Tag Archives: chocolate

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Brown Butter Blondies

July 25, 2018 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

Decadent brown butter blondies with fresh cherries and rich dark chocolate are a perfect summer treat!

Well, it’s been a few minutes since I last blogged. So many minutes in fact, that I didn’t remember how to login and create a new blog post at first! I’m back, though, to share an amazing recipe with some mediocre phone pictures (keeping it real). Plus, what better excuse than blondies to introduce you to my chunk-a-luscious baby boy?

To catch you up a bit, life has been good around here. I’ve got a true three-nager oh my hands (while still being the sweetest best big brother) and a sweet and edible baby E. I’m currently home with both of them and loving life / struggling to figure out exactly where I stand as an individual all at the same time. Normal?

In the meantime, I’ve made these blondies a few times. They were so outrageously delicious that I decided I needed to come back here for a few minutes and share. I hope you make them and enjoy!

5.0 from 3 reviews

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Brown Butter Blondies

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Decadent brown butter blondies with fresh cherries and rich dark chocolate are a perfect summer treat!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Blondies

Makes: 24 blondies

Ingredients

254 grams (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
700 grams (~3 cups packed) light brown sugar
400 grams (~3 cups) all-purpose flour
16 grams (2 teaspoon) salt
6 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder
220 grams (4 large) whole eggs
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
285 grams (~2 cups) fresh chopped and pitted cherries (320 grams whole)*
224 grams (~1½ cup) dark chocolate roughly chopped (I like 70% cocoa or darker to balance the sweetness of the cherries)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the butter (stir butter constantly until it turns an amber/light brown color) and remove from heat; stir in sugar until well combined and set aside to cool slightly
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; set aside
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla; whisk into butter and sugar mixture
Whisk in flour mixture until almost combined and then fold in any remaining crumbs with a spatula
Fold in chocolate and cherries until evenly distributed throughout batter
Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 52-55 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set aside to cool**

Notes

*Red cherries look the prettiest but Ranier are good as well; Halve small cherries, quarter big ones
**For best results cool completely (about 4 hours at room temperature) and then cover with foil and chill in refrigerator before cutting
Wrap well with foil and store in refrigerator for up to four days or freezer for up to two months

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Six Peppermint Chocolate Desserts You Need To Try

November 28, 2016 Keep It Sweet 2 Comments

Six peppermint and chocolate dessert recipes to kick off the holiday season.

Peppermint Mocha are my favorite holiday season guilty pleasure and it’s no surprise that I’ve translated a variation of that drink flavor into a few different desserts. The holiday season is upon us so it’s time to get baking!

Double Dip Mints

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Covered Oreos

Peppermint Chocolate Pavlova Parfaits (gluten-free)

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies

Peppermint Mocha Truffles (gluten-free)

Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies

Blog, Recipes

Big Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 26, 2016 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

Perfect pumpkin cookies! These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are chewy in the middle and crispy around the edges.

!!!!! I’m trying not to go crazy with anxiousness right now. We move into our house in just a few days and I can barely believe it. It’s been a long road since we closed early in the summer. Now, after three months of construction, we are moving into a bit of chaos . There are just a few more weeks of work left to go but so much to do. Luckily, L’s bedroom will be completely finished along with one of the other bedrooms that Matt and I will move into. Other than that, everything is still a work in progress and the remainder of our belongings will be in the basement. All food will be takeout cooked via microwave or toaster oven and we are going to try not to bounce off the walls as the work gets completed.

And packing? It’s definitely a different process with a toddler around. Matt stayed home by himself last weekend to get a head start, but there is only so much we can do and only so many boxes we can stack with L running around. We just have to bust our butts next weekend to get it all done!

So to cope with all that, I’ve been emotionally eating like it’s my job. Not my best move, but that’s life. The other night I was very happy to find a few of these pumpkin cookies left in the freezer and the bliss of eating them was exactly what I needed to forget any house-related anxiety. The only thing better would be a full batch of them reappearing before my eyes.

These cookies are outrageous. In all the chaos of moving, I almost skipped sharing this recipe, but it’s just too good to keep to myself. The big pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are spiced to perfection and bake up amazingly. Chewy middles, crispy edges and cookie heaven right there.

Big Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Perfect pumpkin cookies! These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are chewy in the middle and crispy around the edges.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 18 large cookies

Ingredients

170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
81g (1/3 cup) canned pumpkin
262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
5 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (1 ½ teaspoons) ground cinnamon
½g (1/4 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
234g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
106g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
240g (~1⅓ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Melt butter and pumpkin in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; set aside to cool
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter mixture, sugars and vanilla for several minutes on medium speed or until well-combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix)
Fold in chocolate chips
Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours (you can do less chilling, but texture will not be as good)
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with large cookie dough scoop (~1/4 cup) onto prepared baking sheets so that cookies are spaced one inch apart
Bake cookies 16-18 minutes or until centers are set and appear firm; edges should be slightly browned
Set aside to cool
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week (texture best first day or two) or freeze up to two months

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Fudge

September 29, 2016 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

Super easy homemade peanut butter and chocolate fudge made with just four ingredients!

Life has been so hectic here, and I suspect I’m not alone. With busy work schedules, back-to-school time and life in general, sometimes cooking or baking for the family can take a back seat. There are so many weeks that I’m scrambling to find a few things in my fridge to throw together so that L, Matt and I are well fed. Keeping those last minute meals interesting without going crazy sometimes seems to be an impossible task.

That’s why I was really excited to receive a copy of Five-Ingredient Recipes, A Cookbook for Busy People in the mail a few weeks ago. Not only are there interesting dinner recipes that most families will enjoy, but there are also fun and super easy dessert recipes as well. I’ve been seriously slacking in the baking department lately so I was thrilled to find a sweet treat recipe that required minimal time and ingredients. Something that I can make with ingredients in my pantry AND get done while L takes his (sometimes way too short) nap is a huge win.

For some crazy reason I’ve never made fudge before, so when I found the recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge in Phi’s cookbook I couldn’t wait to get “cooking.” And I use that term lightly because All I had to do was microwave, stir and chill. This recipe is beyond easy to make and the result is rich, delicious and kind of addicting. Exactly what you want out of a dessert.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Fudge

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Super easy homemade peanut butter and chocolate fudge made with just four ingredients!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 16-24

Ingredients

130g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
20g (2 tablespoons) powdered sugar
340g (2 cups) good-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
114-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Flaky sea salt (optional, my addition)

Instructions

Line an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang for pan removal later; set aside
In a small microwaveable bowl, heat peanut butter for thirty seconds on high heat; stir in powdered sugar; set aside
Place chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a large microwaveable bowl; heat for thirty seconds on high and stir; repeat once or twice until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth (it will get thick quickly); immediately spread in prepared baking pan
Spoon peanut butter mixture over chocolate and use a knife to swirl peanut butter into chocolate; sprinkle lightly with sea salt if desired
Chill pan in freezer for thirty minutes or fridge for one hour; once chilled, remove fudge from pan by using sides of parchment paper to lift it up; place on a cutting board and slice
Serve immediately or store leftovers in fridge for up to a week

Notes

Notes:
Recipe from Five-Ingredient Recipes, A Cookbook for Busy People

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy of Five-Ingredient Recipes, A Cookbook for Busy People for free but as always, all opinions are my own.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

August 1, 2016 Keep It Sweet 1 Comment

Rich and creamy no-churn peanut butter ice cream with swirls of milk chocolate and peanut butter.

Part of me wants to apologize for the fact that all I want to make and eat is ice cream. I can’t even blame pregnancy or breastfeeding for this summer’s obsession. But you know what? No churn ice cream is freaking easy and so delicious. No apologies over here!

And since I did figure out the ultimate peanut butter ice cream recipe this past Spring, I figure I should really take advantage of that and make every single version of peanut butter ice cream I can think of. Makes sense, right? Well, this time around I kept it simple with a peanut butter base, peanut butter swirl and milk chocolate ripple. Okay, maybe that sounds complicated, but I promise it’s not. Just four ingredients is necessary to make an ice cream that tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup. Summer eating does not get much better than this!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

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Rich and creamy no-churn peanut butter ice cream with swirls of milk chocolate and peanut butter.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

For the ice cream base:

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
130g (1/2 cup) salted creamy all-natural peanut butter
475 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream

For the peanut butter swirl:

150 (~2/3 cup) salted creamy all-natural peanut butter

For the chocolate swirl:

240g good quality milk chocolate disks or bars, roughly chopped

Instructions

Make ice cream base:

In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk and sea salt until smooth
In the separate bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, fold it into peanut butter mixture
Pour half of ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container
Make peanut butter swirl:
Microwave peanut butter for 15 seconds
Drizzle half of peanut butter swirl over top
Make chocolate swirl:
In a small microwave-safe dish, heat chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted
Pour half of milk chocolate over ice cream; use a knife to marbleize chocolate and peanut butter into ice cream
Repeat with remaining ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate
Wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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You might also like:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Pretzel Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream

Blog, Recipes

Double Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

July 11, 2016 Keep It Sweet 2 Comments

Rich chocolate ice cream full of dark chocolate chunks; no churn ice cream for the chocolate lover!

Anyone who has raised a toddler knows that meal time can go in any direction. On a good day, your child will happily eat everything on his or her plate. On a bad day, a child yelling “no eat” or food tossed “accidentally” onto the floor may result. Some days a little game playing (“oh, do you want to use my fork today?” or “how about mommy gets you some special sauce?”) will do the trick. Then there are days when chicken is too much effort to chew and half of it gets spit out.

So when we recently had to give L a medicine that was combined with food, I decided ice cream would be the best bet if we wanted to be 100% sure he would finish it. He is my child, after all. So when I ran out of the all-natural Turkey Hill chocolate he’d been eating, I had to dig into my own stash (what, you think I share my ice cream?). I wasn’t so sure he’d be able to eat those big chocolate chunks but what do you know, my kid who can’t always chew his chicken made his way through every.single.bite. My child for sure!

And really, I can’t blame him. This double chocolate chunk ice cream is the ultimate ice cream flavor for the chocolate lover. The rich dark chocolate base is creamy and basically perfected with the addition of chocolate chunks. And since it’s toddler approved, you know it’s good.

Double Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

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Rich chocolate ice cream full of dark chocolate chunks; no churn ice cream for the chocolate lover!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

473 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
50g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) dark unsweetened cocoa powder high quality
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) pure vanilla extract
195g (1¼ cups) roughly chopped 55% dark chocolate

Instructions

In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together sweetened condensed milk, cocoa and vanilla; mixture will be very thick and you want to remove any cocoa clumps; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, gently fold half of it into sweetened condensed milk mixture; gently fold in remaining cream until fully combined; fold in chocolate chunks
Pour ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container; wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream

Oreo Fudge Swirl Ice Cream

Drumstick Ice Cream Cake

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Graham and Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

June 28, 2016 Keep It Sweet 4 Comments

No churn graham cracker ice cream with rich milk chocolate chunks.

I’m here! Our internet is fixed, I survived my sister’s bachelorette party (I came back in almost one piece), and I have so many recipes piling up and ready to be shared. There are a few that I’m quite in love with, but since the Fourth of July is this weekend, ice cream seemed like the first priority.

I almost don’t want anyone to know about this ice cream, because there’s a quart of it in my freezer and I”m not quite ready to share. It’s rich, creamy, loaded with graham cracker flavor (and pieces!) and swirled with pure milk chocolate. Important to note, per my usual, it’s an easy no-churn flavor. No ice cream maker needed. There’s so much goodness in every scoop, I’m most definitely in love.

If you want to go sundae crazy, I’d recommend a warm marshmallow sauce to get a s’mores-like impact. Or maybe pile it high with fresh whipped cream and some warm blueberry sauce. For now, I’ll be scooping bowlfuls sans topping to enjoy all the flavor and texture this ice cream has to offer.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Graham and Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

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No churn graham cracker ice cream with rich milk chocolate chunks.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

475 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
140g (~1 cup + 2 tablespoons) finely ground crackers (~ 12 sheets)
80g (1¾ cups) graham cracker broken into bite-sized pieces (~5 sheets)
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
240g good quality milk chocolate disks or bars, roughly chopped

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
While whipping cream, in a separate large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, graham cracker crumbs, graham cracker pieces and vanilla
Fold cream into sweetened condensed milk mixture
Pour half of ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan
In a small microwave-safe dish, heat chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted
Pour half of milk chocolate over ice cream; use a knife to marbleize chocolate and ice cream
Top with remaining ice cream and repeat
Wrap well with seran wrap or in an ice cream container and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

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You might also like:

No Churn Cookie Butter Ice Cream

No Churn Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream

Gingersnap Peach Crumble Ice Cream

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Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Cookies {Gluten-free} {Vegan}

May 12, 2016 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

These easy-to-make soft and chewy cookies are made with wholesome ingredients that make them the perfect kid-friendly snack!

Before I tell you all about my new snack obsession these cookies, I need to tell you about the cookbook, Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Flight Inflammation, and Reset Your Body.

Before you think I’m crazy or hypocritical for talking about a detox book, let me assure you that I’m not telling you to forego all desserts and sweet treats. But I do want to introduce you to this cookbook, written by my friend Amie Valpone, that talks about finding the best diet for you. Amie used her experience and long arduous journey of healing her body (read more here) as the inspiration for her book. In it, she discusses what foods she learned work for her body and what don’t. She then walks you through how to do an elimination diet and slowly add foods back to find out what is best for you. I found this very informative and fascinating because it’s not all about dairy and gluten (the usual suspects), but also addresses peanuts, canned foods and eggs. While eliminating a food group is not right for me, I know there are many people who experience digestive issues and auto-immune diseases that could greatly benefit from the exercise. What I appreciated most from the book is that Amie is thoughtful and knowledgeable and not judgmental at all. She’s sharing her story to help other people that may be suffering like she was.

The book has so many recipes that I want to try (Honey Cinnamon Quinoa Granola, Curried Lentil Soup, Peach Arugula Salad…) but I started with these Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Cookies because they looked super easy and I had most of the ingredients on hand!

The cookie recipe came together really quickly. You basically just stir a bunch of ingredients together, scoop and bake. No mixer, no chilling dough, easy! Once baked, the cookies are soft and chewy with enough chocolate to feel like a real treat and the warming flavors of cinnamon and cardamom (<- great surprise flavor). However, the other ingredients made me feel good enough to share them with L for snacking. If the chocolate covered hands and mouth was any indication, I’d say he was as much a fan as I was.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Cookies

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These easy-to-make soft and chewy cookies are made with wholesome ingredients that make them the perfect kid-friendly snack! They are gluten-free and vegan, too.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert, Snack

Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients

7g (1 tablespoon) ground flaxseed
45 milliliters (3 tablespoons) water
250g (2 large) very ripe bananas
128g (1/2 cup) almond butter (I used a salted creamy almond butter)
30 milliliters (2 tablespoons) maple syrup
13g (1 tablespoon) melted coconut oil (I substituted butter because that’s what I had)
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
200g (2½ cups) gluten-free rolled oats
50g (1/3 cup) gluten-free dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) aluminum-free baking powder
1g (1/2 teaspoon) ground cinnamon

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside
In a small bowl, combine the flaxseeds and water, let sit for five minutes
In a large bowl, mash bananas; stir in almond butter, maple syrup, oil and vanilla; add flax mixture and stir until combined
In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients; stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until combined (do not overmix)
Use a tablespoon or small cookie dough scoop to drop small mounds (~2 tablespoons each)onto prepared baking sheet
Bake cookies 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and center appears set; allow to sit on pan for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool

Notes

Recipe from Eating CleanIf baking for someone with a gluten-allergy, make sure to check all ingredient labels for gluten-free
I found that the cookies were best enjoyed the day of baking and then stored frozen in a ziplock bag after that. I let them thaw for about twenty minutes or in the microwave before enjoying them.

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This post contains affiliate links. I received the cookbook, Eating Clean, for free but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

You might also like:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bites (gluten-free and vegan)

No-Bake Peanut Butter Banana Energy Balls (gluten-free and vegan)

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free)

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Pretzel Ice Cream

May 2, 2016 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

No churn peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter chunks and chocolate covered pretzel pieces.

I’ve been working very hard to bring you the very best no churn peanut butter ice cream you will ever eat. And by working hard, I mean eating my weight in peanut butter ice cream. No regrets over here!

While I basically eat and breathe peanut butter, I wanted to find a balance between incredible peanut butter flavor and whoa this is pure frozen peanut butter (<—- not that there’s anything wrong with that!). I found that in order to do that, dividing the peanut butter into two parts: 1) peanut butter ice cream base and 2) peanut butter ripple was necessary. I know, I really took one for the team figuring that out.

And while that was ultimately awesome on its own, I wanted to add a mix-in, because ice cream with mix-ins is almost always better than ice cream without! The peanut butter was just calling for something crunchy and chocolaty so chunks of chocolate covered pretzel were a clear choice. I chopped up some Bark Thins because I’m mildly obsessed with them and the chocolate is rich, dark and not too sweet. Peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter ripple and chocolate covered pretzel in almost every bite. Sweet, salty, indulgent.

In case it’s not already been made clear, this was complete peanut butter ice cream perfection.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Pretzel Ice Cream

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No churn peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter chunks and chocolate covered pretzel pieces.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

For the ice cream:

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
130g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter (if using salted natural peanut butter, omit sea salt)
3g (½ teaspoon) sea salt
210g (2 cups) chopped chocolate covered pretzels (I used Bark Thins because I’m obsessed with them)
475 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream

For the peanut butter swirl:

130- 200g (1/2- ¾ cup) creamy peanut butter (see notes*) (if using salted natural peanut butter, omit sea salt)
1g (¼ teaspoon) sea salt

Instructions

Make ice cream base:

In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk and sea salt until smooth; stir in chocolate covered pretzels
In the separate bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, fold it into peanut butter mixture
Pour half of ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container

Make peanut butter swirl:

Microwave peanut butter for 15 seconds and stir in salt
Drizzle half of peanut butter swirl over top then run a knife through peanut butter to marbleize; repeat with remaining ice cream and peanut butter
Wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart
*I prefer to use the full 200g of peanut butter but that can make the ice cream very peanut buttery; use less if you aren’t quite as peanut butter crazy as I am

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

No Churn Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream

Drumstick Ice Cream Cake

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

April 21, 2016 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

Big bakery-style chocolate and pistachio cookies are the ultimate cookie treat!

I feel a little bad because I’ve been keeping these cookies to myself for a few weeks now.

They are exactly what I expect a perfect bakery-style cookie to be:

BIG (when it comes to cookies, bigger really is better)
Full of contrasting texture (crispy edges, chewy center and crunchy pistachios)
Major depth of flavor (deep essence of caramel from the brown sugar in the dough, subtle sweetness and richness from dark chocolate, just enough salty from pistachios and flaky sea salt)

Just look at these beauties! Straight out of the oven the chocolate is just perfectly melted through and through. The chopped dark chocolate makes a huge difference in getting that richness in every bite. However, if you have it in you to let them cool, the texture of the cookie will really develop. It’s a win either way!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies

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Big bakery-style cookies full of dark chocolate chunks, crunchy pistachios and the perfect hint of salt.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 18 large cookies

Ingredients

262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
350g (~1½ cups, packed) light brown sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
75g (~1 large egg + 1 yolk) eggs at room temperature
130g (1 cup) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100g (¾ cup) salted pistachios, roughly chopped

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until well-combined
Beat in eggs and vanilla until a mixture is a light creamy color
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix)
Fold in chips
Chill dough in refrigerator for 24-48 hours for best texture and flavor results
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Overfill a large cookie dough scoop (~4 tablespoons total) for each cookie and place onto prepared baking sheets
Bake large cookies 17-19 minutes or until brown around good portion of edges
Set aside to cool
Texture of cookies best within 24 hours; cookies can be enjoyed up to one week at room temperature or one month frozen if stored in an air-tight container

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like:

Cranberry and White Chocolate Pistachio Dusted Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

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The Fudgiest Fleur de Sel Brownies

April 5, 2016 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

The fudgiest brownies you will ever eat topped with fleur de sel are rich, decadent and completely satisfying.

These brownies are, what I like to call, a piece of ultimate chocolate bliss. They are thick and ultra fudgy, studded with chocolate chips, layered with a naturally crackly top and sprinkled with fleur de sel. They aren’t too sweet but they are chocolatey and rich. The salt sprinkled on top helps cut the sweetness, though, with just the right amount of contrast. Eaten alone, with a cup of dark coffee or warm topped with vanilla ice cream, they are pure brownie perfection.

In fact, I’m having major regrets that I brought them to my brother-in-law’s house for a family event and had to leave before dessert was served. Of course I got to taste them beforehand, but ever since that day I’ve had the biggest brownie craving ever. Luckily, brownies are generally very easy to make and, if I dare, I might just have to whip up a batch soon.

Make them for your next party, new mom friend or to keep in the freezer as a secret stash. I won’t tell!

5.0 from 2 reviews

The Fudgiest Fleur de Sel Brownies

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The fudgiest brownies you will ever eat topped with fleur de sel are rich, decadent and completely satisfying.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 30

Ingredients

Brownies:
256g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
340g (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter
415g (~2 cups) granulated sugar
400g (~1¾ cups, packed) light brown sugar
275g (~5 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
20 milliliters (4 teaspoons) vanilla extract
290g (~2 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
135g (3/4 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips
135g (3/4 cup) milk chocolate chips
1g (3/4 teaspoon) fleur de sel

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large pot over low to medium heat; remove when melted
Stir in sugar until combined; stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix; fold in chocolate chips
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with fleur de sel
Bake 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center
Set brownies aside to cool completely before removing from pan and cutting

Notes

Brownies can be baked ahead of time (store well-wrapped in freezer up to two months or at room temperature up to three days); frost day of serving for best results

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Triple Chip Cookies

March 14, 2016 Keep It Sweet 3 Comments

Crispy, chewy and loaded with three types of chocolate chips, these triple chip cookies are divine!

Life has felt a little bit all over the place lately. Things are really good, but having a toddler has kept me on my toes to say the least! L’s the best little one-year-old you will ever meet, but to describe him as “busy” is an understatement. We’re building blocks and playing with stickers. We are climbing the bed and reaching for all the things I didn’t realize were at arms length. On non-freezing days we are at the park. He tells me to “sit” when we are playing at home (and you better believe he has a specific place for me to land). We talk and sing and dance and pull out all the pots and pans. There are booboos, toddler tantrums and frustrating meals in-between. And when I get the opportunity, hugs and kisses galore. It’s all so much good stuff but let me tell you, it’s exhausting!

And for me, when I feel a little crazed, and don’t have time for complicated recipes, I come back to the classic comforts in the kitchen. At the top of that list, always, is chocolate chip cookies.

These Triple Chip Cookies, are chocolate chip cookies to the max. Don’t even dare to look for a chipless bite because you won’t find one. Packed with semi-sweet, milk chocolate and white chocolate chips, these perfect little cookies are just what I needed to find my moment of peace in all the mom-of-a-one-year-old chaos! They are oh so crisp right around the edges but chewy and chocolaty in the middle. They taste incredible as they melt in your mouth right out of the oven, but save some for later to dip in a glass of milk and you will be oh so happy. Cookie zen as I like to call it!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Triple Chip Cookies

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Crispy, chewy and loaded with three types of chocolate chips, these triple chip cookies are divine!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~2½ dozen cookies

Ingredients

262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
350g (~1½ cups, packed) light brown sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
75g (~1 large egg + 1 yolk) eggs at room temperature
75g (2/3) cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
75g (2/3) milk chocolate chips
75g (2/3) white chocolate chips

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until well-combined
Beat in eggs and vanilla until a mixture is a light creamy color
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix); fold in chips
Chill dough in refrigerator for 24-48 hours for best texture and flavor results
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with medium cookie dough scoop(about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets
Bake cookies 14-17 minutes or until brown around good portion of edges
Set aside to cool

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results
Texture of cookies best when eaten within 24 hours; cookies can be enjoyed up to one week at room temperature or one month frozen if stored in an air-tight container

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Blood Orange Chocolate Truffles

March 7, 2016 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

Rich and decadent dark chocolate truffles with a hint of blood orange. These are the best homemade candy!

Over the last few years it’s gotten increasingly harder to schedule plans with friends. Between kids, family obligations and the seemingly speed-of-light passing of time, everyone’s schedules fill up fast. The “let’s do this again, and soon this time!” inevitably turns into the passing of another two months until another date is made. Top that with the winter season leading to at least one child being sick and getting friends together really becomes an unfortunate challenge.

So when we were able to get four of our favorite couples (plus kids!) to our place for dinner, we wanted to make it lots of fun. The night started early (5pm ha!) so that everyone could bring their babies without worrying about childcare. It was definitely a risk to sign up for 4 children under the age of three in one apartment during the witching hour, but we went for it.

Matt and I decided to go Mexican with dinner and break all the rules by making a recipe for chicken enchiladas we hadn’t cooked before (luckily America’s Test Kitchen is always dependable!). Plus, there was plenty of chips and guacamole to go around, even after L ate half of the guac. Add to that cilantro lime rice, Mexican-spiced beans, cumin-roasted cauliflower and salad.

I kept things seasonal and festive with spicy blood orange margaritas (that I’m still thinking about) and thought, why not have a blood orange dessert as well? So these Blood Orange truffles (along with a soon-to-come recipe for banana pudding) made their appearance.

Now, I know that orange and chocolate is a traditional flavor pairing that some people love, but historically it really hasn’t appealed to me. However, these truffles were quite extraordinary. The blood orange brought a fruitfulness to the truffles that complimented the bitterness of the dark chocolate at just the right level. That flavor, with a sensational melt-in-your-mouth richness made them a huge hit. In fact, my friends were a bit in disbelief that I had in fact made the truffles myself.

I promise you, though, that these are a lot easier than you might think. The most complicated part is tediously rolling the individual truffles but it’s very much worth the effort. Additionally, you can make these up to one week ahead of time if stored in the fridge. Just make sure not to eat them all before you gift or serve them. That is no easy feat.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blood Orange Chocolate Truffles

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Rich and decadent dark chocolate truffles with a hint of blood orange. These are the best homemade candy!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 20 truffles

Ingredients

79 milliliters (1/3 cup) heavy whipping cream
1g (1 teaspoon) blood orange zest (~1 orange)
142g chopped semi-sweet chocolate
57g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) blood orange juice (~1/3 orange)
10g (2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder (you won’t use all of it)

Instructions

Combine heavy whipping cream and orange zest in a small heavy-duty saucepan; heat over low-medium heat
Bring to a light rolling boil then remove from heat; immediately pour through a mesh strainer over chocolate and whisk until smooth
Whisk mixture until chocolate is completely melted; whisk in butter and orange juice until smooth
Chill mixture in refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight
Once firm, use a small or cookie dough scoop to form small ball-shaped truffles; they will be slightly soft and sticky; freeze for fifteen minutes to set
Once set, roll truffles in cocoa powder and store in an airtight container in refrigerator until ready to eat
Bring to room temperature before serving

Notes

Adapted from my lemon truffles
May store in refrigerator up to one week

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Easy Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

February 8, 2016 Keep It Sweet 1 Comment

Healthier banana chocolate chip muffins are easy to make and great for grab-and-go breakfasts. No mixer needed to make this muffin recipe!

L’s appetite hasn’t been that great over the last week (teething? cold? toddler-itis? who knows!). But you better believe when I gave him one of these banana chocolate chip muffins that within minutes the muffin had disappeared and there was chocolate smeared all over his face. It took a lot of convincing to get him to go back to eating his hard boiled egg afterwards.

I’ve made a few different versions of this healthified banana muffin but this is my favorite one. It’s moist from the bananas while still hearty thanks to the whole wheat flour and oat bran. Plus, there are just enough chocolate chips to make the muffins feel treat-like while still being snack and even breakfast-friendly.

Did I mention that these banana muffins are easy to make? No mixing bowl required! In fact, this is one of those recipes I can actually make while L is toddling around the apartment (aka sprinkling a trail of cheerios all over the floor and yelling “ha” (hot) at the oven.

Easy Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Healthier banana chocolate chip muffins are easy to make and great for grab-and-go breakfasts. No mixer needed to make this muffin recipe!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Breakfast

Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients

155g (1 cup) whole wheat flour
55g (1/2 cup) oat bran
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
1g (¼ teaspoon) salt
(1/2g) ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
210g (2/3 cup) mashed ripe bananas (~2 medium)
106g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar ->106g
60g (1/4 cup, packed) light brown sugar ->60g
80g ( 2 x-large) egg whites
2 milliliters (½ teaspoon) vanilla extract
237 milliliters (1 cup) low fat buttermilk
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) canola oil
110g (2/3 cup) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oat bran, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips (bananas through buttermilk)
Add dry ingredients and whisk just until combined (batter will be wet); fold in chocolate chips
Use a large cookie dough scoop or ladle to evenly distribute batter into cups (each cup should be about ¾ full)
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center
Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature up to three days or in freezer up to one month (defrost overnight in container or in microwave for about 30 seconds)

Notes

Significantly adapted from these muffins.

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Fudgy Brownies with Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream

February 3, 2016 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

Super thick and fudgy brownies covered in bakery-style vanilla frosting. A great alternative to cake for a celebration.

I’ve talked in the past about how, as a kid, I never wanted traditional birthday cake. For years my first choice dessert was a Baskin-Robbins’ ice cream pie followed by brownies as a close second. Cookie cake didn’t fall too far behind. My poor buttercream-loving mother is probably hanging her head remembering those days.

I’ve since come around and love birthday cake, but all of those other desserts still hold a special place in my sweets-loving heart.

Of course the brownies I remember were just brownies. Fudgy? Yes. Delicious? Yes? But frosting, definitely not. I really was missing out as a child. This fluffy buttercream isn’t necessary but man oh man does it add something special to the brownies. It’s creamy and light and makes the thick fudgy brownie extra indulgent. Brownies never looked so good for a birthday before!

Not celebrating any birthdays any time soon? Make them for Super Bowl. Your football-loving friends will love you too!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Fudgy Brownies with Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream

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Super thick and fudgy brownies covered in bakery-style vanilla frosting. A great alternative to cake for a celebration.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 30

Ingredients

Brownies:

256g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
340g (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter
415g (~2 cups) granulated sugar
400g (~1¾ cups, packed) light brown sugar
275g (~5 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
89 milliliters (6 tablespoon) strong brewed espresso (4 grams (1½ tablespoons) espresso + 89 milliliters (6 tablespoons) water))
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
290g (~2 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt

Vanilla Buttercream

280g (19½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
300g (1⅞ cups) powdered sugar
33 milliliters (2¼ tablespoons) milk, any type
11 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
1g (1/8) teaspoon salt

Instructions

For the Brownies:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large pot over low to medium heat; remove when melted
Stir in sugar until combined; stir in eggs, espresso and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool completely before removing from pan prepare frosting

For the Buttercream:

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for eight minutes or until pale and creamy
Add half of powdered sugar, mix on low for 30 seconds
Add remaining powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; mix on low for one minute and then increase speed to medium and beat for six minutes or until very light and fluffy
Use a flat metal spatula to frost the brownies

Notes

Buttercream recipe source: Sweetapolita
Brownies can be baked ahead of time (store well-wrapped in freezer up to one month or at room temperature up to three days); frost day of serving for best results

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Vanilla M&M Shortbread Cookies

February 1, 2016 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

Vanilla bean shortbread cookies are even better when there are M&Ms in them! These shortbread cookies are easy to make and delicious to eat. Use pretty pink M&Ms for a Valentine’s Day treat!

I love that there are plenty of excuses to bake around Valentine’s Day. Kid’s class parties, sweet treats for friends, and of course something special just for two. I’ve been spreading the love to some neighbors, doormen and even real estate brokers. And you know what, I don’t hear any complaining;-)

These cookies are fairly easy to make and appear so simple (while pretty), but I assure you they are anything but boring. The vanilla bean paste adds an extra special flavor element to the buttery shortbread cookie and then of course, there are M&Ms. I don’t know what it is about an M&M cookie that is so appealing but they never, ever disappoint. Make these to spread some Valentine’s Day love in your world.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Vanilla M&M Shortbread Cookies

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Vanilla bean shortbread cookies are even better when there are M&Ms in them! These shortbread cookies are easy to make and delicious to eat. Use pretty pink M&Ms for a Valentine’s Day treat!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
150g (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
120g (3/4 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or replace with additional teaspoon of vanilla extract)
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
265g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted
320g (1⅓ cups) M&MS

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or slipat; set aside
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy
Add vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste and salt and beat until well combined
Stir in flour; stir in M&Ms
Scoop dough with a medium cookie dough scoop (~2 tablespoons each) onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until very light brown around the edges (bake for less time if looking for a slightly chewier cookie)
Allow cookies to cool on cooling rack
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to one week or in the freezer for up to two months

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

January 25, 2016 Keep It Sweet 6 Comments

Cookie dough dip made with brown butter, cream cheese and lots of chocolate chips is a perfect super bowl treat!

Sometimes I’m a really good wife.

And sometimes, I make pure crack cookie dough dip when my husband’s on a diet. Sorry, Matt.

But can you blame me? We were in the midst of a massive snowstorm with an animal a toddler to keep busy and Super Bowl recipes to create. Brown butter cookie dough was clearly the only option.

Truthfully, if Matt had caved and eaten some, I think he would have agreed that each bite was worth every.single.calorie. But he stuck to his healthy eating and I was left to enjoy the creamy, sweet, deliciousness all to myself. Well, almost… I actually brought some to my neighbors (snow day mvp?), because I like to fit into my jeans, too.

I think I made a version of cookie dough dip a few years ago when it was first making waves around the internet. It was good and everything, but this brown butter version is even better. It’s a super indulgent and delicious way to enjoy the nuttiness of a deep brown butter-infused dessert. And cookie dough dip is pretty much the ultimate recipe to make for the Super Bowl because it’s a dip. It goes perfectly with the pretzels everyone’s already snacking on but also pairs well with graham crackers and animal crackers. Plus, it’s super easy to whip up and you can make it ahead of time and then keep it in the fridge until party time. One more bonus? It’s accidentally gluten-free. Extra party friendly.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

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Cookie dough dip made with brown butter, cream cheese and lots of chocolate chips is a perfect super bowl treat!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert, Snack

Makes: 3 cups

Ingredients

142g (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
226g (1 8-ounce package) light cream cheese, softened at room temperature
117g (1/2 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
80g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
190g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

*Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and place in fridge until completely cooled for (about 30 minutes)
Once butter has cooled, place in the large bowl of a mixer with paddle attachment; add cream cheese and beat on medium-high speed or until well combined
Add sugars, vanilla and salt and beat on medium speed until completely combined
Stir in chocolate chips
Serve immediately or store covered in refrigerator up to three days
Serve with graham crackers and pretzels

Notes

*Make sure you give yourself enough time to completely cool the brown butter(about thirty minutes); once that is done the dip takes only about five minutes to make!
Adapted from the many recipes online found by searching “cookie dough dip”

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Peanut Butter Cup Football Cookie Cake

January 18, 2016 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

Peanut butter cup cookie cake shaped and decorated like a football for Super Bowl!

While you should be excited about making a fun football-themed treat for Super Bowl, you should be really, really excited about how good this cookie cake is. I warned you about the peanut butter treats this month and this cookie cake packs a serious peanut butter punch. The cookie dough bakes up so that the cookie cake is chewy and fudgy (can something be fudgy if it isn’t chocolate based?). Bonus points for chunks of peanut butter cups in every bite. You probably won’t care so much about who wins the game because this dessert is clearly winning.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Cup Football Cookie Cake

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Peanut butter cup cookie cake shaped and decorated like a football for Super Bowl!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Cake:

130g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
12g (1 ½ teaspoons) baking soda
113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
258g (1 cup) creamy peanut butter (not all natural)
160g (~¾ cup) granulated sugar
117g (~1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
100g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
290g (1 3/5 cup) chopped peanut butter cups

Milk Chocolate Glaze

120g (3/4 cup) milk chic chips
43g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) corn syrup
2 milliliters (1/2 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract

For decorating:

20g (3 tablespoons) white chocolate chips

Instructions

Make the cookie cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees ; put square piece of parchment paper on bottom of an 11-inch tart pan (corners should slightly overlap edges of pan) and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined; reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined; stir in peanut butter cups
Evenly press cookie dough into tart pan; bake 18-20 minutes until edges are brown and a toothpick comes out clean from center
Allow to cool completely (about three hours) and then carefully remove from pan by sliding onto a cutting board with parchment paper still on bottom
Cut a two inch strip out from center of cookie cake (each slice should be 4 ½ inches from edge of cookie cake); carefully place two outside pieces of cookie cake on a large serving plate; push them together so that cut edges are touching and cookie is now shaped like a football

Make glaze

Combine chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a small pot over low-medium heat whisking constantly until melted and smoothie; remove from heat and stir in vanilla
Pour glaze carefully over cookie cake so that all surface except for edges is covered
Allow to cool for 15 minutes
Decorate with white chocolate chips for football appearance

Notes

Cover carefully with seran wrap and store at room temperature; best enjoyed within two days
Cookie cake can be frozen without decorations; wrap well with tin foil and freeze up to one month

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Valentine’s Day Brownie Pops

January 13, 2016 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

Fudgy delicious brownie pops made from scratch! These heart-shaped treats are perfect for Valentine’s Day!

I was in the mood to make something pretty, fun and ultra delicious for Valentine’s Day this year. And while I love cake pops, the idea of brownie pops came to mind for a change. So instead of making a cake AND buttercream I made the ultimate fudgy brownies and turned them into pops. The texture of the brownies is actually perfect for molding (they are that fudgy) so no frosting needed! Plus, dipping the pops in chocolate really seals in the moisture. It makes them ideal for when you need to make a treat ahead of time. Class parties, Valentine’s Day soirees, or even bridal showers would be perfect excuses for these pretty heart-shaped pops.

When I started making them, I actually made balls at first. And then in a moment of déjà vu, I remembered that my mom and I had made hundreds of heart-shaped cake pops a few years ago for an Anthropologie event. And what do you know, making a ball shape into a heart is actually super easy. You just have to pinch the bottom, press a thumb into the top and voila. Something extra festive for a love-themed occasion.

And a little confession so you know just how much we loved these. The recipe makes about 50 heart-shaped brownie pops and I only shared a few of them. Maybe a dozen at most? I just couldn’t bring myself to give any more away. Oops.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Valentine's Day Brownie Pops

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Fudgy delicious brownie pops made from scratch! These heart-shaped treats are perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 4 dozen pops (easily doubles)

Ingredients

½ pan of The Ultimate Fudgy Brownies, cooled
4-dozen 6-inch lollipop sticks
600g semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or in disks
½ - 1 cup colored sprinkles

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside
Cut sharp edges and corners off of brownies; break remaining brownie into pieces and place in a large bowl; mush together into a fudgy consistency
Use a small cookie dough scoop or large spoon to scoop balls (about 1 tablespoon each) of dough onto wax paper
Use your hands to roll the scoops into balls
Cover with another sheet of wax paper and place in freezer for at least two hours
Prepare another baking sheet with wax paper for finished pops, alternatively, have a large piece of styrofoam available for drying brownie pops
Once balls are frozen, you can make the pops
Put chocolate in a heat-safe bowl and place in over a pot of simmering water; stir chocolate constantly until melted (you can also melt in the microwave)
Remove balls from freezer; dip the top of each lollipop stick about ¼ of an inch into the melted chocolate and immediately press into brownie ball two thirds of the way through
(Optional) To make hearts: Pinch the bottom of each ball together with your fingers to form a rounded upside down triangle. Then, press your thumb into the top of the pop to create a dip for the top of the heart. Smooth out any imperfections by carefully using your fingers to mold the shape. Chill pops in freezer for an additional 15- 30 minutes or until firm again
Once complete, dip each pop, one at a time, into melted chocolate; lightly tap off excess chocolate and place cake pop on wax paper or stick into styrofoam; decorate with sprinkles immediately before chocolate hardens
Repeat until all pops are dipped and decorated
Allow to cool and for chocolate to harden before serving

Notes

Brownie can be made one day before making pops; just make sure it is wrapped tightly with seran or tin foil (can also freeze well-wrapped up to one month)
Cake pops can be made up to one week in advance of serving

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Valentine's Day Brownie Pops

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The fudgiest brownies ever.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: One 9x13 pan of brownies

Ingredients

256g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
340g (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter
415g (~2 cups) granulated sugar
400g (~1¾ cups, packed) light brown sugar
275g (~5 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
89 milliliters (6 tablespoon) strong brewed espresso (4 grams (1½ tablespoons) espresso + 89 milliliters (6 tablespoons) water))
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
290g (~2 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large pot over low to medium heat; remove when melted
Stir in sugar until combined; stir in eggs, espresso and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool completely before using

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Grown Up Puppy Chow Popcorn

January 11, 2016 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

Salted chocolate and peanut butter popcorn dusted with a light layer of powdered sugar.

I grew up in a popcorn family. During high school, we’d eat gigantic bowls of air-popped popcorn doused in Old Bay seasoning as an afternoon snack. At night, it’s a frequent TV-watching accessories at my parents’. And around Christmas, my mom and I bought at least 5 big popcorn tins between the two of us. So when we were planning Christmas day festivities with an afternoon of gingerbread house making, an indulgent popcorn treat seemed to be the perfect snack.

In fact, my sister and I have been talking about making puppy chow popcorn forever. Chocolate, peanut butter, crunchy popcorn, how could we not?

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe like reducing the powdered sugar (trust me, you don’t need it any more sweet) and adding some sea salt, because, duh. This recipe makes a huge batch of chocolate and peanut butter covered popcorn for any snacking occasion. And since the biggest snacking occasion of the year is coming up soon (ahem, the Super Bowl), I just had to share it. Trust me when I tell you to make this. My popcorn-loving family was very, very happy.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Grown Up Puppy Chow Popcorn

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Salted chocolate and peanut butter popcorn dusted with a light layer of powdered sugar.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Snack, Dessert

Makes: 12 cups

Ingredients

70g (10 cups) popped popcorn
250g (1½ cups) semi sweet chocolate chips or disks
130g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
57g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, in ½ inch thick slices
4g (1 teaspoon) sea salt
55g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar

Instructions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside
Place popcorn in a very large bowl (you will need room for stirring)
Place chocolate, peanut butter and butter in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup; heat in microwave for 30 seconds and then stir; repeat until mixture is completely melted; stir in salt
Pour over popcorn and stir until completely coated
Sprinkle powdered sugar over popcorn and then stir until completely mixed; spread out over prepared baking sheet and place in fridge to chill for 45 minutes or until set

Notes

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

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Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies

December 18, 2015 Keep It Sweet 2 Comments

Fudgy and gooey chocolate cookies full of intense chocolate flavor, melted marshmallows and peppermint pieces make the best Christmas dessert.

It’s beginning to smell a lot like… cookies! I made this batch of Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies for Matt’s co-workers as a holiday treat, but struggled not to eat many, many of them myself. Even L got to try a few bites and was not happy when I told him they were all gone. Sorry, buddy! I know the feeling.

Actually, these are similar (er, almost the same) as my other Hot Cocoa Cookies. But I didn’t feel like those photos did the cookies justice and I wanted to make another version that just screamed holiday flavors. Plus, the people in Matt’s office have been big fans of some other peppermint chocolate desserts and I knew these would be a hit.

A few things to note about these cookies: 1) They are big! They spread a lot during baking and get just a little bit gooey (in a good way) from the marshmallows so make sure to leave plenty of space between them for baking 2) They are ultra rich. If you love chocolate, like really love chocolate, like I do, these will make you very happy. 3) As a result of the gooeyness, be careful when storing them. I had no problems when I layered them with parchment paper before freezing.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies

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Fudgy and gooey chocolate cookies full of intense chocolate flavor, melted marshmallows and peppermint pieces make the best Christmas dessert.

Makes: ~2 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
170g (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
200g (7 ounces) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
160g (~1 cup + 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (3/4 teaspoon) baking powder
2g (1/2 teaspoon salt)
150g (~3 large whole) eggs at room temperature
215g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
235g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
90g (1⅓ cups) mini marshmallows
105g 2/.3 cup peppermint crunch baking pieces
100g (~1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
Place semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter in a microwave-safe bowl
Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth (alternatively, you can melt the butter and chocolate in a heavy duty pop over medium heat stirring constantly); set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla; beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and pale in color
Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate
When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix; stir in marshmallows, peppermint pieces and chocolate chips
Use a large cookie dough scoop and place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart (cookies will spread while baking)
Bake cookies for 12 minutes and set aside on a wire rack to cool

Notes

Adapted from these Hot Cocoa Cookies
Recipe can be doubled
Store cookies at room temperature up to 5 days in a ziplock bag or freeze for up to two months; separate layers of cookies with parchment paper to avoid sticking

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Hot Cocoa Cookies

Peppermint Mocha Truffles

Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies

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Ginger Pecan Candy Crack

December 16, 2015 Keep It Sweet 3 Comments

Crazy addicting Christmas candy in a very good way. This sweet and salty “crack” is made with toasted pecans, ginger spiced caramel and dark chocolate.

Last week my sister and fiancé had us over for a fun weeknight Chanukah dinner. Jess and Quoc made a delicious dinner that included perfectly crispy latkes, salmon with dill yogurt sauce and salad with roasted squash. Just ask L, he hijacked most of my salmon and ate his weight in latkes. Chanukah success! I brought a green vegetable along with some cookies (my sister thought these tasted like a chai latte).

There were also “cookies” there, though, that tasted like some sort of ginger toffee caramel hybrid. I had one bite and then couldn’t stop going back for more. The sweet and salty flavor combination with the added ginger spice was addicting. And to torture treat myself, I made my own interpretation to share with you.

This crunchy, sweet and salty candy treat is currently calling to me from a tupperware inside my fridge. I made a big batch and take a couple of bites worth almost every time I open the door. I just can’t help myself! What I love about this treat is that it differs from the other “crack” recipes out there by having an added spice and a hefty dose of toasted pecans. Oh, and don’t let the term “candy” fool you. There are no candy thermometers used in this recipe and it’s actually pretty straightforward. The ease of making it is either really great or really dangerous, You decide.

Ginger Pecan Candy Crack

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Crazy addicting Christmas candy in a very good way. This sweet and salty “crack” is made with toasted pecans, ginger spiced caramel and dark chocolate.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~5 cups

Ingredients

340g (3 cups) pecans
227 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter
230 grams (1 cup packed) light brown sugar
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) table salt
1g (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
½g (1/4 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
2 milliliters (1/2 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
255 grams (1½ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
flaky sea salt to taste (I used about ¾ teaspoon)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper
Top parchment paper with pecans and toast in oven for 8 minutes or until fragrant; set aside
In a large heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, stirring over medium heat until it begins to boil; once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes; it will thicken a bit as it cooks
Remove from the heat and add the table salt, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the pecans
Bake the for 12-15 minutes or until all of the caramel topping is lightly bubbling (watch carefully at end of cooking to make sure it doesn’t burn burn; if it appears to be browning too much, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees)
Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips; let stand five minutes, and then carefully spread them evenly across the caramel and sprinkle with flaky sea salt
Chill in refrigerator for about two hours or until firm; break into pieces by hand
Store it in an air-tight container in refrigerator or cool space for best results
Enjoy within one week

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Peppermint Chocolate Pavlova Parfaits

December 9, 2015 Keep It Sweet 1 Comment

Holiday parfaits layered with peppermint whipped cream, fluffy meringue and shaved chocolate.

I’m having a bit of a moment with pavlovas. Something seemingly simple can be playful and surprising when you translate it into a new and different flavor combination. Over the summer we enjoyed a refreshing lemon berry combo then warmed up in the fall with cinnamon and caramelized apples. Now we are turning towards Christmas with peppermint and chocolate.

I’m going to be honest and tell you that my main motivation for a new pavlova recipe was the extra meringue stored in my freezer. Since I’d bagged it up and then packed a million more things in there it was somewhat crumbled so I decided to make another pavlova parfait. It’s actually the perfect dessert for serving at a dinner party because you can make pretty individual servings for everyone to enjoy. On top of that, it’s naturally gluten-free so if you have a crowd, you don’t have to worry about some dietary constraints. Dessert storage win!

This dessert was a huge hit with my friends who didn’t even get the pretty servings. Theirs got compiled into a big tupperware for easy transporting. Besides, with peppermint whipped cream no one was overly concerned with how their dessert looked.

Peppermint Chocolate Pavlova Parfaits

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Holiday parfaits layered with peppermint whipped cream, fluffy meringue and shaved chocolate.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

12 cocktail glasses or glass bowls
1 pavlova broken into bite sized pieces (can substitute broken meringue cookies as well)
591 milliliters (2 ½ cups) heavy whipping cream
4 milliliters (3/4 teaspoon) peppermint extract
80g (6 tablespoons) granulated sugar
8g shaved dark chocolate

Instructions

Prepare peppermint whipped cream; in the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream and peppermint extract at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and slowly add granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form
Put about ¼ of a cup of whipped cream on the bottom of each glass; top each with about ½ tablespoon shaved chocolate; layer with ⅓ cup of broken pavlova in each glass;
Dollop remaining whipped cream on top of each parfait along with additional shaved chocolate
Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to enjoy

Notes

Make ahead tips:
Pavlova can be made and kept at room temperature up to two days or frozen up to one month (store in a ziplock bag carefully because it is delicate)
Parfaits best prepared and served on same day but can be enjoyed within three days

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Chocolate Covered Oreos, Three Ways

December 7, 2015 Keep It Sweet 14 Comments

Chocolate covered Oreos are the best homemade Christmas gift! The three different recipes for this easy no-bake treat are so much fun.

Chocolate covered Oreos aren’t exactly a new thing. I’ve been making them for years and have seen them sold in many candy stores. Usually, though, they are plain milk or dark chocolate. After spotting a variety of flavors at Trader Joe’s (and yes, I know, they aren’t technically “Oreos”), and using lots of self-restraint not to buy the big tin, I decided to make my own. That way, I was able to pick my favorite flavor combinations and control what chocolate I use! Bonus, they make a great treat for gift giving and bringing to holiday parties.

For this post I made three variations of Chocolate Covered Oreos:

Milk chocolate with dark chocolate drizzle
Peppermint dark chocolate (perfect for Christmas!)
Milk chocolate peanut butter (peanut butter IN the chocolate AND topping!)

Even though I love baking holiday cookies, it’s nice to change it up once and a while with something that looks extra pretty and fancy (people are always impressed with chocolate dipped anything). Plus, I can’t bring myself to give someone store-bought food gifts. Sidenote: I actually love when people buy me food gifts. Is that weird?

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chocolate Covered Oreos

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Milk chocolate covered sandwich cookies drizzled with dark chocolate.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen

Ingredients

500g [url:1]good quality milk chocolate[/hturl], in disks or roughly chopped
10g (2 teaspoons) unsalted butter
2 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies
110g good quality dark chocolate, in disks or roughly chopped

Instructions

Place milk chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring vigorously in-between; continue until melted and smooth
Use two forks to dip cookies into melted chocolate
Place dark chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl; melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring vigorously in-between; continue until melted and smooth
Drizzle dark chocolate over cookies
Chill in refrigerator for one hour or until ready to serve or package; best kept in a cool dry place but will stay nice longer in refrigerator

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5.0 from 2 reviews

Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Oreos

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Chocolate sandwich cookies coated in a peanut butter milk chocolate shell and topped with peanut butter chips.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen

Ingredients

460g good quality milk chocolate, in disks or roughly chopped
40g (2 tablespoons) creamy peanut butter (do not use natural)
2 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies
80g (1/2 cup) peanut butter chips, roughly chopped

Instructions

Place milk chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring vigorously in-between; continue until melted and smooth
Use two forks to dip cookies into melted chocolate; immediately sprinkle with peanut butter chips
Chill in refrigerator for one hour or until ready to serve or package; best kept in a cool dry place but will stay nice longer in refrigerator

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5.0 from 2 reviews

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Covered Oreos

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Peppermint chocolate covered sandwich cookies are perfect for Christmas.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen

Ingredients

500g good quality dark chocolate, in disks or roughly chopped
10g (2 teaspoons) unsalted butter
2 milliliters (1/2 teaspoon) peppermint extract
2 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies
70g (1/2 cup) peppermint baking pieces

Instructions

Place dark chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring vigorously in-between; continue until melted and smooth; stir in peppermint extract
Use two forks to dip cookies into melted chocolate; immediately sprinkle with peppermint baking pieces
Chill in refrigerator for one hour or until ready to serve or package; best kept in a cool dry place but will stay nice longer in refrigerator

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Happy Hanukkah!!

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Cinnamon Cake with Chile Chocolate Buttercream

December 2, 2015 Keep It Sweet 2 Comments

A light and airy cinnamon cake frosted with the fluffiest, creamiest chile chocolate buttercream.

Here’s the thing. This post is all about the buttercream.

The buttercream, it is so stinking good. Can you see the little flecks of cayenne pepper hiding in there? Can you see how light, creamy and just spoonable it is? I wish I could pass the spatula full of frosting around to each and every one of you because this buttercream is on a different level. It’s spicy, but not really spicy. In fact, my mom noted that the spices actually enhance the chocolate flavor. You can tell there is a little something special in the frosting, but without having an explanation, you might not be able to pinpoint the combination of ancho chile powder, cinnamon and cayenne.

The frosting was a perfect compliment to a cinnamon flavored cake. And while I do love cinnamon I can’t wait to make the frosting again and slather it all over my favorite chocolate cake. I actually went back and forth on posting this cake at all, because the texture of the cinnamon cake didn’t blow me out of the water. But like I said, the buttercream was phenomenal. So do yourself a favor and make the frosting immediately.

Cinnamon Cake with Chile Chocolate Buttercream

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A light and airy cinnamon cake frosted with the fluffiest, creamiest chile chocolate buttercream.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

1 recipe for two-layer cinnamon cake, cooled completely

Chile Chocolate Buttercream:

227g milk chocolate, melted and cooled for 30 minutes
450g (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
360g (2¼ cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
45 milliliters (3 tablespoons) cold heavy cream
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
2g (1 teaspoon) ancho chile powder
1 ½g (3/4 teaspoon) cinnamon
1g (1/2 teaspoon) cayenne pepper

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until very light and creamy
Add half of sugar and mix on low speed for one minute; add remaining sugar and mix again on low speed
Beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy; reduce speed to low and slowly add cream, vanilla, and seasonings; scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on low again and slowly add the melted chocolate
Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes or until frosting is creamy and light
Use a flat metal spatula to frost the first layer of cake; top with second layer and cover entire cake with frosting
Store cake in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving
Cake is best enjoyed within three days of frosting

Notes

Frosting adapted from Food and Wine
I love, love this frosting but only “liked” the cake. As a result, I’m posting a link to the cake recipe shown in the photos but recommending that you slather the frosting all over my favorite chocolate cake or add 1½ grams (3/4 teaspoon) of ground cinnamon to the recipe for vanilla bean cake layers (just add it with the salt).

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Peppermint Mocha Truffles

November 25, 2015 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

Rich dark chocolate truffles with a hint of coffee and splash of peppermint. The best no-bake edible Christmas gift!

Peppermint mocha is my ultimate holiday weakness. The drink, the sweets, everything. In fact, despite the fact that I’ve mostly given up fake sweeteners and usually drink coffee sans sugar, the skinny peppermint mocha latte is my once or twice a year guilty pleasure treat that I truly savor. Last year I remember drinking one as we took L, just a newborn then, on a walk. It was a chilly late fall day and he seemed to be going through an eat-every-hour growth spurt. That peppermint mocha latte was my little break.

There is something so sinful about peppermint mocha treats. The rich deep chocolate flavor combined with a pop of mint is so satisfying. In making these truffles, I chose to go with an extra-dark chocolate for a base to keep them from being too sweet. That, combined with some instant espresso and a splash of peppermint extract, creates a great balanced flavor.

The recipe isn’t all that complicated. In fact, the hardest part is just rolling out all the truffles. I’d even recommend doubling or tripling the batch if you plan on making them for gifts or parties.

Peppermint Mocha Truffles

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Rich dark chocolate truffles with a hint of coffee and splash of peppermint. The best no-bake edible Christmas gift!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen truffles

Ingredients

79 milliliters (1/3 cup) heavy whipping cream
3g (1 teaspoon) instant espresso
142g finely chopped dark chocolate (72% or higher), any type
57g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
½ milliliter (1/8 teaspoon) peppermint extract
Toppings-I like peppermint baking pieces (finely chopped), crushed candy canes and holiday sprinkles

Instructions

Whisk together heavy whipping cream and espresso in a small heavy-duty saucepan; heat over low-medium heat
Bring to a light rolling boil then remove from heat and immediately pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth
Whisk mixture until chocolate is completely melted; whisk in butter and peppermint extract until smooth
Chill mixture in refrigerator for two hours or until it is firm
Once firm, use a small or cookie dough scoop to form small ball-shaped truffles
Roll truffles in topping and store in an airtight container in refrigerator until ready to eat
Bring to room temperature before serving

Notes

Adapted from the Lindt Chocolate Passion Recipe Book
Truffles should be enjoyed within two weeks for best results
Recipe can be easily doubled

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Hot Cocoa Cookies

November 18, 2015 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetenTheSeason #CollectiveBias #ad

Rich, fudgy and ultra chocolatey cookies with melted marshmallows taste like the best cup of hot cocoa you’ve ever had!

It’s no secret that I love baking cookies, especially for the holidays. While I don’t bake and ship thousands of cookies to customers anymore, I still go through many, many batches to give as gifts and bring to parties. Holiday season is cookie season!

Since I like to do a lot of baking throughout the holidays, it helps to have some good go-to recipes that are fairly easy (none of that messy rolling dough, etc.) and exceptionally delicious. It’s even better when I can find some inexpensive ingredients (thanks, Walmart!) that happen to come together to make an ultra rich and satisfying cookie. And this Hot Cocoa Cookie is all that and more. In fact, quite a few people said it was the “best” cookie they’d ever had.

(Just an aside, I had to go to Walmart TWICE to get the ingredients I needed because the first time I actually FORGOT my wallet. Each time, I was happy to find all of the baking ingredients conveniently set up for holiday baking.)

These cookies start with a lot of chocolate (BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate and BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate), almost a full POUND in one batch. Then they are finished with more chocolate (chips) and JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows. The cookies are super fudgy and the ultimate chocolate experience. Imagine the best hot chocolate you’ve ever had, not the kind from the packet, the kind where you are basically drinking liquid heaven, and then transform that hot chocolate into a cookie.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Hot Cocoa Cookies

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Rich, fudgy and ultra chocolatey cookies with melted marshmallows taste like the best cup of hot cocoa you’ve ever had!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~2 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
170g (6 ounces) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, roughly chopped
200g (7 ounces) BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate, roughly chopped
160g (~1 cup + 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (3/4 teaspoon) baking powder
2g (1/2 teaspoon salt)
150g (~3 large whole) eggs at room temperature
215g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
235g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
10 milliliters / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200g (~1 cup) milk chocolate chips
100g (1½ cups) JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
Place semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter in a microwave-safe bowl
Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth (alternatively, you can melt the butter and chocolate in a heavy duty pop over medium heat stirring constantly); set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla; beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and pale in color
Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate
When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix; stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows
Use a large cookie dough scoop and place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart;
Bake cookies for 12 minutes and set aside on a wire rack to cool

Notes

Recipe can be doubled
Store cookies at room temperature up to 5 days in a ziplock bag or freeze for up to two months; separate layers of cookies with parchment paper to avoid sticking

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Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Blondies

November 16, 2015 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

Rich brown butter blondies with toasted pecans and rich dark chocolate are a perfect Thanksgiving dessert!

It was very difficult for me to set aside my own personal distaste for nuts in blondies and brownies and throw some crunchy toasted pecans into these blondies. But Thanksgiving is coming and it would be a shame to let it pass by without a dessert that combines my love for blondies with an infamous Thanksgiving dessert.

I actually never cared for pecan pie until I started putting chocolate in it. So, I figured if I put enough chocolate in these blondies, all would be right with the world and they would actually be quite delicious. Mission accomplished!

These blondies start with everyone’s favorite brown butter which adds a warm, nutty flavor to the bars. Then they are loaded with brown sugar (necessary), chopped dark chocolate (also necessary to maximize chocolate enjoyment) and toasted pecans (important for flavor development). They won’t take you too long to make and don’t require any complex baking skills. In fact, you don’t even need a mixer to make these blondies (or any of my blondies for that matter).

Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Blondies

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Rich brown butter blondies with toasted pecans and rich dark chocolate are a perfect Thanksgiving dessert!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

100g (1 cup) pecans, roughly chopped
112g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
350g (~1½ cups packed) light brown sugar
200g (~1½ cups) all-purpose flour
8g (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
110g (2 large) whole eggs
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract (bourbon based preferred)
112g (~3/4 cup) good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped (use the highest percent cocoa you enjoy)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper
Spread pecans out in baking pan and place in oven for five minutes to toast; do not let burn
Remove from oven and set aside to cool
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the butter (stir butter constantly until it turns an amber/light brown color) and remove from heat; stir in sugar until well combined and set aside to cool slightly
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla; whisk in butter and sugar mixture
Whisk in flour mixture until almost combined and then fold in any remaining crumbs with a spatula
Fold in chocolate and toasted pecans until evenly distributed throughout batter
Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 33-37 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set aside to cool for an hour before cutting

Notes

Blondies will stay fresh for up to two days if wrapped or packaged in an air-tight container. They also freeze incredibly well, just wrap them tightly in tin foil.
These blondies are somewhat on the cakier side, be very careful not to overbake.

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Milk Chocolate Tart with Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust

November 13, 2015 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

An easy no-bake dessert that only uses four ingredients! This tart is simple but impressive.

I’m currently joining in on the chorus of everyone asking how Thanksgiving is now less than two weeks away. My theory is that the warm fall weather we have had was actually a huge mind trick. How could Thanksgiving be coming if I barely need a jacket?

The good news is that I’ve got a dessert recipe for you that is perfect for dealing with limited holiday prep time. This milk chocolate tart looks impressive and complicated, but it actually is super easy. In fact, this tart is no-bake. Yes, three cheers for a dessert that won’t put pressure on your oven itinerary for Thanksgiving!

And beyond all that, the tart tastes pretty extraordinary. The peanut butter pretzel crust is kind of amazing. It’s crunchy and salty and, well, it’s made with peanut butter. The filling? The filling is creamy, rich and decadent. I’ve noticed that milk chocolate doesn’t get enough praise in the elevated dessert world and this tart is telling me it really should get some more love.

So while I’m still mildly panicked about all the things I want to do before Thanksgiving, I’m just going to go ahead and enjoy a big slice of this chocolate tart and not worry about it too much.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Milk Chocolate Tart with Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust

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An easy no-bake dessert that only uses four ingredients! This tart is simple but impressive.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

Filling:

340g (12 ounces) good quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped
355 milliliters (1 ½ cups) heavy cream

Crust:

130g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
200g (2 cups) crushed salted pretzels plus additional for topping tart (optional)

Instructions

Make the filling:

Place chocolate in a large heat-safe bowl and set aside
In a small saucepan, bring cream to a rolling boil over medium high heat (do not stir) and then immediately pour over chocolate; let sit for five minutes and then whisk until completely smooth
Let cool at room temperature for one hour and make crust

Prepare crust:

In a medium bowl, melt peanut butter in microwave by heating for 15 seconds, stirring and repeating until easy to stir; stir in pretzel crumbs
Press mixture into a 11-inch tart pan so that it is evenly spread out and up the edges; place in refrigerator until ready to use
Once ready, pour chocolate mixture into chilled crust; then chill tart in refrigerator 4 hours (or up to 24 hours)
Use additional pretzels to decorate tart before serving if desired

Notes

Significantly adapted from Food and Wine
The filling requires one hour of cool time and then the tart requires four hours of chill time before serving.
The crust may be a little crumbly when you remove it from tart pan.

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Peanut Butter Caramel Bars

November 11, 2015 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

Gooey peanut butter cookie bars are layered with chocolate and salted caramel for a decadent bite-sized treat.

Sometimes you need a dessert that makes you feel good on all levels. When it’s dreary outside or you want to eat your feelings (ahem, me.) there are only certain desserts that will cut it. You need a dessert that just screams comfort. Something decadent, almost familiar, and just plain old delicious.

For me, that’s something that is made with peanut butter and chocolate. Throw in a layer of salted caramel and, well, it just doesn’t get much better than that. These cookie bars are the solution to your bad day. Peanut butter cookie dough (with peanut butter chips!) is layered with melted dark chocolate and rich salted caramel. Then, it’s sealed together with another layer of peanut butter cookie dough. Four perfect layers, one perfect bite-sized treat.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Caramel Bars

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Gooey peanut butter cookie bars are layered with chocolate and salted caramel for a decadent bite-sized treat.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 20 bite-sized bars

Ingredients

130g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
12g (1 ½ teaspoons) baking soda
113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
258 g (1 cup) creamy peanut butter
160g (~¾ cup) granulated sugar
117g (~1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
100g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
180g (~1 cup) peanut butter chips
180g (~1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
⅔ cup salted caramel (preferably homemade)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper with edges coming up the sides and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in peanut butter chips
Wrap half of dough with seran wrap and place in refrigerator; press remaining dough into bottom of prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over top; let sit for ~6 minutes and then carefully spread chocolate chips so that the cookie dough layer is mostly covered
Pour salted caramel over chocolate
Take chilled dough out of fridge and drop tablespoon-sized chunks of dough over top
Place baking pan back in oven for 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and cutting

Notes

Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze wrapped well in tin foil for up to two months

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How to Make a Monkey Smash Cake

November 2, 2015 Keep It Sweet 3 Comments

A chocolate smash cake that looks like a monkey! This first birthday cake is made from scratch and delicious.

Most people were pretty shocked to find out that L’s first taste of something “sweet” was at his first birthday party. It took a lot of restraint, but it definitely made his first experience with sugar a little more special. And of course I wanted to be the one to take credit for my child falling in love with dessert.

I mentioned before that his birthday party wasn’t all smiles, in fact, there were a lot of tears. So when a bunch of people sang happy birthday and we dared to put him in a high chair to try his cake he kind of lost it. Luckily, after some prodding, we managed to get him to eat a few joyful bites.

And later in the day, after a little afternoon nap and in the quiet of our own apartment, the kid went to town. Watching him go at his birthday cake with such delight (two-handed at times) was priceless. I sized down the cake to be 6 inches, but it was still more than enough for a little boy so Matt and I proceeded to grab our own forks and dig in as well. Slices are so overrated.

Anyway, my original plan was just to make L a chocolate cake with chocolate icing because that was my all-time favorite growing up. But when I came across this adorable monkey cake, I changed my plan just a bit. A couple of months ago, L started doing the monkey sound any time you mentioned monkeys or showed them to him in a book, and I just can’t get over it. As a result, I ordered him a monkey Halloween costume and ultimately decided to make a monkey birthday cake.

It’s clearly not perfect, and actually, the very finished product was a little better than the photo above (I lined his face with mini chocolate chips), but I was happy with it. I love that it was pretty easy and you really don’t need any real decorating skills to accomplish the fun design. Plus, the cake was seriously delicious. The chocolate cake was flavorful and moist and the chocolate buttercream was good enough for a few extra finger swipes. The insane sugar high L was on that night, well, it was worth it.

5.0 from 1 reviews

How to Make a Monkey Smash Cake

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A chocolate smash cake that looks like a monkey! This first birthday cake is made from scratch and delicious.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: One 6-inch cake

Ingredients

2 6-inch layers of chocolate cake (recipe below)
Light chocolate buttercream (recipe below)
Dark chocolate buttercream (recipe below)
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
2 regular Oreos

Instructions

Spread about ¼ cup light chocolate buttercream over one layer of cake; top with second layer of cake
With a small offset spatula, spread, use the light chocolate buttercream and spread a circle in center of top cake layer; spread additional light chocolate buttercream under the circle in a big arc rounding the edges to make “cheeks” for the monkey
Use a clean offset spatula to spread dark chocolate buttercream around the face of the monkey (careful around the edges) and around sides of cake
Use chocolate chips OR pipe dark chocolate buttercream to make eyes, nose and mouth for monkey; line the edges of monkey’s face with chocolate chips where different buttercreams meet if desired
Take each Oreo and carefully tuck them in (1/3 of the cookie) to each side of the cake where layers meet for monkey’s ears

Notes

You may have extra buttercream
Store cake lightly covered in a cake box or with seran wrap at room temperature up to two days

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Cake

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: Two 6-inch cake layers

Ingredients

175g (~1⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
40g (~1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
½g (1/8 teaspoon) salt
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
250g (~1 cup + 3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
75g (1 large whole + 1 egg yolk) eggs at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla
215 milliliters (7 fluid ounces) water

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 6-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat one minute at medium speed
Reduce speed of mixer to low and add ⅓ of the dry ingredients; add ½ of water then repeat
Add remainder of dry ingredients and turn off mixer; make sure not to overbeat; if there are any lumps fold them in with a spatula
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-34 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cakes
Set cake layers aside to cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove each layer from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal

Notes

Cake slightly adapted from Hershey

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Light Chocolate Buttercream

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

56g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
160g (1 cup) powdered sugar
3 milliliters (1/2) teaspoon vanilla
30g (6 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until light and creamy
Add powdered sugar and mix until combined; mix in vanilla
Add cocoa and mix on medium high speed for three minutes or until light and creamy

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Light Chocolate Buttercream

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

63g (4½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
160g (1 cup) powdered sugar
3 milliliters (1/2) teaspoon vanilla
40g (8 tablespoons) unsweetened extra-dark cocoa

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until light and creamy
Add powdered sugar and mix until combined; mix in vanilla
Add cocoa and mix on medium high speed for three minutes or until light and creamy

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Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

October 28, 2015 Keep It Sweet 2 Comments

Rich chocolate cupcakes topped with a light and super creamy peanut butter frosting.

L’s birthday party might not have been the picture perfect event I had planned (have I learned nothing after a year of being a mom?), but the desserts, they were pretty on point if I do say so myself. We had the best mini cookies (these and these), brownies, and two kinds of mini cupcakes. I might have overheard parents bribing their kids to eat some salad with the promise of another cupcake. Sounds reasonable to me!

These cupcakes are a chocolate and peanut butter lover’s dream. The beauty of the mini cupcake is that it is so much easier to get adequate frosting in each bite without getting it all over your face. Plus, you can eat quite a few before you feel like it’s a crime. Or, if you dare to stray from the classic peanut butter and chocolate combo, you will have plenty of room for tasting other desserts as well.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

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Rich chocolate cupcakes topped with a light and super creamy peanut butter frosting.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 5 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes:

260g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
65g (~3/4 cup) good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder
10g (1¼ teaspoon) baking soda
3g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
170g (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
375g (~1¾ cup) granulated sugar
100g (2 large whole) eggs at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla
325 milliliters (1⅓ cups) brewed coffee

Peanut Butter Buttercream

75g (~1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) egg whites
32g (~3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
Additional 150g (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
50 milliliters (~3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) water
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch cubes
195g (~3/4 cup) creamy peanut butter (do not use natural)

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line mini cupcake pans with cupcake liners or grease the cups with butter flour or non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat one minute at medium speed
Reduce speed of mixer to low and add ⅓ of the dry ingredients; add ½ of coffee and repeat
Add remainder of dry ingredients and turn off mixer; make sure not to overbeat; if there are any lumps fold them in with a spatula
Distribute batter evenly among cupcake cups (just below rim of cupcake liner) with a small ladle or cookie dough scoop
Bake in center of oven for 11-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean; do not overbake
Set cupcakes aside to cool and make frosting

Peanut Butter Buttercream

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk attachment, whisk, spatula and candy thermometer with a paper towel and vinegar to clean (if any grease is on these items your meringue will not work)
Place egg whites in large bowl with whisk attachment and mix on medium speed; gradually add the 1⅛ ounces sugar; keep mixer on
In a medium heavy duty saucepan, combine water and remaining 5¼ ounces of sugar over medium-high heat and whisk together; whisk occasionally until temperature of syrup reaches 248 degrees Fahrenheit
Meanwhile, egg whites should begin to form loose peaks; if this happens before syrup is hot enough, reduce mixer speed to low
Once syrup is hot enough, reduce mixer speed to medium-low and slowly and slowly add syrup to the mixer
Increase speed to medium-high and keep mixer on for 10-15 minutes or until it holds stiff peaks AND bowl has cooled to room temperature
Reduce the speed to medium and add softened butter, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until fully combined; mixture should be smooth and creamy
If there are any lumps, increase speed to high until frosting becomes smooth
Add peanut butter and combine on medium speed until well incorporated and buttercream is light and creamy
Pipe onto cooled cupcakes

Notes

Keep in a cool dry place (best kept refrigerated during summer), covered
Best served within 3 days of baking
Cupcakes slightly adapted from Hershey
Buttercream adapted from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook
Buttercream best used immediately or store in an airtight container in refrigerator and beat with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer before using

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Peanut Butter Snack Cake

October 14, 2015 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

Moist peanut butter cake studded with chocolate chips for an indulgent snack or simple dessert.

I’m so excited to share another blogger cookbook with you today! Jennifer of Bake or Break just released her first cookbook, Quick-Shop-&-Prep 5 Ingredient Baking: Cookies, Cakes, Bars & More that are Easier than Ever to Make. I’ve known Jennifer for a few years now (she is a sweetheart!!) and was lucky enough to get an early copy of the cookbook from her publisher.

The theme behind the book is easy desserts. There are recipes as simple as Vanilla Bean Tea Cakes and as complex as Coffee Caramel Chocolate Poke Cake (yes please), but all of them limit themselves to a maximum of five ingredients beyond your normal pantry necessities. Such a great idea to minimize excess grocery trips. Plus, you are likely to have everything you need for a ton of the recipes in the book.

In going with the book’s theme, I opted to make a pretty easy recipe. And even better than that, it’s a dessert disguising itself as a snack so I can pretty much eat it all day long. This Peanut Butter Snack Cake was very easy to put together, no advanced baking skills needed! Plus, I didn’t have to do any extra grocery shopping because I had all of the ingredients on hand. And as an added bonus, Jennifer included volume AND weight measurements which made me extra happy. I ALWAYS weight my ingredients when I bake.

The results? This snack cake was very much enjoyed. The cake was moist, the chocolate chips were plentiful, and the peanut butter flavor actually seemed to develop more overnight (I love when you can bake a cake a day in advance without stressing that it won’t be as good).

5.0 from 2 reviews

Peanut Butter Snack Cake

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Moist peanut butter cake studded with chocolate chips for an indulgent snack or simple dessert.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert, snack

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

180g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
5g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
3g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
128g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
50g (1/4 cup firmly packed) light brown sugar
110g (2 large) whole eggs
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
120 milliliters (1/2 cup) milk (I used almond milk)
170 (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees; grease an 8x8 baking pan (I used a 9-inch round cake pan); and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each; mix in vanilla
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add ⅓ of the flour mixture followed by ½ of the milk; repeat until no flour is remaining and mix just until combined; stir in chocolate chips
Spread batter into prepared pan and bake 35-40 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean from center; allow to cool at least 10 minutes before removing from pan
Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over cake before serving if desired

Notes

From Quick-Shop-&-Prep 5 Ingredient Baking: Cookies, Cakes, Bars & More that are Easier than Ever to Make

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Oreo Pound Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

October 5, 2015 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

Rich and ultra delicious oreo pound cake layered with luscious chocolate cream cheese icing.

When you are a dessert blogger AND have run your own bakery, the expectations for birthday desserts are exponential. Not only that, but I always want to top the previous year’s birthday dessert with something new and better. Combine that with the fact that Matt actually baked for my birthday this year and last, his birthday dessert had to be pretty epic.

Luckily, this cake is epic. I took an always successful cream cheese pound cake and loaded it up with oreos and baked it in layers to make way for some extra perfect chocolate cream cheese icing. This cake is no joke. The amount of butter and cream cheese used is pretty shameful, but it is completely worth it. In fact, Matt wouldn’t even share the leftovers with anyone (except me, phew!) and my father-in-law requested a re-make for his birthday as well.

I promise, if you bake this it will not disappoint!

Oreo Pound Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

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Rich and ultra delicious oreo pound cake layered with luscious chocolate cream cheese icing.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake

340g (1½ cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
227g (1 8-ounce block regular or light cream cheese)
640g (~3 cups) granulated sugar
330g (6 whole large) eggs at room temperature
325g (~3 cups) cake flour, sifted
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
The inside of 1 vanilla bean
1g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
127g (~1½ cups) chopped regular Oreos (from 10 cookies)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

227g (1 8-ounce block) regular or light cream cheese, softened at room temperature
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
480g (3 cups) powdered sugar
75g (3/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the cake:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans; line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the parchment paper; set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and creamy; add sugar and beat mixture until light and fluffy; scrape the sides of the bowl
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed between each one until incorporated; mix in vanilla bean and extract on medium speed until combined and then scrape the sides of the bowl
With mixer on low, slowly add the flour and the salt just until combined; do not overmix
Remove bowl from mixer and fold in Oreos
Pour batter into prepared baking pans and bake 40-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center of each layer; edges will brown slightly; do not overbake
Set aside cake to cool and prepare icing

Make the icing:

Beat cream cheese on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth
Add butter and beat until light and creamy; scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and beat for another minute
Add cocoa powder and mix on low speed until combined
Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined
Add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined; scrape the sides of the bowl again and beat on high speed until icing is light and fluffy

Notes

Cake very slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

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Oatmeal Cookie Wedges with Cinnamon & Chocolate Chips

September 30, 2015 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

Chewy oatmeal cookie bars filled with cinnamon and chocolate chips then drizzled with extra chocolate make a delicious and pretty party treat.

It’s so exciting when one of my friends publishes a cookbook! And in the world of blog friends, it seems to be happening more and more often. Lucky for me, my friend Miriam at Overtime Cook was generous enough to send me a copy of her newly published Something Sweet!

Miriam is a Jewish blogger from NYC that often has holiday-friendly desserts, but her cookbook is really just perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. And given that she offers many dairy-free baking options (helpful if you are keeping kosher), it could even be useful for the dairy allergy dessert lovers in your life. Delicious dessert for everybody!

The cookbook is full of gorgeous photos and a huge variety of desserts. In addition to these oatmeal cookie wedges, I really want to try Miriam’s fruity pebble cookies and peanut butter and banana chocolate chip bundt cake (duh). It was actually really hard to pick what recipe to try first but alas I settled on something that would be easy and fast to make.

These oatmeal cookie wedges are just that, easy! They are chewy, crunchy and full of flavor (lots of cinnamon plus bursts of chocolate!) but unlike baking cookies, you don’t have to spoon out each individual serving. Instead, you spread the batter into two cake pans and bake that way. So simple!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Oatmeal Cookie Wedges with Cinnamon & Chocolate Chips

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Chewy oatmeal cookie bars filled with cinnamon and chocolate chips then drizzled with extra chocolate make a delicious and pretty party treat.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 24 servings

Ingredients

237 milliliters (1 cup) oil (I used canola)
212g (1 cup) granulated sugar
234g (1 cup tightly packed) brown sugar
165g (3 whole large) eggs
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
2g (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
3g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
30 milliliters (2 tablespoons) milk (I used almond milk)
262g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
120g (1½ cups) old-fashioned oats
90g (3/4 cup) cinnamon chips*
90g (1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips* (original recipe calls for 1 cup total of add-ins)
optional: additional chocolate for drizzling

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; grease 2 9-inch round baking pans (I recommend lining with parchment paper for easy removal) and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat oil and sugars on medium speed until combined
Add eggs, baking soda, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and milk; beat until smooth
With mixer speed reduced to low, carefully add flour and mix just until combined; add oatmeal and mix just until combined; stir in chips and do not overmix
Divide cookie dough evenly between baking pans
Bake for 30 minutes or until center has just set; do not overbake
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and slicing
Optional: once cookies have cooled, melt chocolate and drizzle over cookies
Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag; best enjoyed within 4 days of baking kept frozen up to two months

Notes

Recipe from Something Sweet (with permission)
*replace cinnamon chips and chocolate chips with DAIRY-FREE chocolate chips if making dairy-free

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Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream

September 21, 2015 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

Rich dark chocolate pound cake topped with creamy, light and delicious peanut butter whipped cream.

I have to be honest, when I first made this recipe, I was nervous that it wouldn’t meet my high expectations for dessert, but I was proved wrong. That says a lot because finding a chocolate cake that can stand up on its own is pretty darn hard. But this chocolate pound cake, full of rich dark cocoa powder and a ton of grated chocolate (hello, arm workout!) is certainly a cake that is good enough to eat alone. The dark chocolate flavor is poignant and the cake is dense and rich just like a pound cake should be.

But while you can eat the cake alone, I kind of think it calls for whipped cream. And while regular whipped cream would work, peanut butter whipped cream really seals the deal. I mean, if we are going to go there, you might as well really go there! Chocolate and peanut butter lovers, rejoice!

For those observing the holiday, I hope you all have an easy fast!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream

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Rich dark chocolate pound cake topped with creamy, light and delicious peanut butter whipped cream.

Makes: 8 –12 servings

Ingredients

For the pound cake

140g (~1¼ cups) cake flour
56g (2/3 cup) high quality dark unsweetened cocoa
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
118 milliliters (1/2 cup) whole milk
2g (2 teaspoons) espresso powder
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
248g (1¼ cups) granulated sugar
165g (3 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
120g grated dark chocolate (I used 72%)

For the whipped cream

237 milliliters (1 cup) heavy whipping cream, cold
20g (2 tablespoons) powdered sugar
50 grams (3 tablespoons) creamy peanut butter (do not use “natural”)
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Instructions

For the pound cake

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; generously grease a regular sized loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter
Sift cake flour, cocoa powder and salt into a medium bowl; set aside
In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together milk and espresso powder; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar on medium high speed for several minutes or until light and fluffy
Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined; mix in vanilla
Reduce speed to low and slowly add half of sifted dry ingredients; carefully add all of milk and then add remaining dry ingredients mixing just until combined
Remove bowl from mixer and fold in grated chocolate
Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake in center of oven for 60-70 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center
Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for twenty minutes; run a knife around edges of loaf before carefully removing from pan

For the whipped cream

While pound cake is cooling, chill the large bowl and whisk from an electric mixer in refrigerator
When ready to make whipped cream (right before serving), place all ingredients into bowl
Beat on medium-high speed for two to three minutes or until stiff peaks form
Serve in a bowl alongside pound cake or dollop onto slices before serving

Notes

Cake barely adapted from Sugar Hero
Store cake wrapped tightly with seran wrap. Enjoy within two days of baking for best results, or freeze for up to one month
Whipped cream should be made just prior to serving for best results

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Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 18, 2015 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

These are the perfect pumpkin cookie. Crispy edges, chewy middle and lots of chocolate chips!

We are getting closer to L’s birthday, just under a month to go. In fact, I can see so many ways he is now transitioning from baby to toddler (insert many, many tears). There’s the way he arches his back and immediately turns around to stand in his car seat and play rather than sit so I can buckle him in. There are the moments when we are reading books and he is very, very opinionated about which ones we read. Farm books are almost a guaranteed win but my favorite Little Blue Truck is not so popular these days. Oh yeah, and last week he started diving towards his crib instead of letting me walk him around with his head rested on my shoulder before naps and bedtime. So amazing to watch him grow, yet so very bittersweet.

And as we are getting closer to his birthday, I’m realizing I really need to get my you-know-what together for a menu plan. I already told you about all the mini cookies I want to make but after that I’m still all over the place. I’m also thinking about doing cookie favors (it’s a mostly adult / family party) but I don’t even know what flavors to make. I think I’m in a little bit of denial that his birthday will be here before we know it.

The good news? These cookies. If the only thing to eat at the party is these perfect mini pumpkin cookies, I don’t think anyone will mind. Seriously. I knew they were going to be winners before they even went into the oven (hello, delicious cookie dough). The flavor and texture is insanely perfect. It’s hard to get that in a pumpkin cookie but here are a few reasons they are still the perfect balance of crispy and chewy:

1) Canned pumpkin is limited to just 1/3 of a cup (high amounts of canned pumpkin = cakey cookies). Don’t worry, we make up for it with seasonings!
2) The pumpkin is cooked with the butter to reduce some of the excess liquid and enhance flavor.
3) There are no eggs! Eggs sometimes make baked goods cakey so I took them out. Pumpkin cookie dough for everyone!

So if you make one new cookie recipe this month, please do me a favor and make it this recipe for mini pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These are the perfect pumpkin cookie. Crispy edges, chewy middle and lots of chocolate chips!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
81g (1/3 cup) canned pumpkin
262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
5 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (1 ½ teaspoons) ground cinnamon
½g (1/4 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
234g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
106g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
215g (~1¼ cups) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Melt butter and pumpkin in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; set aside to cool
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter mixture, sugars and vanilla for several minutes on medium speed or until well-combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix)
Fold in chocolate chips
Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours (you can do less chilling, but texture will not be as good)
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with small cookie dough scoop (~1 tablespoon) onto prepared baking sheets so that cookies are spaced one inch apart
Bake cookies 8-10 minutes or until brown around good portion of edges
Set aside to cool
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week (texture best first day or two) or freeze up to two months

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results

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Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwiches

September 16, 2015 Keep It Sweet 5 Comments

A no-bake treat that every kid and adult will love, these chocolate covered peanut butter Ritz sandwiches are almost too good to be true!

These hardly need any explanation or recipe.

Except, they kind of do.

This past spring in Florida, when I took a brief break from eating Kilwins’ ice cream, I picked up an array of chocolates to bring back to the house and hide in my room share with everyone. When I saw that they had chocolate covered peanut butter and Ritz sandwiches, I couldn’t resist getting a few. But to be honest, I was a little disappointed in the finished product. They weren’t bad, per say, but you really couldn’t taste the peanut butter.

Well, it took me about four months to finally pick up a box of Ritz crackers (those would not typically be safe in my pantry), but I’m glad I did. I recreated the treat (and put it all on snapchat because I couldn’t resist), this time with the right amount of peanut butter, and then proceeded to eat too many to count. I wish I was kidding.

Anyway, this is definitely one of the easiest no-bake desserts (or really I’d prefer to call them snacks) you could possibly make. Buttery crackers topped with peanut butter and then dipped in chocolate should happen in your kitchen immediately.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwiches

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A no-bake treat that every kid and adult will love, these chocolate covered peanut butter Ritz sandwiches are almost too good to be true!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen sandwiches

Ingredients

4 dozen Ritz crackers
120g (~1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
500 grams good quality dark chocolate chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped (can substitute good quality milk chocolate if preferred)
14g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter

Instructions

Lay half of your crackers (24) out on a baking sheet; spread about 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of peanut butter into each cracker (don't use much less or you won't be able to taste it!)
Top each with a second Ritz cracker
Place tray in freezer for a half hour to chill
When ready, place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring in-between; continue until melted and smooth
Use two forks to dip sandwiches into melted chocolate
Place dipped sandwiches onto parchment or wax paper and chill in refrigerator one hour
Keep stored in an airtight container in a cool room or refrigerator until ready to enjoy
Enjoy within one week for best results

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Mini M&M Cookies

August 31, 2015 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

Mini cookies loaded with M&Ms. These are the perfect party cookie!

Now that I’m thinking about a special someone’s first birthday, I’m fully focused on what his first sweet treat should be and what kinds of sweets we will have at his party. I change my mind constantly going back and forth on different ideas, but thought that having a variety of mini cookies at the celebration would be fun.

The first recipe I decided to try out was this Mini M&M Cookie recipe. They are made from a pretty fabulous brown-sugar based cookie dough that bakes up so nicely. Usually I find that a larger cookie is best for maximizing texture quality, but this dough really worked well this way. Crispy edges? Check. Chewy middle? Check. Sweet and delicious? You bet!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mini M&M Cookies

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Mini cookies loaded with M&Ms. These are the perfect party cookie!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
350g (~1½ cups, packed) light brown sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
75g (~1 large egg + 1 yolk) eggs at room temperature
170g (~1½ cups) mini M&Ms

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until well-combined
Beat in eggs and vanilla until a mixture is a light creamy color
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix)
Fold in M&Ms
Chill dough in refrigerator for 24-48 hours for best texture and flavor results
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with small cookie dough scoop (~1 teaspoons) onto prepared baking sheets
Bake cookies ~10 minutes or until brown around good portion of edges
Set aside to cool
Texture of cookies best within 24 hours; cookies can be enjoyed up to one week at room temperature or one month frozen if stored in an air-tight container

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results

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Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 24, 2015 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

A small batch of chocolate chip cookies that’s perfect a cookie craving!

Let’s be honest, one cookie is never, ever enough. And a whole big batch, while appealing, is too many to eat in one sitting. Plus, sometimes you just want a homemade cookie and you want it fast. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is exactly what you need when you:

1) …want homemade cookies in just twenty minutes (not exaggerating!),
2) …want enough cookies to satisfy a craving and maybe share
3) …don’t want to be tempted by a giant batch of baked goods

In fact, not only do you need this recipe, but you need to get your hands on a copy of Christina’s wonderful Dessert for Two Cookbook. (And while you are at it, pre-order her next cookbook!) I’ve been drooling over her cookbook for months now and while I pretty much wanted to make everything (hello chocolate covered key lime pie and oatmeal cream sandwich cookies…), chocolate chip cookies seemed the best place to start.

Oh, and I think Matt agreed since the only complaint I got was the lack of milk in the fridge. Oops!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Small Batch Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Desserts

Makes: 8-12 cookies

Ingredients

60g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
24g (2 tablespoons) solid vegetable shortening (I subbed softened unsalted butter)
45g (1/4 cup) light brown sugar
39g (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
25g (1 large) egg yolk
4 milliliters (3/4 teaspoon) vanilla extract
75g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
1g (1/4 teaspoon) baking soda
1g (1/4 teaspoon) baking powder
½g (1/8) teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon instant espresso powder
55g (1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat; set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening and sugars on medium-high speed until well combined (about one minute); add egg yolk and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined
In a separate small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder; slowly add to mixer while on low speed and mix just until combined; stir in chocolate chips
Spoon cookie dough into prepared baking sheet (I used a medium cookie dough scoop) and bake 8-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned; remove from baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool (or better yet, eat warm out of the oven!)

Notes

I got 10 cookies with a medium cookie dough scoop
From the Dessert for Two Cookbook

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Drumstick Ice Cream Cake

July 27, 2015 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

An ice cream cake with all the important components of the classic Drumstick treat!

You didn’t think I’d let National Ice Cream Month pass without a new ice cream related recipe on the blog, did you? Please, I wouldn’t dare! Actually, I almost forgot, but last week I finally got around to making this pretty epic ice cream cake.

This cake was entirely inspired by the Drumstick cake that Kristan made a couple of months ago. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to do an ice cream version and I’m so glad that I finally did!

This ice cream cake uses one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes (I wanted something on the fudgier side), store-bought vanilla ice cream (homemade would be even better), rich chocolate ganache (the unexpected mvp?), and a mix of crushed peanuts and ice cream cones. So much good stuff, such a good cake. I keep on cutting myself massive slices and rationalize that I won’t be burning breastfeeding calories forever so I might as well live it up.

So I realize that the recipe looks long, but it really isn’t all that hard. It just takes a little bit of planning ahead for freezer time and you can actually do 90% of the work while your chocolate cake is baking / cooling. As a mom of a 9-month old that does not stop moving and climbing and crawling, I have to do my baking during naps. I actually did the ice cream and cake prep one day and then finished everything else plus took photos the next. Poor little L doesn’t know what he’s missing while he sleeps!

Drumstick Ice Cream Cake

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Fudgy Chocolate Cake Barely adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Make ahead note: chocolate cake can be made and frozen for up to two weeks before putting cake together

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12

Ingredients

1 recipe for fudgy chocolate cake (see below)
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
1 recipe for chocolate ganache (see below)
62g (~1½ cup crushed) ice cream cones (5 cones) plus one optional additional cone for decoration
90g (~3/4 cup) chopped peanuts (use salted and roasted for the most flavor)
56g dark chocolate (I used 72%) roughly chopped (optional for decorating)

Instructions

Bake cake according to below directions and do the following steps while cake layers are cooling
Line a 9-inch cake pan with seran wrap and press ice cream down into pan; cover completely and then put this layer in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour
Combine crushed ice cream cones and peanuts and set aside
Make chocolate ganache and set aside to cool
Optional: Place dark chocolate in small heat-safe dish and melt by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring between each; dip open end of cone into chocolate and coat with spoon so that a some of the outside of the cone is covered; sprinkle with peanut and cone pieces and then set aside on wax or parchment paper to dry
Once cake has cooled completely, you will start to put your full cake together (do these steps quickly)
Place first layer of cake down on a cake plate; top cake with unwrapped ice cream layer; top ice cream with second layer of cake and press down lightly
Cover cake with saran wrap and re-freeze until ice cream is frozen again, about 20 minutes
Once cake has frozen, remove from freezer to finish
Remove seran wrap and spread ganache over top of cake with some dripping down the sides
Coat sides of cake with chopped cone and peanut mixture
Place entire cake back in freezer to chill for one hour or until ready to serve
Optional: Place decorated ice cream cone on top of cake for serving
Allow a few minutes for cake to soften before slicing
Store in freezer for up to two weeks

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Fudgy Chocolate Cake

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Ingredients

43g (~1/3 cup) good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1g (1 teaspoon) instant espresso powder
112g dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
240 milliliters (1 cup) ounces boiling water
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
232g (~1 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
210g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
150g (~3 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
246g (~2¼ cups) cake flour
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
4g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
240 millilters (1 cup) buttermilk

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder and chocolate; pour boiling water over mixture and whisk together until melted and smooth; stir in vanilla; set aside to cool
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter until light and creamy; add sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, mixing at medium speed between each
Sift cake flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside
Whisk buttermilk into cooled chocolate mixture
Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to mixing bowl and mix on low speed just until combined; add half of chocolate mixture and mix on low again, just until combined; scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat with ⅓ of flour mixture remaining chocolate mixture; remove bowl from mixer and fold in remaining dry ingredients; be careful not to overmix the batter
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cakes
Set cake layers aside to cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove each layer from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal
Allow to cool completely before building cake

Notes

Barely adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
Make ahead note: chocolate cake can be made and frozen for up to two weeks before putting cake together

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Chocolate Ganache

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

225g dark chocolate (I used 72%), finely chopped
237 milliliters (1 cup) heavy cream
28 g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
30 milliliters (2 tablespoons) light corn syrup

Instructions

Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside
Put remaining ingredients in a heavy saucepan and place over medium-high heat; stir constantly until butter is melted
When cream mixture comes to a boil and bubbles begin to rise on entire surface, remove from heat and pour over chocolate
Allow chocolate to sit for one minute then stir to combine until smooth and creamy
Allow to cool before using on ice cream cake

Notes

Source: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

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You know you want that slice.

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Brown Butter Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Blondies

July 13, 2015 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

Chewy brown butter blondies bursting with fresh blueberries and dark chocolate chunks.

I guess I’m on a blondie bender. Is that a thing? After this recipe, I made a monster batch of my famous KISD blondies for a friend, last week I ran into the kitchen to make this new recipe and then I actually doubled it to make it again for a crowd but swapped cherries for the blueberries.

Oh brown butter. I made a brown butter blueberry cookie last summer and loved them so much I just knew this blondie would be good. And if my lack of self-control immediately after taking pictures of the blondies is any indication, the recipe is seriously good. It’s a good thing I brought a few to a friend because otherwise I would have eaten the entire batch that day.

*This post has been edited to include the recipe*

Brown Butter Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Blondies

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Chewy brown butter blondies bursting with fresh blueberries and dark chocolate chunks.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

112 grams / 4 ounces (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
350 grams / 12⅜ ounces (~1½ cups packed) light brown sugar
200 grams / 7 ounces (~1½ cups) all-purpose flour
8 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
110 grams / 3⅞ ounces (2 large) whole eggs
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
112 grams / 4 ounces (~3/4 cup) dark chocolate chunks
100 grams / 3½ ounces (~3/4 cup) fresh blueberries

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter (stir butter constantly until it turns an amber/light brown color) and remove from heat
Whisk in sugar until well combined and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla; whisk in butter and sugar mixture
Whisk in flour mixture until almost combined and then fold in any remaining crumbs with a spatula
Fold in chocolate and blueberries until evenly distributed throughout batter
Pour into prepared baking pan
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set aside to cool before cutting

Notes

Blondies will stay fresh for up to two days if wrapped or packaged in an air-tight container. They also freeze incredibly well, just wrap them tightly in tin foil.

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Fudgy Mocha Chip Brownies with Espresso Sea Salt

June 22, 2015 Keep It Sweet 18 Comments

The fudgiest brownies with a hint of mocha and touch of salt to kick any chocolate craving in the butt.

Kind of like my beloved blondies, it’s been too long since I’ve made brownies. I know it’s summer and time for light fruit desserts or frozen ice cream treats, but all I wanted last week was a rich fudgy chocolaty brownie.

These brownies turned out to be perfect. They are thick and crazy fudgy. If anyone was looking for an end piece, I’m sorry but I pretty much ate all of the edges while cutting them for photos. I just couldn’t help myself and I don’t regret it one bit. And even though I don’t usually choose to put chips in my brownies, for some reason they seemed appropriate here. The dark chocolate mocha brownies are full of semi-sweet chips (you could use milk chocolate if you want to go sweeter) and they help the brownie to have layers of flavor. The mocha flavor is more an essence than overpowering and the espresso salt helps enhance it. If you don’t have espresso salt don’t expect too much coffee to come through.

Fudgy Mocha Chip Brownies with Espresso Sea Salt

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The fudgiest brownies with a hint of mocha and touch of salt to kick any chocolate craving in the butt.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 24-30 servings

Ingredients

256g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
340g (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter
415g (~2 cups) granulated sugar
400g (~1¾ cups, packed) light brown sugar
275g (~5 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
89 milliliters (6 tablespoon) strong brewed espresso (4 grams (1½ tablespoons) espresso + 89 milliliters (6 tablespoons) water))
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
290g (~2 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
270g (1½ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
½g (1 teaspoon) espresso salt (can substitute flaky sea salt**)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large pot over low to medium heat; remove when melted
Stir in sugar until combined; stir in eggs, espresso and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix; fold in chocolate chips
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with espresso salt
Bake 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool completely before slicing and serving
Notes:
*You can use milk chocolate chips instead if you want to enhance the sweetness of the brownies instead of the rich chocolate flavor
**If you don’t have espresso salt don’t expect too much coffee to come through
These brownies are great for making in advance. Just wrap them tightly in foil and store them in the freezer for up to one month. They might also taste good right out of the freezer. Not like I would know.

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Sublime Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie

June 1, 2015 Keep It Sweet 8 Comments

This no-bake ice cream pie is the ultimate summer dessert! Oreo crust, peanut butter ripple ice cream, tons of peanut butter cups and whipped cream!

This dessert wavers back and forth between hot mess and best thing ever. I’m going with best thing ever.

This ice cream I shared with you? It was already pretty heavenly but I just had to take it even further. All my life I’ve been a pretty big ice cream pie fanatic (as a kid I used to get one every year for my birthday from Baskin Robbins). It makes sense. You usually start with an Oreo crust (always, always good) and then load it up with your favorite ice cream. Here I decided a full pound of peanut butter cups should be used as well, because why not? Make this dessert when you are having some friends over for a barbeque because it’s something worth sharing. Just know that it may be a little messy to cut. Call it “homey” if you will.

Sublime Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie

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This no-bake ice cream pie is the ultimate summer dessert! Oreo crust, peanut butter ripple ice cream, tons of peanut butter cups and whipped cream!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

285g (~2¼ cups / 25 cookies) finely crushed Oreos
71g (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 Recipe for Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream
454g (~3 ½ cups) chopped peanut butter cups (from about 22 large)
2 cups Stabilized Whipped Cream (recipe here)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine Oreo crumbs and melted butter; press mixture down evenly into the bottom of a spring form pan; chill in refrigerator for thirty minutes
A few minutes before crust is ready to fill, take ice cream out of freezer to soften slightly
Carefully spread half of ice cream over crust; top with chopped peanut butter cups
Cover pan with foil and freeze; make stabilized whipped cream
Spread whipped cream over peanut butter cup layer and place pie back in freezer for at least one hour or until ready to serve

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Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream

May 26, 2015 Keep It Sweet 18 Comments

You don’t need an ice cream maker to make this ice cream! Rich chocolate ice cream with a ribbon of salty peanut butter.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter as much as I do, you’ve no doubt had a variation of this ice cream flavor before. I know, not as creative as this recipe or this one, but trust me, necessary. Because, one: you can always use another no churn ice cream recipe and two: I have a follow-up dessert that revolves around this one and trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

Peanut Butter Ripple Chocolate Ice Cream

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You don’t need an ice cream maker to make this ice cream! Rich chocolate ice cream with a ribbon of salty peanut butter.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

16 fluid ounces (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
50g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder (any kind will work, I used a lighter cocoa powder for a more milk-chocolatey flavor)
15 milliliters 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
200g (~¾ cup) creamy peanut butter
1g (¼ teaspoon) salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, cocoa and vanilla; mixture will be very thick; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, gently fold ⅓ of it into sweetened condensed milk mixture; gently fold in remaining cream until fully combined
Pour half of ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container; microwave peanut butter for 15 seconds and stir in salt; drizzle half of salted peanut butter over top then run a knife through peanut butter to marbleize; repeat with remaining ice cream and peanut butter
Wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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Thin Mint Ice Cream

May 12, 2015 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

Creamy no-churn ice cream full of huge Thin Mint cookie chunks.

Recently I found myself in a disappointing situation. The ice cream selection in my freezer was boring the heck out of me.

To remedy the situation I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some no churn ice cream. You all know I’m obsessed, it’s kind of becoming a problem the best thing ever. You probably should make it too. Head over to Meyer’s Styles for all the details!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Mega M&M Cookies

April 7, 2015 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

Big chocolatey cookies full of Mega M&Ms.

I’m very aware that I eat my feelings. Tired, sad and stressed always lead me to chocolate, carbs, ice cream, cookies or all of the above. I try not to go overboard and realize that this isn’t the healthiest way to deal with emotions. But frankly, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a cookie or two to lift the spirits.

The last month or so has been a bit of a roller coaster and after a particularly rough ten days my daily dose of chocolate was part of what was keeping me sane. I was overdue for some baking and decided to make something that could fulfill everything I was craving; warm, chocolatey and comforting carbs. Baking, photographing, and then also eating these cookies made me feel just a bit better. The bright colored M&Ms and pretty napkins were another visual way to boost my mood. I took advantage of a few minutes when the sun was actually out to take capture that.

And most importantly for you, this recipe was a success. The chocolatey base and gigantic chocolate candies (where have these Mega M&Ms been all my life?) will cure any chocolate craving you might have. Oh yeah, and they are fast and easy, too. You don’t need to chill the dough at all before baking them.

Head over to my friend Katie’s blog for the recipe! You don’t want to miss it. This is my first post as a contributor to Meyer’s Styles.

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Monster Cookie Dough Ice Cream (No Churn!)

March 9, 2015 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

Vanilla ice cream loaded with monster cookie dough (peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough with M&Ms and chocolate chips!). You will enjoy cookie dough in every bite!

I think the deep freeze is over (said crossing fingers and knocking on wood). And in case it’s not obvious, I (and everyone else in the northeast) am more than ready. I’m ready for shorts, flip-flops (okay, I’d settle for being outside without a puffy coat), walks with L and warm weather food. I’m ready for ice cream, lots of it.

Okay, let’s be real. I’ve been eating ice cream all winter long. Maybe not quite as much ice cream as I ate last summer, but plenty still. The main difference is that I currently eat it with the heat turned up while wearing a massive sweatshirt and wool socks. Last week, when I remembered that I had some heavy cream about to expire, I was inspired to go churn up make some super easy and delicious ice cream once again. I asked on Facebook and Twitter what flavor I should make and Erin suggested monster cookie dough. Genius much?

Monster cookies are typically peanut butter oatmeal cookies loaded with M&Ms. How could that possibly be a bad thing? And what tastes good as a cookie almost always tastes better as cookie dough. So translated into ice cream we are in clear delicious territory. Not to mention that this ice cream really is LOADED with cookie dough. No searching with the spoon to find the little chunks (don’t pretend you don’t do that). Seriously, cookie dough in every bite.

Monster Cookie Dough Ice Cream (No Churn!)

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Vanilla ice cream loaded with monster cookie dough (peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough with M&Ms and chocolate chips!). You will enjoy cookie dough in every bite!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: Makes ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

16 fluid ounces (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1 recipe for oatmeal cookie dough (see below)

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
While whipping cream, pour sweetened condensed milk into a separate large bowl and mix with vanilla
Once cream is ready, fold it into sweetened condensed milk mixture; fold in cookie dough
Pour ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan
Wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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Monster Cookie Dough Ice Cream (No Churn!)

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Edible Monster Cookie Dough

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

65g (~1/4 cup) creamy peanut butter
14g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
28 g (~2 tablespoons packed) light brown sugar, firmly packed
25g (~2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
5 milliliters / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g (~¾ cup) rolled oats
½g (¼ teaspoon) ground cinnamon
½g (1/8 teaspoon) salt
56g (~1/4 cup) mini M&Ms
53g (~1/4 cup) mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla
Gradually stir in oats, cinnamon salt just until combined
Stir in M&Ms and chocolate chips
Set aside to make ice cream

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

March 2, 2015 Keep It Sweet 25 Comments

Chewy chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies that just so happen to be perfect for breastfeeding moms! Loaded with oats, brewer’s yeast, flax and whole wheat flour, these are a delicious way to get your milk supply up!

If you had asked me a year ago if I’d ever make lactation cookies, I’d probably look at your cross-eyed. I barely even know that that was a thing. Well, there obviously was a lot I didn’t know about breastfeeding. And when I think back on it, I realize how naive I was.

Once I got pregnant with L, my plan was to breastfeed if possible… maybe for a month, or maybe for a few months. But no pressure, none. I didn’t realize that there was an inbetween of possible and impossible where there are many challenges but you can make it work. I also had no idea that I’d care so much and be so emotionally attached to being able to nurse. It’s hard to explain, because I never felt like breastfeeding was a big bonding moment with L, but there was some other emotional pull that I can’t put into words.

Anyway, one of the issues that I’ve faced is milk supply. I don’t know what happened, but by the end of the first month, I felt like my supply was really suffering. I’d been eating oatmeal every day and drinking a ton of water but that apparently had not been enough. Maybe I wasn’t eating enough calories that first month (hard to believe)? Maybe it was the lack of regular sleep? Whatever it was, I immediately started doing anything I felt comfortable doing to help the problem.

I dabbled in fenugreek (eh, not for me), started drinking stout beers on occasion, drank even more water, and stocked up on snacks that contained flaxseed. I also started baking lactation cookies. While my supply isn’t massive, at some point it became at least enough for L’s daily feedings (this fluctuates and he still gets supplemented with formula for multiple reasons). I don’t know if the lactation cookies did it, but I do think they help. I eat a couple of them most days and whether or not they are “the” solution, they taste delicious so that works for me. Originally I made Audra’s recipe (really good!) but have since tweaked them to be slightly different. They aren’t health food but there are quite a few ingredients that are good for you (whole wheat flour, oatmeal, flax seed, brewer’s yeast and peanut butter). That helps me justify the daily consumption.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 30 cookies

Ingredients

120 milliliters / 4 fluid ounces water
26g (~4 tablespoons) ground flaxseed
130g (~1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter (recipe not yet tested with natural)
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
234g (~1 cup packed) light brown sugar
100g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
126g (~1 cup) whole wheat pastry flour (or 158 grams / 5½ ounces white whole wheat flour)
130g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
48g (~6 tablespoons brewer’s yeast)
8g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
2g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
200g (~2½ cups) rolled oats
125g (~3/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
125g (~3/4 cup) milk chocolate chips
regular or smoked flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
In a small bowl, stir together flaxseed and water; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, brewer’s yeast, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on medium-high speed for several minutes or until light and fluffy; scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula
Add flaxseed mixture and vanilla and mix on medium speed for one minute; reduce speed to low and add flour mixture
Stir in oats and chocolate chips
Scoop cookie dough with large cookie dough scoop (~3 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets; top with flaky sea salt
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies appear set and edges are lightly browned; allow to cool before eating
Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to one week or freeze up to two months

Notes

Heavily adapted from The Baker Chick

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Comfort Food Chocolate Chunk Cookies

February 23, 2015 Keep It Sweet 15 Comments

Perfect chocolate chunk cookies. Chewy in the center and crispy around the edges, these cookies are pure comfort.

A good friend of mine recently brought her second baby home from the hospital. Even though I’m still getting a handle on some aspects of life with a baby, I realized it was time I started returning the favors of all the people who visited us with food and gifts after L was born. And while a homemade meal is even better (and will definitely happen for her), one of the things I enjoyed most post-baby was a seriously good sweet treat. Nothing like a good sugary carb for an instant energy boost!

I wanted to go with a classic comforting cookie; basically, the best version of a chocolate chip cookie you could ask for. The base of the dough bakes up nice and thick with a chewy center and crispy edges (the big size doesn’t hurt). I used rich high quality dark chocolate disks to really satisfy and topped them with a smoked flaky sea salt, though any flaky sea salt would do. While you can leave that off, I really find that the bit of salty contrast just enhances the cookie flavor.

Comfort Food Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Perfect chocolate chunk cookies. Chewy in the center and crispy around the edges, these cookies are pure comfort.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~20 cookies

Ingredients

262g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
3g (½ teaspoon) baking soda
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
170g (3/4 cup / 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
234g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
106g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
75g (~1 large egg + 1 yolk) eggs at room temperature
340g (~2 cups) good quality dark chocolate disksor chunks (at least 55% cocoa)
Flaky sea salt (I like this Smoked sea salt)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars until well-combined
Beat in eggs and vanilla until a mixture is a light creamy color
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture (do not overmix)
Fold in chocolate
Chill dough in refrigerator for 24-48 hours for best texture and flavor results
Once dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; cover baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with large cookie dough scoop (~3 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets; top with flaky sea salt
Bake large cookies 16-18 minutes or until brown around good portion of edges
Set aside to cool

Notes

Dough requires 24-48 hours of chilling time for best results
Texture of cookies (crispy edges with chewy center) best within 24 hours; cookies can be enjoyed up to one week after baking if stored at room temperature or up to a month if frozen.

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Thin Mint Cookie Cake

February 16, 2015 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

Thick and fudgy cookie cake loaded with Thin Mints and topped with Thin Mint Buttercream!

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, one of the reasons I’ve loved blogging so much (and probably why I’ve stuck with it for almost five years) is that I’ve made some great friends. Not only have I established relationships with people who live near me, but I also have wonderful friends spread out all over the country. Today we are celebrating my friend Madison! We’ve been virtual friends for years and I was lucky enough to meet her in person as well. In case you were wondering, she is just as sweet (and pretty!) in real life as she seems on the blog.

Madison’s shower is truly special because I know how badly she wanted a baby and she has been through so much along the way. We don’t know yet if she is having a boy or girl (it’s a secret), but I do know that baby will be LOVED. I’m just so happy for her and Joey. And Madison, from experience, it might be hard to believe, but being a mom is even better than you think it will be!

For Madison’s shower we are serving all things sweet (like her!) and of course I wanted to bring something rich and chocolatey. Plus, it’s Girl Scouts’ season and given the fact that we still had Thin Mints from last year (I cut myself off after I ate an entire sleeve in one sitting), I thought it was time I finally baked with them. This cookie cake was the perfect choice. It’s rich and fudgy (almost brownie like) with crunchy chunks of Thin Mints throughout. Oh yeah, and the Thin Mint buttercream is something to get excited about as well. The extra frosting in my freezer is calling my name…

Thin Mint Cookie Cake

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Thick and fudgy cookie cake loaded with Thin Mints and topped with Thin Mint Buttercream!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
170g semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
198g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
159g (~1 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
4g (3/4 teaspoon) baking powder
3g (1/2 teaspoon salt)
200g (~4 large) eggs at room temperature
213g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
234g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
10 milliliters / 2 teaspoons vanilla
130g (~1 ½ cups) roughly chopped thin mints (~16 cookies)
Thin Mint Buttercream
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
114gregular or light cream cheese
320g (~2 cups) powdered sugar
5 milliliters / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40g (~1/3 cup) finely ground Thin Mint crumbs (~5 cookies)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; grease or use non-stick cooking spray to prepare an 11-inch tart pan; set aside
Place semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter in a microwave-safe bowl
Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth; set aside
Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and set aside
In the large bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla; beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy
Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate and butter
When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix; fold in chopped thin mints
Spread dough evenly into prepared tart pan
Bake cookie cake for ~30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center (do not overbake)
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from pan
Once cookie cake is completely cooled, carefully remove from tart pan; pipe frosting as desired
To make the buttercream:
Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for several minutes until butter is light and creamy
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined; add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla and increase speed of mixer to high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy
Stir in Thin Mint crumbs until evenly distributed

Notes

Best enjoyed within two days (cover carefully with seran wrap)
Cookie cake can be wrapped in seran and frozen up to one month

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Be sure to check out all of the other sweets for Madison’s shower!

Thin Mint Cookie Cake from Keep It Sweet Desserts
Mini Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes from Greens & Chocolate
Gingered Pear Coffee Cake from Food Loves Writing
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chippers from Urban Wife Diaries
Lemon meringue pie cupcakes from Heather’s Dish
Chocolate Malt Milkshakes from The Avid Appetite

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Peanut Butter Caramel Candy Cups

February 12, 2015 Keep It Sweet 18 Comments

Rich homemade candy cups filled with peanut butter caramel sauce and topped with the perfect amount of flaky sea salt.

I told you I had something up my sleeve for the caramel sauce. I don’t even think I need to talk too much about these little candy cups, the pictures say it all. Last minute Valentine’s Day treat perhaps?

4.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Caramel Candy Cups

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Rich homemade candy cups filled with peanut butter caramel sauce and topped with the perfect amount of flaky sea salt.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 candy cups

Ingredients

10 ounces good quality dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce
Flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Line a mini muffin pan with 12 tin foil cupcake wrappers and set aside
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave safe bowl; melt by microwaving the chocolate and butter in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
Use a teaspoon to coat the bottom of each cup with melted chocolate; place muffin pan in fridge for fifteen minutes or until chocolate is set
Remove pan from fridge and spoon caramel sauce into center of each cup (about 1 tablespoon); if caramel sauce has been chilled and is firm, microwave for 10-20 seconds and stir for a more workable consistency
Spoon melted chocolate over caramel and around edges so that coated on all sides; sprinkle tops with flaky sea salt if desired (and it should be desired)
Chill for one hour in refrigerator before serving; store in refrigerator up to one week

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Super Fun Cookies (aka Oreo, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Chunk Cookies)

January 12, 2015 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

Cookies loaded with chunks of Oreos, Peanut Butter Cups and dark chocolate!

Sometimes you just need a cookie full of fun things. For this version, I loaded up my favorite cookie dough with chunks of chocolate, peanut butter cups and chopped Oreos. How could it not be love at first bite?

Super Fun Cookies (aka Oreo, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Chunk Cookies)

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Cookies loaded with chunks of Oreos, Peanut Butter Cups and dark chocolate!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 3-3½ dozen large cookies

Ingredients

525g (~4 cups) all-purpose flour
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
15g (3 teaspoons) salt
340g /12 ounces (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
470g (~2 cups packed) light brown sugar
213g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
44 milliliters / 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
150g (~3 large) whole eggs eggs
160g / 5⅝ ounces (~3/4 cup) dark or semi-sweet chocolate chunks
200g (~1 cup) chopped peanut Butter cups
112g (~1½ cups) chopped Oreos

Instructions

:
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed for a few minutes until well-combined
Beat in eggs and vanilla on medium speed until a mixture is a lighter creamy color
On low speed, stir in flour mixture
Stir in chips
Chill rough in refrigerator for 24-72 hours (I find 48 hours+ to be best!)
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Scoop cookie dough with large cookie dough scoop (~3 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets (note it is normal for cookie dough to be very hard, you can dip your scoop in hot water to make it easier to scoop)
Bake cookies 17-19 minutes or until centers appear set and they are brown around the edges

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Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Caramel Cookies

December 15, 2014 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

Rich and fudgy chocolate cookies filled with caramel and dark chocolate chips and seasoned with smoked sea salt.

Are you still adding to your cookie baking list for the holidays? I hope so, because these babies are very deserving of a spot. The cookie itself is ultra rich and like a fudgy brownie in the center. Outside there is a slice crisp around the edges. To top that off, the flavor of the chocolate is dark and almost sinful but balanced with sweet caramels and flaky smoked sea salt. And by the way, they are pretty easy too. They bake up consistently EVERY time I make them. And bonus, you don’t have to chill the dough at all. These cookies will be ready for your enjoyment within an hour from start to finish. If you are making big batches for holiday gifts, just double the recipe below!

Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Caramel Cookies

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Rich and fudgy chocolate cookies filled with caramel and dark chocolate chips and seasoned with smoked sea salt.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~2 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
170g semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
200g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
160g (~1 cup + 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
2g (3/4 teaspoon) baking powder
2g (1/2 teaspoon salt)
150g (~3 large whole) eggs at room temperature
215g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
235g (~1 cup, packed) light brown sugar
10 milliliters / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
227g (1 cup) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
160g (1 cup) caramel bits
Smoked sea salt

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
Place semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter in a microwave-safe bowl
Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth (alternatively, you can melt the butter and chocolate in a heavy duty pop over medium heat stirring constantly); set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla; beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and pale in color
Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate
When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix; stir in chocolate chips and caramel bits
Use a large cookie dough scoop and place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart; lightly sprinkle top of cookie dough with smoked sea salt
Bake cookies for 12 minutes and set aside on a wire rack to cool

Notes

Recipe can be doubled
Store cookies at room temperature up to 5 days in a ziplock bag or freeze for up to two months

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Yes, they are as good as they look.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Double Dip Mints (aka Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Patties)

December 8, 2014 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

This recipe for Double Dip Mints was inspired by one of my favorite candy stores. Homemade milk chocolate dipped peppermint patties are even better than the original candy you are used to!

In all of my summers of going down the shore, there are definitely mixed memories of people and events that seem to be somewhat of a blur at this point. Aside from a few special moments, without a doubt, one of my favorite things about the annual trips is visiting Jagielky’s, an unbelievable chocolate store with a vast selection of homemade sweets. I’m not even really a candy person in general, I can usually take it or leave it, but their chocolates are to-die-for. The homemade caramel in the cashew turtles is just perfect and their almond butter crunch bars (milk chocolate and almond covered toffee) are one of my favorite treats in the world. My mom and sister love their homemade marshmallow-filled chocolates and I never leave without a chocolate covered Oreo for Matt. But there is one candy that always seemed to me so simple yet so genius and I had to recreate it, the Double Dip Mint.

The Double Dip Mint is really very straight forward. It is basically like someone took a peppermint patty and then dipped it in milk chocolate. So instead of one type of chocolate coating, you get two. So for those of you who haven’t picked sides on milk versus dark, these are perfect for you. My homemade version might not be quite as delicious as the specialty treat I’ve been buying for years, but it’s pretty darn close. Plus, this time of year I’m not heading to the shore so making them myself is necessary.

I worked off of Christina’s peppermint patty recipe and increased the volume so that you could sneak a few for yourself and then gift a dozen to a friend for the holidays. Feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed!

Double Dip Mints (aka Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Patties)

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This recipe for Double Dip Mints was inspired by one of my favorite candy stores. Homemade milk chocolate dipped peppermint patties are even better than the original candy you are used to!

Makes: 18-20 pieces

Ingredients

240g (~1½ cups) powdered sugar, plus additional for rolling
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) water
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) light corn syrup
2 milliliters (¼- ½ teaspoon) peppermint extract
170g good quality dark chocolate (I like using something 65% cocoa or higher)
227g good quality milk chocolate
42g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter or shortening, separated

Instructions

Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and peppermint extract in the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed for several minutes, until it forms large clumps
Remove bowl from mixer and use your hands to knead the dough together
Place a sheet of parchment paper (about the size of a baking sheet) on counter and dust with powdered sugar; place dough on top and sprinkle additional powdered sugar on top; top with another piece of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough out to be about ¼ inch thick; freeze dough (still between parchment paper) for at thirty minutes
Remove dough from freezer and use a round cookie cutter or small glass (I used a shot glass!) to cut circles ~1 ½ inches in diameter; roll out remaining dough scraps and cut out additional circles until almost no dough remains
Chill cut dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in freezer for one hour or up to one day
When ready, take out a clean piece of parchment
Melt dark chocolate and half of butter or shortening in microwave of a double boiler; once completely melted, remove peppermints from freezer and dunk each one and then place on clean parchment paper
Chill peppermint patties in freezer for one hour and repeat dipping process with milk chocolate and remaining butter or shortening; freeze again until completely cooled
Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in freezer up to one month

Notes

Recipe for peppermint patties from Dessert for Two
Inspired by my favorite chocolate candy store

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Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies

December 1, 2014 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

Super rich and fudgy brownies infused with the infamous peppermint mocha holiday flavor.

Sometimes you just need a great brownie. These peppermint mocha brownies are the perfect holiday brownie for this season’s festivities. Thick, fudgy, rich and decadent… the peppermint mocha combination is a holiday favorite around here and it is hard to beat in brownie form. I’m partial to a super fudgy brownie with a crackly top and that is exactly what you get with this treat!

Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies

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Super rich and fudgy brownies infused with the infamous peppermint mocha holiday flavor.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

128g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
415g (~2 cups) granulated sugar
150g (~3 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
3 tablespoon strong brewed espresso (1g (1/2 tablespoon) espresso + 3 tablespoons water))
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
146g (~1 cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
1g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
105g (~3/4 cup) peppermint crunch baking chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; Grease a 9×9 brownie pan or baking dish with cookie spray or butter OR line it with parchment paper; set aside
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat; stir in sugar; stir in eggs, espresso and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix; fold in peppermint baking chips
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 33-36 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool completely before slicing and serving
Note: These brownies are great for making in advance of the holidays. Just wrap them tightly in foil and store them in the freezer for up to one month.

Notes

Adapted from Baker’s

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Chewy Milk Chocolate Ginger Cookies

November 20, 2014 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

Chewy ginger-flavored brown sugar cookies filled with milk chocolate chunks. This is a great holiday cookie!

I have a bit of a weakness for ginger cookies. My dad loves gingersnaps, but unless they are super crunchy (ahem, teeth-breakingly so), he will probably tell you they are underbaked. I, on the other hand, like crunchy, chewy, crispy, really any texture as long as you have a great ginger flavor.

This cookie is a spin on the cookies I made for these ice cream sandwiches over the summer. I made a couple of small changes including enhancing the ginger flavor in order to balance the addition of the sweet milk chocolate. Again, this is definitely NOT a gingersnap, but a brown-sugar-based cookie full of ginger flavor. Make them now and maybe double the batch so you can freeze some for Christmas. They would also make a great addition to any cookie gifts you are putting together. Just make sure you chill the dough as directed to ensure that the flavor is in full force and the texture is the perfect balance of a chewy center and crispy edge.

Chewy Milk Chocolate Ginger Cookies

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Chewy ginger-flavored brown sugar cookies filled with milk chocolate chunks. This is a great holiday cookie!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 3 dozen medium-sized cookies

Ingredients

260g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
7 ½g (1/2 tablespoon) salt
3g (1/2 tablespoon) ground ginger
2 ½g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
170g (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
350g (~1½ cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
5g (1 teaspoon) minced ginger
100g (2 large) whole eggs
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
180g (~1¼ cups) milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Instructions

Whisk together flour, salt, ginger and baking soda; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and minced ginger on medium-high speed until light and well mixed; scrape sides of bowl
Add eggs and vanilla, mix well; scrape sides of bowl
Add flour mixture and mix on low speed just until combined (do not overmix); stir in chocolate
Chill dough for 24-48 hours (the longer chilling time helps the flavor and texture)
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Use a medium cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to make cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (about 1½ tablespoons each) about 2 inches apart from one another
Bake 12-14 minutes or until cookies are set on top and very lightly brown around the edges
Allow cookies to cool before serving
Store in a ziplock bag or airtight container for up to one week; freeze up to two months

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3-Layer Cookies ‘n Cream Cake

October 20, 2014 Keep It Sweet 14 Comments

Chocolate and vanilla bean cake layers slathered in cookies ‘n cream frosting

Year after year there seems to be more pressure when it comes to birthday cakes. I always want to outdo the previous year’s dessert but at the same time, I need to bake something true to what the birthday girl or boy loves. In the case of Matt’s birthday I’ve previously made Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies (those photos, OUCH) and this M&M Kit Kat Cake (I know there are others but somehow they aren’t on the blog??). This year I wanted to do a real cake again, but I went with his love of Oreos and vanilla bean and let those two things shine.

This sweet treat is built with two layers of fluffy vanilla bean cake (Matt LOVED it), one layer of dark chocolate cake, and lots and lots of cookies ‘n cream buttercream. The extra Oreos used for decorating were great for an eye appeal but also added a nice textural component to a few bites of each slice. Since it was a birthday cake I didn’t get any glamour slice photos, but you can see another picture of the inside here.

3-Layer Cookies 'n Cream Cake

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Chocolate and vanilla bean cake layers slathered in cookies ‘n cream frosting

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

1 recipe (2 full layers) Vanilla Bean Cake (do not slice cake layers horizontally)
½ recipe (1 layer) Dark Chocolate Cake
Cookies ‘n Cream Buttercream (recipe below)

Instructions

Prepare vanilla bean cake and dark chocolate cake as directed and set aside layers to cool
Once cake layers are cooled, prepare buttercream
Place one layer of vanilla cake down on desired cake plate and top with about [ ] cup buttercream and spread evenly
Place chocolate cake layer down carefully and repeat layer of frosting
Top that layer with second vanilla cake layer and cover cake with remaining buttercream; decorate with additional Oreos as desired

Notes

Store cake in refrigerator and serve at room temperature; best eaten within one day of frosting (will be good up to three days)

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3-Layer Cookies 'n Cream Cake

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

340 grams / 12 ounces (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
227 grams / 8 ounces regular or light cream cheese
160 grams / 1 pound 7 ounces (~5 cups) powdered sugar
15 milliliters / 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
50 grams / 1¾ ounces (~1/2 cup) finely ground Oreo crumbs (~6 cookies) PLUS additional cookies for decorating

Instructions

Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for several minutes until butter is light and creamy
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined; add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla and increase speed of mixer to high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy
Stir in Oreo crumbs until evenly distributed

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Espresso Salted Dark Chocolate Biscotti

September 29, 2014 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

These rich dark chocolate biscotti are extra crunchy, perfect for coffee dunking!

I’m not usually one to choose biscotti as a dessert of choice. Often times, they are dry, super hard and not all that flavorful. These biscotti here, they are a different story. The rich dark chocolate and espresso salt ensure that every bite is full of flavor. And yes they are very crunchy, but that just makes them perfect for dunking into coffee, milk or even hot chocolate. This is a biscotti I can get behind!

Espresso Salted Dark Chocolate Biscotti

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These rich dark chocolate biscotti are extra crunchy, perfect for coffee dunking!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~18 biscotti

Ingredients

265g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
80g (3/4 cup) dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
1g (¼ teaspoon) salt
165g (~¾ cup) granulated sugar
115g (~1/2 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
150g (~3 large) whole eggs
59 milliliters (¼ cup) canola oil
30 milliliters (2 tablespoons) pure vanilla extract
220g (~1½ cups) dark chocolate, chopped (I used 72%)
6g (1 tablespoon) espresso salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla; scrape sides of bowl with a spatula
Reduce speed to low and stir in dry ingredients just until combined; stir in chopped chocolate and but not overmix
Put half of dough on each prepared baking sheet and use lightly flowered hands to form into loaves (~9x5 inches and ¾ inch thick); the dough will be wet and sticky
Sprinkle each loaf heavily with espresso salt
Bake for 30 minutes
Remove from oven and slice each loaf (1-inch slices); turn each slice over onto its side and bake for an additional 10 minutes
Flip slices over once more and bake for an additional 10
Store biscotti in an airtight container or ziplock bag up to one week or freeze up to one month

Notes

Adapted from Food and Wine

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Sweet and Salty Toll House Pie

September 22, 2014 Keep It Sweet 23 Comments

This warm sweet and salty cookie pie is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

This is just one of those posts where I’m going to cringe looking at the pictures, but the recipe is too good not to share and frankly, sometimes the most UN-photogenic desserts are the tastiest.

Way back on our first Valentine’s Day together (2004!), Matt took me to dinner at Murphy’s in Atlanta. Pretty much everyone who went to Emory has gone there at least once (likely during a parental visit where there was a rental car and someone else’s credit card involved). This was actually my second date at the restaurant but I don’t think I told that fact to Matt that night… Anyway, our meal involved some delicious food (to this day Matt still talks about the grouper he had) and ended on a sweet note with Toll House Pie. I had no idea that this was a thing at the time, but apparently it was and anyone who went to Murphy’s had to have it (a sign that my first date there was definitely not meant to be). When the server brought out the warm slice of pie oozing with melted chocolate and topped with creamy vanilla ice cream melting away, we were in dessert heaven. Way back then I was a bit on the stricter side (ahem, very strict) when it came to indulging, but you better believe I ate my fair share of that pie.

Since then I’ve made the traditional version once (sans nuts), but this time around I wanted to make it sweet and salty. Swapping out the chopped nuts for pretzel pieces and loading it with big milk chocolate chunks was a good move. As was the sprinkling of smoked sea salt on top!

Sweet and Salty Toll House Pie

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This warm sweet and salty cookie pie is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie crust dough, cold* (I used
Audra’s pie crust recipe– so flaky!)
100g (~2 large) whole eggs
10 milliliters / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
235g (~1 cup packed) light brown sugar
170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
64g (~1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
2 ½g (½ teaspoon) salt
150g (~1 cup) milk chocolate, roughly chopped
40g (~1 cup) broken salted pretzel pieces
2g (1 teaspoon) flaky sea salt, preferably smoked

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
Roll out pie crust and press into a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie-plate; set aside
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and vanilla on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and foamy
Beat in sugar and butter on medium-high speed until well-combined; use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl
Put mixer on low and slowly add in flour mix
Stir in chocolate and pretzels but do not overmix
Carefully spread filling into pie shell; top with flaky sea salt
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from side of pie, center should still be moist
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm with ice cream

Notes

Adapted from the original Nestle Toll House Pie

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Black and White Cookie Cake

September 18, 2014 Keep It Sweet 16 Comments

This giant black and white cookie is a huge version of the classic New York treat!

Before moving to New York City eight years ago, or I guess before I lived here the summer before that, I didn’t understand the fixation on the Black and White Cookie. Matt loves them and you can find them in almost every bagel shop and deli throughout the city. A basic glaze on a cakey cookie just seemed like a weird in-between dessert to me (is it a cookie or a cake? where is the buttercream?), but when I tried my first good one I finally understood.
What you really want is a FRESH black and white cookie, one where the bottom is soft and cake-like but firm. The icing should be sweet but not too sweet (that’s tough with a glaze). I’m biased to the dark side but that works out perfectly since Matt prefers the white. This giant version fulfills those requirements and even has a bit of lemon zest in the cookie giving it a hint of flavor that isn’t just sugar.

Black and White Cookie Cake

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This giant black and white cookie is a huge version of the classic New York treat!

Author: Lauren

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: one giant cookie, serves 8-12

Ingredients

Cookie Cake:
166g (~1¼ cups) all-purpose flour
145g (~1¼ cups) cake flour
1g (1/4 teaspoon) baking powder
1g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
113g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
175g (~3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
1g (~1 teaspoon) lemon zest
105g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
177 milliliters (3/4 cup) milk at room temperature
2 milliliters (1/2 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Icing:
320g (~2 cups) powdered sugar
45-60 milliliters (3 tablespoons – ¼ cup) cup boiled water
43g unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and lemon zest on high speed until light and fluffy
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt; set aside
Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time; add milk and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined and then scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula
Add half of dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined; add remaining dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined; do not overmix
Use your spatula spread dough into a large round cookie shape (10 inches in diameter)
Bake for ~20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from center
Cool cake completely before making icing
To make icing, place powdered sugar in a large heat-safe bowl
Whisk in about ¼ cup of boiling water; continue to whisk and add water, about one tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick but spreadable mixture; be careful not too add too much water or icing will be too runny
Carefully turn cookie cake upside down (you will want flat side on top)
Spread icing over half of cookie
Place remaining icing over a pot of simmering water and whisk in unsweetened chocolate until melted; stir in light corn syrup and remove from heat
Ice the “naked” half of the cookie with chocolate frosting; if the frosting becomes to dry to spread, whisk in an additional teaspoon of hot water as needed, again careful not to make icing too runny
Allow icing to set before serving
Cookie cake is best enjoyed the day it is made but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag up to three days

Notes

Adapted from Zabar’s via New York Times (seen on Smitten Kitchen)

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Lighter Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

September 8, 2014 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

Super moist banana cake loaded with chocolate but not loaded with fat!

My mom has made some version of this banana cake at least once (usually more) a year every year for as long as I can remember. Chocolate chip filled for a holiday, chipless and stacked with chocolate cake and peanut butter frosting for an amazing layer cake, and loaded with cinnamon and chocolate chips just for fun. We even made the cake completely fat free a couple of times years ago. While the fat free version wasn’t bad at all, it was always pretty dense. Adding some fat back into the cake (only 4 ounces for this large dessert), helped keep a bit of lightness. And thanks to the bananas, you don’t have to worry about any dryness. Of course the chocolate finds itself throughout the cake in a way that you definitely feel like you are indulging. Win win!

I see this as the perfect brunch cake (or Yom Kippur /Break the Fast for those observing). The sweet moist cake and crackly top is packed with bananas. So really, you are actually adding another fruit dish to your meal…. right?!?!?!

Lighter Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

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Super moist banana cake loaded with chocolate but not loaded with fat!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) fat free plain Greek yogurt
10g (2 teaspoons) baking soda
320g (~3 cups) cake flour
2g (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
2 ½g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
122g (1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce
530g (1 pound 2 ¾ ounces) (~2 ½) cups granulated sugar
200g (~4 large) whole eggs at room temperature
20g (~1 large) egg whites at room temperature
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
570g (~2½ cups) mashed very ripe bananas (~4 large bananas)
245g grated or finely chopped chocolate

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan (you could also use a large bundt pan)
In a small bowl, stir baking soda into Greek yogurt and let stand to dissolve
In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, cinnamon and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and applesauce on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula
Add bananas and mix on low speed; add flour and mix again on low speed low speed just until combined
Remove bowl from mixer and fold in Greek yogurt; fold in chocolate
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean from the center; set pan aside on a wire rack and allow to cool for one hour
When ready to remove cake from pans; run a knife around the edges of cake and then carefully pull the inside of the tube pan up to remove the cake (if you notice it is stuck at all, run your knife around the sides again, do not force); then run a knife underneath the cake and around center of tube and use your hands to gently lift cake and place on serving plate (again be careful not to force and make sure cake is completely cool)
Best enjoyed within 24 hours; store leftovers tightly wrapped with seran

Notes

Adapted from the Har Zion Cookbook
Note: Entire cake can be frozen whole or in slices wrapped well with seran and foil up to one month; defrost at room temperature a few hours before serving

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Peanut Butter S’mores Parfaits

August 25, 2014 Keep It Sweet 15 Comments

Mini dessert parfaits layered with graham cracker crumble, peanut butter marshmallow mousse, milk chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallows!

I haven’t posted any s’mores recipes for you this summer, I was waiting until I had something extra special. These little parfaits… they certainly are that! Peanut butter and milk chocolate play starring rolls, but the other classic s’mores components are here and prominent. There is marshmallow infused into the peanut butter mousse (gotta love marshmallow fluff!) and then toasted marshmallows top each adorable shot-glass dessert.

I couldn’t resist digging into one for… you know, the good of the photo shoot. Ha, who am I kidding? I just couldn’t resist.

Peanut Butter S’mores Parfaits

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 1 dozen mini parfaits

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crumble (recipe below)
Peanut Butter Marshmallow Mousse (recipe below)
Milk Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)
28g (~1/2 cup) mini marshmallows

Instructions

Put about one teaspoon of graham cracker crumble on the bottom of each shot glass
Pipe peanut butter mousse into each parfait glass so that they are ⅓ of the way full (you can also use a spoon but I find that this helps for a “cleaner” look)
Layer each parfait with about one teaspoon of chocolate ganache
Repeat layers and top each parfait with mini marshmallows; chill in refrigerator until ready to eat
When ready to serve, use a blow torch to gently char the marshmallows right before serving

Notes

You will need 12 tall shot glasses (alternatively, you can use four larger sized glasses of choice for full-sized desserts, just scale up the size of each layer when putting them together)
I recommend making the components below around the same time, the mousse can be made earlier in the day if needed
Parfaits are best enjoyed immediately but leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and enjoyed for up to five days
If making for someone who is gluten-intolerant, make sure all ingredients are labeled “gluten-free”
Inspired by these No-Bake S’mores Cheesecakes

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Graham Cracker Crumble

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

85g (3/4 cups) finely ground graham cracker crumbs (~5 full sheets)
42g (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and butter; set aside until ready to use

Notes

Use gluten-free graham crackers if making gluten-free

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Peanut Butter Marshmallow Mousse

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Ingredients

155g (~1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter, do not use a natural version
70g (~1/3 cup) marshmallow fluff
175 milliliters (3/4 cup) heavy whipping cream, cold

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, combine peanut butter and fluff on low to medium speed until well combined; set aside
In a separate large bowl for the electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on medium-high speed just until stiff peaks form (will take a few minutes); mix in the peanut butter mixture on medium speed until smooth and creamy

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Milk Chocolate Ganache

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Ingredients

113g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
120 milliliters ( ½ cup) heavy cream

Instructions

Place chocolate in a medium heat-safe bowl and set aside
Pour cream into a medium heavy duty sauce-pan and place over medium heat; bring to boil and remove from heat immediately
Pour hot cream over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes; whisk mixture until smooth; use before ganache is set and hard

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Fudgy Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

August 21, 2014 Keep It Sweet 19 Comments

This ice cream sandwich recipe is perfect for summer entertaining! The brownie and ice cream combination is one of my favorites.

Since it is my 30th birthday, I thought I should share a recipe that includes one of my favorite things in the whole world… ice cream (hello, obvious). These Fudgy Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches were no let down. The brownie layers are thick, and are definitely the standout part of the sandwich. The flavor and richness of them is the perfect balance to a light and creamy ice cream (I wouldn’t use a super premium heavy variety). I used the Turkey Hill All Natural vanilla and chocolate to keep it classic, that brand is my current favorite super market option (no weird ingredients and super creamy).

Wrapping the ice cream sandwiches in parchment paper and tying them with cute little ribbons makes them the perfect late summer party treat. Or if you are me, this is an any time of year treat… You can even make them half the size if you are feeding kids. Hello perfect birthday party dessert!

Fudgy Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

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This ice cream sandwich recipe is perfect for summer entertaining! The brownie and ice cream combination is one of my favorites.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

90g (~2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
150g (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter
72g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
155g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
55g (~2 large) whole eggs at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
177g (~3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
78g (~1/3 cup tightly packed) light packed brown sugar
3 cups ice cream of choice (I used vanilla on half and chocolate on the other half, the classics!)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper
Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly
Remove from heat and whisk in sugars
Whisk in eggs, one at a time; whisk in vanilla
Fold in flour mixture; do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 18-20 min or until edges appear a little firm and knife comes out clean from center
Allow to cool and then cover pan and freeze for 2 hours before preparing sandwiches
Once chilled, cut brownie in half horizontally
Turn one half of brownie upside down on a large piece of foil on top of a cutting board
Note: for following steps move quickly to avoid your ice cream melting too much
Spread a layer about ½ – 1 inch thick of ice cream; top with other half of brownie and press down to flatten evenly; you will want to do this
With a sharp knife, cut into sandwiches (cut once in half across and then in thirds in the other direction) but do NOT separate
Wrap tightly with foil and place in freezer at least one hour before serving
While sandwiches are freezing, cut parchment paper into pieces that are about 8 x 5 inches inches
Wrap sandwiches with parchment prior to serving to keep them together and avoid major dripping

Notes

You will need several hours of freezing brownie and sandwiches for best results

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No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

July 24, 2014 Keep It Sweet 20 Comments

Creamy chocolate ice cream filled with crunchy sweet and salty candied peanuts. No ice cream maker needed!

I was hesitant to make an ice cream that Matt wouldn’t like (ahem, peanut hater), but ultimately I couldn’t resist. Besides, he’d choose a vanilla base any day while I am a sucker for chocolate. Especially when that chocolate has something fun in it. These crunchy chunks of candied peanuts are the perfect compliment to the creamy chocolate base. Again, this ice cream is so easy to make. It’s joining my ever-growing list of no-churn obsessions.

No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Salty Candied Peanuts

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Creamy chocolate ice cream filled with crunchy sweet and salty candied peanuts. No ice cream maker needed!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

473 milliliters (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
50g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder (any kind will work, I used a lighter cocoa powder for a more milk-chocolatey flavor)
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1¼ cups Salty Candied Peanuts (recipe below)

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, cocoa and vanilla; mixture will be very thick; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
Once cream is ready, gently fold ⅓ of it into sweetened condensed milk mixture; gently fold in remaining cream until fully combined; fold in candied peanuts
Pour ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan or ice cream storage container; wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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Salty Candied Peanuts

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2½ cups

Ingredients

150g (1 cup) chopped peanuts, roasted and unsalted
110g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
20 milliliters 4 teaspoons water
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) table or kosher salt

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
Cook peanuts, sugar and water in a small heavy duty sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring regularly until sugar begins to caramelize
When mixture begins to bubble, stir quickly until sugar is completely crystalized (it will appear very sandy and dry), about 3 minutes
Continue to cook while stirring constantly until sugar re-melts and turns a dark golden brown (~3 minutes); be careful not to burn
Remove from heat and stir in salt
Spread nuts out onto prepared baking sheet and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes; break peanuts up into small chunks and place in an airtight container until ready to use (up to two weeks)

Notes

From Baking Bites

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I hope you aren’t sick of the ice cream recipes yet…

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Chocolate Chunk Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Fudge Ripple

July 3, 2014 Keep It Sweet 14 Comments

This healthy version of ice cream is naturally vegan and gluten-free.

I’ve got another ice cream recipe for you that doesn’t require an ice cream maker! Although, this one is a little different. When I was in the midst of a baking rampage a few weeks ago, Matt asked if I could try to make something healthy. Well, wish granted! This isn’t your typical ice cream, and I’m not going to lie, it’s not as creamy as the fat-filled regular version. But when you want a sweet frozen treat that is on the healthier side, this banana ice cream is perfect.

I’m not the first person to make banana ice cream in a blender, I’ve seen it done about four million times before. But for my purposes, I wanted a flavor that felt a little more indulgent and didn’t leave my sweet tooth and cravings completely unsatisfied. The fudge ripple and chocolate chunks through definitely do the trick!

2.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Chunk Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Fudge Ripple

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Fudge Ripple Makes ½ cup Recipe from David Lebovitz via Epicurious

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~3/4 quart (3-6 servings)

Ingredients

610g (~4 large) frozen bananas, sliced
60 milliliters (1/4 cup) almond milk
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
65g dark chocolate, chopped (check to make sure dairy-free if Vegan)
¼ cup chocolate ripple (see below)

Instructions

In a high-speed blender (I used a Vitamix) combine frozen bananas, almond milk and vanilla for several minutes or until completely combined; should be the consistency of soft serve yogurt
Fold in chopped chocolate and pour into a regular sized loaf pan
Drizzle with fudge ripple; cover with seran wrap or tin foil and freeze for at least 6 hours before serving

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2.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Chunk Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Fudge Ripple

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Fudge Ripple Makes ½ cup Recipe from David Lebovitz via Epicurious

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ½ cup

Ingredients

50g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
50 milliliters (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) light corn syrup
60 milliliters (1/4 cup) water
25g (~1/4 cup) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1 milliliter (1/4 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, water and cocoa powder; whisk constantly until mixture comes to a low boil
Cook for one additional minute, still whisking and then remove from heat
Stir in vanilla
Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour or until ready to use (up to two weeks)

Notes

Recipe from David Lebovitz via Epicurious

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No guilt necessary!

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Cake

June 30, 2014 Keep It Sweet 14 Comments

This is the best cookie cake that I’ve ever had. It has a a chewy center, crispy edges and a wonderful brown butter flavor.

I’m turning 30 this year. And actually, August 21st isn’t that far away. How I feel about the age is a story for another post, but what I want for dessert on my birthday is always on my mind. I have a few celebrations to plan with family and friends but the first thing that I thought about was what sweet treat each of those celebrations will involve.

Growing up, I detested birthday cake. And even now, it has to be a really good birthday cake to win me over. Homemade layer cakes are a different story but even as a kid they weren’t my first choice. In fact most birthdays involved brownies, ice cream pie or a cookie cake (or all of the above). My poor buttercream loving mom couldn’t win.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a cookie cake, but I imagine that the basic Mrs. Field’s type wouldn’t really appeal to me today. For good or for bad, I’ve become a complete dessert snob when it comes to flavor. Sweet is not a flavor and that’s pretty much what you get with any standard bakery item. So I figured the basic cookie cake was due for an upgrade. A brown butter upgrade to be exact. Chewy center, crispy edges and that nutty caramel-y brown butter flavor. Next time I’ll sprinkle some flaky sea salt over top and really be in grown-up cookie cake heaven.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Cake

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This is the best cookie cake that I’ve ever had. It has a a chewy center, crispy edges and a wonderful brown butter flavor.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
50g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
155g (~2/3 cup) packed light brown sugar
55g (1 large) egg at room temperature
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
190g (~1½ cups) all-purpose flour
4g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
3g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
170g (~1½ cup) dark chocolate chunks
Buttercream and sprinkles for decorating (optional)

Instructions

Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy duty saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and set aside to cool
Once butter has cooled, place in the large bowl of an electric mixer with sugars; beat on high speed until well combined
Add egg and vanilla, mix on medium speed until well mixed
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; slowly add to wet ingredients with mixer on low speed; do not over mix
Slowly stir in chocolate chunks
Spread dough evenly into an 11-inch tart pan; chill 24 hours for best results (minimum of 2 hours) before baking
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
Bake cookie cake until firm: 18-22 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from center
Allow to cool before serving frosting and serving

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No Churn Oreo Fudge Swirl Ice Cream

June 26, 2014 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

This easy no-churn Vanilla bean ice cream is full of Oreo chunks and a delicious ribbon of fudge.

Other than the part where my tripod fell over and knocked my camera directly into the ice cream, I loved this. After a slight moment of panic, I gently wiped the mess off of my lens and then used some windex on a soft cloth. Phew! So even though I’m not completely thrilled with the resulting photos, I think they will suffice because this ice cream is so good it shouldn’t even matter what it looks like. Besides, I couldn’t wait another 24 hours for a new photo shoot, this ice cream needed to be eaten (Matt could barely wait the first night for the freezing process!).

This has officially become the summer of “how much ice cream can I possibly eat?” This is only the third ice cream I’ve made, but I’ve been enjoying my fair share of store bought and specialty shop ice creams as well. And I don’t know if there will be an official ice cream tour this summer, but I do have a few new places that I’m dying to try. So between the collection of other flavors floating through my head and all of the above, this summer is already one of my favorites. <—– I wonder how I’ll feel about that statement at the end of Summer when I’m 8 months pregnant and huge.

Anyway, I digress, back to this Oreo Fudge Swirl Ice Cream. Matt had originally requested Cookies and Cream, but I didn’t want to do an old standard, hence the addition of a fudge ripple. It is just enough to really satisfy a chocolate craving but doesn’t take over the entire ice cream flavor. That’s a very good thing because the vanilla base is vanilla bean all the way. Those two factors plus the big Oreo cookie chunks… this is an ice cream that is worth waiting for (even if six hours does feel forever).

No Churn Oreo Fudge Swirl Ice Cream

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This easy no-churn Vanilla bean ice cream is full of Oreo chunks and a delicious ribbon of fudge.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~1½ quarts

Ingredients

475 milliliters ( 2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, but any type would work)
Inside of one vanilla bean
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
110g (~1 cup) roughly chopped Oreos (about 10 cookies)
1 recipe for fudge ripple, chilled (see below)

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream on high speed for several minutes, just until stiff peaks form
While whipping cream, in a separate large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla bean, vanilla extract and Oreos
Once cream is ready, fold it into sweetened condensed milk mixture
Pour half of ice cream into a regular-sized loaf pan; drizzle with half of fudge ripple and carefully use a knife to cut through the fudge for a light swirl effect; repeat with remaining ice cream mixture and fudge ripple
Wrap well with seran warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight

Notes

Base from Martha Stewart

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Fudge Ripple

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Author: Lauren Liling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ½ cup

Ingredients

50g (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
40 milliliters (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) light corn syrup
60 milliliters (1/4 cup) water
25g (~1/4 cup) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1 milliliter (1/4 teaspoon) vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, water and cocoa powder; whisk constantly until mixture comes to a low boil
Cook for one additional minute, still whisking and then remove from heat
Stir in vanilla
Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour or until ready to use (up to two weeks)

Notes

Recipe from David Lebovitz via Epicurious

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Espresso Cookies with Salted Caramel Ganache

June 9, 2014 Keep It Sweet 6 Comments

These decadent cookie sandwiches are for a sophisticated palate. The dark chocolate espresso cookie is sandwiched with a rich salted caramel ganache for the ultimate dessert.

After this weekend, I could use a cookie or ten. We spent all day yesterday and Saturday cleaning out our second bedroom. How is it possible to have so much STUFF in one little room? Luckily we made really good progress. Now we just need to sell a few pieces of furniture on Craig’s List and offload some extra packaging material I have from the business. Making progress! It seems that the baby might have sensed that we were preparing his room for him, because yesterday afternoon I FINALLY felt a kick for the first time. In fact, I felt a few, but it took a couple of times for me to realize what was happening. It really did feel like a “pop” as they say. Totally incredible. I told Matt that I thought it was happening and he managed to put his hand on my belly just in time to feel a tiny kick! That really was an exciting moment to enjoy together.

I made these cookies a few weeks ago but kind of wish they were still around. They are definitely on the dark side, not a sweet sweet cookie by any means. I really enjoyed, that, though, for a more sophisticated cookie option. They would be perfect for an afternoon coffee date or even as a morning pick-me-up. I won’t tell!

Espresso Cookies with Salted Caramel Ganache

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These decadent cookie sandwiches are for a sophisticated palate. The dark chocolate espresso cookie is sandwiched with a rich salted caramel ganache for the ultimate dessert.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~21 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Espresso Cookies

215g (~1½ cups) all-purpose flour
55g (~1/2 cup) good quality dark cocoa
11g (~3 tablespoons) instant espresso powder
1g (~1/8 teaspoon) salt
170g (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
120g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
50g (1 large whole) egg, room temperature

Salted Caramel Ganache:

170g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used 72%)
60 milliliters (1/4 cup) salted caramel
120 milliliters (1/2 cup) heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Make Cookies:

Sift flour, cocoa, espresso and salt into a medium bowl; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until well combined
Add egg and mix on medium until well combined
Stop mixer and scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula
Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined, do not overmix; Chill dough for 30 minutes
While dough is chilling, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or slipats
When ready to bake, use a small cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to make cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (about 1 tablespoons each); lightly flatten cookie dough balls with palm of your hand
Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes; cookies should appear set

Make Ganache:

Combine chocolate and caramel in a large heat-proof bowl and set aside
Place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat for several minutes until cream begins to bubble (do NOT bring to full boil)
Pour cream over chocolate and caramel; let set for 5 minutes
Whisk together ganache until there are no lumps
For cookies, chill ganache in refrigerator for 35 minutes or until it has thickened to a spreadable consistency

Notes

Cookies barely adapted from Food and Wine
Source for ganache recipe: Chocolate Moosey
There will be extra ganache. Chill it and roll into balls for truffles or eat it with a spoon, I won’t tell!

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Fudgy Mocha Chip Brownies with Espresso Sea Salt

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{Gluten-Free} Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 27, 2014 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

Brown butter chocolate chip cookies are made with quinoa flour and almond meal to satisfy your gluten-free and gluten-loving cookie cravings.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that cookies can cure almost anything. So when a friend of mine was going through a hard time, I immediately wanted to send her some. She happens to be gluten-free so I wanted them to be something special and taste just as good as the gluten-full versions that she misses! Well, these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies definitely fit the bill. They are thick and chewy and oh so satisfying. Between the brown butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt, the flavor is full and well-rounded. The combination of quinoa flour and almond meal made them feel substantial and satisfying, not at all dry or bland.

{Gluten-Free} Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Brown butter chocolate chip cookies are made with quinoa flour and almond meal to satisfy your gluten-free and gluten-loving cookie cravings.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 13 large cookies

Ingredients

110g (~1 cup) quinoa flour
90g (~1 cup) almond meal
3g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
4g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
76g (1/3 cup) unsalted browned butter, cooled*
295g (~1¼ cups tightly packed) light brown sugar
50g (1 large) egg at room temperature
17g (1 large) egg yolk at room temperature
15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
160g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined (1-2 minutes); add eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until well-combined (1-2 minutes)
Scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula and add dry ingredients; mix on low speed just until combined; do not overmix
Stir in chocolate chips and place dough in refrigerator to chill for thirty minutes
While dough is chilling, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and two line baking sheets with parchment paper or slipats
When ready to bake, use a large cookie dough scoop to place cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup each) on top of parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart
Bake for 13-14 minutes or until cookies have lightly browned around edges and are slightly firm to the touch

Notes

*To brown the butter, heat it in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately. You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter
Best eaten day of baking; store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze for up to one month

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BLUEberry Buttercream Cups

May 12, 2014 Keep It Sweet 14 Comments

These Blueberry Buttercream Cups are the perfect no-bake chocolate treats. They are so easy to make.

I think I might be a little obsessed with buttercream candy cups now. First there were the Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups and then I made these Pretty in Pink Buttercream Cups. The thing is, this is such an easy dessert to make. I was able to do all of the work and clean up in the time it took Matt to go to the driving range. I could have eaten them all and he wouldn’t even have had a clue. Sometimes that is the best kind of dessert.

So when I was thinking endlessly of some sort of fancy gender reveal post, I’m glad that it finally occurred to me to make some buttercream cups again. I still don’t have high energy levels so it’s hard to motivate myself to make anything overly complicated. Besides, blueberry buttercream plus chocolate – it’s like a gourmet truffle on crack.

Wait, what? Did I say gender reveal? The filling might not be super blue (I’m trying to stay away from artificial coloring right now), but it is blue! And that’s pretty much my favorite color since we found out that we are having a boy a couple of weeks ago! It actually wasn’t a shock, everyone seemed convinced of that a couple of months ago. If I had been told anything else, I wouldn’t have believed the doctor anyway. I grew up with a sister so this whole boy world is new and exciting for me. And besides that, finding out the sex made things feel SO much more real. We’ve even started looking at furniture and all of the cute room decorations out there. Seriously, how is everything baby so darn cute? And Matt? I don’t think I’ve seen him this happy in the entire 10+ years we’ve been together. That might be the best part!

BLUEberry Buttercream Cups

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These Blueberry Buttercream Cups are the perfect no-bake chocolate treats. They are so easy to make.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 candy cups

Ingredients

227g good quality dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
7g (1/2 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1½ cups Blueberry Buttercream (see below)

Instructions

Line a mini muffin pan with 12 tin foil cupcake wrappers and set aside
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave safe bowl; melt by microwaving the chocolate and butter in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
Use a teaspoon to coat the bottom of each cup with melted chocolate; place muffin pan in fridge
Remove pan from fridge and pipe buttercream into center of each cup (about 1 tablespoon)
Spoon melted chocolate over buttercream and around edges so that coated on all sides
Chill for one hour in refrigerator before serving; store in refrigerator up to one week

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Blueberry Buttercream

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
240g (1½ cups) powdered sugar
⅛ cup blueberry puree (made from ¼ cup of fresh or frozen blueberries)
½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed for several minutes until light and creamy
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar; beat on high speed until combined
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add blueberry puree, vanilla and salt; mix on medium speed for one minute; beat on high speed for at least five minutes and until frosting is light and creamy; if it appears too thick, continue to beat for another couple of minutes or until it reaches desired consistency

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Dear Pottery Barn Kids – you might just be the end of my bank account.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups

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Peanut Butter Caramel Candy Cups

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The Best Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

April 21, 2014 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

Thick and chewy peanut butter cookies for peanut butter lovers only.

Wow, thank you so much for the kind notes, tweets, Facebook messages, etc. regarding our big news! We really didn’t tell anyone (other than our parents and siblings) until a week or so ago. Let me tell you, that is one hard secret to keep! When you are exhausted constantly, hungry ALL the time and just generally overwhelmed by the big life change coming, it is difficult to look anyone in the eye when they say “what’s going on” and you have to say “nothing.” Phew! So glad to be past that. I have a pregnancy-related post coming later this week and am happy to share even more as long as people want to read about it.

While many women suffer through morning sickness and get crazy food aversions, I was lucky to avoid that for the most part. There were a few foods here and there (mainly random vegetables and fish) that stopped appealing to me, but dessert was never one of them. In fact, anything that was carb-based sounded extra delicious. Cookies excel in that category!

So, a few weeks ago I took a look at my massive baking inventory and decided to make something that revolved around peanut butter. For peanut butter lovers, it’s hard to beat a perfectly chewy peanut-y cookie. This one is full of peanut butter, peanut butter chips, peanuts AND peanut butter cups. (Sorry Matt, this cookie is kind of your worst nightmare.) They were a big hit and I definitely enjoyed a couple myself. The amount of food I consume on a regular basis astounds me. While I’m trying to eat as healthy as possible (I figure that is the least I can do in taking care of the baby), there is definitely room for my sweet tooth cravings. Don’t expect me to start turning my nose up at dessert any time soon.

The Best Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

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Thick and chewy peanut butter cookies for peanut butter lovers only.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 15 cookies

Ingredients

130g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
12g (1 ½ teaspoons) baking soda
113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
258 g (1 cup) creamy peanut butter
160g (~¾ cup) granulated sugar
117g (~1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
100g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
105g (~2/3 cup) chopped peanut butter cups
90g (~1/2 cup) peanut butter chips
75g (~1/2 cup) chopped peanuts

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in peanut butter cups, peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts
Chill dough for 2 hours
After, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Use a large cookie dough scoop to place cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup each) on top of parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart
Bake ~14 minutes until cookies are brown around the edges

Notes

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to two months

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Pretty in Pink Buttercream Cups

April 9, 2014 Keep It Sweet 41 Comments

These dark chocolate candy cups are filled with a delicious creamy buttercream. They are a gluten-free, no-bake treat for any occasion.

Today’s post is exciting because I’m part of a huge group of blogging ladies celebrating Steph’s virtual baby shower! This sweet and talented blogger is due to have a baby girl in just a few weeks and I am so excited for her. I’ve never met Steph in real life, but through talking online I already know what a kind, friendly and lovely person she is. Not to mention she is writing a delicious looking e-cookbook!

For the virtual shower, I went with one of my favorite party staples, a bite-size pickup dessert. I love small desserts at parties because they give guests the chance to try a little bit of everything. These candy cups are a new variation of the Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups I shared a few weeks ago. This version swaps the filling for a simple vanilla buttercream tinted in pink and perfect for a (girl) baby shower. Of course you could make them blue for a boy as well. I also left out the Oreos this time to keep them gluten-free and Passover appropriate (just in time!). I think this will be a nice treat to share at our seder on Tuesday night. Scroll down to see what treats everyone else is sharing!

Pretty in Pink Buttercream Cups

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These dark chocolate candy cups are filled with a delicious creamy buttercream. They are a gluten-free, no-bake treat for any occasion.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 candy cups

Ingredients

227g good quality dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
7g (1/2 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1½ cups Vanilla Buttercream (replace food coloring with just 2 drops red food coloring); optional

Instructions

Line a mini muffin pan with 12 tin foil cupcake wrappers and set aside
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave safe bowl; melt by microwaving the chocolate and butter in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
Use a teaspoon to coat the bottom of each cup with melted chocolate; place muffin pan in fridge
Remove pan from fridge and pipe buttercream into center of each cup (about 1 tablespoon)
Spoon melted chocolate over buttercream and around edges so that coated on all sides
Chill for one hour in refrigerator before serving; store in refrigerator up to one week

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Don’t forget to take a look at what the other bloggers are bringing to the shower!

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes from Sarcastic Cooking

Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Lemon Drizzle from Greens & Chocolate

Super Chewy M&M Blondies from The Realistic Nutritionist

Strawberry Cinnamon Twist Knots from A Kitchen Addiction

Lemon Shortbread with Salted Chocolate Drizzle from The Lemon Bowl

Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream from A Zesty Bite

Blackberry and Mango Curd Pie from Joanne Eats Well With Others

Pecan Sticky Buns from Warm Vanilla Sugar

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins from Garnish with Lemon

Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Susie Freaking Homemaker

Super Simple Sugar Cookies from Espresso and Cream

Raspberry Acai Frozen Margarita from Nutmeg Nanny

Berry Coconut Frozen Yogurt from The Law Student’s Wife

Pretty in Pink Buttercream Cups from Keep it Sweet Desserts

Broccoli Salad with Honey Toasted Walnuts from The Roasted Root

Neapolitan Baked Doughnuts from Climbing Grier Mountain

Giant Pink M&M and Raisinette Cookies from Steph’s Bite by Bite

No-Bake Rhubarb Cheesecake Parfait Cups from Hungry Girl Por Vida

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from A Cedar Spoon

Freckled Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade from Take a Megabite

Vanilla Anise Cupcakes from Blahnik Baker

Mini Vanilla Bean Layer Cakes from The Baker Chick

Mini Blackberry Hazelnut Meringue Cakes from Eat Your Heart Out

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Fudgy Black and White Devil’s Food Cake

March 31, 2014 Keep It Sweet 22 Comments

Four layers of rich chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream and covered in a luscious whipped chocolate buttercream.

Not only is my mom an incredible baker, but she also happens to love cake. Actually, love is probably an understatement and I’m not sure that “cake” accurately describes it. Birthday cake is her favorite food group and the buttercream is clearly the most important part. Growing up, whenever we had birthday parties, my friends just knew to give my mom their extra frosting. I actually chose ice cream pies and cookie cakes over birthday cake for quite some time, but eventually I learned that you can actually have both.

So given her passion for all things layer cake, it always amps up the pressure to make the “perfect” dessert for her birthday. Given my mom’s reaction to this cake last weekend (she might have said that it was the “best one ever”), I think I finally nailed it. Now the question is, will I make this cake every year or will I try to top it from now on? Good thing I have some time to figure that out!

This cake really is the perfect birthday cake. The chocolate cake layers are so fudgy that they are even delicious without frosting (a couple of years ago we had a chocolate cake taste test and couldn’t get over how well this cake could stand alone). However, this is a birthday cake, and buttercream is very, very important. So I sliced the 2 cake layers in half horizontally to give room for double the filling, a delicious basic vanilla buttercream. Then I covered the entire cake in whipped chocolate buttercream. Let me tell you, this cake is amazing and rich. Even for me, who can eat dessert like a champ, a thin slice is enough. (That concept makes me wonder if I’m feeling okay.) Save this for your next special occasion, it will not disappoint.

Fudgy Black and White Devil’s Food Cake

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Four layers of rich chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream and covered in a luscious whipped chocolate buttercream.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

43g (~1/3 cup) good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1g (1 teaspoon) instant espresso powder
112g dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
240 milliliters (1 cup) boiling water
10 milliliters (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
232g (~1 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
210g (~1 cup) granulated sugar
150g (~3 large) eggs, at room temperature
246g (~2¼ cups) cake flour
5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
4g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
240 milliliters (1 cup) buttermilk
Vanilla Buttercream (see below)
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream (see below)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder and chocolate; pour boiling water over mixture and whisk together until melted and smooth; stir in vanilla; set aside to cool
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter until light and creamy; add sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, mixing at medium speed between each
Sift cake flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside
Whisk buttermilk into cooled chocolate mixture
Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to mixing bowl and mix on low speed just until combined; add half of chocolate mixture and mix on low again, just until combined; scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat with ⅓ of flour mixture remaining chocolate mixture; remove bowl from mixer and fold in remaining dry ingredients; be careful not to overmix the batter
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cakes
Set cake layers aside to cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove each layer from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal
Once cake layers are completely cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully cut each layer in half horizontally, creating 4 cake layers; set aside and make buttercreams

Notes

Cake barely adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
Store cake in refrigerator and serve at room temperature; best eaten within three days

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Vanilla Buttercream Filling

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

187g (13 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
200g (1 3/5 cups) powdered sugar
22 milliliters (1½ tablespoons) milk, any type
7 milliliters (1/2 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1g (1/8) teaspoon salt

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for eight minutes or until pale and creamy
Add half of powdered sugar, mix on low for 30 seconds
Add remaining powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; mix on low for one minute and then increase speed to medium and beat for six minutes or until very light and fluffy
Use a flat metal spatula to frost the first layer of cake; top with second layer and repeat; top with third layer and repeat; top with fourth layer of cake and set aside to make chocolate buttercream

Notes

Source: Sweetapolita

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Whipped Chocolate Buttercream

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
250g (2 cups) powdered sugar
7 milliliters (1/2 tablespoon) vanilla extract
1g (1/8 teaspoon) salt
125g dark chocolate (I used 72%), melted and slightly cooled
60 milliliters (1/4 cup) heavy whipping cream

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed for one minute
Add vanilla and salt; beat on low just for thirty seconds or well until combined
Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed for about two minutes or until smooth; scrape the sides of the bowl with a a rubber spatula
Add whipping cream and beat on medium-high speed for one minute
Use a flat metal spatula to frost the top and outside of cake; serve immediately or chill in refrigerator and bring to room temperature about an hour before serving

Notes

Source: Sweetapolita

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups

March 3, 2014 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

Rich dark chocolate candy cups filled with crème de menthe buttercream and crushed oreos.

I’m not feeling all that great today so I’m going to keep this short. These candy cups will kind of win over anyone who loves a little 2-bite treat. My mom, while a buttercream lover, isn’t usually a fan of mint desserts and loved these. I’m currently coming up with many excuses to make other versions and flavors.

Plus, I actually had some extra buttercream in the freezer so these were super easy to make. Plus they are cute. Plus you can pop one in your mouth whenever you have a sweet tooth. Plus they are killer for chocolate cravings.

Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups

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Rich dark chocolate candy cups filled with crème de menthe buttercream and crushed oreos.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 candy cups

Ingredients

227 ounces good quality dark chocolate (I used 72%), roughly chopped
7g (1/2 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1 cup Crème de Menthe Buttercream
¾ cup finely crushed Oreos (from 6 Oreos)

Instructions

Line a mini muffin pan with 12 tin foil cupcake wrappers and set aside
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave safe bowl; melt by microwaving the chocolate and butter in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
Use a teaspoon to coat the bottom of each cup with melted chocolate; place muffin pan in fridge
Combine buttercream with Oreo crumbs in an electric mixer with paddle attachment or with a spoon
Remove pan from fridge and pipe buttercream into center of each cup (about 1 tablespoon)
Spoon melted chocolate over buttercream and around edges so that coated on all sides
Chill for one hour in refrigerator before serving; store in refrigerator up to one week

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Extra Dark Chocolate Cake with Cookie Butter Buttercream

February 25, 2014 Keep It Sweet 22 Comments

This light and moist dark chocolate cake is the perfect pairing for the creamy cookie butter frosting. This is the perfect birthday cake or just because cake.

Confession time: I have all sorts of stuff going on that I can’t talk about here and it is driving me insane.

I should just be super excited to tell you about this cake which Matt deemed one of his favorite combinations to date. But I’m so distracted with everything else going in in my head that it’s hard to talk or write about other things. Such is life, though, and hopefully soon that won’t be a problem anymore! And no, I’m not holding out on a cookbook announcement or anything like that. A Keep It Sweet Desserts cookbook would be fun, though, wouldn’t it?

Okay, I’ll talk about this cake for a second. Like I said, Matt loved it. He is pretty used to enjoying my desserts so when something gets an extra compliment it means I really did something right. We had a few friends over who seemed to agree with the sentiment and considering I may or may not have had two big slices yesterday afternoon, I guess I liked it too (ahem). The cake turned out perfect- it is the chocolate cake recipe my mom made for me growing up (my favorite used to always be chocolate on chocolate). I added to the intensity by swapping water for coffee (she had just tried that too). And the buttercream…. I almost forgot how much I loved egg white based buttercreams. It is SO worth the effort. I actually could have done with about 30% more buttercream for the cake. Next time!

Extra Dark Chocolate Cake with Cookie Butter Buttercream

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This light and moist dark chocolate cake is the perfect pairing for the creamy cookie butter frosting. This is the perfect birthday cake or just because cake.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

260g (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
65g (~3/4 cup) good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder
10g (1¼ teaspoon) baking soda
3g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
170g (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
375g (~1¾ cup) granulated sugar
100g (2 large whole) eggs at room temperature
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla
325 milliliters (1⅓ cups) brewed coffee

Cookie Butter Buttercream:

75g (~1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) egg whites
32g (~3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
Additional 150g (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
50 milliliters (~3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) water
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch cubes
180g (~3/4 cup) Cookie Butter (or other speculoos of choice)

Instructions

Make cake

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat one minute at medium speed
Reduce speed of mixer to low and add ⅓ of the dry ingredients; add ½ of coffee and repeat
Add remainder of dry ingredients and turn off mixer; make sure not to overbeat; if there are any lumps fold them in with a spatula
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cakes
Set cake layers aside to cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove each layer from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal; set aside to finish cooling and make buttercream
When buttercream is ready, put a spoonful on center of cake plate (this will help hold cake in place)
Place one layer down and if rounded, use a serrated knife to cut off very top of cake; frost that layer and top with second cake layer; frost with remaining buttercream

To make buttercream

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk attachment, whisk, spatula and candy thermometer with a paper towel and vinegar to clean (if any grease is on these items your meringue will not work)
Place egg whites in large bowl with whisk attachment and mix on medium speed; gradually add the 1⅛ ounces sugar; keep mixer on
In a medium heavy duty saucepan, combine water and remaining 5¼ ounces of sugar over medium-high heat and whisk together; whisk occasionally until temperature of syrup reaches 248 degrees Fahrenheit
Meanwhile, egg whites should begin to form loose peaks; if this happens before syrup is hot enough, reduce mixer speed to low
Once syrup is hot enough, reduce mixer speed to medium-low and slowly and slowly add syrup to the mixer
Increase speed to medium-high and keep mixer on for 10-15 minutes or until it holds stiff peaks AND bowl has cooled to room temperature
Reduce the speed to medium and add softened butter, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until fully combined; mixture should be smooth and creamy
If there are any lumps, increase speed to high until frosting becomes smooth
Add cookie butter and combine on medium speed until well incorporated and buttercream is light and creamy
Use immediately or store in an airtight container in refrigerator and beat with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer before using

Notes

Keep cake in a cool dry place (best kept refrigerated during summer)
Best served within 3 days of baking
Cake slightly adapted from Hershey
Buttercream slightly adapted from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook

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This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like:

Chocolate Stout Celebration Cake

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Fluffernutter Chocolate Cake

Blog, Recipes

Mini Chip Brownie Bites with Pink Marshmallow Buttercream

February 10, 2014 Keep It Sweet 16 Comments

Fudgy brownie bites full of mini chocolate chips and topped with a pretty in pink marshmallow buttercream, perfect for Valentine’s Day!

This weekend completely flew by! I’ve had a lot going on lately (work-wise and personally) so I feel like my weekend relaxing and me-time is extra precious. I know myself, and I really need to get a chance to refresh and recharge when possible to stay motivated and keep working hard.

This weekend was fun, though. We celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday (which is today, happy birthday Marcia AND Sara!) by seeing Motown on broadway. What a fun show! The music was fantastic and the entire thing was so entertaining. Yesterday we went to a housewarming party for friends and brought these brownies. It was so nice to see some of our friends and steal time with their baby. She is an adorable 9-month old that is happy ALL the time. It is amazing.

And these brownies? What brownie doesn’t do well with a little buttercream on top? You could of course leave out the food coloring and eat them any time of year, but the pink is perfect for Friday’s holiday. If you do nothing else for Valentine’s Day, I’m pretty sure that eating chocolate is required.

Mini Chip Brownie Bites with Pink Marshmallow Buttercream

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Fudgy brownie bites full of mini chocolate chips and topped with a pretty in pink marshmallow buttercream, perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 18 brownie bites

Ingredients

Brownie Bites

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
9 ¾ ounces(~1⅓ cups) sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2⅞ ounces (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ounces (~1/2 cup) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pink Marshmallow Buttercream

6 ounces (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
7 ounces marshmallow fluff (1 small jar)
7 ounces (~1½) cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Instructions

Make the brownies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease or line mini muffin pan
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat; stir in sugar; stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix; fold in chocolate chips
Use a small ladle or medium cookie dough scoop to evenly distribute batter into muffin tin
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops are puffed up slightly and knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool

Make the buttercream

Beat butter with an electric mixer for several minutes or until light and creamy; add marshmallow fluff and beat on medium high speed until creamy
Add sugar, vanilla and food coloring; mix on low and then increase speed to high, mixing for several minutes until light and fluffy
Remove brownies from pan and pipe buttercream onto cooled brownie bites

Notes

Brownies can be stored in a covered container at room temperature up to two days or frozen up to one month
Brownie adapted from Baker’s

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

Fudgy Mocha Chip Brownies

Espresso Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

Fudgy Double Creme de Menthe Brownies

Blog, Recipes

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cookies

January 27, 2014 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

These giant cookies are fudgy and chewy in the center but perfectly crisp around the edges. The salted caramel enhances the flavor to create a well-balanced treat.

When I originally came up with the recipe for these cookies, I thought I might end up with a chocolate cookie that came out of the oven with oozing caramel. Rather, the cookie dough absorbed the salted caramel in the process of baking and the result was quite different. A rich and fudgy chocolate cookie with the salted caramel undertone and perfect crispy edges happened instead. I can’t say I was disappointed.

The dough is easy to make, it just requires some chilling for ease of use. After that, giant cookie dough mounds are formed with a well for the caramel to sit.

A littler caramel oozed out the edges while baking in some of them, and it wasn’t such a bad thing.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cookies

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These giant cookies are fudgy and chewy in the center but perfectly crisp around the edges. The salted caramel enhances the flavor to create a well-balanced treat.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 22 cookies

Ingredients

9 ¼ ounces (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
2⅛ ounces (~¾ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
10 ounces (1 ¼ cup / 2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
15 ounces (~2 cups) granulated Sugar
2 large eggs (1 x-large + 1 yolk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup Salted Caramel

Instructions

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla; mix on medium speed until combined
Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and then slowly add dry ingredients with mixer on low just until combined
Stir in chocolate chips
Chill dough for at least two hours or up to twenty four hours for best results (dough will also be easier to work with)
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Using a medium cookie dough scoop or tablespoon, drop 11 scoops of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper 2-3 inches apart (cookies will spread a lot)
Use your thumb to make a well in center of cookie dough
Carefully spoon about a teaspoon of caramel into well of cookie dough being careful not to overflow
Scoop remaining dough over caramel-filled cookie dough to cover
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are set on top
Allow to cool on cooling rack before serving

Notes

Cookies adapted from Hershey’s

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Salted Caramel Oreo Bars

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

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Salted Caramel Oreo Bars

January 23, 2014 Keep It Sweet 23 Comments

These sweet and salty dessert bars are packed with an Oreo crust, chocolate, pretzels and salted caramel. You won’t believe how easy these are to make.

Of all the salted caramel recipes I’ve made, these are by far the most dangerous.

The first time I made them, Matt joked about how ugly they were and then we proceeded to devour the pan…. warm with ice cream.

But a few days later, after they had disappeared, I decided that I simply must make them again because it just wouldn’t be fair to you if I didn’t share the recipe. Let’s not talk about how much of both batches I inhaled. Sweet and salty recipes just do it for me.

When I decided that January was going to be Salted Caramel Month, I wanted to make some spin on the ever famous Seven Layer Bars / Magic bars / Hello Dolly Bars. These are quite different from that but conceptually the building blocks are the same. Oreos instead of graham crackers, salted caramel instead of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and pretzel pieces to replace the other toppings you may be used to (you know how I feel about coconut… just no). Once you have your caramel, they are super easy to put together… and just as easy to eat!

Salted Caramel Oreo Bars

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These sweet and salty dessert bars are packed with an Oreo crust, chocolate, pretzels and salted caramel. You won’t believe how easy these are to make.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 9-12 servings

Ingredients

8 ounces (~2 cups / 20 cookies) finely crushed Oreos
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8½ ounces (~1¼) cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces (~1½ cups) salted pretzel pieces
1 cup salted caramel

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside
In a medium bowl, combine Oreo crumbs and melted butter; press mixture down evenly into prepared baking dish
Pour about half of chocolate chips over crust
Combine pretzel pieces and salted caramel, pour mixture over chocolate chip layer
Pour remaining chocolate chips over top of bars
Bake for about 25 minutes or until caramel is bubbling around edges and bars appear set
Allow to cool before slicing
Store leftover bars covered at room temperature up to four days

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You might also like:

Oreo, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Chunk Cookies

No-Bake Rice Krispie Toffee Fudge Candy Bars

Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

Blog, Recipes

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats with Mocha Ganache

January 13, 2014 Keep It Sweet 13 Comments

Rice Krispie treats are all grown up with the addition of salted caramel and a rich mocha ganache. Make this special treat for Super Bowl or your next gathering and watch the Rice Krispie treats disappear!

Last Monday we talked the how-tos on making salted caramel. Just a few ingredients and no thermometer; the basics really aren’t that hard. Now that we have that covered, I figured you could use some new recipes for the salted caramel that you won’t want to stop making (and eating).

These sweet and salty rice krispie treats are a fun and easy no-bake treat to make. They might be the perfect pick-up treat for the Super Bowl in a few weeks. The salted caramel krispie treat base is slightly gooey so they are best stored in the refrigerator. The mocha ganache is rich and really makes them something special. I liked them with and without the ganache topping, though.

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats with Mocha Ganache

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 24 servings

Ingredients

Mocha Ganache

10 ounces dark chocolate (I used 70%), coarsely chopped
4 fluid ounces cup extra-strong brewed coffee (4 fluid ounces hot water + 1 heaping
teaspoon + of instant coffee)
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and sliced

Rice Krispie Treats

1½ ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows
6 fluid ounces (3/4 cup) salted caramel sauce
7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Mocha Ganache

Set up a double boiler; bring water to a simmer in medium pot over
low-medium heat
Place heat-proof bowl of chocolate over the pot
Pour the coffee over chocolate
Continuously stir until chocolate is melted and smooth
Remove bowl from heat and whisk in the butter until creamy
Set ganache aside to cool, stirring occasionally

Rice Krispie Treats

Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter
Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted
Remove from heat and stir in caramel sauce until well combined
Stir in Rice Krispies
Use a greased spatula to press mixture down into prepared baking dish
Spread mocha ganache evenly over top of treats and sprinkle with flaky sea salt
Chill in refrigerator for one hour or until set
Cut and serve; leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to one week

Notes

Heavily adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

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You might also like:

White Chocolate Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Kripie Toffee Fudge Candy Bars

Vanilla Cookie Krispie Treats

Blog, Recipes

Funky Monkey Cheesecake Bars

December 9, 2013 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

Fudgy brownie topped with a creamy layer of peanut butter banana cheesecake!

Sometimes you just have to go back to your roots.

I’ve been having fun with pumpkin and cookie butter and white chocolate, but let’s be honest. Chocolate and peanut butter will always have my heart. And as I look back over the last few months of blogging, there is just not enough of it. So in case you had any doubt, let me reassure you that I will always and forever love that combination.

The other thing I realized I haven’t done in a while is cheesecake. In fact, I think the last cheesecake I made was this Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake. I guess it was hard to come up with anything close to as good as that one. But let me tell you, we are in major cheesecake territory here.

These Funky Monkey Cheesecake Bars are pretty much dessert rock stars. The base is a fudgy brownie just thick enough to get your chocolate fix, but thin enough that it doesn’t overpower the bars. The cheesecake filling is a light and creamy, yet rich, combination of banana and peanut butter that will have you craving them well after your last bite. I thought about adding another layer of caramel and peanuts or chocolate ganache but I actually think that would have been too much. Sometimes you just shouldn’t mess with a really good thing.

Funky Monkey Cheesecake Bars

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Fudgy brownie topped with a creamy layer of peanut butter banana cheesecake!

Makes: 24 bars

Ingredients

Brownie Layer:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
3 ounces (6 tablespoons / ¾ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
15 ounces (~1 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs OR 1 x-large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ ounces (~1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Layer:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature (light or regular)
11¼ ounces (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
7 ounces (~3/4 cup) mashed banana (~2 medium bananas)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs or 1 x-large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 13×9 pan with tin foil and coat with cooking spray; set aside
Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low to heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat
Stir in sugar
Whisk in eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla
Whisk in flour and salt just until smooth (do not overmix)
Spread brownie batter evenly in prepared baking pan and set aside to make cheesecake layer
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat cream cheese on high speed for until it is light and creamy (about 6 minutes)
Mix in sugar on medium-high speed for two minutes; scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula
Add the banana, peanut butter, vanilla and salt and mix on high speed until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes), again scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula
Then, add your eggs, one at a time, mixing at medium speed until smooth and creamy (about 30 seconds)
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until edges begin to come apart from sides of pan and cheesecake is set
Refrigerate a couple of hours until cool and completely set
Cut into squares and serve; store remaining cheesecake in the refrigerator up o three days

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

And while we are talking about it, here are a few of my favorite peanut butter and chocolate recipes:

Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Brownie Bites

Fluffernutter Chocolate Cake

Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate Ganache

Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Toffee Bars

Blog, Recipes

Espresso Salted Caramel Buttercream Brownie Bites for Audra’s Virtual Shower

December 4, 2013 Keep It Sweet 34 Comments

Fudgy chocolaty brownie bites topped with an extra special buttercream are a fun mini dessert for any occasion.

Today we are celebrating one of my favorite people! My friend Audra (The Baker Chick) is having a baby so a few of us got together to throw a virtual party.

I’ve actually been thinking about this for months. Back in July over an afternoon coffee date, Audra told Jacqueline and I she was pregnant. We both were so excited and immediately said we wanted to throw her a virtual baby shower. Now here we are, months later, and it’s almost time for Audra to have her baby boy!

I met Audra at the Foodbuzz Festival a couple of years ago. Lucky for me, Audra also lives in New York so I get to see her somewhat regularly. She is one of the friendliest and most genuine people I have met through blogging and I am so happy we are now real-life friends. It came as no surprise to me when a couple of bloggers actually asked to join in on the shower when they heard about it from other bloggers. Everyone loves Audra:-)

I always like mini desserts for parties like showers where people are mingling and may want to sample a few different things. Plus, Audra is the queen of salted caramel so I knew I had to incorporate it somehow. I actually had picked up this Espresso Salt when I was in Boston and had been excited to finally use it for something sweet. This felt like the perfect place.

And don’t forget to see what the other bloggers are sharing for the shower!

Cocktails:

Grapefruit Rosemary and Sage Spritzer from Brandy

Small Bites:

Sausage and Cheese Wonton Cups from Erin

Honey and Tangerine Whipped Goat Cheese Crostini from Liz

Desserts!

Bananas Foster Cupcakes from Meriem

Chocolate-Caramel Tart with Sea Salt from Joanne

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter from Katrina

Chocolate Mousse Mini Cupcakes from Jennifer

Cinnamon Nut Stuffed Persimmons from Gina

Coconut-Cream Meringue Cupcakes from Tracey

Espresso Salted Caramel Buttercream Brownie Bites from Lauren

Gluten-Free Cranberry Bread from Jacqueline

Mini Eggnog Bundt Cakes with Salted Caramel Icing from Kelli

Mini Gingerbread Whoopie Pies from Julie

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream from Rachel

Sugar & Spice Layer Cake from Stephanie

Espresso Salted Caramel Buttercream Brownie Bites

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Fudgy chocolaty brownie bites topped with an extra special buttercream are a fun mini dessert for any occasion.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 18 brownie bites

Ingredients

For the Fudgy Brownie Bites

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
9 ¾ ounces(~1⅓ cups) sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2⅞ ounces (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
¼ teaspoon salt

For the Espresso Salted Caramel Buttercream

8 ounces (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup espresso salted caramel (see below, can substitute regular salted caramel if desired)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease or line mini muffin pan
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, espresso powder and salt; set aside
Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat; stir in sugar; stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth
Whisk in flour mixture just until combined; do not overmix
Use a small ladle or medium cookie dough scoop to evenly distribute batter into muffin tin
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops are puffed up slightly and knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool
For the Espresso Salted Caramel Buttercream
Beat butter with an electric mixer for several minutes or until light and creamy; add sugar and beat until light and fluffy
Beat in salted caramel until combined
Remove brownies from pan and pipe buttercream onto cooled brownie bites

Notes

Brownie adapted from Baker’s
Brownies can be stored in a covered container at room temperature up to two days or frozen up to one month

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Espresso Salted Caramel

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 1 cup

Ingredients

5⅝ ounces (~3/4 cup) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) heavy cream
1 fluid ounce (2 tablespoons) milk, any type
2-3 teaspoons espresso salt (to taste)

Instructions

Whisk the sugar and water in a medium heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil
Let boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a deep amber color, watching closely so it doesn't burn
Quickly whisk in the cream (be careful; it will bubble up) and remove from the heat
Whisk in milk and sea salt and chill in refrigerator until ready to use

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like:

Espresso Cookies with Salted Caramel Ganache

Fudgy Mocha Chip Brownies with Espresso Sea Salt

Espresso Salted Dark Chocolate Biscotti

Blog, Recipes

Fancy Holiday Chocolate Pecan Pie and Pie Week Giveaway

November 18, 2013 Keep It Sweet 25 Comments

This chocolate pecan pie is the perfect addition to your fall holiday table!

Get excited because in addition to yesterday’s awesome Amazon gift certificate giveaway, I have a few more giveaways coming your way this week (scroll down for details). Oh right, and lot’s of pie! A few other bloggers and I are sharing pie recipes all week long. The perfect week before Thanksgiving treat, I’d say!

To start things off, I’ve got what I decided to call a “Fancy” Holiday Chocolate Pecan Pie. I’m completely enamored with the shape of this pie and the pile of pecans above crust level. This is the sort of thing that will look gorgeous on your Thanksgiving table.

Fancy Holiday Chocolate Pecan Pie and Pie Week Giveaway

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This chocolate pecan pie is the perfect addition to your fall holiday table!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

⅓ recipe of 1 double crusted pie crust (I used this Martha Stewart recipe)
2 eggs at room temperature
2 ounces (~1/4 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
1⅝ ounces (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
2½ cups pecans
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Prepare pie crust according to recipe directions and chill dough until ready to use
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Roll dough out in a long rectangle (at least 16 inches long and 7 inches wide), dough should be ~1/8 inch thick
Carefully press dough into tart pan, tightly into corners and edges; cut off any crust that hangs over
Whisk together filling (eggs, sugars, corn syrup, vanilla and salt); set aside
Mix pecans and chocolate chips together and pile evenly into pie crust
Drizzle filling over pie being careful not to have any spill over
Place pan in center of oven and bake for ~35 minutes or until filling is set; check occasionally and if pecans on top start to brown, lightly cover with foil for remainder of baking
Notes:
I suggest placing a large piece of foil on rack below pie in oven in case of any drips
*If you do not have a pan this size, you can make the recipe into an 8 or 9-inch pie, just use one half of pie crust recipe, NOT one third and increase filling by fifty percent; increase baking time as needed

Notes

Requires 1 13.75 x 4.25 tart pan (this inexpensive pan from Amazon does the job)

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And now for the giveaway! Today through November 25th you can enter to win a pretty awesome prize pack from King Arthur Flour (flour, spices, a pie plate AND a rolling pin) and Cabot (gift basket full of cheese and other fun products)! There will be two winners which is really exciting. US entrants only.

A huge thank you to King Arthur Flour and Cabot for sponsoring this giveaway!

Looking for more Pie Week recipes?

Brown Butter Apple Custard Pie from The Baker Chick

Bourbon Apple Hand Pies from Nutmeg Nanny

Pumpkin Pie Croutons from Chocolate and Carrots

Mini Pumpkin Pies from Dessert for Two

Winter Squash Pot Pie with Chickpeas and Swiss Chard from Eats Well With Others

Fancy Holiday Chocolate Pecan Pie from Keep It Sweet Desserts

Chocolate Pecan Tart from Bake or Break

Apple Cherry Galette with Kettle Chip Crumble from Country Cleaver

This post contains affiliate links.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

Roasted Butternut Squash Pie with Brown Sugar Marshmallow Topping

Sweet and Salty Toll House Pie

Apple Pie Crumble Bars

Blog, Recipes

Double Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes

November 4, 2013 Keep It Sweet 6 Comments

Moist chocolate stout cupcakes topped with a creamy chocolate stout buttercream are a fun dessert for any beer lover!

I don’t have a ton of photos of these cupcakes because I was too busy the day of Matt’s party with everything else. However, these cupcakes are too good not to share and were a fun dessert to play into the theme. The flavor of the stout actually comes through really well and the cupcakes themselves are very moist. Typically I’d frost the cupcake with a basic vanilla, but I had extra beer so into the frosting it went!

Double Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes

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Moist chocolate stout cupcakes topped with a creamy chocolate stout buttercream are a fun dessert for any beer lover!

Makes: Makes 5 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

8 fluid ounces (1 cups ) stout or dark beer (I used Sam Adams Chocolate Stout)
8 ounces (1 cups / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2⅔ ounces (~1/3 cup) dark unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
8⅛ ounces (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
13⅝ ounces (~2 cups) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons sour cream or greek yogurt, at room temperature (I’ve used fat free and light versions of each successfully)

Chocolate Stout Buttercream

8 ounces (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
4 ounces stout or dark beer (I used Sam Adams Chocolate Stout)

Instructions

Make the cupcakes:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line mini cupcake pans with cupcake liners or grease the cups with butter flour or non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a large heavy duty saucepan, melt butter and stout over medium heat, stirring occasionally
Remove from heat and sift in cocoa powder until smooth; pour into a heatproof bowl and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sour cream or yogurt at medium speed until well combined (about three minutes)
Add the stout mixture and mix on low speed until combined; scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined; do not overmix
Distribute batter evenly among cupcake cups (just below rim of cupcake liner)with a small ladle or ice cream scoop
Bake in center of oven for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean; do not overbake
Set cupcakes aside to cool and make frosting

Make the buttercream:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat butter on high speed until smooth and creamy
Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed for one minute; increase speed to medium high and beat for three minutes or until light and creamy
Add cocoa powder and half of stout and mix on low speed; add more stout if mixture appears dry; use a spatula to scrape sides of the mixing bowl
Increase speed to medium high and beat for several minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy
Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes as desired

Notes

Cake recipe from Sweetapolita who adapted it from King Arthur Flour
Frosted cupcakes are best served day of baking
To make ahead:
Bake cupcakes and make frosting up to one month in advance; cupcakes in a ziplock bag and frosting in a sealed tupperware container
Defrost cupcakes at room temperature and frosting in refrigerator for several hours; frost cupcakes as directed prior to serving

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Chocolate Stout Celebration Cake

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

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Graham Cracker Cookies with Toasted Pumpkin Marshmallow Filling

October 14, 2013 Keep It Sweet 23 Comments

Chewy Graham Cracker flavored cookies filled with a toasted pumpkin marshmallow buttercream are the best cookie for fall! Dip them in chocolate and decorate with colored sprinkles for a festive treat.

These cookies.

Where do I even begin? First of all, the graham cracker cookie is chewy, slightly crispy on the outside, and flavored like a graham cracker (duh) with just the perfect hint of salt. It would make a great dunking cookie (milk, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie coffee, you name it). But, why leave the cookie alone when I could sandwich it with buttercream, dip it in chocolate and decorate it with jimmies? Yeah, exactly.

So second of all, this buttercream. Ever since devouring this cake a couple of weeks ago, I could not get, Sweetapolita’s toasted marshmallow buttercream out of my head. The flavor of the toasted marshmallows is perfectly present, and I actually really like the bits of crunch you get from the browned marshmallows. Well, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I had to take that buttercream and infuse it with fall’s favorite flavors. Given that I’ve had two huge bags of pumpkin marshmallows in my pantry since last year, this was the perfect opportunity to finally use them!

And third, the chocolate. Honestly, you really don’t need to do this, but I wanted my cookies to really shine as a special fall treat. So, I dipped them in milk chocolate and covered them with some cute Halloween sprinkles. For those of you who enjoy pumpkin treats year round, you could swap the sprinkles for different colors depending on the season.

4.0 from 1 reviews

Graham Cracker Cookies with Toasted Pumpkin Marshmallow Filling

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 14 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients

Chewy Graham Cracker Cookies

4 ¼ ounces (1 cup) honey graham cracker crumbs (about 8 sheets)
5⅝ ounces (~1¼ cup) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 ¾ ounces (1/2) cup granulated sugar
4⅛ ounces (1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toasted Pumpkin Marshmallow Filling

1 ½ cups pumpkin marshmallows (25 marshmallows)
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick)
¾ cup marshmallow fluff
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning

Optional Decorations

12 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
⅔ cup sprinkles

Instructions

Chewy Graham Cracker Cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350
Whisk graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy
Beat in egg and vanilla
Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients but do not overmix; use a spatula to make sure all cookie batter is combined
Use a small cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to make cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (about 1½ tablespoons each)
Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes and remove from oven
Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack before serving

Toasted Pumpkin Marshmallow Filling

Pre-heat oven to broil; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray
Put marshmallows on prepared cookie sheet and place on lower rack of oven for thirty to ninety seconds until nicely browned on top; remove pan and use tongs to flip marshmallows over onto other sides
Broil marshmallows again for thirty to ninety seconds or until nicely browned on other side; remove from oven and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on low speed just until combined; add marshmallow fluff, vanilla and pumpkin pie seasoning and mix on medium high speed until light and creamy (about three minutes); scrape sides of the bowl with spatula
Add toasted marshmallows, mix on medium speed two minutes (there will still be bits of crunch marshmallow but they should be mostly combined)
Spread or pipe frosting onto bottom of half of the cookies, about one tablespoon each; lightly press remaining cookies down onto frosting to create sandwiches

Optional decorations

Once cookies have been cooled and frosted, place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl
Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper and set aside
Melt chocolate in the microwave on high heat for thirty seconds; stir well and microwave again for thirty-second increments stirring in-between until melted
Dip cookie sandwiches halfway into melted chocolate, place on and immediately cover with sprinkles
Place baking sheet in fridge for one hour or until chocolate has hardened
Place cookie sandwiches in a ziplock bag or sealed container and store at room temperature in a cool place up to five days

Notes

Cookie adapted from these s’mores cookies and buttercream adapted from Sweetapolita

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Please make them. Just don’t drop them on the floor like I did.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Butternut Squash Pie with Brown Sugar Marshmallow Topping

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Banana Bread

October 7, 2013 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

This hearty but moist banana bread is healthy enough for breakfast while still being sweet enough to feel like a treat.

I have so much good stuff for you. There was basically a three-day baking marathon to get ahead on blog posts. The problem is, whenever I build up some recipe inventory, I have the hardest time waiting to share everything.

This banana bread isn’t quite the most exciting recipe of the bunch, but it was necessary. Sometimes you just need a baked good that isn’t going to give you an internal guilt trip if you eat it for breakfast! Plus, with the bazillion brown bananas on my counter, banana bread was inevitable (my frozen banana collection is already out of control).

What I love about this recipe is that the banana bread came out moist but hearty. I had a habit of cutting off a bit at a time until a huge slice was devoured, but Matt also enjoyed it for snacks over the course of a few days. I think his favorite way to eat it was toasted with a smear of almond butter.

Quinoa flour is an ingredient I’ve never used before. It’s actually commonly used in gluten-free recipes (there are some here), which is why I bought it in the first place, but I had bookmarked this high protein banana bread on Madison’s site a few months ago and decided to try it out. Wondering where to get quinoa flour? I actually found it at TJ Maxx (random much?), but Whole Foods, health food stores and Amazon are probably good resources as well. I’m looking forward to playing around with it in future recipes!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Banana Bread

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This hearty but moist banana bread is healthy enough for breakfast while still being sweet enough to feel like a treat.

Makes: 8 nice-sized slices

Ingredients

2 ounces (4 tablespoons / ½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
6⅞ ounces (1¼ cups) white whole wheat flour
2 ounces (~1/2 cup) quinoa flour
10½ ounces (~1 cup) mashed brown banana (~3 medium)
1⅞ ounces (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 x-large egg lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk (any type will work, I used almond milk) at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3½ ounces (~1/2 cup) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease and flour a loaf pan; set aside
Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and set aside to cool
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours; set aside
In a large bowl, combine banana browned butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla; whisk until all ingredients are combined
Add milk, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; whisk until combined
Slowly whisk in flour mixture and do NOT overmix; when flour is ALMOST combined, fold in chocolate chips; again, do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean from center
Set aside to cool before removing from pan to slice

Notes

Very slightly adapted from Espresso and Cream
Store tightly wrapped with seran wrap for a few days; you can also freeze individually wrapped slices for future snacking
The brown butter isn’t prominent and you could likely just melt the butter instead, but I do think it added just a little something to the recipe

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Get ready for more butter, more sugar, and more indulging over the next few weeks.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread

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Peanut Butter Cup Heath Bar Brown Butter Cookies

August 27, 2013 Keep It Sweet 24 Comments

I took a perfect brown butter cookie dough and added chopped pieces of some of my favorite candies: Peanut Butter Cups and Heath Bars. Topped with flaky sea salt, these chewy cookies might just become your new favorite recipe!

Before I get to these crazy good cookies, I just wanted to mention that Keep it Sweet Desserts is up for an American Made Award for the second year. Last year we did really well, this year I’m determined to do better! You can VOTE up to SIX times DAILY! I’d really appreciate your votes and sharing with friends. The winner will be selected based on VOTES and will be honored at the American Made workshop in October. On top of that, Keep It Sweet Desserts would get $10,000 to help grow the business, it couldn’t get much better than that.

“American Made is a movement founded by Martha Stewart that spotlights the maker, supports the local, and celebrates the handmade. It’s made up of people and communities who have turned their passion for quality craftsmanship and well-designed goods into a way of life.”

Okay, back to important things like brown butter.

I made these cookies a few weeks ago. And let me tell you, baking with brown butter when you are on a pre-vacation diet is torture. I’ve gotten used to my usual recipes for the business, but when I try something new, and it incorporates all of the things I love about a cookie, it is self-cruelty at its finest.

They are chewy on the inside and just slightly crisp on the outside (you need to make sure you get that light brown color for the crisp). Chunks of Heath and Peanut Butter Cups, flaky sea salt… really, I don’t need to say more.

Peanut Butter Cup Heath Bar Brown Butter Cookies

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 15 large cookies

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1⅞ ounces (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
5½ ounces (2/3 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 x-large egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (~1 cup) Heath Bars, roughly chopped
4½ ounces (~3/4 cup) Peanut Butter Cups, roughly chopped
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and set aside to cool
Once butter has cooled, place in the large bowl of an electric mixer with sugars; beat on high speed until well combined
Add egg and vanilla, mix on medium speed until well mixed
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; slowly add to wet ingredients with mixer on low speed; do not over mix
Slowly stir in chopped candy
Chill dough for 24 hours for best results (minimum of 2 hours) before baking
When ready to bake,pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
Scoop cookie dough with large cookie dough scoop (~3 tablespoons) on to prepared baking sheets
Bake cookies until firm: 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden brown
Allow to cool before serving

Notes

Adapted from Salted Brown Butter M&M Cookies

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And if you missed it, be sure to check out the announcement of our brand new flavors before they are even available to the public!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Perfect Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Giveaway

July 22, 2013 Keep It Sweet 12 Comments

These Chocolate Chip Muffins are easy to whip up and make the perfect sweet treat for weekend breakfasts or holiday brunch.

I made these muffins a few weeks ago and actually froze a few to bring with us to the shore this past weekend. My grandfather kept raving about the “best cupcake” he has ever had. That cupcake was actually this muffin. The basic recipe is so simple which makes the fact that he loved them even better.

In fact, the recipe came from Lauren’s e-cookbook, Everyday Ingredients Extraordinary Meals. Her book is full of beautiful photos and delicious recipes. Many of them are easy meals and simple desserts. It is family-friendly and reflective of the personality you come to love from her blog. Recipes like fail-proof pizza dough, birthday cupcakes, and and My Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll (ahem, DYING to try that), give it a level of comfort and hominess. Other notable recipes include Lemon Cheesecake Crème Brule Bars and Chocolate Cream Pie. There are family friendly meals as well, but you know me and my sweet tooth. And good news for all of you! Lauren is offering to give a copy of her e-book to one of you! (See end of post for giveaway details).

Perfect Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Giveaway

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These Chocolate Chip Muffins are easy to whip up and make the perfect sweet treat for weekend breakfasts or holiday brunch.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients

½ cup skim milk
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup fat free plain greek yogurt
1 egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9¼ ounces (2 cups) all-purpose flour
5⅝ ounces (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line a regular sized muffin pan with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray
In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (milk through vanilla) and set aside
In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients (flour through baking soda); form a well in center of dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into the well
Stir just until combined
Fold in chocolate chips
Distribute batter evenly in muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center
Allow to cool for five minutes before carefully removing muffins from pan; best served immediately
Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for a couple of days or in freezer for a few weeks

Notes

Barely adapted from Everyday Ingredients Extraordinary Meals

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GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Triple Chocolate Muffins with Peanut Butter Swirl

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Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

May 20, 2013 Keep It Sweet 22 Comments

Rich pound cake layers with delicious fluffy frosting and a rich whipped chocolate ganache.

I don’t know what it is, but when I travel for a weekend, I always have a million different bags. Maybe I just should take 1 big bag and call it a day? I just try so hard to be an efficient and minimalist traveler (ha!).

What if I want to workout? Sneakers. Are we going out to a nice dinner? Heels (maybe). Do I want to look pretty? Makeup. Work to do? Computer (always). Are we celebrating something? Gifts.

Am I supposed to bring some sort of dessert? Wait, that’s not actually a question. Do I want to blog about it? Camera (woops!). I am thankful for my iPhone!

I don’t really go anywhere without some sort of sweet treat, because frankly, I’ll be sent back from where I came if I don’t! For Mother’s Day weekend, however, I was a little behind on my baking. So instead of a finished product, I traveled with cake layers. Completely normal, right? Probably not, but you know what, it was worth it.

I’m actually a huge fan of pound cake. I very rarely make it but when I saw this cake from Michelle a few weeks ago, I was completely inspired to translate her recipe into a layer cake. It did not disappoint!

Since it was Mother’s Day, I knew the cake needed plenty of chocolate. The moist and dense (perfect pound cake texture!) cake layers were filled with chocolate chips and the outside was covered with a rich whipped chocolate ganache. The filling was vanilla buttercream. I was actually experimenting with a shortening-based recipe, but next time I’d just use all butter or at least half butter instead. Okay, now I am completely craving this cake again.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

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Rich pound cake layers with delicious fluffy frosting and a rich whipped chocolate ganache.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake:

12 ounces (1½ cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
8 ounces regular cream cheese
1 pound 6½ ounces granulated sugar (~3 cups)
6 eggs at room temperature
11½ ounces (~3 cups) cake flour, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
6 ounces (~1 cup) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Basic Vanilla Buttercream with Shortening for filling:

¾ cup shortening
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Ganache Frosting:

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 cups heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pound Cake:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees; grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans; line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the parchment paper; set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and creamy; add sugar and beat mixture until light and fluffy; scrape the sides of the bowl
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed between each one until incorporated; mix in vanilla on medium speed until combined and then scrape the sides of the bowl
With mixer on low, slowly add the flour and the salt just until combined; do not overmix
Remove bowl from mixer and fold in chocolate chips
Pour batter into prepared baking pans and bake 40-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center of each layer; edges will brown slightly; do not overbake
Set aside cake to cool and prepare filling and ganache
Once cake has cooled, carefully remove layers from pans; run a knife around the edge of each layer for easier removal
Frost bottom layer with filling and top with second cake layer; frost entire outside of cake with whipped ganache

Basic Vanilla Buttercream with Shortening for filling:

Beat shortening in electric mixer on high speed for several minutes until light and creamy; add powdered sugar and mix on low for one minute; scrape sides of the bowl and add vanilla; beat on high speed until light and fluffy; use immediately or covered in refrigerator up to five days; bring to room temperature before using

Whipped Ganache Frosting:

Place chocolate in a large heat-safe bowl and set aside
Pour cream into a medium heavy duty sauce-pan and place over medium heat; bring to boil and remove immediately
Pour hot cream over chocolate, add salt, and let stand for 10 minutes
Whisk mixture until smooth
Chill ganache in refrigerator for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until ganache is thick in texture but not hard
Once chilled, put ganache in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat on high speed for about four minutes or until light and fluffy and paler in color
Use immediately

Notes

Cake very slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Whipped Ganache Frosting from Martha Stewart
Cake layers can be made ahead of time; wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for one day or in freezer up to one month
Once frosted, serve immediately; cake can be stored in refrigerator up to two days covered lightly with plastic wrap; bring to room temperature before serving

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies: A How-To Video!

May 15, 2013 Keep It Sweet 26 Comments

Remember when I promised you eHow videos? Well, I’m going to try to get past my embarrassment and share them, yikes! You already have the recipe, but I figured you might like the video for how to make these Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies. I’d love to hear what you think!

Blog, Recipes

Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

April 20, 2013 Keep It Sweet 43 Comments

These peanut butter cookies are thick and chewy (like most cookies should be), sweet and salty, and absolutely delicious.

Last week was…. well, it sure was a week. Emotionally my head was somewhere else. As soon as I heard about the marathon bombing my heart just ached for everyone there. Then there was the explosion in West, Texas. It was too much for one country in just a few short days.

But then something amazing happened. Early Friday morning, my beautiful niece was born! Hannah is the most amazing baby girl and just like that, I was reminded of the wonderful miracles happening every day! I’ve been excited to be an aunt for months, but this brand new addition to the family is even beyond what I could have expected.

And in the middle of all that, for every minute that I wasn’t glued to the news or hanging around the hospital maternity ward, I was prepping to film videos for eHow. 10 videos. In one day. AKA craziness. When I originally agreed to do this, I didn’t grasp quite how much work it would entail prepping to film, baking on camera, and rushing to clean up during the taping. In case you are wondering, it is a lot of work. Initially I was also really nervous. I’ve never done something like this before. Well, in all of the excitement of everything else. Okay, mostly because of the fact that I could NOT wait to finish taping so that I could get to the hospital and meet Hannah, I actually wasn’t nervous at all. There is another miracle for you! I think I’m actually more nervous to see how cheesy and awkward I ended up looking. If I’m not completely embarrassed by the final products, I promise to share them with you once they are done! [UPDATE: You can see the eHow video for the Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies here!]

So the good news for you? I made a few things that I really want to share the recipes for. These cookies for instance, make them. You know how much I love chocolate and peanut butter and this cookie is no exception. Thick and chewy (like most cookies should be), with a little crunch from those salty pretzels. Seriously, just make them.

Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

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These peanut butter cookies are thick and chewy (like most cookies should be), sweet and salty, and absolutely delicious.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 24 large cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (4⅝ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cups creamy peanut butter
5⅝ ounces (¾ cup) granulated sugar
4⅛ ounces (1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
2 x-large eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pretzel pieces (1 ½ ounces)
Sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter, butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in chocolate chips and pretzels
Chill dough for 2 hours
After, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
Use a large cookie dough scoop to place cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup each) on top of parchment paper, 1-2 inches apart
Lightly sprinkle cookie dough with sea salt
Bake ~14 minutes until cookies are brown around the edges

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And a few behind-the-scenes pictures for good measure

This post contains affiliate links.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Valentine’s Day for Chocolate Lovers

February 9, 2013 Keep It Sweet 4 Comments

Well, Valentine’s Day is just a few days from now and what says I love you better than chocolate? I have plenty of recipe inspiration for you, but if your sweetheart is too far to bake for, there is still time to order a chocolate sweet from Keep It Sweet Desserts!

Chocolate Sweets for Valentine’s Day from Keep It Sweet Desserts:

Brownies & Blondie Pack

Chocolate Lover’s Cookie Box

KISD Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Triple Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

Valentine’s Day Gourmet Gift Basket

And for those of you showing some love in the kitchen, here are some of my favorite chocolate recipes!

Brownies:

Fudgy Double Crème de Menthe Brownies

Oreo Crusted Brownie Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

Peanut Butter Caramel “Baked Brownies”

Candy:

Blueberry Pretzel Clusters

Oreo Mallow Clusters

Cheesecake:

Salted Caramel & Brownie Cheesecake Bars

Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Cupcakes:

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Cookie Bottomed Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Low Fat Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ice Cream:

Black Bottom Ice Cream Cupcakes

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars

Other:

Magic [cookie bar] Pie

M&M Cookie Dough Cups

Looking for more chocolate inspiration? Check out my “I Dream In Chocolate” Pinterest board!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

Blog, Recipes

Fluffernutter Chocolate Cake

February 4, 2013 Keep It Sweet 19 Comments

You favorite chocolate cake covered with peanut butter and marshmallow swirled icings.

Sometimes cakes don’t work out like you want them to. But sometimes, they turn out better.

This cake actually started out as a recipe for “salted caramel fudge cake” but frankly all I got was chocolate cake. Certainly not enough to stand on its own! As a result, I did what any normal person would do, went into my freezer for my collection of “extra buttercream” and went to town.

What, not everyone stores “extra buttercream” just because? I highly recommend it. Good things happen when you do! See also: Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream and Mocha Ganache. Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches and Macarons

Anyway, I decided it had been way too long since I made a dessert revolving around chocolate and peanut butter (has it seriously been since July?!). That is a travesty that needed to be immediately fixed. And fixed it was.

The result: I convinced myself that I was slicing the cake for photos and taking a bite for photos… but that bite turned into way more cake than I should be eating these days. Oh, but in the moment it was so worth it.

Fluffernutter Chocolate Cake

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You favorite chocolate cake covered with peanut butter and marshmallow swirled icings.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 15 servings

Ingredients

1 chocolate cake baked in a 9x13 pan, cooled (can use box mix or something easy like this 1-bowl chocolate cake recipe
1 batch Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe below)
1 cup (1/2 of batch) Easy Marshmallow Buttercream (recipe below)

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1¼ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup powdered sugar

Easy Marshmallow Buttercream

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
~7 ounces marshmallow fluff (amount in a small jar)
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Spread peanut butter frosting over entire cake
Drop spoonfuls of marshmallow buttercream over peanut butter frosting layer
Use the back of a knife to carefully swirl the marshmallow buttercream into the peanut butter frosting (any kind of marble effect will work!)
Cut and serve

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

Beat butter until light and creamy; beat in peanut butter until creamy and smooth
Mix in confectioners’ sugar on low speed just until combined and then beat for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy

Easy Marshmallow Buttercream

Cream butter on high speed until light and fluffy
Add fluff and combine on high speed until smooth
Add sugar and mix on low speed until combined; increase speed to high
until light and fluffy
Mix in vanilla on high speed until combined

Notes

The frostings really speak for themselves here, so I won't tell if you use your favorite chocolate cake mix
If you want it to be even more peanut buttery, use the Reese's Pieces Cake Bars recipe with the Easy Marshmallow Buttercream shown here

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Blog, Recipes

Sweet & Salty Party Cookies for a Virtual Bridal Shower

January 14, 2013 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

Sweet & Salty Party Cookies. aka Salted Milk Chocolate Almond Caramel Corn Cookies. Nothing less for my lovely friend, Christina!

For those of you who don’t know her, Christina is the incredibly sweet blogger behind Dessert for Two. She is getting married soon and since she is such an amazing example of what a blogger should be, I knew we needed to celebrate. Krissy put together the pretty invitation and from there it wasn’t hard to get a group of bloggers to agree.

I’ve been emailing with Christina forever, but got to meet her in person when she came as my plus-one to a Foodbuzz Festival event last fall. She was just as awesome in person as she is on her blog. We even talked about her relationship with the Mr. and I could tell that an engagement was right around the corner:-)

I’m so incredibly happy for her and can not wait to hear all about their fabulous wedding. I just know there will be incredible food, lots of drinking and a whole lot of people there to celebrate a wonderful couple. Oh, and I’m pretty sure she is going to be one beautiful bride.

Want to know what else everyone else brought to the party? Check out the delicious dishes that the other bloggers contributed for Christina’s Virtual Bridal Shower!

Strawberry Macarons from Krissy
White Wedding Cake Cupcakes from Julie
Mini “I Do”-nuts from Tara
Moon Pie Cupcakes from Madison
Whiskey Walnut Blondies from Jenna
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles from Joanne
Lemon Cupcakes with Sweet Tea Frosting from Kristan
Chocolate Covered Cheerios from Shelly
Mini Coconut Cream Pies from Megan

Sweet & Salty Party Cookies

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Salted Milk Chocolate Almond Caramel Corn Cookies

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: ~40 cookies

Ingredients

9.25 ounces (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces (3/4 cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
8.25 ounces (~1 cup packed) light brown sugar
3.75 ounces granulated sugar (~1/2 cup)
1 x-large egg + 1 x-large egg yolk at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 ounces (3/4 cup) milk chocolate almond Hershey kisses (about 35), roughly chopped (can be substituted with chopped milk chocolate and unsalted almonds)
2.5 ounces (1½ cups) caramel corn (I used Popcorn Indiana) + ¼ cup additional
Sea salt to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper or a slipat and set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, table salt and baking soda; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy
Scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula; add egg, egg yolk and vanilla; beat at medium speed until well-combined
Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture just until combined; stop mixer and scrape sides of the bowl with spatula
On low speed, add in kisses and all but ¼ cup of additional caramel corn
Use a medium cookie dough scoop and place scoops of cookie dough on prepared baking sheets 1-2 inches apart; press the additional caramel corn into top of dough and sprinkle each with sea salt
Bake cookies 11-12 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown
Set aside to cool; best results if eaten same day (caramel corn begins to get a little stale) and store in an airtight container

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This post contains affiliate links.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Salted Brown Butter M&M Cookies

December 12, 2012 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

I have so much I want to say and tell you about what is going on here at Keep It Sweet Desserts, but my thoughts are coming through in a pretty chaotic stream of consciousness so I’ll hold off until things calm down a bit!

For now, though, I can say, I am SO happy I planned ahead and sent out my Food Blogger Cookie Swap packages early this year. If I had waited, my cookies would have been who knows what and my photos rushed and blah. I took these photos a few weeks ago when I was enamored with the wonderful chew in the cookie and fragrant aroma coming out of my kitchen. For the swap, I wanted to make something that combined some of my favorite elements of a cookie, chew and salt. While the brown butter flavor was only slightly apparent in the final product, the texture of these cookies and overall taste more than made up for that. I sent my cookies to Angie, Crystal, and Michelle, I just hope they agreed!

And of course I enjoyed receiving cookies in the mail for myself (such a nice change of pace!) from some wonderful bloggers. Caroline (who I already adore) made wonderful florentines. I was so impressed that she packaged them without them breaking at all! Felice sent great Rosemary Lemon Shortbread cookies, the smell was amazing! And finally, I got some terrific Cherry Chocolate Pecan Oatmeal Cookies from Cher. What better way to find new blogs than by exchanging cookies?!

Salted Brown Butter M&M Cookies

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen medium-sized cookies or 1 dozen large cookies

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1⅞ ounces (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
5½ ounces (2/3 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 x-large egg at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup M&Ms
Sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and set aside to cool
Once butter has cooled, place in the large bowl of an electric mixer with sugars; beat on high speed until well combined
Add egg and vanilla, mix on medium speed until well mixed
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; slowly add to wet ingredients with mixer on low speed; do not over mix
Slowly stir in M*Ms
Chill dough for 24 hours for best results (minimum of 2 hours) before baking
When ready to bake,pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
Scoop cookie dough with a medium (~2 tablespoons) or large (~4 tablespoons) cookie dough scoop on to prepared baking sheets
Bake cookies until firm: 7-8 minutes for medium and 9-10 minutes for large
Allow to cool before serving

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Oh, and want to know what’s keeping me busy lately? Mostly this, a ton of this, and quite a bit of this. Yes, I may or may not be turning into an actual baked good.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Peanut Butter Cup Heath Bar Brown Butter Cookies

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Baby Shower Chocolate Clusters for a Virtual Shower!

December 11, 2012 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

SURPRISE!! A few of us are hosting an intimate blogger baby shower for sweet Rachel at The Avid Appetite! Rachel is having a baby girl and I am so thrilled for her and Sean! Rachel is one of my favorite blog friends, we’ve actually had dinner together a couple of times. I’m excited for her and her family and can’t wait to hear/read all about it!

For Rachel’s shower, I did what any person who about negative ten minutes of free time would do, I made a no-bake treat. To make it festive, I topped my little chocolate clusters with some cute little pink candy cane sprinkles. Lucky for Rachel, some of the other bloggers made even more delicious sounding treats, be sure to check them out!

Garlic Mini Monkey Bread from Yums and Loves

Candy Stuffed Peanut Butter Bars from the Lean Green Bean

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Filling from Eats Well with Others

Baby Shower Chocolate Clusters from Keep It Sweet Desserts

Congratulations, Rachel! I hope I get to meet your baby girl in person soon:-)

Baby Shower Chocolate Clusters for a Virtual Shower!

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup mini marshmallows
4 sheets graham crackers, broken into small pieces
Pink sprinkles (or blue for a boy!)

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside
Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt by heating in 30-second increments and stirring chocolate in between
Once chocolate is melted, fold in marshmallows and graham crackers
Use a large spoon to place clusters on wax paper
Drop sprinkles over clusters as desired

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In case you haven’t seen my Twitter or Facebook rants, things are a little nuts with holiday at Keep It Sweet Desserts! I’ll be back tomorrow with a great cookie recipe and hopefully coherent post!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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No-Bake Rice Krispie Toffee Fudge Candy Bars

November 15, 2012 Keep It Sweet 18 Comments

1 week. 7 days. Some amount of hours that does not feel like enough.

That’s how much time there is until Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited for the holiday, but boy did things get crazy really fast! It seems like just yesterday I was in the summer lull and just like that I’m organizing and delegating (SO thankful for family members who like to help!) for Thanksgiving dinner all the while coordinating hundreds of corporate orders to go out over the next 30 or so days.

My current mantra: do anything and everything possible ahead of time. If I had the space, I’d have all of my UPS boxes made and piled for the mass exodus that will be taking place in the form of Fudgy Caramel Pecan Brownies. I’ve even started chopping the gazillion pounds of chocolate that will be transformed into Peppermint Mocha Cookies, Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Triple Chocolate Cookies and so on. I actually thought I was so smart to pull out the food processor to help but when it started to smell like fire I decided that chopping would be my arm workout for the day. If there is one added benefit to being super busy that I didn’t expect, it would be the fact that I don’t actually have to workout because this job can be extremely physically demanding.

Anyway, back to my main point, getting ahead. I have a gazillion amazing desserts planned for our Thanksgiving dinner (between my mom and I there might be more desserts than people), but I’m definitely trying to get some done in advance and sneak them into my day when I have a few free moments. That is where these No-Bake Rice Krispie Toffee Fudge Candy Bars come in! They took almost no time to make (oh, except for that chopped chocolate that you know I love…), and once they are done you can stick them in the freezer until the day you want to eat them. Not all holiday desserts have to be complicated!

5.0 from 1 reviews

No-Bake Rice Krispie Toffee Fudge Candy Bars

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 24-48 servings depending on desired size (I cut them into small pieces to compliment the rest of the dessert spread!)

Ingredients

6½ ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
5 tablespoons light corn syrup
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced
5½ cups Rice Krispies
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
¼ cup toffee bits

Instructions

Line a 13x9 baking pan with tin foil and set aside
Pour Rice Krispies into a large bowl and set aside
In a medium saucepan, melt together chopped chocolates (not chips), corn syrup and butter, stirring constantly until combined
Remove from heat and pour over Rice Krispies; use a spatula to combine
Add chocolate chips and toffee bits and combine
Spread mixture into lined pan and pack down using the back of the spatula
Cover pan and place in refrigerator to chill for at least four hours
Once chilled, remove foil from pan and slice into squares to serve
Store tightly in a cool place up to two days or wrap and freeze until the day of

Notes

Slightly adapted from Nigella Kitchen
If making these gluten-free, check that all of your ingredients are specifically marked as such.

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

Looking for other EASY desserts to add to your holiday menu?

Easy Low Fat Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Apple Cinnamon Blondies

Chewy Ginger Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Chocolate Covered Cookie Butter Pretzels

Six Fun and Easy Ice Cream Desserts

White Chocolate Cinnamon Bun Rice Krispie Treats

22 Easy Desserts That Make You Seem Like a Pro

Chewy Gooey Cinnamon Toffee Blondies

And of course, that is where I can help!

Blog, Recipes

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

October 16, 2012 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

The fudgiest blondies loaded with everyone’s favorite sweet and salty candies.

When I asked my Father-in-Law what he wanted for his birthday dessert, his only request was chocolate covered pretzels. Sweet and salty, who doesn’t love those?

But come on, it is a birthday dessert! And since chocolate covered pretzels are what I make as an afterthought when I have extra melted chocolate, I just had to make something else.

So I threw together something else sweet and salty that required just a little more time and effort than the pretzels (of course I made those too) and was thrilled with the result. What I love about blondies is how flexible they can be. You can load them up with whatever you are in the mood for. Since Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, these would be the perfect way to use up any extra candy or the inevitable post-holiday candy sale purchases.

Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Blondies

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The fudgiest gooey blondies loaded with everyone's favorite sweet and salty candies.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
12⅜ ounces (1½ cups packed) light brown sugar
7 ounces (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 x-large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup honey roasted peanuts
½ cup M&Ms
⅓ cup chopped Heath Bars (~8 minis)
¼ cup Reese's Pieces (I used mini but regular sized would work, too)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly; remove from heat and set aside when butter is completely melted
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla; whisk in butter and sugar mixture
Whisk in flour mixture until almost combined and then fold in any remaining crumbs with a spatula
Fold in peanuts and candy until evenly distributed throughout batter
Pour into prepared baking pan
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set aside to cool before cutting

Notes

Blondies will stay fresh for several days if wrapped or packaged in an air-tight container. They also freeze incredibly well, just wrap them tightly in tin foil.

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Big, Chewy, Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Cookies

Sweet and Salty Party Cookies (with caramel corn!)

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Blog

Chocolate Makes Everything Better

October 15, 2012 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

This post is brought to you by Ghirardelli Intense Dark™ Chocolate.

Lately I’ve been trying not to eat about a billion cookies a day. Shocking, I know. But would you believe that something like that caught up with me and apparently my clothes are all a bit tight? Apparently I need to get back to everything in moderation or else the holidays are going to put me in a permanent state of sweatpants.

But I am human, and a woman, after all, so there is something in my blood that says that I must eat something sweet every day. And after a long day in the kitchen and on my feet, when I am physically and mentally spent, I just need a little something to help unwind. And while cookies will never be cut out from my life, I try to limit them to once a week. As a result, something like a few squares of chocolate after dinner does wonders and makes each night just a little bit better.

That is why I was thrilled to get the chance to sample several of the Ghiradelli Intense Dark Chocolates. Sure, I’m always tempted to eat a whole bar or two, but because of the richness, a little does go a long way. And paired with a cup of decaf coffee or a glass of red wine, I’m forced to sit down, slow down, and really relax.

My thoughts on the flavors I’ve tasted:

-Overall, they all have a wonderful richness that you can only get in a quality chocolate

-The Sea Salt Soiree had a nice texture and flavor, though I could have used just a tad more salt; if you like a subtle sweet and salty contrast you will love it

-The Toffee Interlude has a great toffee flavor and texture

-I wasn’t blown away by the Cabernet Matinee; the richness and texture were there but it had a little too much grape flavor to me (as opposed to wine)

Now the only trick will be pacing myself as I make my way through the other flavors!

Blog, Recipes

Banana Brownie Chunk Greek Frozen Yogurt

August 17, 2012 Keep It Sweet 26 Comments

Well, I think I am officially old.

My 28th birthday is on Tuesday and while I know that in the big picture that really isn’t old, I certainly feel it. After a late night out in the city last night, my body is just begging for a day of rest. A big difference from when I moved to New York six years ago.

In fact, a lot of things have changed in those six years. Jobs, twice. Boyfriend turned fiance turned husband. Sister turned real life best friend.* Studio turned one bedroom then into two. Jean size. Insecurities faded**. Passions realized. Parents seen more as equals. Views on life. Priorities. Dislike of goat cheese to love of goat cheese. Suits to chef coats.

*Well, that wasn’t exactly a change, just more of a realization

**Some

It is actually amazing how much has changed but then again there is a lot that stayed the same. Love of dessert. Partner in life. Balance of health and pleasure. Love of family. Drive, motivation, determination. Heart. Morals. Devotion to peanut butter, pumpkin, and fresh baked cookies. Joy in baking for others. Desire to eat only worth-it foods. And of course, a love of frozen yogurt.

You knew I’d tie this recipe in somehow. I’ve actually been meaning to make this recipe since the last frozen yogurt I made. It just took most of the summer for me to remember to put the ice cream maker bowl back in the freezer. Matt gets credit for that reminder.

This frozen yogurt is creamy and full of fudgy brownie chunks to add the perfect indulgent touch. The only thing missing is a little peanut butter swirl but I figured I’d be better off if I made a dessert my husband would also eat.

Banana Brownie Chunk Greek Frozen Yogurt

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Caramelized bananas and fudgy brownies make the best frozen yogurt!

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 1 quart

Ingredients

3 large brown bananas cut into slices (about ¼ inch thick)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1½ cups fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
⅓ cup fudgy brownie pieces, size based on preference

Instructions

Place banana slices, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter in a heavy duty saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until bananas and sauce are very thick, stirring occasionally; remove from heat
Place two thirds of the banana mixture in a food processor or blender and puree
In a large bowl, combine yogurt, sugar and pureed bananas; fold in remaining banana mixture and brownies
Place in refrigerator for one hour or until mixture has cooled
Once cooled, freeze yogurt in ice cream maker as directed by manufacturer's instructions
Serve immediately or store prepared frozen yogurt in freezer until ready to eat (allow to defrost and soften a few minutes before serving)

Notes

Already frozen ripe bananas will work just as well as fresh
This frozen yogurt isn't overly sweet making it the perfect base for a touch of hot fudge or peanut butter sauce and whipped cream

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Oh, and beware. This yogurt barely lasted a full day in my house.