Best Cocoa Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter

1 1/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. baking powder

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan.

2. Melt 1/2 c. butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. *

3. Gently stir in 1/3 c. cocoa, 1/2 c. flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 28-30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

*I melted my butter in the microwave and then poured it into the mixing bowl. Faster.

Rating: 4 of 5

As far as ease it's concerned, it's a 5. Such an easy recipe. It makes for a crispy outside and warm, ooey gooey inside. I didn't cook mine long enough (my oven tends to be on the warmer side of things) which caused an under-cooked middle (and I tend to not do the toothpick test!). So so so good and will definitely be making these again!

Source: The Comfort of Cooking, Best Cocoa Brownies

Easy No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar

2 T. butter or shortening

2 T. cocoa

1/2 c. milk

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. vanilla

3/4 c. peanut butter

2 c. quick uncooked oatmeal *

*I actually thought mine needed 2 1/2, so that's what I did.

Recipe:

1. Mix sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk. Bring to a boil.

2. Remove cocoa mixture from head and add salt, vanilla, and peanut butter.

3. Mix well until peanut butter is dissolved. Add in oatmeal and mix.

4. Drop from spoon onto wax or foil paper. Let cool before eating.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I'm a sucker for no bakes. They're "gorilla poop" in my mind and they remind me of my cousin Becca. Not sure why....maybe she introduced me to them? Or maybe it's because we would laugh too hard over a silly cookie name.....or maybe because we ate a lot at a time. I dunno. So delicious. A good balance of chocolate and peanut butter. 

Source: Six Sisters' Stuff, Easy No Bake Cookies

Red Velvet Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla extract, divided

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour, sifted

1/4 t. salt

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 T. + 2 t. red food coloring *

* I had less than 1 t. of red, so we went for blue. And even then, I only had 2 t. of blue, so then I just added 1 T. water.

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8 inch square pan and line all sides with parchment paper.

2. Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Stir until mixed

3. Mix the cocoa powder, 1 t. vanilla extract, and red food coloring together until it becomes a smooth paste. Set aside.

4. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Add the remaining 1 t. vanilla extract. Beat well.

7. Add in the cocoa powder mixture and beat until batter is uniformly red (or blue-ish green!). Set the electric mixer aside.

8. Using a hand whisk, add in the flour and stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix.

9. Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached to it.

10. Cool for an hour in the pan on a wire rack.

11. Remove from the pan, cut into 9-inch squares and frost.

Rating: 4 of 5

I'm not sure what to say other than these were good. Soft and moist. Delicious. Ally and I really liked them.

Source: Food Wanderings in Asia, Red Velvet Brownies

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

If you're like me, then you LOVE having an excuse to make something sweet! Well, today provides that excuse. It's National Chocolate Cake Day!!! That's right, January 27th is the day of all days! In honor of this holiday, I decided to try a from-scratch-recipe for chocolate-cake.

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. cooking oil

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

1 recipe Chocolate Glaze

Recipe:

1. Grease and flour a 9x1 1/2-inch round or 8x8x2-inch square baking pan; set pan aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Add milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on low speed just until combined. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

4. Add egg and beat 2 minutes more. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

6. Spoon Chocolate Glaze over cooled cake.

Rating: 3 of 5

I really like the ease and taste of this cake, but this recipe makes a very dry cake. Pretty hard to get through one piece without something to drink. If I knew more about cakes, I would try to fix it, but since I really never make cake and I don't know anything about them I'm not going to fret about it.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, pg. 162