White Chip Chocolate Cookies
Yields: 60 cookies

[It has been ridiculously snowy and cold here for the past few days, and when the weather is like this, it always puts me in the mood to bake. I had some white chocolate chips left over from a recipe from a while ago, and decided that today was the day to use them up. I love these cookies because they are fudge-y without being overly sweet.]

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of white chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Using a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together until they’re creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. 
• Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an un-greased baking sheets.
• Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the centers are set.
• Cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, then move the cookies to wire racks or parchment paper to cool completely.
• Serve and enjoy! <3

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Four Ingredient Guilt-Free Chocolates 

[I can’t even begin to explain to you how absolutely divine these are. They are creamy and are just the right amount of sweet. Not to mention they are SO STINKING EASY. And the best part?! They are not even a little bit bad for you. Which, I take as permission to eat way too many of them. You can swap the honey out for a different sweetener if you wish, just make sure it’s something that will combine well with the coconut oil. If you don’t have candy molds, silicon ice trays or silicon mini muffin tins will work perfectly!]

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of organic raw honey
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

• Melt the coconut oil. Stir in the honey. Make sure the honey dissolves completely. Whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla.
• Pour into candy molds (or ice trays or muffin tins.) Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the chocolates to set.
• Serve and ENJOY! <3

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Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Pancakes

[If I had a romantic interest in my life, this is what I would want to be brought in bed on Valentine’s Day morning. These babies are fluffy and moist and decadent and delicious. As a bonus, the sheer fact that they’re red makes them festive as well.]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 6 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 2 teaspoons of red food coloring
• 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, sour cream, food coloring, and vanilla until well combined. 
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
• On a griddle or large pan over medium/high heat. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter per pancake, and lightly brown each pancake on each side.
• Serve with syrup and sprinkled powdered sugar.
• Enjoy! <3

19

Black Bean Brownies

[I kept seeing recipes for baked goods using black beans instead of flour, and every single time I thought to myself, “That is disgusting. Black beans do not belong with anything sweet. Ya’ll are crazy.” Then, I got over myself and tried it. I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life. You can’t even a little bit tell that there are black beans in this. My parents have been eating these babies all day and have no idea that there isn’t any flour in them. They are incredibly moist and not to heavy. I urge you to take a chance on this recipe. I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed.]

Ingredients:

• 1 can of no-salt added black beans (15.5 oz)
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup of granulatd sugar
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons of instant coffee
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 inch x 8 inch pan.
• Drain and rinse the black beans.
• Using either a blender or a food processor, blend the beans, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cocoa, coffee, oil, baking powder and salt until completely smooth. 
• Pour the batter into pre-greased pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the batter.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sides begin to pull away from the pan. Let the brownies cool for at least a few minutes before devouring them.
• Serve and enjoy. <3

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Saltine Toffee (Aka Christmas Crack) 2.0

[Last year around this time I shared with you one of my favorite Christmas treats, Saltine Toffee. This year, I have upgraded the recipe just a bit and made it even more delicious and even more addicting than ever. You’re welcome.]

Ingredients:

• One sleeve of saltine crackers (40 crackers)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of butter
• 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (or so) of chopped Christmas M&Ms

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, so that the foil extends above the lip of the pan. 
• Line the pan with saltines, salt side up. You should end up with 5 rows of 8. It’s okay if there is a little bit of room between each cracker.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for exactly 3 minutes (start the timer once the ENTIRE mixture is boiling, not just the sides.) Resist the urge to stir it constantly.
• Pour the mixture evenly over the crackers. Place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Dollop the peanut butter over the crackers. Place back in the oven for another minutes. Spread the now melted peanut butter out over the crackers.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter. Place the pan back in the oven for one more minutes. Spread the chocolate chips over the peanut butter, so that everywhere is evenly coated. 
• Sprinkle the toffee evenly with the M&M pieces.
• Once the pan is cool enough to handle, place it in the freezer so that it can set. Once the toffee is hard, crack it into pieces. 
• Store the pieces in the fridge or freezer so that the chocolate doesn’t melt.
• Serve and enjoy. <3 

9

Cinnamon Brownies 

[CINNAMON BROWNIES, YOU GUYS. If you haven’t noticed yet, I REALLY love cinnamon. A lot. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to put cinnamon in brownies long ago, but better late than never, right? I should warn you, this is RIDICULOUSLY sweet, so be aware.]

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2/3 cup of butter melted, divided in half
• 1/2 cup of boiling water
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup semi-chocolate chips

Frosting ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 2 2/3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup of evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Using an electric mixer, combine the cocoa, baking soda, and half the butter. Add in the water, mix until thickened. Mix in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and the remaining butter. Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt, and combine well. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting ingredients:

• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter. Combine the cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar. Add the sugar mixture and milk alternately until everything is well mixed in. Stir in the vanilla.
• Once the brownies have cooled completely, frost them.
• Serve and enjoy!

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Sam’s Soon-To-Be-World-Renowned Chocolate Chip Muffins

[Okay, so, here’s the story. Earlier tonight I was sitting on my couch, staring at my favorite cookbook, and everything I was seeing was just so BORING. I decided that boring wasn’t going to cut if for me, tonight. So, I got adventurous. I am very, very glad that I did. I mixed 4 or so recipes together to create this one and it is stellar. They are moist and not too sweet and they melt in your mouth and they’re wonderful. As I told my dad, I am pretty sure this is the secret to my millions. I really hope you guys are as pleased with these babies as I am. Fair warning though, it’s nearly impossible to eat just one.]

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (hello, secret ingredient!)
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
• Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and add to the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the yogurt. Mix until smooth and creamy.
• Add in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until everything is well combined.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Fill each muffin cup 2/3(if it’s a little more, that’s okay. They don’t rise all that much) full
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool the muffins in their tin for 10 minutes. Carefully remove them and allow them to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.
• Serve and enjoy! <3

9

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Frosting

[Two of my friends birthdays are this week, so we got together today to celebrate. I decided to break away from my go-to chocolate cake recipe and try something a bit different. I was definitely pleased with the way that this came out!]

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 6 ounces of bitter sweet chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 cup of buttermilk (this can be substituted for a cup of regular milk mixed with a teaspoon of white vinegar)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9 inch round baking pans with parchment paper, and spray them with non-stick cooking spray.
• Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and the yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the chocolate and the vanilla, combine well.
• Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, alternating between the two. The batter will be fairly thick once everything is well mixed together.
• Divide the batter between the two pans. Using a knife or spatula, spread the batter and smooth the tops.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks and cool completely.

Mint Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of butter
• 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions:

• Melt the butter. Stir the cocoa powder into the butter until they are well combined.
• Add the powdered sugar and milk a little bit at a time, alternating between the two, and beating well between each addition.
• Mix in the vanilla and peppermint.

Frosting/Decorating Tips

• Get a rimmed baking sheet and flip it upside down. Place one of the cooled cake rounds on it. Use a generous amount of frosting to cover the top of the cake, making sure you get all the way to the edges.
• Put the other cake round on top of the first, making sure they are lined up well. Frost the outside of the cake. Use a good amount of frosting so that you don’t damage or crumble the cake at all.
• Take a butter knife and run it around the side of the cake, smoothing the frosting out. Do the same to the top.
• For this particular occasion, I used three different colors of sparkly writing icing. I also used silver-coated rock candy balls to line the outside. 

Enjoy! <3

2

Mocha Almond Chocolate Chip Brownies

[I took my favorite parts of all my favorite brownie recipes and used them to concoct these bad boys. I could not be more happy with how they turned out. Delicious.]

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso (if you can’t find instant espresso, use insant coffee)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13X9X2-inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, heat the butter in the microwave until it’s melted.
• Combine sugar, vanilla, almond, and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add cocoa and espresso powder; beat until well blended.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. 
• Cut, serve, enjoy. <3

14

Kahlua Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

[I am not sure that there are enough adjectives to describe how delicious these cookies are. They are gooey, not too sweet, and have a ridiculously dynamic flavor. They are hands down my favorite cookie I’ve ever made, possibly my favorite cookie I’ve ever eaten. I highly recommend you give them a try.]

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon instant espresso (found in the coffee aisle. If you can’t find instant espresso, use unflavored instant coffee)
• 1 tablespoon of Kahlua (any coffee liqueur could be substituted here)
• 1 cup of butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup of firmly backed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside
• Dissolve the espresso in the Kahlua.
• Cream together the butter and the sugars. Add the Kahlua and espresso, eggs, vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat well. 
• Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until everything is combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Drop the batter by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheets, two inches apart. 
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown.
• Serve (preferably warm.)
• Enjoy. <3

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