chocolate

Oreo Lover’s Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies

August 24, 2020 by Alyssa

These Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies are made for the Oreo obsessed chocolate lover with Oreos sandwiched into every layer.

I’m not joking around when I say these are oh-em-gee brownies. These Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies sandwich a layer of Oreo truffle between Oreo cookie brownies, milk chocolate, and more Oreo cookie crumbs.

They are the kind of brownies you eat when your chocolate craving hits or you need an over-the-top treat to share with friends (Hello, Labor Day picnics!).

Classic Brownies

These Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies start with a classic brownie recipe.

Now, you could use a box brownie mix, but I promise you, homemade brownies are so much better. What I’m sharing today is the recipe my Mom made me as a kid growing up and it’s still the best I’ve found.

Unsweetened chocolate bars serve as the base of this brownie recipe

The recipe’s from an ancient Betty Crocker cookbook she had (like literally, falling apart at the seams). In fact, we used this recipe so much that the brownie page is covered in chocolate smudges.

Look for a glossy batter

This classic brownie recipe stars bars of unsweetened chocolate. You can substitute cocoa powder + shortening (see note in recipe) but the results just aren’t the same.

Looking for more brownies? Check out my Boozy Rumchata Brownies, Double Shot Espresso Brownies, or my Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies.

The chocolate is melted down on the stovetop with butter-flavored Crisco. You then whisk in the sugar and eggs until it reaches a ridiculously glossy consistency. This consistency is the key to delicious brownies. This glossy batter will result in the thin crispy brownie crust that often cracks upon baking while keeping the center moist and gooey.

Whisk until the batter turns glossy

When you’re ready to bake the batter, you pour half into your tray, sprinkle in chopped Oreo cookies then layer in the remaining batter to sandwich the cookies within the brownies.

Oh-Em-Gee. Delicious.

After baking the brownies, you top them with an Oreo Truffle mixture which is just Oreo cookie crumbs combined with cream cheese (because why mess with a good thing!).

Oreo truffle layer rolled out to top the brownies

You roll out the truffle mixture into a thin sheet, layer it on top of the cooled brownies and smother both with a thin layer of melted chocolate and more cookie crumbs.

Silk, smooth milk chocolate topping

Lastly, let everything sit together until the chocolate hardens then slice and devour. If you want clean lines without splintering the chocolate when you slice into them, then you should let the chocolate harden at room temperature for about 2 hours before cutting.

Want to make them even tastier? Try it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 24

Ingredients

For the Brownies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate bars*
⅔ cup butter-flavored Crisco (shortening), plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
10 Oreos, roughly chopped into pieces
For the Oreo Truffle Layer
20 Oreos
4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
For the Milk Chocolate Topping

1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon Crisco
5 Oreos

Instructions

Make the Brownies: Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan with a thin layer of shortening and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
Melt the unsweetened chocolate and ⅔ cup Crisco in a large saucepan over medium heat until just melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar and vanilla.
Allow the mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes then whisk in the eggs, one at a time until fully combined.
Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan and top with the chopped Oreo cookies. Top with remaining batter and using an offset spatula spread the batter into a single, even layer.
Bake the brownies for 30-minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature before adding the truffle layer.
Make the Oreo Truffle:. In a food processor, pulse the Oreos until crumb forms. Add the cream cheese and continue to pulse until fully combined. Turn the mixture out onto a large sheet of parchment paper and using a rolling pin, roll the mixture into a thin layer measure 9 inches x 13 inches. Once the brownies have cooled to room temperature, invert the parchment paper on top of the brownies and press the truffle layer into place.
Make the Milk Chocolate Topping:. In a double boiler, melt the milk chocolate chips and shortening, stirring constantly. Go slowly so as not to burn the chocolate. Pour the melted mixture on top of the truffle-layered brownies and smooth it into a single, even layer. Sprinkle the Oreo cookie crumbs on top and let everything sit until the chocolate has hardened (~2 hours) before slicing. Slice into squares and serve. If you want clean lines without splintering the chocolate when you slice into them, then you should let the chocolate harden at room temperature for about 2 hours before cutting.
Store cut brownies in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Notes

*Unsweetened Chocolate: These are unsweetened chocolate bars found in the baking aisle. If you cannot find unsweetened chocolate bars, you substitute 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder & 1 tablespoon of shortening (Crisco) for each ounce of chocolate.

Sourdough Chocolate Babka

April 10, 2020 by Alyssa

With nothing else to do during social distancing, I put my sourdough starter to use making Sourdough Chocolate Babka. It didn’t disappoint.

One of my favorite bakes from last year’s Baking Bucket List was Chocolate Babka. With some extra time on my hands during quarantine and a surplus of sourdough starter, I decided to adapt my favorite 2019 recipe for sourdough.

The original recipe is by Melissa Clark from New York Time’s Cooking. Her recipe starts with a traditional yeast base and yields two generous loaves of Chocolate Babka. Since it’s just <3M and me in the house, I scaled the recipe down to a single loaf but you can just as easily double what I’ve outlined below for a two-loaf batch of Sourdough Chocolate Babka.

And my favorite part about this recipe, the chocolate crumbles on top just before baking that adds some crunch and a touch of saltiness.

A Note About My Sourdough Starter

My sourdough starter is a tad liquidy, I follow a 100% hydration feeding schedule, so, if you also have a slightly liquidy starter, then proceed per normal with my recipe below.

If your sourdough starter is more dough-like, then I’d recommend adding 2-3 ounces of milk in step one of the recipe below. Don’t worry about adding too much milk, you can always fix the stickiness of the dough by adding in a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is soft and doesn’t stick to your bowl or hands. My recommendation, always start with less milk.

Also, you need to start this Sourdough Chocolate Babka recipe with a room-temperature sourdough starter that has been fed at least once.

Lastly, a Note about Timing

You can definitely make this recipe all in one day if you start in the morning. However, since you have the time (and I know you do!), why not make this a leisurely bake and spread it out over two days so your bread has time to develop deeper notes of flavor. You’ll thank me later.

I ‘ve provided details on how to make this Sourdough Chocolate Babka in one day or over the course of two days, allowing the bread to have a long, refrigerated overnight rest.

Personally, I also prefer the two-day Sourdough Chocolate Babka method because it means I can enjoy warm, fresh Chocolate Babka for breakfast on day two.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Also, if you need a few guide photos on how to roll, cut, or twist the bread, check out my original Chocolate Babka post here.

Sourdough Chocolate Babka Bread

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Prep time

16 hours

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

16 hours 50 mins

This recipe was adapted from the New York Times Cooking Chocolate Babka recipe by Melissa Clark.

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

For the Dough
4 ounces 'fed' sourdough starter, liquid kind*
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided
For the Filling
¼ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup heavy cream
3 ounces extra dark chocolate, chopped (66%-74% cocoa)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Crumble
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Make the dough: Add your sourdough starter to an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in the flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Mix it all together until gently combined.
Add in the eggs and mix for an additional 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to the sides of your bowl, add a tablespoon more of flour at a time until it comes together, mixing between additions.
Add in half of the butter (2½ tablespoons) and mix again until smooth, about 3-5 minutes then add the remaining butter and mix until just combined. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl add a tablespoon more of flour at a time until it comes together, mixing between additions.
Once the dough comes together, switch to a dough hook and allow the dough to mix on medium-high for 5-7 minutes until it becomes stretchy.
Grease a large, clean bowl with extra butter and place the stretched dough into the bowl, turning it so it's fully covered (lightly) with butter on all sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise on the counter for 2-hours. It may not double in size but it should bulk up at least a tad.
After 2-hours, check on the dough, pressing it down lightly with your hands. Re-cover and refrigerate the dough overnight (or if not overnight, at least 4-hours for the flavor to develop).
While the dough rests, prepare the filling and crumble.
For the filling, place the sugar, cream, and salt in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until the sugar melts, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside to cool completely then refrigerate until ready to use.
For the crumble, place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter until large crumbs form. Cover and set aside until ready to use.
The next day (or after at least 4-hours) remove your dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 30-minutes to warm up a bit, making it easier to work with.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle.
Spread the filling evenly onto the rectangle (no need to leave a border).
Now, be prepared to get a bit messy: starting with the long side, roll the dough into a tight coil. Transfer the coil to a large piece of plastic wrap then place it on a large baking tray. Place it in the freezer for 10-minutes to rest (no longer!).
While the dough is resting, prepare your baking pan by greasing a 9-inch loaf pan and lining it with parchment paper.
Remove the dough coil from the freezer and using a pastry cutter or sharp knife, cut the coil in half length-wise (the long way) to expose the filling.
Again, prepare to get messy: twist the two halves around one another into one long twisted log (like a two-stranded braid). Then fold the log in half so the two ends meet. Place the twisted loaf into the prepared pan, tucking the ends under itself (honestly, the messier this looks the prettier it will be post-baking, so don't fuss too much with it here).
Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 1 to 1½ hours. It might puff up some but it deifnitely won't double.
When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is heating, break the crumble into pieces and sprinkle it on top of the dough, pressing it down very gently.
Bake the bread for 40-50 minutes until a thermometer reads 185-210 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack for 30-minutes.
Once cooled, remove from pan, slice, and serve.

Notes

* Add 2-3 ounces milk in Step 1 if you have a more dough-like starter. See my note above in the blog post for more details.

New Year’s Eve Sprinkles Fault Line Cake

December 27, 2019 by Alyssa

Ring in the next decade with a decadent New Year’s Eve blackout cake filled with glittery sprinkles and a shimmering gold fault line.

If you didn’t know, I really love sprinkles and my favorite place to purchase them is through Fancy Sprinkles. Their New Year collection caught my eye and I immediately purchased the 2020 & Metallic Rainbow Dragee sets which inspired this cake.

Originally, I intended to make a drip cake, similar to others I’ve made this year because they’re just SO fun to make but decided at the last moment (similar to how I make all my baking decisions…) to do something different and learn a new technique.

Check out the pinata cake I made last year to celebrate 2019!

I’ve been admiring fault line cakes on Instagram for a while now and I loved their 3D look with sprinkles, cookies, or an intricate design embedded as a ‘layer’ of the cake so after researching the process, I found it wasn’t as complicated as I originally thought and decided to give it a go for my New Year’s Eve cake.

The Chocolate Cake

I used this tutorial for the fault line process and my own chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream recipes (below) to make and frost the actual New Year cake. I love love love this chocolate cake recipe. It’s a no-fail recipe that bakes beautifully every time. It’s moist and perfectly chocolatey. I’ve been making it for years. And I think there’s no better way to celebrate a new decade than with chocolate!

Black Chocolate Buttercream

My chocolate buttercream recipe is a go-to as well, one that I keep in my baking arsenal. It’s a combination of both buttercream and vegetable shortening which I find holds up better than straight butter-only frosting. To color the frosting black, I just added a couple of teaspoons of black food coloring at the very ended and gave it a good whip in the mixer. The key to making black frosting is to always use chocolate as your base. Attempting to color vanilla or light-colored frosting black will simply result in a metallic, gray color.

Adding the Sprinkles

When it came time to add the sprinkles onto my New Year cake, I first started by slowly placing each individual sprinkle on with my hands and tweezers. After about 10 minutes, I found the process to be way too tedious and resorted to my standard method (which is a bit messier but much quicker, even with cleanup time!) and put a bunch of sprinkles in my palm, and carefully pressed them into the frosting while rolling my hand upwards on the cake.

Gold Fault Line

To create the gold fault line for my New Year’s Eve cake, I made an edible paint using a 1/2 teaspoon of gold luster dust and about 2 teaspoons of vodka and mixed them together until smooth. I then used a fine pastry brush to paint on the lines. Initially, I painted a rough fault line but later came back and smoothed it out, liking the appearance of a neater gold trim better.

If you make my New Year’s Eve cake, please let me know how it turns out! It’s such a fun cake and I love the Fancy Sprinkles on it. I’m almost tempted to make a second just to stare at in my kitchen on New Year’s Eve!

Happy New Year, Friends!

New Year's Eve Fault Line Cake

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Prep time

90 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 12 pieces

Ingredients

Three 6-inch chocolate cakes, recipe below
6 cups black chocolate buttercream, recipe below
1½ cups sprinkles of choice
gold edible paint*
Piping bag + tips of choice
Bench scraper
Offset spatula
Thin pastry brush

Instructions

Place one chocolate cake on the serving tray and coat the top of it with a thick layer of chocolate frosting.
Take the second chocolate cake and place this cake on top of the first and frost with chocolate buttercream
Place the third cake on top of the second and frost the sides and top of the cake with chocolate buttercream, this is your base coat. Place it in the fridge to set for 20 minutes.
Place 1½ cups of chocolate buttercream in a piping bag and snip off the tip to make a ½ inch hole.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and pipe a 4-5 inch section of frosting around the center of the cake (this is where the sprinkles will go). Use a bench scraper to smooth out this middle section (do not worry about the top and bottom portions of the cake looking rough, we'll deal with this later)
Add your sprinkles to the middle section of the cake, covering as much of the area as possible.
Add more frosting to your piping bag and draw thick frosting lines around the top and bottom of your sprinkle area (as if adding a border to hold in the sprinkles). Now fill in the rest of the top and bottom of the cake with the frosting and smooth it with an offset spatula.
Use a bench scraper, smooth out the top and bottom of the frosting you just added, careful not to press too hard or you'll knock off the sprinkles. Set into the fridge to set up for 20-minutes.
Using your gold paint, paint edges of the fault line you created and allow it to dry.
Pipe on your desired cake topping (I chose a rope feature) and add more sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

*Make your own edible paint by mixing a ½ teaspoon of gold luster dust with 2 teaspoons of vodka.
** If you need a little help, check out this YouTube tutorial

Chocolate Cake Recipe

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Author: Alyssa

Ingredients

1½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa sifted
1½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ cup hot water
2 tsp instant coffee
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease three 6-inch cake pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment then set aside.
Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir on low to combine.
Dissolve the coffee in the hot water then set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
Temper the egg-milk mixture by slowly whisking in the hot coffee (you don't want to cook the eggs!)
Add the coffee-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. The batter will be very thin, that's okay!
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. (I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.)
Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans in oven halfway through. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Black Chocolate Buttercream

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 6 cups

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons meringue powder
8 cups confectioners' sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup half & half (heavy cream or milk will work)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons black food coloring

Instructions

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter, shortening, and meringue powder until creamy.
Add in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla extract. Mix on low to combine.
With the mixer on low, stream in the half & half until you have a thick, chocolate buttercream. Adjust the frosting consistency by adding 1 additional tablespoon of frosting at a time.
Add in the black food coloring and mix to fully combine.

Chocolate Babka

April 11, 2019 by Alyssa

For my March baking bucket list, I tackled Chocolate Babka, a sweet brioche bread with a chocolate twist and fudgy chocolate filling.

Although I’m posting this in April, I actually tackled my March Baking Bucket List Challenge in March. Life was pretty busy in March so I pushed this off until the very last day and spent Sunday, March 31st in the kitchen tending to this Chocolate Babka.

To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever had Chocolate Babka until I made it myself. In fact, it only ended up on my Baking Bucket List because I was intrigued by the beauty of the twisted bread and knew it would truly challenge me since it required me to work with yeast, something I’m slowly becoming comfortable baking with.

For my chocolate babka, I chose to follow the New York Times Cooking recipe and made it almost to spec. This recipe intrigued me because it strayed slightly from traditional babka recipes by adding a chocolate crumble to the top of the bread prior to baking. The chocolate twist was also sandwiched with a fudgy, frosting-like spread (which, as a twist, you could always replace with Nutella!).

I consider myself an experience baker and even for me, at first glance, this recipe seemed intimidating.

However, after breaking it down a bit, it’s really quite straight forward. Chocolate babka requires a few ‘mini recipes’ which come together to great the delicious, chocolate bread. If you’re able to break each of the recipes up and tackle them one by one, this chocolate babka is really quite manageable.

However, I suggest you dedicate a full afternoon to the process due to the the multiple recipes, double proofing, and time it takes to twist & bake the bread.

The only major hurdle I faced during the chocolate babka recipe was working with the dough. As mentioned earlier, because I’m not quite comfortable with yeast and have never made brioche bread before (a bread that requires you to beat room temperature butter into the dough resulting in a unique, squishy texture) I doubted my dough. Since I wasn’t confident with the texture of the brioche bread dough after my first rise, I believed I had done something wrong — like having killed the yeast.

This led me to trashing the entire dough and starting from scratch.

After the first proof on the second dough, I had the same results as the first. I quickly Googled brioche bread and learned that the ‘puckered’ texture of the dough was quite common so with a bit more confidence, I pushed forward, crossed my fingers, and hoped it would all turn out.

Note: At this time, I also strayed slightly from the New York Times Cooking recipe. The author suggests letting the dough sit in the fridge for a day or overnight for maximum flavor. However, since I was determined to finish my chocolate babka before the end of March, I skipped this process. I believed skipping the overnight rest was completely fine since other chocolate babka recipes I had researched did not call for this step. If you have the time to let the dough rest overnight, I’m sure you’ll have an even tastier result that I did.

After the first rise is when the fun truly begins!

At this time, you split the dough in half, roll it out into a huge rectangle and spread it with the decadent, fudgy chocolate filling. After rolling it into a tight little log, much like cinnamon rolls, you place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill and repeat the process with the other half of the dough (since this recipe results in two loaves of babka)

After chilling, using a pastry cutter, you split the rolled log straight down the center, revealing the beautiful chocolate center and twist the two strips together creating a dark and light braided masterpiece. (I could stare at the twisted dough all day long, so pretty!). Once twisted, you fold the log in half and place it into a loaf pan for a second rise. Right before baking, the proofed dough it topped with the chocolate crumble and baked to perfection.

rolled babka dough

chocolate fudge filling

rolled dough

split dough prior to twisting

twisted chocolate babka dough

second proof

chocolate crumble

After baking, the New York Times Cooking author suggests brushing the bread with a sugar syrup. I made the sugar syrup but after looking at my baked bread, I chose not to brush it with the sugar syrup. I felt the bread may get soggy or become too sweet and chose to skip the syrup out of personal preference.

I loved the chocolate babka. It was addictingly delicious and one of my favorite bakes ever. And I don’t even like sweet breakfast breads!

The babka was soft with a slight chew. The chocolate swirl added a hint of sweetness and the chocolate crumble on top added texture with a touch of saltiness. It hit all my favorite flavor notes! I savored this bread, wanting it all to myself but ultimately, with a bit of remorse, ended up sharing it with coworkers.

I will definitely be making chocolate babka again in the future and came out of this experience with more confidence in yeast breads, proud of my diligence to complete the challenge in March, and damn proud of the end result when never having tasted chocolate babka before.

How ’bout you, have you ever made chocolate babka before? What was your experience?

Valentine’s Day Chocolate Ganache Truffles

February 12, 2018 by Alyssa

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Truffles are seriously the best — better than any Russell Stover’s box of mystery chocolates you might pick up at CVS and they’re ridiculously easy to make.

Homemade Ganache Truffles are seriously the best — better than any Russell Stover’s box of mystery chocolates you might pick up at CVS. They’re also a fun treat to share with your VAL or GAL-entine. They’re a meaningful, homemade treat that are always a hit because seriously, how often do you come across HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE GANACHE TRUFFLES?

Answer: Never

You will be the champion of all things with homemade chocolate Ganache Truffles.

Since chocolate is always better when paired with a bit of coffee (it helps bring out the chocolate flavor in the chocolate) I added a tablespoon of instant espresso powder while making the truffles. The result is a silky, chocolatey truffle with a hit of caffeine, making it a great mid-afternoon pick-me-up on Valentine’s Day or the sweetest ending to a homemade meal.

These treats also last a few weeks in your fridge, so the Chocolate Ganache Truffles are fun to box up in pretty packaging and share with your best of friends in celebration of Galentine’s Day.

Now, I get it, candy making seems intimidating but Ganache Truffles are as easy as pb&j, I promise you.

It requires 4 basic ingredients, a bit of patience, and a willingness to get a little messy! Here’s how easy these are to make —

Make the ganache by melting the dark chocolate with heavy cream and espresso powder over a double boiler
Chill for at least 2 hours until the ganache has hardened
Scoop and roll into teaspoon sized balls (this is the messy part!)
Freeze for another 1-2 hours
Melt your white chocolate over a double boiler
Dip the frozen truffles in the white chocolate, let excess drip off and !

BAM, you’re done!

Now grab your homemade bonbons, kick-up your feet and soak in that sweet Valentine’s Day love. You’re welcome.

5.0 from 4 reviews

Valentine's Day Ganache Truffles

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Prep time

4 hours

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

4 hours 20 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 48

Ingredients

12 ounces dark chocolate chips
6 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee
10 ounces white chocolate (or colored chocolate of choice)
assorted sprinkles
mini cupcake liners, optional for serving

Instructions

Create a double boiler by boiling a pot of water on the stove and placing a medium-sized mixing bowl on top of it
Place the dark chocolate, heavy cream and espresso powder in the medium-sized bowl over the boiling water
Stir continuously until the chocolate is fully melted and shiny
Place the bowl of melted chocolate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours until the ganache has hardened fully (I refrigerated mine overnight(
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and using a melon baller, scoop out 1 teaspoon sized balls of ganache and roll into a perfect ball using the palms of your hands
Place the ganache truffles back on the parchment lined baking sheet and repeat until you've rolled all of the ganache
Freeze the ganache truffles for at least 2-hours
Using the same double boiler method as above, melt your white or colored chocolate
Once melted, place a single, frozen ganache truffle onto a skewer and dip it into the melted white chocolate, covering all of the ganache. Let any excess drip off, gently tapping the skewer on the side of the bowl to shake off extra as needed
Using a fork, slide the dipped ganache truffle off of the skewer and place it back on the parchment to dry. Top with sprinkles for decoration and repeat until all truffles are coated. You may need to reheat the white chocolate if it becomes too thick to dip. Do this by microwaving the bowl for 10-15 seconds, stir, then return to dipping the truffles.
For serving, using a small knife to trim off any excess chocolate around the truffles (this helps make them more round and looks a bit nicer)
Place the trimmed truffles in mini cupcake liners
Ganache truffles can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days or kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Holiday String Light Cookies: Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars

December 19, 2017 by Alyssa

Chocolate sugar cookies serve as a base for these Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars with a thick layer of fluffy, sweet peppermint buttercream and a simple yet adorable holiday string light decoration with mini M&M’s

It’s the holidays and as much as we all want to do #allthethings sometimes it’s just.not.possible. So when it comes to cookies, bar cookies are an easy way to create a homemade treat with minimal effort. My Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars are easy to whip up and I’ve given you the cutest yet simplest way to decorate them so you can maximize your holiday fun and minimize your holiday fuss

Here are a few tips to ensure these treats go as smoothly, and as quickly as possible.

The cookies are a chocolate sugar cookie base so they’re lighter than a brownie but slightly crumbly.

Tip: When you put the dough into the pan, use your hands and a small rolling pin to gently push the cookie dough into the corners as it won’t spread easily.

While the Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars bake, whip up the peppermint frosting! It’s my standard vanilla frosting base with just a touch of peppermint extract. Peppermint extract is dangerous. Even a drop too much can turn your treat from delicious to medicinal.

Tip: Measure the peppermint extract away from the frosting bowl and add it to the frost 1 drop at a time, tasting as you go to get your desired flavor.

Frost your Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars then cut them into squares. Sadly, cutting perfect squares are difficult in a 9×13 inch pan. To achieve 2-inch by 2-inch squares, once baked, I cut a 1/2 inch of cookie off of each side of the pan before cutting it all into squares. It reduces the size of the pan to 8×12 inches which makes it easy to cut.

Tip: Use a ruler and mark every 2-inches (both across and length-wise) before making your hard cuts into the bars. As for the scraps, those are baker scraps that you can nibble on while you work!

When it comes time to decorate the Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars, don’t worry too much about making perfectly strung lights out of the M&Ms!

Tip: The less precise you are, the better the string lights will look — just like in real life, sometimes the lights hang a little low or a little high!

Enjoy these easy, quick treats and have a great holiday with your loved ones!

5.0 from 2 reviews

String Light Holiday Cookies: Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

45 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 24

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup dutch cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups vanilla frosting, recipe below
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tube black Wilton Decorator's frosting**
½ cup mini M&Ms

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*F
Line a 9x13 inch pan with a sheet of parchment paper
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter on medium until creamy, 1-2 minutes
Add in both the sugars and mix another minute on medium
Add the egg, vanilla, and yogurt, beating until combined
Add in the flour-cocoa mixture in 2 additions until all the dry ingredients are fully combined*
Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and using your hands or a small rolling pin, evenly spread the dough into all corners of the pan
Place in oven and bake for 13-14 minutes
Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting combine 2 cups vanilla frosting with ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract, adding more as desired
Frost the cookies using an offset spatula and cut into bars, remove cookies from pan & decorate
To decorate, use the black frosting and a Wilton 2 tip to draw lines on to the cut bar cookies
Adorn the cookies with mini M&Ms set on their side to look like holiday string lights

Notes

* You may need to use our hands to fully incorporate the dry mixtures as the electric mixer often leaves flour at the bottom of the bowl
** Alternately, you can color a ½ cup of the remaining vanilla frosting black and place it in a decorator's bag with a Wilton 2 tip rather than purchasing pre-made black frosting

5.0 from 2 reviews

Standard Vanilla Frosting

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 4

Ingredients

½ cup, 1 stick unsalted butter softened to room temperature
½ cup vegetable shortening
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extra
4-6 tablespoons half & half

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and shortening.
Add in 4 tablespoons half & half and the vanilla extract. Combine well.
Add the meringue powder, salt and 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar and combine.
Continue adding the confectioner’s sugar, 1 cup at a time until it’s all combined into the frosting.
Add the additional tablespoons of half & half to achieve the desired thickness.

Dilly Bars — Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

September 25, 2017 by Alyssa

Chocolate and peanut butter are a dominating flavor combination but with Dilly Bars, you add marshmallows & Rice Krispies to create a flavor bomb that ultimately reigns supreme!

I’m pretty sure chocolate and peanut butter is the world’s most famously paired flavors (or at least in my world!). But when you add marshmallows into the mix with Rice Krispies, you create a flavor bomb that’s ready for world domination with just 5 ingredients, 1 bowl, and a microwave!

Growing up, my grandma used to make these chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispies treats for me because she knew how much I loved chocolate and peanut butter. At the time, she called them Dilly Bars.

Why?

I have no idea. I did a bit of research and can’t find any Dilly Bars similar to these. Other Dilly Bar recipes that pop up simply result in recipes for Rice Krispie treats that have been frosted with a thin layer of chocolate. And trust me, those recipes ain’t got nothin’ on my grandma’s Dilly Bars!

I remember eating Dilly Bars all summer long while visiting my grandparent’s cottage on Lake Ontario. My favorite way to eat them (and still is!) is cold, right out of the refrigerator. I remember running straight out of the lake and eating 2 or 3 of these at a time with my hands still wet. They really did make the best post-swim snack!

I absolutely love these chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispie treats because unlike traditional Rice Krispie treats, Dilly Bars have the texture of a bar cookie — probably because of all the chocolate melted into them! Rather than being gooey and sticky like traditional treats, these are fudgy, full of peanutty crunch, and melt in your mouth delicious!

The best part! Dilly Bars can be made with just 5 ingredients and mixed up in 1 bowl in the microwave in less than 20-minutes! And if you have a dishwasher, it will make the chocolatey, marshmallow clean-up that much easier. #winning (is that still a thing?

The only downside of Dilly Bars is the hour-long wait to eat them while they chill in the ‘fridge. As long as you can hold off an hour, I promise you’ll be delivered a chocolatey, peanutty flavor bomb!

Feel free to lick the bowl while you wait out their chill time, I sure did!

4.8 from 6 reviews

Dilly Bars -- Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 24

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1½ cups extra crunchy peanut butter*
16 ounces marshmallows, large or small
4-5 cups Rice Krispie cereal
½ teaspoon sea salt**

Instructions

Using the cut ¼ cup of butter, lightly grease the bottom, edges, and corners of a 9x13 pan then it set aside
In a large mixing bowl (that fits in your microwave!) melt the butter remaining butter, ~1 minute on high
Into the melted butter, add the chocolate chips
Place the melted butter and chocolate chips into the microwave and heat for 20-seconds on power level 7-8***
Remove the bowl and stir vigorously for 10 seconds
Repeat the 20-second heat followed by stirring until your chocolate chips are melted (~2 minutes total)
When most of the chocolate is melted, you should be able to stir the remaining chips until they too melt into the rest of the chocolate
Once the butter and chocolate are fully melted, stir in the peanut butter.
On top of the chocolate peanut butter mixture, add all of the marshmallows.
Heat the marshmallows in the microwave for 20-seconds on power level 7-8
Remove the bowl and stir vigorously for 10 seconds.
Repeat the 20-second heat followed by stirring until your marshmallows are melted (~2 minutes)
Add in 4 cups Rice Krispie cereal (and salt if using) and stir until combined -- you may have to use your hands and massage the mixture to ensure all of the cereal is fully coated. If the mixture looks a little wet, add in the additional cup of Rice Krispie cereal (I prefer 4.5 cups when making these)
Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan
Using a spatula, smooth the mixture into the corners of the pans, ensuring an even, flat layer across the bars
Refrigerate the bars for at least 1 hour
Let bars sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing
Dilly Bars will keep in the refrigerator, covered for up to one week

Notes

* If you can't find extra crunchy, then use regular crunchy. If you choose to use natural crunchy peanut butter, be sure to fully stir in all of the oil before measuring the peanut butter for use in the recipe. In case you care, Grandma used Jif.
** If you use unsalted peanut butter, then I suggest adding salt to your Dilly Bars. Or if you simply enjoy saltier desserts, add this in, you won't be disappointed!
*** Using a high power setting may risk burning the chocolate, it's better to use a lower setting and go slower than melt them too quickly and burn the chocolate.

My Perfect Cookie: Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

June 4, 2017 by Alyssa

Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies are cookie perfection — slightly crisp yet chewy, loaded with two types of chocolate and a pinch sea salt.

If I could make a list of my most prized (dessert) recipes, it would be a toss-up between these Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies and my Bakery-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Does the world really need another chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Yes, yes it does because it doesn’t have THIS one. This one, I promise you, will be your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

This chocolate chip cookie recipe is slightly crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle, loaded with two types of chocolate and a pinch of sea salt.

It’s chocolate chip cookie perfection.

Growing up, my Mom had a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. And, as much as I love Mom’s cookie recipe, it wasn’t my to die for chocolate chip cookie recipe. I mean, it’s realllyyyy good, it’s nostalgic, and if my Mom sends me some, I’m definitely eating at least 3 or 4 of them because I miss my Mom and eating her food helps me feel closer to her.

But if I’m craving a chocolate chip cookie and willing to make my own, I’m totally making my recipe for Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies. Not only because it’s delicious but because it’s the easiest recipe!

The secret to this recipe is in the eggs & sugar. Rather than using two whole eggs, my recipe uses 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg. The addition of the egg yolks makes the cookies richer and chewier in the middle when baked.

When it comes to the sugar, I use a mix of granulated sugar, powdered sugar and a heavy measure of brown sugar. Much like in my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, using a greater amount of brown sugar (which contains molasses) helps the cookies outer edges become crispy as the sugar caramelizes. These crispy outer edges make my Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies perfect for dunking (because you’re never too old to dunk!) without the cookie falling to pieces in your glass of milk.

The use of powdered sugar in a cookie recipe may sound a bit odd but this smidge of powdered sugar allows for a more tender cookie center. In powdered sugar, the sugar crystals are smaller and finer than granulated sugar. These smaller crystals more easily bind with the protein from the egg yolks and gluten in the flour (hello, baking is chemistry!) creating a softer, chewier cookie. So please, don’t skip the powdered sugar!

It may seem like any old chocolate will do for a chocolate chip cookie recipe but for this recipe, I wanted a mix of flavors and chose both semisweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks. I love the big bites of dark chocolate throughout the cookie with the slightly sweeter, smoother semisweet chocolate chips. And of course, sweet & salty are like the PB&J of cookies so I sprinkled a heavy pinch of course sea salt on top of the cookies before they baked so when you bite into the cookie you get hints of sea salt.

The mix of chocolates, crispy edges, soft chewy centers and touch of sea salt seriously make my Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies love at first bite!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

Author: Alyssa

Serves: 30

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
5 ounces dark chocolate chips
course sea salt (about 1 tablespoon)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375*F
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter until smooth.
Add in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Cream until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
One at a time, with the mixer on low, beat in the egg yolks followed by the whole egg. Scraping down the sides between each addition. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Turn your mixer on low and in 3 separate additions, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter, sugar, and eggs, scraping down the side of the bowl between each addition.
Add in the chocolate and mix on low until just combined.
Using a tablespoon sized scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each mound.
Sprinkle a pinch of coarse sea salt onto the top of each mound, lightly tapping the sea salt into place.
Bake at 375*F for 11-12 minutes, rotating the pan half walk through if you are not using a convection oven.
Once lightly golden around the edges, remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Store in a cool, dry place for up to a week or freeze for 2-3 months.

Oreo Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

March 17, 2016 by Alyssa

These cupcakes are ridiculously delicious. I mean, they combine America’s favorite cookie, the Oreo, and mint — probably the best flavor combination to ever exist in the world of desserts! They’re super chocolatey, moist and fudgy. Their chocolate level is definitely in line with that of a brownie, the only difference being these are light and fluffy, rather than dense and crumbly.

…

chocolate

These Double Stuffed Oreo Truffle Brownies are made for the Oreo obsessed chocolate lover with Oreos sandwiched into every layer.

Classic Brownies

Look for a glossy batter

Oh-Em-Gee. Delicious.

With nothing else to do during social distancing, I put my sourdough starter to use making Sourdough Chocolate Babka. It didn’t disappoint.

A Note About My Sourdough Starter

Lastly, a Note about Timing

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Ring in the next decade with a decadent New Year’s Eve blackout cake filled with glittery sprinkles and a shimmering gold fault line.

The Chocolate Cake

Black Chocolate Buttercream

Adding the Sprinkles

Gold Fault Line

For my March baking bucket list, I tackled Chocolate Babka, a sweet brioche bread with a chocolate twist and fudgy chocolate filling.

I consider myself an experience baker and even for me, at first glance, this recipe seemed intimidating.

This led me to trashing the entire dough and starting from scratch.

After the first rise is when the fun truly begins!

I loved the chocolate babka. It was addictingly delicious and one of my favorite bakes ever. And I don’t even like sweet breakfast breads!

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Truffles are seriously the best — better than any Russell Stover’s box of mystery chocolates you might pick up at CVS and they’re ridiculously easy to make.

Chocolate sugar cookies serve as a base for these Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Bars with a thick layer of fluffy, sweet peppermint buttercream and a simple yet adorable holiday string light decoration with mini M&M’s

Chocolate and peanut butter are a dominating flavor combination but with Dilly Bars, you add marshmallows & Rice Krispies to create a flavor bomb that ultimately reigns supreme!

Double Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies are cookie perfection — slightly crisp yet chewy, loaded with two types of chocolate and a pinch sea salt.

If you love cookies, mocha, and cake then my Grandma’s Old Fashioned Drop Cookies with Mocha Frosting are the perfect sweet treat for you!

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