hot cocoa

Do you make hot cocoa from scratch? Probably not. Why would you? I grew up with the instant stuff. Milk chocolate is best. Rich chocolate is ok. Marshmallows are an added benefit, whether already in the package or added fresh. And adding an extra splash of milk makes it even creamier.

My first year in China, I decided to make some hot cocoa using the recipe on the Hershey's cocoa canister. Oh my goodness--so much better! If you ever desire to make REAL hot cocoa, I recommend this recipe.

HOT COCOA (makes 4+ cups)

½ cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1/3 cup hot water
4 cup milk
¾ tsp vanilla
dash of salt

MIX sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan. Stir in water.

COOK and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil and stir for two minutes.
Stir in milk and heat. Do not boil.

REMOVE from heat and add vanilla.

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cookie dough truffles

I love uncooked cookie dough. While I frequently consume it, raw eggs and all, the non-salmonella version is better for serving to guests. Like cookie dough brownies, this recipe does not involve raw eggs.

COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
from Annie's Eats via What Megan’s Making

8 Tbsp butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
2 ¼ cups flour
one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup (mini) chocolate chips
1 ½ lb chocolate, for melting (bark, semisweet, bittersweet, etc.)

CREAM butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture is firm enough to form balls.

SHAPE the chilled cookie dough mixture into 1 inch balls (approximately 60). Place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours.

DIP truffles into melted chocolate. Transfer dipped truffles to a wax-paper lined surface. Store in the refriferator or freezer. Serve cold.

(Dipping is tricky! Feel free to use any personal tips or google suggestions. It helps to leave cookie dough balls in the freezer as long as possible, only taking out a few at a time. Toothpicks work well for dipping. Mini-chips can be sprinkled onto wet chocolate to garnish or additional chocolate can be drizzled afterwards.)

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feathery fudge cake

I make cakes. From scratch.

It was never really a goal. I grew up with Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, and all the other boxed cake mixes. They're so easy! And so consistent. And if you need something a little special, there's the whole breed of altered box mixes. Pinterest is littered with these recipes. Before pinterest and blogs, you had to buy a cookbook. These days, it drives me crazy because such imported goods come with a large price tag.

Still, one of my favorite chocolate cakes starts with a cake mix. I tried once to make it in China without a cake mix but it was NOT the same. I've since decided I'm either willing to pay the $6 for a cake mix to get the cake right or I'll make a different cake, from scratch. Thankfully, a friend keyed me in to her favorite chocolate cake recipe. It's great! The ingredients are relatively cheap and convenient for China. Even better, it is simple! One bowl. No special order of combining ingredients. Then bake, cool, remove from the pan if desired. Frost as you see fit.

FEATHERY FUDGE CAKE
from the Shenyang Cookbook

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
⅔ cup oil
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
9 Tbsp cocoa
1 ¼ cups cold water.

MIX all ingredients in one bowl. Beat well.

POUR into a prepared cake pan (one thick round layer, a thinner 9x13, or 18+ cupcakes).

BAKE at 350°F for 20-35 minutes depending on pan size. Test with a toothpick, taking the cake out when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and frost if desired.

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chocolate chip bar cookies

I love my blondie recipe, but when I made this recipe with my mother over Christmas break, I realized it was a much more convenient option for the chocolate chip blondie. Half the butter, and it still tastes great!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BAR COOKIES
from Taste of Home

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

COMBINE brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl until just blended.

MIX flour, baking powder, and salt; add to brown sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.

BAKE at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then serve.

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chocolate chip cookies

I saw these cookies on pinterest. The picture was pretty, the description was emphatic, but I'm not yet sold on pinterest for recipes. Great for ideas, but it doesn't have the same quality standard for recipes that I've come to expect from my favorite bloggers. Still, a great picture lures me. This picture of chocolate chip cookies was worth peeking into the recipe. Lo and behold the ingredients were all in my kitchen, so I made a batch. I like them, a lot. Some people love them. I'm not ready for that level of commitment. I grew up on oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so there's something comforting about that recipe, but these will now be my standard for the non-oatmeal variety.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
from Apple a Day

¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar (Korean light brown, or ¾ brown and ¼ white)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup (bittersweet) chocolate chips

CREAM butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir into wet ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips.

DROP by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will only be slightly golden brown on the edges, but do not cook longer than 10 minutes.

COOL on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes, then on a wire rack.

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no bakes

Did you know I didn't have a recipe for no bakes on this site? I didn't, until Sunday, when I went looking for the recipe on this, my online recipe box, and had to turn to one of those generic, billion recipe sites instead.

Perhaps it is because I can count the number of times I've made no bakes on one hand.

I was first exposed to no bakes during college. What gooey chewy goodness! I only remember making them once during those four years, at a friend's house, and she didn't measure the ingredients. Well, no bakes are fairly easy, but not very forgiving. That batch did not turn out very well.

As most recipes point out, it is critical to time the process, starting from when the mixture reaches a full rolling boil. If you boil too long or too short, your cookies don't form properly.

NO BAKES
makes 2-3 dozen

1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup butter
4 Tbsp cocoa
½ cup peanut butter
3 cups oats
1 tsp vanilla

COMBINE sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cooking for 1 ½ minutes once it reaches a full boil.

REMOVE from heat. Stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla.

DROP by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper or silicone sheets. Let cool until hardened.

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inside-out peanut butter cups

When I found this recipe on Baking Bites, I was excited by the simple and easily available ingredients that results in a unique peanut butter/chocolate treat. In making it, I found the instructions difficult, especially because I haven’t followed them exactly. I do not have mini-muffin pans so I used my silicone muffin cups. I also found I preferred less cookie coating and more chocolate filling. Lastly, my peanut butter cups didn’t brown well on the bottom and sides, so I inverted them onto a cookie sheet and baked for a few additional minutes. This recipe is thus slightly altered.

INSIDE-OUT PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
altered from Baking Bites

for the cookie dough
1 1/3 cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy

for the chocolate center
6 oz milk or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp heavy cream

CREAM butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla, followed by peanut butter. Slowly add mixture of flour, baking soda, and salt, until dough comes together. Place on wax paper and shape into a rough, large log. Wrap with waxed paper and chill for at least 2 hours. Combine cream and chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium for 20-30 seconds, then stir well. Repeat until chocolate has completely melted. Chill for 20 minutes, until firm but still easy to scoop. Shape into 20 flattened balls (short cylinder, like a stack of a few quarters---mine were .45 oz each). Chill until ready to use.

REMOVE cookie dough from fridge. Cut the log in half lengthwise, then make 10 horizontal cuts to slice the dough into 20 even pieces. Each piece should be semi-circle in shape. Press each piece into a silicone muffin cup, molding around the outside to create a thin layer of cookie along the bottom and sides. Place one chocolate in the center, then push the dough around it to completely cover the chocolate. Cookie will only fill the cup half or two-thirds full.

BAKE at 350°F for about 18 minutes, until the top begins to brown lightly. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove from silicone and invert onto a cookie sheet. Bake again, upside, for an additional 3-8 minutes, until bottom and sides are slightly browned.

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cookies and cream brownies

Do you need another recipe for brownies? You probably buy the Betty Crocker ones 10 for $10 on sale at the local grocery store. And why not---they're so good! But as I've mentioned before, it's not so easy on this side of the globe. A box is at least $7, so I make them from scratch. Or with cookie dough on top. Or how about cookies and cream brownies? What could be easier---crumble oreos into brownie mix and bake! Or try a third from scratch recipe, then crumble in oreos, bake, and call it a day.

Feel free to try the oreo mix-in with any brownie recipe, box or from scratch. It is a really simple way to make brownies special!

COOKIES AND CREAM BROWNIES
from Baking Bites

1 cup butter
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (or super dark Dove bars)
3 cups sugar (or 2 5/8 cups, if using Dove bars--3 cups minus 6 Tbsp)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (approximately 20-24 oreos)

MELT together butter and chocolate in a medium-large saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Whisk in sugar, salt and vanilla, then turn off heat. Whisk in eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.

STIR in flour and cocoa powder until mixture is uniform. Fold in chopped oreo cookies and pour batter into a 9 × 13 baking pan lined with aluminum foil and grease lightly. Spread into an even layer, then sprinkle with 3-4 additional cookies, finely crushed, if desired.

BAKE at 350°F for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, but not coated with batter. Cool brownies in pan for about 20 minutes, then carefully lift brownies out of the pan using the aluminum foil as a handle and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

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cookie dough brownies

I love to eat cookie dough. I absolutely LOVE it. Forget the fact that I hate cooked eggs that are anything but scrambled (and preferably with cheese or in omelet-form), I will eat raw egg mixed with butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips by the spoonful.

One summer, while working at the camp kitchen, I was amazed by a new dessert. These brownies had a top layer of cookie dough. How could the camp serve such salmonella-prone delicacies and not get shut down by the health department? Mrs. Weaver told me the trick---the dough lacked eggs!

I recently stumbled upon a recipe for such a treat and decided to relive my summer memories. As the blog suggested, the dough is so-so on its own (does raw egg add that much flavor?), but on top of a brownie, it's fabulous.

While I have a go-to brownie recipe, I didn't think it was sturdy enough to hold a thick layer of cookie dough, so I doubled this recipe to fill a 9 x 13 pan. Feel free to use whatever brownie recipe you prefer, box or from scratch.

COOKIE DOUGH BROWNIES
adapted from Baking Junkie via Baking Bites

9 x 13 pan of prepared brownies
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar
⅔ cup white sugar
8 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

CREAM butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add in flour and salt, mixing until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

SPREAD the cookie dough on top on completely cooled 9 x 13 pan of brownies.

FREEZE or refrigerate until set.

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peanut butter blossoms

These all-American cookies are a classic at Christmas time. When I was in England, I made them as a treat for my coworkers with Kisses I brought in my suitcase. The Hershey’s Kisses in China are a different chocolate so they don’t hold their shape as well, but the overall taste of the cookie is still good.

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

48 Hershey’s Kisses
½ cup shortening
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
additional sugar

BEAT shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

SHAPE dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

BAKE at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

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chocolate pinwheels

These cookies are a beautiful twist on the classic taste of chocolate chip cookies. It can be helpful to have a friend around when you are making the cookies, particularly for spreading the melted chocolate and rolling the dough. Experiment with different knives when you cut the dough. If the pinwheels separate a little, press them back together. They will form together when they bake.

CHOCOLATE PINWHEELS (makes 9 dozen)
from Taste of Home

dough:
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

filling:
2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

CREAM butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Combine dry ingredients; beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; place each half between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll into 12 in x 10 in rectangles. Chill until almost firm, about 30 minutes.

MELT melt chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add vanilla and salt; mix well. Spread over dough. Carefully roll up each rectangle into a tight jelly roll; wrap in waxed paper. Place in a paper towel roll, sliced open lengthwise. Chill for 2 hours or until firm.

CUT into 1/8in slices with a sharp thin knife; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

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black bottom banana bars

Ever have too many ripe bananas? If you don’t want to make banana bread, this is another great option, introduced to me by another staff member at our school.

BLACK BOTTOM BANANA BARS

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups mashed bananas
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup cocoa

CREAM butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined. Blend in bananas.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.

DIVIDE batter in half. Add cocoa to half. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Spoon remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife. BAKE at 350°F for 25 minutes.

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crispy chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

I had a roommate in college that loved chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. I thought they were ok. I ate a few of hers, then made them one time in China, but I just wasn’t a fan. They were the wrong consistency for a cookie. Call it a muffin and I’d be happy. But a cookie?

Then I found this recipe on Guilty Kitchen. Just her description of the issues with traditional pumpkin cookies (the cakey texture!) and her multiple attempts to make the perfect recipe made me realize I had to try her cookies. Even if they required making pumpkin butter. So here is the recipe, in all its tasty glory. It is worth every minute you spend stirring the pumpkin butter on the stove. The texture is perfect!

CRISPY CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN COOKIES (makes 3 or more dozen)
from Guilty Kitchen

1 cup butter
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin butter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
fine grain sea salt, such as pink Himalayan (optional)

CREAM butter and sugar in medium sized bowl. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin butter. Mix well.

MIX dry ingredients in separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to wet and stir to combine. Stir in orange zest and chocolate chips and set in refrigerator for 1 hour.

DROP cookies onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt before baking if desired. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes.

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brownies

Have you made brownies from scratch? Until I moved to China, the answer was no. Why would you? The boxes are so good and go on sale for just a dollar or two! But bringing years worth of brownie mix to China was not feasible, and when a box cost $7 here, I decided to try a recipe that was recommended by a friend. I didn’t try the recipe until my second year here because the ingredient list grossed me out. What kind of recipe has the same amount of oil as flour, and twice as much sugar? A good brownie, that is. Or perhaps, as the name suggests, the best brownie.

THE BEST BROWNIES
From the Tianjin Cookbook

½ cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

BLEND oil, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add eggs.

COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in a 9 inch square pan.

BAKE at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.

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oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are classic American home-baked food. I’ve had many cookies over the years, and though I enjoy most, there’s something about the recipe my mom used that just hits the spot.

Growing up, we always had oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My mom figured that the oatmeal would at least make it a little healthier! If it’s not what you grew up with, you might not love it as much, but I think these cookies will still please almost all who taste them.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cup oatmeal
12 oz chocolate chips

CREAM butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.

MIX flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add to wet ingredients. When combined, stir in oatmeal, then chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets

BAKE at 375°F for 9-10 minutes.

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homemade peppermint patties

I can get lost online, clicking from link to link, finding new blogs and new recipes. This recipe comes from one of those discoveries. A random facebook friend posted a link to a recipe on a blog. While I have yet to make that recipe (which looks very good), I found this recipe in the meantime.

Peppermint patties are not available locally in my city, but most of these ingredients are easy to come by or used in small quantities. The recipe is very fussy about the temperature of the chocolate. I decided it was too much mafan so I approximated. You want the chocolate to be liquid but not so hot that it melts the peppermint rounds.

HOMEMADE PEPPERMINT PATTIES (makes 3-4 dozen)
from Gourmet Magazine (as seen on What Megan’s Making)

2 ¼ cups powdered sugar plus ¼ cup for kneading and rolling
1 ½ Tbsp corn syrup
1 ½ Tbsp water
½ tsp peppermint extract
1 Tbsp shortening
Pinch of salt
10 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

MIX 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, shortening, and a pinch of salt until just combined. Knead on a work surface dusted with remaining ¼ cup powdered sugar until smooth. Roll between sheets of parchment paper on a large baking sheet to ¼ inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top sheet of paper and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Replace top sheet, then flip round over and repeat sprinkling on other side.

CUT out as many rounds as possible with cutter (the recipe recommended a shot glass, but not having one around, I used a clean cough syrup cup), transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather scraps, reroll, and freeze, then cut out more rounds, freezing them.

MELT three fourths of chocolate in a double boiler. Remove bowl from pan and add remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool significantly. (According to recipe, cool until thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch into chocolate registers 80°F. Return water in pan to a boil and remove from heat. Set bowl with cooled chocolate over pan and reheat, stirring, until thermometer registers 88 to 91°F. Remove bowl from pan.) Balance one peppermint round on a fork and submerge in melted chocolate, letting excess drip off and scraping back of fork against rim of bowl if necessary, then return patty to parchment paper. Coat remaining rounds, rewarming chocolate (to 88 to 91°F) as necessary. Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about one hour.

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double chocolate biscotti

I came across this recipe while looking for a "light" dessert to bring to a friend's house. I don't know the exact nutritional information, though you might be able to find it if you search for the recipe on the Cooking Light website. The cookies don't taste light! The dough is quite sticky, but stick with it! The end result is great with a warm beverage.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI (makes 3 dozen)

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ cup semisweet chocolate minichips
(feel free to substitute full-sized, milk chocolate, or chopped dove bars)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg white

COMBINE flour and next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine vanilla, eggs, and egg white in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; stir with a fork or spoon until well blended.

DIVIDE dough in half. Turn dough out onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. With floured hands, shape each dough half into a 12-inch-long roll; pat to 1/2-inch thickness.

BAKE at 350°F for 22 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 18 (½ inch) slices. Carefully stand slices upright on baking sheet. Bake biscotti an additional 15 minutes or until almost firm (biscotti will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove biscotti from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

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chocolate bundt cake

This is one of those recipes that is not easy and not cheap in China, but sometimes it's worth it. The cake is super-moist, very dense, and incredibly chocolaty. I like to drizzle a simple thick glaze of milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla over the cooled cake.

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 small package of instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup water
1 small sour cream (8oz) or 1 cup soured whipping cream (see substitutions)
1 bag of chocolate chips (12 oz)

MIX cake mix, dry pudding, eggs, oil, water and sour cream until well blended.

FOLD in chocolate chips. Grease bundt pan and fill with batter.

BAKE at 350°F for 55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan.

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