sun set over the lake

Two weekends ago, we headed to the lake to enjoy Memorial Day with the family. We had a houseful! My parents, my sister, her fiance, my sister-in-law, her two kids and husband, my husband, my husband’s parents, and his grandparents were all in attendance. Of course, Boog brought her famous chocolate chip cake, which was devoured in less than 2 days!

This cake may have been in the family for 30 years, but since I haven’t been around that long, I immediately think of the lake house when someone says “Boog’s chocolate chip cake”.

Family Lake Trip 2010

Memorial Day Lake Trip 2012

Now let’s talk taste: Boog’s chocolate chip cake is loaded with chocolatey deliciousness! When you cut open the cake, you immediately see chocolate swirls from the syrup. In addition, nearly every bite is loaded with chocolate chips. Finally, the cake is extremely moist. I am a huge icing person because a lot of times, cakes I eat tend to be on the dry side. Not this one….you don’t even need icing! (However, originally this cake came with a chocolate frosting recipe on top, so feel free to add it. Boog has never made it with icing, so I don’t miss it.) Enjoy!

Boog’s Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients

1 package butter recipe cake mix

1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix (3 oz.)

1 (8 oz.) sour cream

1/2 cup Wesson oil

4 eggs

8 oz. chocolate syrup

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Mix together the cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, sour cream, oil and eggs.
2. Fold in the chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.
3. Pour into a greased Bundt pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Perfect for any time of the year, the oatmeal in these cookies yield a tender bite and the coconut lends a a wonderful chewy texture.

My mom, sister and I made these cookies two weeks ago. As chocolate chip cookie fans, we’re always in the mood to try new cookie recipes, and this one from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook did not disappoint. While yielding 2 dozen cookies, we managed to have leftovers, so I took some to my coworkers the next day.

I must tell you, my coworkers are “smart cookies”. The previous week I made Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies and portioned one cookie per person. Well, somehow I either mis-counted or someone ate two cookies, because one guy didn’t get his. I felt sorry for him and made him a half-dozen the next day. Well, the other coworkers learned from that, and when I brought these chocolate chip oatmeal cookies in, they all waited until the afternoon to eat their cookie. Why??? They were in hopes someone would eat the cookie meant for them, and then I would make another half-dozen. Clever!!!

Now for the specifics. Here are a few baking tips:

For crisper cookies, bake longer.
When adding mix-in elements like oats, chocolate chips, nuts or coconut to the dough, be sure to fold them in gently with a rubber spatula, rather than with a standing mixer.
- The force of the mixer can break these ingredients into smaller pieces, thus changing the overall desired texture of the cookie.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. coarse salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
12 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

Directions
1. Set the oven in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone baking mats; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.
3. In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and shredded coconut with a rubber scraper. Gently fold in the oats.
5. Use a 1/4 cup (2 inch wide) ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, placing the scoops about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the sheet about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the cookies are set and browned on the edges but still very soft in the center, 15-18 minutes.
7. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack and let cool completely.

Yield: 18 large cookies
Recipe from: The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These are probably some of the best peanut butter cookies out there…at least, that’s what I’ve seemed to glean from the people who ate them.

Last Sunday we had small groups at church and of course, I signed up to bring dessert. Lucky for me (and my guests), I was able to try a new peanut butter cookie recipe that my sister recommended, from Ina Garten’s cookbook – Barefoot Contessa Parties!

For those you who don’t know, Ina Garten (also known as Barefoot Contessa) is one of my favorite chefs on Food Network. Some of my favorite recipes come from her cookbooks since they are simple, delicious, and slightly fancy. I also like Ina because she seems so motherly & sweet, and reminds me of my aunt Jolene who is kind, caring, generous, and also a wonderful cook.

These peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies are Ina’s favorite variation of the old Barefoot Contessa chocolate chunk cookie recipe. They have the combination of flavors in a Reese’s Peanut Buttter Cup…yum! They are moist on the inside while slightly crisp on the outside, and the larger chocolate chunk pieces seem to just melt in your mouth.

All my friends at church seemed to love these, especially the guys who were eating anywhere between 3 and 5 cookies. On Monday, I took the remaining cookies to work where my coworkers also raved how delicious they were. The next day upon returning to work, the cookies were gone!

Look’s like I’ll be making this recipe sometime in the near future. Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup good smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 pound (16 ounces) good semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and mix.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the batter, mixing only until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
4. Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using either a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands, flatten the dough lightly, then press the tines of a wet fork in both directions.
5. Bake for exactly 17 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Yield: 36-40 cookies
Recipe from: Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Homemade Granola Bars

Earlier this week, my sister made these healthy homemade granola bars for her and her fiancé. I have not had the chance to bake these bars yet, but I have full intentions of doing so this weekend.

My sister said these granola bars were delicious. The rolled oats, whole wheat flour, and wheat germ make them healthy, while the brown sugar, honey, and chocolate & peanut butter chips make them sweet. What an excellent snack I look forward to eating soon!

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips (can substitute dried fruits for the chocolate and peanut butter chips)

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well (it’s easiest to just use your hands). Pat the mixture out into the foil-lined pan.

3. Bake for about 15-20 minutes if you want chewy granola bars or for 20-25 minutes for crunchy granola bars. When the edges start to brown, remove from the oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Use a pizza roller to slice bars. Finish cooling completely before removing from the pan or they will break apart.

Recipe from Buns in My Oven

“Flat as Flapjacks” Chocolate Chunk Cookies

As the common saying goes: “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, so don’t judge these cookies by their looks because they are ugly and “flat as flapjacks”. I’ve never made cookie that flattened out as much as these, and was quite shocked in their texture. However…

… after my first bite, I absolutely fell in love with these chocolate chunk cookies! My mom had not eaten a cookie yet, and was just about to throw the entire batch away in the trash (since they were so ugly), until I stopped her. Seriously, these cookies are now one of my FAVORITE chocolate chunk cookies ever!

What makes these cookies so good you ask? Well for one, the recipe calls for chunks, not chips. Chunks make these cookies richer, more chocolately, and seem to “melt in your mouth” better than chips. In addition, these cookies have a “secret” ingredient….cinnamon! The cinnamon is definitely noticeable, but it is not over-powering. It almost makes these cookies taste like a cross between a snicker doodle and chocolate chip cookie… absolutely, positively, unbelievably delicious!

In addition this is a super easy recipe, thus it doesn’t take a gourmet chef to whip up a batch of these homemade cookies. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (12 Tbsp.), room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or 325 degrees F if using a convection oven).
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon on medium speed, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on medium-low speed until combined.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add all at once into the batter, mixing on low speed until combined and flour is incorporated.
4. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough with a spatula or spoon.
5. Flatten dough into a shallow pan, such as a pie plate, and freeze for 20 minutes.
6. Coat two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
7. With a 2-ounce ice cream scooper, scoop cookie dough onto each sheet.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes until just golden on top (for a more chewy cookie, decrease the baking time). Cool cookies on a wire rack.

*Note: Do not flatten the scoops of cookie dough. Allow them to keep their round shape and they will naturally flatten in the oven.

Yield: 12-14 cookies
Recipe from: Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch, and Beyond from New York’s Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

At church, when someone has a baby, a sign-up list goes out asking for volunteers to bring them meals for dinner. It makes life easier on these couples, and since I LOVE to bake, I had no problem signing up to bring dinner. Even though it was 70 degrees this weekend in Dallas, the temperature dropped and it never made it out of the low 50s the next day. With the cool front that rolled it, I thought it fitting to bring over taco soup and perfect cornbread to my friends (and new parents) at my church.

I had debated on what dessert I should make for them all day. I had narrowed it down to coconut chocolate chip bars…until I talked to my sister. For those of you who don’t know, my sister is an extremely talented baker! She bakes sweets for the entire Oklahoma State cross country team before each one of their races. As I was telling her my cooking plans, she mentioned some chocolate chip Oreo cookies (from the Picky Palate blog) that she made for her fiance, Colby.

Colby, like me, LOVES Oreo cookies! He likes the double-stuffed kind, the regular, the inside-out version…any kind of Oreo. Despite his love for the black and white cookie (and cotton candy), Colby does not like sweets…weird…but probably a good thing! 🙂 However, this past year, my sister has been working on getting him to eat more desserts, especially cookies. When she told me that he ate SIX of these chocolate chip Oreo cookies, I knew they must be delicious. Colby normally eats one to two cookies at a time, not six!

Let me know what you think of these. It is the perfect combination of cookie and Oreo, and satisfies both cravings. The Oreos add a slight crunch, as well as contributes to a more chocolately, chocolate chip cookie. Enjoy!

After combine ingredients, gently fold in Oreos and chocolate chips.

Using a medium-sized cookie scooper, place dough onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 mintues at 350 degrees F.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with a tall glass of milk, like you would a plain ‘ole Oreo cookie!

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
6 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soday
1/2 tsp. salt
8 broken pieces Oreo cookies (we used regular Oreos, NOT double-stuff)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir in Oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.
3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft.
4. Let cook on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Yield: 2 dozen
Recipe from: Picky Palate

This recipe is featured on Tuesday Tutorials Link Party {No. 20} at The Kurtz Corner

Chocolate Pudding

This chocolate pudding is a recipe you need to add to your “to-bake” list. My husband was craving something sweet this weekend, even though I had just made him a batch of Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies! I went rummaging through my cookbooks, and discovered this “healthy” chocolate pudding recipe from a cookbook my mom bought me for Christmas: Cooking Light Way to Bake: The Complete Visual Guide to Healthy Baking – delicious recipes, fresh healthy ingredients, smart tools & techniques.

Chocolate pudding is the perfect dessert to make for my husband for two reasons:

He LOVES chocolate
He LOVES chocolate pie, but HATES the crust (crazy, I know!)

Well, this dessert was a winner! The pudding was smooth, extra thick, extra creamy, and had a nice milk-chocolate taste you would expect from any good custard. It is also considered “healthy” since the recipe calls for fat-free milk instead of whole milk, and only 2 teaspoons of butter.

I would also recommend this pudding as a lunch-substitute… and here is why: I gave my Dad a container of chocolate pudding when he came to visit me at work yesterday. Before arriving, he had been to the dentist to fill a cavity. His mouth was still partially numb from the novocaine, so he skipped lunch. Later than evening when he called me, I asked if he had tried the pudding.

He responded, “It’s gone.”

“What do you mean it’s gone?” I asked.

“I ate it all.” He said.

To my surprise, I found out that he had eaten almost all of the pudding for lunch and said that it was outstanding! Makes since to me…when my mouth is sore or numb, the first thing I want to eat is pudding.

Before I give you the step-by-step instructions, here are some final tips, found in Cooking Light Way to Bake, about making pudding.

Recommendations:

Tempering is a process that combines a hot liquid with a cool one, protecting the delicate eggs from coagulating/clumping too quickly. (Be very careful…I nearly coagulated my eggs!)
Pudding is thick enough with it coats the back of spoon.
Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a thin, rubbery skin from developing on top.

P.S. Sorry about the photographs. The lighting in my kitchen would not cooperate with my camera this time!

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks, stirring well with a whisk.

Add egg yolk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring well.

Temper egg yolk mixture with milk, then pour into milk mixture. Return pan to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute.

Add chocolate, vanilla, and butter. Pour pudding into individual ramekins and refrigerate until chilled.

Top with a dollop of whipped cream!

Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups fat-free milk, divided
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions
1. Place 2 cups milk in a medium, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
2. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks, stirring well a whisk. Add egg yolk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring well. Gradually add half of hot milk to egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.
3. Return milk mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
4. Add butter, vanilla, and chocolate, stirring until butter and chocolate melt.
5. Spoon pudding into a bowl. Place bowl in a large ice-filed bowl for 15 minutes or until pudding cools, stirring occasionally. (I skipped this step.) Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap; chill.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
Recipe from: Cooking Light Way to Bake: The Complete Visual Guide to Healthy Baking – delicious recipes, fresh healthy ingredients, smart tools & techniques