Tag Archives: cocoa powder

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cookies infused with espresso powder. Once you’ve had one you will be craving a plateful!!! They are really easy to make, and since they are a cut-out cookie they can be made in any shape you want. Aren’t the plain round ones so fun though???

Here’s how to make them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 36 medium cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons instant Espresso Powder
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in eggs and then cocoa.
Place vanilla and Espresso Powder together in a small cup until coffee dissolves. Add this mixture to the batter and mix until completely incorporated.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Allow cookie dough to soften a little at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Cool completely before removing cookies from paper.

You can serve these cookies plain, or with a little cocoa powder sprinkled on top, or you can ice them.

I iced these with royal icing that I added a little espresso powder to.

For my royal icing recipe and techniques, click here.

To get the tiny heart shape at the center I used a little melted chocolate. While the icing is still liquid, pipe a little circle just a bit above the center of the cookie. Use a tooth pick to pull down through the icing and the chocolate, making a heart. Allow the icing and chocolate to harden completely. Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These are SO GOOD!!!! I’m on a diet….and I wanted to eat them all….but I didn’t. I gave them away. sigh.

These are simple to make and probably the easiest cut-out cookie dough I’ve ever worked with. Not sticky or fussy at all! I adore anything with coffee in it, so I would add even more espresso powder next time. Make them to your taste by adjusting the amount you add. Paired with a cup of coffee, they are just…..perfect! Enjoy!!! ~r

A few other desserts that would go well with your coffee:

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Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, beautiful cookie, best cut out cookie recipe, chocolate, chocolate cookies, cocoa, cocoa powder, coffee, Cookie, cut out cookie, dessert, espresso, espresso powder, instant espresso, mocha, recipe, royal icing, royal icing recipe, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

Malted Milkshake Cupcakes

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with the creamiest malt frosting ever. Like a malted milkshake minus the cup!

I have an addiction to chocolate malts. Not chocolate shakes, just malts. The creamy, chocolatey kind that you drink through a striped straw at the pool. My mom makes the best chocolate malts ever. They are really simple to make, but there’s just something about her leaning out of the patio door and asking, “Anyone want a malt?” that makes me smile. It’s one of our summer traditions.

{Her easy recipe? Ice cream, malt powder, cocoa and milk~ a blender full of ice cream plus cocoa and malt to taste, and milk to desired consistency}

I wanted to make a frosting that tastes like a malt. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally hit the mark. It’s wonderfully creamy and smooth. It is also a very soft whipped icing that must be kept refrigerated because it has milk in it, and because it will not keep a pretty piped finish if it gets warm.

Believe me, the flavor and texture are worth it!

Here’s how to make these yummy cupcakes! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
4 packets of Dream Whip
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons of malt powder
1/2 -1 cup of powdered sugar (to desired consistency)

DIRECTIONS

Make cake mix according to box and bake in 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Put Dream Whip, milk, cocoa powder, malt powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together.
Using a mixer, beat until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes)
Add extra powdered sugar if needed, to desired consistency. This is a soft whipped frosting, so it won’t be the consistency of a stiff buttercream~ even with lots of powdered sugar. (believe me, I tried!)
Spoon frosting into a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on cupcakes.
Refrigerate until serving and just before serving add a malted milk ball and sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired for garnish.

ENJOY!!!

My thoughts: these are *almost* as good as my moms malts. This frosting is really yummy. It would be a great filling for a layer cake too~ or even a filling for cupcakes. You could fill chocolate cupcakes with this and then just spoon some chocolate ganache over the top. Oh the possibilities! Hope you get to try these and enjoy them as much as we did! ~r

More recipes you might like:

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Posted in Beverages, Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, cocoa powder, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, dream whip, fun cupcakes, malt, malt balls, malted milk, malted milk balls, milkshake, muffin tins, recipe, summer dessert, unique cupcakes, whipped frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Dough Whoopie Pies

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Ruthanne

Rich cocoa whoopie pies filled with a creamy cookie dough frosting. Yum.

One of the benefits of being a food blogger is that all of your friends see cool kitchen stuff and get it for you! My sweet friend Danielle gave me a Whoopie Pie Pan for my birthday and I had to google what a whoopie pie was because I’d never had one. Now, I am obsessed with this incredible dessert. Oh. My. Word.

A few months ago I made a cupcake that is my FAVORITE recipe on this blog (yes, I have a favorite!) It’s a cookie dough cupcake and I so wanted an excuse to make that frosting again, so I made it for these! Perfect! Everyone loves them….and I am eating the leftover frosting out of a bowl while I write this post…really– right out of the bowl {sigh of pure joy}

You know you want to try these….here’s how: (printer friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 16-18 whoopie pies)

Whoopie Pie:

2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cookie Dough Filling:

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter(softened)
2 sticks (8 oz.) salted butter(softened)
2 cups powered sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
3 Tablespoons vanilla
1/3 cup flour
1 12 oz bag of mini chocolate chips.

Directions:

Whoopie Pie:

This recipe can be made on a cookie sheet, but to get that perfectly shaped, every-one-is-the-same-size look you really should invest in a Whoopie Pie Pan. They aren’t terribly expensive and these turn out SO much better if you use one!

Preheat oven to 400F degrees
Spray a whoopie pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Use a mixer to cream together butter and sugar.
Add milk, eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add dry ingredients (add flour last and gradually) and beat until smooth. (My mixer had a hard time with this, as it is a thick cookie-like mixture. My mixer is 15 years old though and died the next day….so …? I finished mixing by hand…)
Use a large Cookie Scoop (2-3 Tablespoons) to drop dough into each whoopie pie cavity. Gently press dough into cavity.

Bake for 8-10 minutes- don’t overbake- cake should be springy to the touch, not hard like a cookie.
Cool on a wire rack.

Filling:

Place all filling ingredients except mini chips into a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer on low until combined and then high until light and fluffy.
Add half of mini chips and blend in well.
Scoop about 2 Tablespoons of filling onto one half of a whoopie pie.
Press the other half on top very gently until filling spreads to edges.
Pour remaining mini chips into a bowl and roll edges of filling in them to coat the sides.

My thoughts: These are just exactly right, in my book. I love the deep cocoa flavor in the cake and that FROSTING….!

If you want to reduce the amount of filling you can certainly cut the recipe for it in half. I was very generous with the filling and had just a little left at the end. I hope you get a chance to try these– and if you want a similar flavor in smaller bites hop over to the cookie dough cupcake recipe and give them a try. Happy baking, friends!!!

Chocolate Lava Cupcakes

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Ruthanne

These rich chocolate cupcakes are made with a cake mix, but filled with warm chocolate fudge that pours out when you take a bite~ yum!!!!!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 18-20 cupcakes)

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. white baking chips

DIRECTIONS:

Heat semi-sweet chips and whipping cream in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted and smooth, making a ganache.
Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until hardened to a soft fudge consistency.
Scoop small balls of cold chocolate ganache out of bowl using a small cookie scoop (I highly recommend a small cookie scoop for this job- the chocolate is sticky and hard to work with until it is rolled in cocoa- a scoop makes it so much easier!)
Roll balls in cocoa powder and keep refrigerated until use.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Make cake mix according to box and spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter in 18-20 cupcake liners in tins.
Gently press a ball of ganache into the center of each cupcake.

Cover each ball with a small scoop of cake batter- just enough to cover the ball completely.
Bake at 350F for the time recommended on the box.
Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream and drizzles of white chocolate.

If you aren’t serving immediately, warm each cupcake in the microwave for 15-20 seconds before serving.

My thoughts: I’ve had many a molten lava cake and cupcake before, but usually they fall apart right out of the pan. These cupcakes hold together beautifully and don’t leak all that warm fudge out until they are cut into. They are perfect re-heated and sooooo yummy with a little ice cream and raspberry sauce. A perfect treat for a chilly fall day!! Enjoy!! ~r

Other cupcake recipes you might enjoy: (click on the image to be taken to the recipe)

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Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes and tagged baking, cake mix, chocolate cake mix, chocolate cupcakes, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, dessert, food, ganache, lava cake, lava cupcake, molten lava, molten lava cake, recipe, semi-sweet chocolate, sweet chocolate chips, warm cupcakes, whipping cream, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with ganache and vanilla buttercream– so rich and smooth because they are flour-less (lets hear it for my gluten-free friends!!)!!! YUM!

Ingredients: (makes about 40 mini cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips
1 stick (4 oz.) salted butter
2 T. cocoa powder
4 egg yolks
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 c. sugar

Ganache:

1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream

Frosting:

1 stick (4 oz.) salted butter (room temp)
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. clear vanilla flavoring

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate with butter in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth and creamy.
Whisk cocoa powder into melted chocolate.
Add egg YOLKS and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until foamy.
Add sugar gradually to egg whites while beating on high until medium peaks form.
Add 1/3 of egg whites to chocolate and mix well- until completely combined and smooth.
Add remainder of egg whites and fold in gently until completely incorporated.
Spoon batter into mini-cupcake liners in tins and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely. (Cupcakes will rise high in oven and as they cool they will sink and even become a little concave— perfect spot for our yummy ganache to sit!!)
To make the ganache, heat chips and whipping cream in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth.
Gently spoon or pipe ganache into the concave top of each cupcake until all ganache is used up.
Allow ganache to cool and harden (place in fridge to speed this process up)
Make frosting by combining remaining room temperature butters with powdered sugar and vanilla and beating on high until light and fluffy.
Pipe frosting on tops of each cupcake, covering the ganache.
Decorate as desired.

My thoughts: Usually, I use a cake mix for my cupcakes and focus on the fillings and frostings for that “wow” factor. The wow factor in these is definitely the cupcakes themselves….wow. I tried cupcakes made with a flour-less recipe this past weekend in Chicago at Molly’s cupcakes. (AMAZING!) I just had to try making them for myself and the reason I made them mini is because they are SO rich and heavy. A full-size cupcake would be too much. These cupcakes are definitely worth the extra effort! The tiny hearts on top I just made on wax paper using Wilton’s candy melts. Click here for some photos of how to pipe designs in chocolate. Enjoy!!! -r