Oh yum.  Chocolatey goodness.  And adding peanut butter?  You can't go wrong.  This was really easy  and quick.  As always, my comments are in pink.

From Cooking Light Magazine (I think?):
Serves 6

1/3 C. granulated sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs Dutch process cocoa (I used Hersheys)
1 1/2 C 1% low-fat milk (I only had 2 %)
1/2 C light cream
2 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped (I used Hersheys milk chocolate chips)
1/4 C creamy peanut butter (I didn't have peanuts to add to the top, or creamy PB, so I used crunchy Adams Natural Peanut Butter)
1 Tbs chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

- Combine sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk.
-Whisk in milk and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium - high heat.  Cook 1 minute or until thick and bubbly (mine was a couple of minutes before it was thick enough).
-Remove from heat.
-Add chocolate and peanut butter, stirring until smooth.
-Spoon about 1/3 C pudding into each of 6 bowls. ( My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I thought 1/3 C was too small.  I was wrong.  Serving this warm and adding a bit of whipped cream on top was REALLY rich.)
-Top each serving with 1/2 tsp peanuts. (I omitted this step and added a spoonful of whipped cream - not Cool Whip, but the real Whipping cream blended with a little sugar and vanilla until thick).

I ended up eating some of this after lunch today, after it sat in the fridge overnight.  It was very thick, but for some reason, it being cold, made it seem not so rich.  Delicious!

I couldn't believe how big of a batch these made when my friend gave me the recipe.  It calls for 12 eggs, 1 lb. butter, etc... I am thinking that the recipe is called Monster cookies because of how big of a batch they make.  I made these today for Father's Day and ended up cutting the recipe into 1/4 of the batch.  And it still makes quite a bit!  I was surprised also that these do not have flour in them.  But, they do have enough peanut butter and sugar to hold anything together!  But they are delicious!!

Here is the 1/4 batch recipe; this makes about 3 dozen:

3 eggs
1 stick butter (softened)
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
1 TBS vanilla
1 1/2 C. crunchy peanut butter (I used Adams Natural Peanut Butter)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C M&Ms
4 1/2 C. Oats (I used regular oats, not quick cooking.  But think it would still work fine with quick ones)

-In a large bowl beat eggs well.
-Make sure the butter is soft and add it to the eggs.  Beat.
-Add baking soda and blend well.
-Add brown sugar and cream together.
-Add vanilla then white sugar and mix well.
-Add peanut butter and mix well.
-Stir in oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms.

Bake 350 for 10-12 min.  (Mine here in Idaho is closer to 360 for 12 min)

I got this recipe in an email, and didn't believe it would work.  But, of course, it was chocolate and I decided to try it!  The first time I made it, I was not all that impressed.  I tweaked it a bit and it is much better now!  It is really rich though and what I add to it make it more so.  But, my husband and I split it and it is a great treat for when you want something chocolatey fast!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa 1 egg 3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons oil 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) A small splash of vanilla extract 1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe) -Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. (I got smart and just mix everything together, in the correct order, in a bowl and then pour it into the mug.  It is much easier that way!)  -Add the egg and mix thoroughly. -Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. -Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. (I actually mix 2 Tbs chocolate chips and 2 Tbs Peanut Butter chips.  The peanut Butter chips make it so much better!!) -Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. -The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! -Tip upside down on a plate. I then top with whip cream and sometimes hot fudge!

I have had this recipe for a LONG time, but never even bothered to make it.  I was having a nasty prego chocolate craving the other night and decided to make this to go on top of a pan of brownies.  I convinced myself if I made the brownies, I would be eating them the whole next day, so decided to make a chocolate cake in a mug instead with this on top.  DELICIOUS!!!  And this hot fudge sauce is good hot, cold, a spoonful out of the jar when no one is looking... shhh!  Don't tell my husband or my midwife!  Enjoy!


1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 C. Powdered sugar
1 1/2 C. canned evaporated milk

Melt chocolate chips and butter on stove.  Add sugar and milk.  Bring to a boil and cook 8 min., stirring every once in a while to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom.  When this gets thick after about 8 min., you know you are done.  Add vanilla.

Around Thanksgiving time, I get the urge to make something pumpkin so I end up buying a couple big cans of pumpkin.  Well, mine were still sitting in the pantry and I wanted some pumpkin pancakes.  So, I opened up that lovely can and made some pancakes.  Not the best pumpkin pancake recipe ever, so I won't post that, but I wanted to know what to do with the leftover pumpkin.  So, I found this great recipe on My Kitchen Cafe.  I had plenty of pumpkin leftover, so I doubled the batch.  I froze half of the cooked muffins and then pulled them out for our trip to Utah for a family reunion.  They froze and thawed great!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Mel B.

1 2/3 c. flour
1 c. sugar (As always, I reduced the sugar to a little less than 3/4 C)
1 T. pumpkin pie spice**
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1/2 c. butter, softened (I used half butter, and half applesauce to try to decrease some of the fat!)
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix ingredients well and then add chocolate chips. Pour into greased muffin tin (or use muffin liners). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Don’t overbake or they will be dry!

**My tip: if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use the following combination: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Mix together and woila! – you have the equivalent of 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and it is much cheaper than buying it premade). So for this recipe, you would need to triple the above amounts to equal one tablespoon pumpkin pie spice.

I bought a bag of Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels when they were on sale around Christmas time and they came with this recipe. I kept them in my freezer and decided to pull them out last night as my son and I were spending some one on one time together. Of course, what are we going to do? Bake treats! It was between these and Nummy Bars. He chose these and I must say, I was a little skeptical. But, they turned out nice. So nice that my prego self has eaten WAY too many since last night :)

2 C all purpose flour
2/3 C Baking Cocoa (Of course it calls for Nestle but I use Saco's Premium Cocoa.)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C (2 Sticks) butter softened
2/3 C granulated sugar
2/3 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
2 large eggs
1 2/3 C (10 oz. pkg) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Preheat oven to 325
Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels.  Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 11-13 min. or until cookies are puffed and centers are set.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

I baked one batch of this at the 325 like the recipe said and ended up baking them for more like 15 minutes.  I decided I couldn't wait that long next time so I changed the temp. to 350 and baked for about 11-13 min. like the original time should have been.  When pulling these cookies out, the centers are NOT set and the outside and top edges are just getting a little crispy.  Let them cook and they will turn out just fine.  YUM! 

We did a big group date a couple weeks ago and this is what I made for the dessert.  It was very rich, but very good!  Mine didn't look as pretty as the picture on Betty Crocker's site though!  We were feeding a big group, so I made mine in a cake pan to spread it out a little further.  I don't think I needed to though because we had plenty of leftovers.  Enjoy!

Cookie Base
1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix (we used Peanut Butter cookie mix!!)
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
1	tablespoon water
1	egg
1	cup chopped pecans
Filling
40	caramels, unwrapped
1/3	cup whipping cream
3/4	cup chopped pecans
Topping
1	bag (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/3	cup whipping cream
1/4	cup chopped pecans

	Print these coupons...
	$0.75 off Betty Crocker® Box Supreme Brownie Mixes Plus 25 more...
	About Concordance™

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in 1 cup pecans. Press dough in bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
2.	Bake 19 to 21 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.
3.	Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and 1/3 cup cream on High 2 to 4 minutes, stirring twice, until caramels are melted. Stir in 3/4 cup pecans. Spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
4.	In another medium microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cream on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Pour over filling. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. To serve, let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before cutting. Store covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Use 10-inch tart pan. In step 2, bake crust 21 to 23 minutes.

My cousin posted a link to this site for the chocolate bowl recipe. What a great idea! I thought they looked delicious and such a fun party treat. Thought I would pass it along. Let me know how they turn out!

Here's the link!

This cake has a lot of different varieties of names and how to make it. I will post, what I think to be the BEST way. It is the chocolate version, so what can be better?! It is a great cake to use for parties or get togethers because it is always such a hit! You can cook it in a cake pan like a regular cake, or for the last event I made it for, we were trying to feed a lot of people so we cooked it in a large cookie sheet (or jelly roll pan) to spread it out a bit. Turned out great. Hope yours does too!

Bake:
1 devils food cake mix (or any kind of chocolate cake mix) according to package directions

After cooked, poke holes all over the cake with the opposite end of a spatula, end of a bbq skewer, or using a fork. (Or be creative. As long as there are holes in it, it doesn't matter what you use!)

Then pour sweetened condensed milk and caramel ice cream topping all over the cake, letting it seep into the holes. The more you pour, the better the cake. But don't overdo it or you will have a mushy cake.

Put cake in the fridge for a couple hours.

Then cover top with a container of cool whip, sprinkled with toffee chips.

DELICIOUS!!!

Mix together:

1 Chocolate cake mix (or devils food cake mix)
2 eggs
1/3 C. oil

Make dough into small round balls and drop onto cookie sheet (ungreased). Cook for 8-10 min (no more or they will get too crispy!!) at 350.

When cool, smear the bottom of one cookie with cream cheese frosting (either store bought, or homemade)and put another cookie on top. TA DA! Your very own homemade oreo cookie! These never last long in our house. They are very rich, but SOOO YUMMY!

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat together:
3/4 block softened cream cheese
1/2 stick softened butter

Then add about 3 cups powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla. (Give or take on the powdered sugar depending on how much or little of a cream cheese taste you want.)

If this is too thick, add a little water or milk.

OOPS! I posted this a while ago but just realized when I was going to make these this morning that I didn't post the measurements! Sorry! Here they are now.

This is another family Christmas recipe. I always love these and they are so much better when my Mom makes them! I didn't have peppermint extract so I used mint extract. It makes a difference. They were still good, but are much better with peppermint.

Mint Sticks (makes 1 cake pan)

1 C. melted butter

2 C sugar

4 eggs

3 ½ squares melted baking chocolate

¼ tsp peppermint flavor

1 C flour

1 C nuts (optional)

1. Combine butter, sugar, eggs and beat well. Add chocolate and flavoring. Add flour and nuts. Put in greased pan. Bake 350 for 20-25 min.

2. When cool, add 5 Tbs melted butter, 2 ½ Tbs cream, 2 ½ C pwd sugar, ¼ tsp peppermint; (Blend butter and cream, then add sugar and flavoring). Spread over cooled baked layer.

3. 8 -10 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips and 4 Tbs butter and melt together. Spread or drizzle on top.