Mississippi Mud Brownies

The other day I was sitting in a mechanic shop waiting for Thad''s truck to get serviced. I knew that I had about an hour to wait and wondered how I would spend that hour. I looked over and on a magazine rack were Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living and Peoples magazine. Once I saw the magazines, I knew there was going to be plenty to keep me entertained. I started off with the Peoples magazine because, who can resist some salacious gossip? Next I moved on to Better Homes and Gardens and drooled over the gorgeous homes and great recipes. I am sure the receptionist could hear me taring out pages as I found some must try recipes. I then moved onto Southern Living and found some more great recipes. I tore out a page that read "Best-Ever Bar Cookies" and listed on the back side of the page I ripped out, were Mississippi Mud Brownies.

Now I know that it is Spring/Summer and that maybe I should have gone with a fruity treat but these looked too scrumptious to pass up. And after making the beauties I was not disappointed at all. They were amazing. There is something about a dense brownie, topped with marshmallows, toasted pecans and ooey gooey frosting that is hard to resist.

Mississippi Mud Brownies

1 (4 oz.) unsweetened chocolate baking bar
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

3 cups mini-marshmallows

Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 in pan, set aside.

Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, set aside.

Using a microwave-safe bowl microwave chocolate and butter at HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Once melted, whisk in sugar and eggs until well blended (I used a large spoon). Lastly stir in flour until completed mixed. Spread batter into greased 13 x 9-inch pan and place in oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake the brownies until a wooden pick or butter knife inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs

When there is about 5-10 minutes left in the baking of the brownies, start on the frosting.....

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16 oz.) package sifted powdered sugar

Once done baking, remove the brownies from oven and place on a cooling rack. Immediately pour the marshmallows onto the warm brownies. Next place the toasted pecans on the brownies. Once pecans and marshmallows are added, pour the frosting onto the warm brownies, spreading frosting to the edges. Let brownies cool for 1 or more hours on wire rack. I find that if they sit overnight they set better and once cut come out prettier.

Brownies lovers, this recipe is for you, a chocolaty brownie with marshmallows, pecans and chocolate frosting, you can't go wrong, so give these try, you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

Happy 30th Birthday Mark!

Today is my brother-in-law's Mark's 30th birthday and although he is not here, we still are able to celebrate him and the man that he was and is. We have our happy birthday sign hanging on the mantle and cupcakes ready to eat.

Yesterday, Thad and many of Mark's family, friends and comrades walked 30 miles in honor of his birthday. It was so neat to see these men walking together, the whole way taking each step in honor of Mark. There were 5 rest stops and one of the stops was at the Forester residence. In honor of Mark's birthday I was in charge of making cupcakes for the walkers to eat. What a sight to see, all of the 35 walkers holding cupcakes and singing happy birthday to Mark.

I wanted to make the best cupcakes I could for Mark and I have found that the best yellow cake cupcake I can find is a dressed up yellow cake mix. Now I am not one for cake mixes and was raised to believe that in some way I was committing a sin using a boxed anything but in this case I feel that it is okay to do so. What dresses up this cake mix you ask? Yogurt/sour cream and pudding mix. Take my word on this one, I have looked long and hard for the most moist and light yellow cupcake recipe and this one is it. So give these a try and take my word for it.

Dressed Up Yellow Cake Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix (I use Betty Crocker)
1 package (3.4 oz) Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used yogurt)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Begin by setting the oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" cake rounds and set aside. Combine the cake mix, jello, eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, water and rum extract. For mixing instructions follow the back of the cake box. Once completely mixed, I like to use an ice cream scooper to dish my batter into the cupcake pan to make a uniform cupcakes. I Fill the cupcakes about three-fourths full. Place cupcakes in the oven, letting them bake for about 13-20 minutes. Mine are usually perfect at 15 minutes.

Once done baking, take out of oven, remove from cupcake pan and cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, start making this delicious buttermilk frosting....

Peggle's Buttermilk Frosting
1/3 cup butter (I usually overshoot on this measurement, more butter never hurts)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
*I add 1-2 tablespoons more of milk to give it a creamier consistency.

This frosting is the best. So easy. Just mix all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.

Once frosting is made and cupcakes are cooled, frost cupcakes with Peggle's Buttermilk frosting and then voila, you have the most moist and delicate cupcake in town.

Mark today we are missing you more than ever but we also know that you are not far from us. Love you Markie Mark and happy 30th birthday.

Cheers!

Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies at the Farmer's Market.....

It feels like forever since I have last posted. It has been a crazy month and I just got home from visiting my family in Utah yesterday. It is great to be home but also had a great time in Utah. One of the reason I went home to Utah for a few weeks was to help my mom. She was recently accepted into the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market. The Salt Lake City Farmer's Market is well known and hard to get into, so this is an amazing opportunity but also a lot of pressure to make sure she sells the best products.

What is she selling at the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market? Well my mom has over 1,000

lavender plants on a 5 acre farm in Millville, UT. She grows and harvests all her own lavender. With her lavender she makes field bundles, which are bundles that are put together when harvested (this bundle looks more rustic). She sales cleaned bundles which are neater in appearance, lavender infused apricot jelly, lavender infused honey, Herbs de Provence, culinary lavender, oatmeal lavender sea salt, lavender sachets made out of vintage hanker chiefs and napkins and lavender soap.

So this past Saturday we went and set up a table at the Logan Farmer's Market. She has sold there before and we wanted to see how well her lavender bouquets and products would sell. To our delight they were all a complete success. Since I was visiting, I thought I would use my baking skills and make some chocolate chip cookies using her culinary lavender and also sell them at the farmer's market.

I took a recipe that I love and is one of my very favorites for chocolate chip cookies called New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (for the recipe click HERE) and incorporated lavender. The end results was nothing but a culinary delight. We packaged them pretty and sold them for $1 a piece. My nephew and the love of my life Max, was my main salesman and he sold them hard by offering every person who passed by a sample of a Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookie and they sold out.

Many people are surprised by the idea of using lavender in food but the lavender adds a neat flavor that is unlike any other herb in its taste, color and texture. The lavender adds a unique taste that is distinct and delicious.

Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies

To make Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies, follow the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe and after adding the chocolate chips, add just under a 1/8 cup of ground culinary lavender into your cookies. To grind lavender I use a mortar and pestle and grind up the lavender until it is as fine as possible, almost a powdery substance. Then add the lavender to the dough, mix until just blended and then you are ready to bake.

You will love this lavender treat, that will make you go back for seconds.

To learn more about lavender and to purchase lavender please visit The Purple Apple

Bon Appetit!

Vintage Cake Stands...................

Do you have something that you always search for on-line when you are bored or just dreaming? Well I do. Cake stands! I love old and vintage anything. I have always loved collecting "things" since I was young. I always loved rocks and collected them when we would travel. I also collected Barbies of all sorts and was known as the Barbie Queen. I would and still get them for birthdays and Christmas because I loved loved loved playing Barbies growing up, now I leave them unopened but still love receiving them. I also collected Madame Alexander Dolls, my grandma would give us one each year for our birthdays. As I got older I started collecting cute tea pots.

As of late, since I love to bake I love old vintage cake stands, to hold not only cakes but cupcakes, chocolates, cookies or lemon squares. So here is to dreaming and wishing. Check back with me in ten years and hopefully I will have an extensive collections of vintage cake stands.

Easter and Sugar Cookies........

For every holiday and time of year I love, I make sugar cookies and decorate them according to that season. I love spring time and I love Easter. I love everything about Easter....Easter egg hunts, dying eggs and spring dishes. I love it all. For the famous Bradford Sugar Cookie Recipe, click here. Here is to a beautiful spring and Easter. Enjoy!

Caroline's Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies......

About once a week I go and visit all my favorite food blogs. I see what new recipes they have posted and usually print out a stack of "new" recipes I want to try. Truly surfing my food blogs brings me happiness and gives me a sense a peace, I can't explain it, maybe its because I love to see other bloggers who have a passion for cooking and also love to see how creative other people are.

One of the blogs that I visit often is Caroline's Bake Shop. I love her blog and am always so impressed with the recipes she posts. I also love Caroline because we grew up together in Walnut Creek, CA and went to the same church. Her older sister Kristin was our favorite babysitter ever and honestly we loved her. I remember one year Caroline, her sisters Courtney and Kristin and brother Justin came to my birthday party. I thought I was so cool because they were so much older than me, and they had taken the time to come.

So anyways, I was doing my weekly perusing of my blogs and clicked on Caroline's blog. She had posted a recipe for Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies. I instantly thought of my husband and how this sounded like the perfect cookie for him, mainly because he loves chocolate chip cookies and coconut. So I decided to make them that night for the hubs. He loved them and they were even better the next day.

These cookies are soft and chewy and have made the perfect partnership of coconut and chocolate. If you are a coconut lover then these cookies are so for you....

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 2/3 cup coconut (yes,you read that correctly)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I then place a sheet of parchment paper on top of my cookie sheet. Set aside.

In a stand mixer cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Once combined, at the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each one completely. Then add the vanilla. Mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mix well. Then add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until it is barely combined. Then add the coconut, milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter. Mix until just combined. Place the dough into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Then scoop out a tablespoon of dough, shaping into a round ball and place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes (my cookies took 11 minutes). Once baked to perfection allow to sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to allow to cool completely.

These are easy to make cookies that will send your taste buds reallying with the combo of butter, coconut and chocolate chips. These cookies are worth every calorie.

Carrot Cake Cookies

Ok so I love cookbooks. I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to make all the recipes that I find. I also have a huge stack of recipes that I have printed off, that I have had every intention of trying. I have cookbooks that I have tried about 1-5 recipes in them, knowing that they hold countless undiscovered yummy recipes that could become family favorites. Unfortunately I try about 1 % of the recipes I find and the list just gets bigger and bigger. But I am here to say that I finally tried a recipe that I have eyed for a while.

When spring comes around I start getting the Easter itch. I love Easter, I love dying Easter eggs, love Easter egg hunts and jelly beans. I also think of springy desserts. One dessert that is so appropriate for spring is Carrot Cake, so when I was looking through my "Martha Stewart's Cookies" cookbook and found a recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies, I knew that I had to try these because I love carrot cake and cookies.

This recipe was a delight. After making the dough I sampled it and I remember telling Thad that the dough tasted like carrot cake in a cookie form. I didn't think it could be done but some how they did it! And what cookie does not taste fantastic sandwiched between cream cheese frosting. After a careful taste testing session by Thad, he gave them a strong thumbs up. His only want was for some more cream cheese frosting in the carrot cake cookies and some milk.

Carrot Cake Cookies

1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins

Start off by preheating oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.

Once dough has chilled and is firm, shape tablespoons of dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes (my cookies were perfect just at 11 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough.

While cookies are cooling start on the cream cheese frosting (below). Once cookies are completely cooled, use an offset spatula to spread the cream-cheese filling onto a cookie (they say to use 2 teaspoons but I used twice that amount on mine). Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

*This recipe makes 2 cups but I liked more cream cheese on my cookies, so I doubled the recipe and this recipe doubled was just enough.

Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.

These cookies are, as Martha says "tiny inside-out carrot cakes, with the signature cream cheese frosting on the inside and spiced cake on the outside". They are guaranteed to win over any carrot cake lover, so enjoy!