Reese’s Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I just finished this cake for Stephen for Father's Day. I haven't baked in a while, and I thought Father's Day was a good opportunity to make this. He LOVES anything chocolate and peanut butter!

UPDATE: This cake was not as good as I thought it was going to be. I have not found a chocolate cake that I LOVE. This one was okay, but one of the layers fell apart when taking it out of the pan. The frosting however, was DELISH!! Overall I think it was pretty good.

Reese’s Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (optional)

For decorating:
1 ½ – 2 batches peanut butter frosting
miniature Reese’s cups, halved and/or chopped

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth





Directions:
For the cake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9×2” round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Place the pans on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). Mix each addition only until it is blended into the batter. Scrape down the bowl and add the melted chocolate, if using, folding it in with a spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Transfer to wire racks to cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cardboard circle covered in foil. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake layer. (If desired, sprinkle with chopped Reese’s cups.) Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top and outside of the cake with remaining peanut butter frosting. Decorate with halved and chopped Reese’s cups as desired.

Sunday Crockpot Chicken

4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
poultry seasoning
sliced American cheese
2 cans cream of celery
3/4 cup of sour cream
1 box of chicken stuffing (use low sodium if you can find it)
1 stick of butter, melted.

First layer the chicken on the bottom of the crockpot, then sprinkle with seasoning. Next layer the cheese on top of the chicken (I think I used about 6 slices). Then mix the soup and sour cream together and layer on top of cheese. Finally spread the dry stuffing mix over the soup mixture and top with melted butter. Cook on low in the crockpot for 4-6 hours.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispy Treats

These looked yummy!!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
10 oz. marshmallows
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
4-6 oz. white chocolate, chopped
Finely chopped Oreos, for topping

Directions
Place bittersweet chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted. Set aside. Grease a 9×13″ pan.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted and well combined. Turn off heat and stir in the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the Rice Krispies and coarsely chopped Oreos, and mix to coat evenly. Press the mixture into the prepared pan, leveling the top. (I like to use a piece of plastic wrap over my fingers and press it down with my hand.) Allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, cut into squares. Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and stir until completely melted. Place the finely chopped Oreos in another bowl. Dip the top of each square into the white chocolate and then the finely chopped cookies. Set aside to cool and let the chocolate set completely. Store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Cake

I've never been a strawberry cake person...I prefer chocolate, but I made this for a coworker and I loved it! It is so good!

1 box strawberry cake mix
1 sm box strawberry jello
4 eggs
1/2 c water
3/4 c oil
6 oz frozen (thawed) strawberries

Beat first 5 ingredients for 2 minutes, add thawed strawberries and mix well. Bake in 3 (I've always used 2) 8" greased and floured pans at 350 or until done. frost with cream cheese icing

Cream Cheese Icing
1 stick margarine
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
2 lb powdered sugar

Cream margarine, cream cheese and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until creamy

Cranberry Almond Granola

This looked like a good snack to try. We're going to be going on a road trip and we wanted a healthy snack option on the road. Plus we like to eat yogurt, and granola is always good in yogurt. I found this on Laurasrecipecollection.wordpress.com


Ingredients:
1.5 cups oats
3/4 cup nuts (I think I'll try almonds)
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 300.

Mix together everything Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is golden brown.

Rainbow Cake

This looked like a fun cake to try...photo from www.omnomicon.com


Sunny Day Rainbow Cake

2 boxes white cake mix
24 oz of clear diet soda (2 cans, ginger ale and sprite work well)
gel food colouring
16 oz whipped topping
2 oz instant fat-free sugar-free pudding mix (2 smallish boxes)

The Dieting
Mix the cake mix with the soda according to regular instructions on box. It will be lumpy afterward. Again, you can use any white cake recipe you want, this is just how I do it.

The Rainbowing
Measure the total volume (by my estimate, 64 oz), then divide by 6 and measure into separate bowls. There are 8 oz in a cup, so 64/6 = 10 to 11 oz, or 1 cup + 2 tbsp.

Stir colour into each bowl with its own spoon. For the first colour into the pan, measure out 2/3 to 3/4 of your mix (in this case about 1 c) as close to the middle as you can. Drop in your first three colours, then work on the other pan with the last three colours. So if you’re doing rainbow order, the first pan should have red, then orange, then yellow, and now the purple, blue and green go into the second pan. As a recap, this is so both layers are roughly the same size.

Bake the cake for however long the box tells you to bake it. Check it when the box says to, but usually it’ll need an extra 5 or 10 minutes or maybe more because of the density of the soda method. Just keep baking, checking back every 5 minutes or so until a toothpick to the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before moving to a wire rack.

The Frostinging
Meanwhile, make your frosting. Just mix the pudding mix in with the whipped topping for a few minutes. Dye if you’re into that.

Frost your fat-free cake with your fat-free whipped frosting. Eat.

Alton Brown's "The Chewy"

Yes, another chocolate chip cookie recipe. I'm looking for a good one, one that is good all the time. I'll make these...eventually and update when I do. Recipe from Food Network


2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.