Lesson #187: Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I was driving by Chick-fil-a last week and I saw an advertisement for their Peppermint Milk Shake. I had two thoughts: that sounds really yummy and I think that I've made a version of that ice cream last year. Of course, I had to get a milk shake for research purposes :)

I came home and found an ice cream recipe that I posted last year and modified it to add bits of milk chocolate throughout. That was a good idea! This is a cooked custard based ice cream with candy canes steeped into the custard. During the last few minutes of churning I added crushed candy canes and chopped milk chocolate. DELISH!

LESSON LEARNED: Don't add any food coloring to this ice cream. As it sits in the freezer, it becomes "pinkish".

Recipe for Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Lesson #185: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

The holidays are the perfect time to enjoy fudge. Not surprisingly, I like to make my own!

This sweet treat is ULTRA creamy and smooth with just the right balance of chocolate & peanut butter. I took some to share with my students this week. A few people remarked they could eat a whole container of this fudge. I replied, "Me too!  That's why I brought it to my classes!"

LESSON LEARNED: You need a candy thermometer for this recipe. If you don't cook the fudge to the right temperature, it will not set correctly.

Recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Lesson #182: Chocolate Craving Cupcakes

So, I totally had a chocolate craving the other day. In addition, I checked out the new Thomas Keller Bouchon Bakery cookbook from the library. It was a deadly combination!

I've been experimenting with some of the recipes in the cookbook and I just happened to have all of the ingredients for this DELICIOUS cupcake. A more accurate description might be a devil's food cupcake with a chocolate chunk pastry cream icing.

I brought these cupcakes with me to a family Thanksgiving gathering last weekend. They were DEVOURED by the end of the night. That's a good sign that it's a winning recipe :)

LESSON LEARNED: Since this cookbook is written by professional pastry chefs, the ingredients are listed in grams. I wrote the recipe using these measurements - make sure you take the time to measure the ingredients with your digital kitchen scale.

Recipe for Chocolate Craving Cupcakes

Lesson #180: Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I had a chocolate craving earlier this week! I whipped up a bunch of these cookies, ate two, and stashed the rest in my freezer for later (probably as part of the dessert table for Thanksgiving).

If you are a chocolate lover, these cookies are AWESOME. They are crispy-chewy like a brownie  - but in a cookie form. GENIUS! They are also studded with chocolate chips just in case the semi-sweet chocolate dough isn't enough chocolate for you. :)

LESSON LEARNED: By freezing the dough in a shallow container for 20 minutes, it makes the dough much easier to scoop.

Recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Lesson #175: Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

I couldn't resist this combination of sweet & salty in the form of an ice cream sandwich. I've noticed a trend on other food blogs discussing these dark chocolate cookies. I decided to take the recipe up a notch by sandwiching the cookies between ultra-creamy vanilla ice cream. Use the best ice cream you can find - or make your own!

LESSON LEARNED: Refrigerate this cookie dough at least an hour before you bake. I refrigerated it a whole 24 hours before baking...this really allows the flavors in the cookie to develop.

Recipe for Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Lesson #167: Tin Roof Ice Cream

No oh! The seasonal ice cream store down the street is closed for the winter. That means that I'll be breaking out my ice cream maker to experiment with new flavors. :)

First up: this tin roof ice cream. It's a super creamy vanilla bean base with chocolate covered peanuts and fudge ripple sauce folded in after it's freshly churned.

LESSON LEARNED: Use either dark chocolate or milk chocolate covered peanuts in this ice cream depending on how rich you want the chocolate flavor to taste. We used dark chocolate which I thought was maybe too intense for the ice cream.

Recipe for Tin Roof Ice Cream

Lesson #164: Raspberry Ice Cream with Mini-Chocolate Chips

Over the last few weeks, I feel like I've been rushing to make all my favorite summer flavors into ice cream. This recipe is for an ultra-creamy vanilla ice cream with spoonfuls of raspberry jam and mini-chocolate chips mixed in. It's definitely a great end-of-the-summer combination!

As you can tell from the photo, I took it while the ice cream was freshly churned and I didn't get too many of the chocolate chips in the picture. Trust me- they are there! :) This ice cream was so good that I quickly snapped a few pictures, put away my camera, and enjoyed the ice cream outside.

LESSON LEARNED: It's easy to take any good ice cream base and mix in your favorite flavors!

Recipe for Raspberry Ice Cream with Mini-Chocolate Chips

Lesson #163: Chocolate S'mores Cookies

Because it's nearing the end of summer, I couldn't resist making one of my favorite summertime treats into a bite sized cookie. In fact, at the beginning of summer, I made another version of these cookies! :)

This time I swapped out some of the flour for unsweetened cocoa powder and added a ton of mini marshmallow bits. I rolled out the dough into bite sized balls and took a whole container of cookies with me during my first week of classes. They were quickly gobbled up by my intro to psychology students!

LESSON LEARNED: I never get tired of the combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker!

Recipe for Chocolate S'mores Cookies

Lesson #160: Cookie Dough Ice Cream

I've been on an ice cream making kick lately! I guess the ice cream I made for the fair a few weeks ago inspired me to get out my ice cream maker and try a few new recipes. I made a half batch of this ice cream because I thought that Justin would not like the flavor and I didn't (sigh!) want to be forced to eat the whole thing. I was wrong, however, because Justin ate just as much of it as I did. Guess I'll have to get busy making another flavor :)

This ice cream is super creamy with bits of chocolate chip cookie dough studded throughout. The ice cream base combines both brown butter, brown sugar, and molasses to replicate the taste of cookie dough. I thought it was FABULOUS!

LESSON LEARNED: Mix in the bits of cookie dough at the very end of churning so they don't sink to the bottom of the ice cream maker!

Recipe for Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Lesson #157: Buckeye Ice Cream

Candy buckeyes are pretty a typical candy in Ohio households - especially during the holidays. For anyone that is unfamiliar with the candy, they are creamy peanut butter balls partially dipped in chocolate to resemble, well, buckeyes.

A few weeks ago for our county fair, I decided to enter a Buckeye ice cream into the novelty ice cream category. Since the classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate is usually a favorite and given the fact that I live in Ohio, I thought this ice cream would be popular. I did win a ribbon for my ice cream so I guess I was right!

I loved the fact that the ice cream was super smooth & creamy with a strong peanut butter flavor. The richness of the peanut butter was cut with chunks of dark chocolate. The people who tasted this ice cream told me it definitely reminded them of the candy version.

LESSON LEARNED: Use your favorite type of chocolate in this recipe - I used dark, but milk chocolate would be equally good!

Recipe for Buckeye Ice Cream

Lesson #153: German Chocolate Cupcakes

A little over a week ago I made these multiple component cupcakes for my grandpa's birthday. As long as I can remember, German Chocolate cake is one of his favorite desserts. I was excited to make these because I have never made German Chocolate cake from scratch before. Sure, I have opened up a cake mix box and canned frosting, but I wanted to see if I could make it completely homemade. I believe the last time I tried was about 10 years ago as an entry for the county fair. If I remember correctly, my recipe did not work out well and I ended up scraping the project and using a boxed cake mix........

Well, this time I was successful! The cake was extra light and fluffy due to whipping egg white and folding them into the batter. BTW, this makes the raw cake batter INCREDIBLY silky and makes you want to eat spoonfuls of it! I guess that's the benefit of cooking by yourself, you can do things like this with absolutely no shame. :)

The filling is a cooked custard with toasted pecans and coconut. Piped along the side is a dark chocolate ganache. It was around 95 degrees the day I made these, so they started to get a little soft from the heat. I ended up placing some cupcakes in 1/2 pint jam jars (the same jars I used for these desserts). It worked perfectly!

LESSON LEARNED: I froze some of these cupcakes (assembled with frosting) after I made these so the filling/frosting wouldn't melt. They were just as good to eat when I pulled them out of the freezer.

Recipe for German Chocolate Cupcakes

Lesson #147: Raspberry Brownies

I made these gooey, raspberry brownies a few weeks ago to bring to my cousin's new house. As soon as she requested brownies, I knew exactly what I would make.

I haven't baked these brownies since my dissertation defense a few years ago -which made me a bit nostalgic. A few years into graduate school I started to have more time to bake and these were one of the few desserts I made time and time again. I used to bring treats to the lab for my undergraduate research assistants (it just occurred to me that I have a soft spot in my heart for feeding college students since I currently make treats for my classes too!).  

If you are in the mood for a combination of fruit and chocolate which will please a crowd, this may be a good recipe to try. Bittersweet chocolate brownie batter is layered between a mixture of seedless raspberry preserves and (my secret ingredient!) raspberry liqueur to create a gooey, fruity bite of chocolate goodness.

LESSON LEARNED: Make sure you bake these brownies until they are set. If you under-bake them, the raspberry filling doesn't set and they will be super messy (but equally delicious!) to cut.

Recipe for Raspberry Brownies

Lesson #145: Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites

What is better than chocolate chip cookie dough frosting sandwiched between two salty pretzels dipped in milk chocolate and covered with sprinkles? Nothing, I'd say!

This is the perfect summer dessert because it doesn't need to bake and can be whipped up with very little time & effort. I love the combination of sweet and salty and I've been OBSESSED with sprinkles lately.

In fact, I made these treats for my summer intro to psychology class after they took their first exam. I think I said something like "Sprinkles make everything better, so don't stress about how you did on the exam". My students probably like I'm crazy! :)

LESSON LEARNED: Don't want to mess with the hassle of sandwiches? Make the cookie dough frosting and use it as a dip for the pretzels. I took some to my family and it was a big hit with kids!

Recipe for Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites

Lesson #140: S'mores Caramel Corn

I made this caramel corn for a snack at a Memorial Day picnic. Yikes! I've gotten really behind in posting my recipes :)

I love the versatility of this base recipe for caramel corn. You can easily add toppings to switch up the flavors and texture. I was in a sitting around the campfire kinda mood, so I decided to make this s'mores version by adding pieces of graham crackers, mini chocolate chips, and marshmallow bits. My family loved it!

LESSON LEARNED: Be warned that this recipe yields A LOT of caramel corn. I gave away a few bags to a few lucky people!

Recipe for S'mores Caramel Corn

Lesson #137: Mini Rocky Road Cookies

Why are mini cookies so addicting? Possibility because it's easy to pop a few into your mouth! These cookies have the traditional rocky road flavors: chocolate, marshmallow, and almond. This recipe makes a ton of cookies (about 6 dozen if you use a 1 teaspoon scoop), so I guess it's a good thing that they are so easy to eat! :)

LESSON LEARNED: Use marshmallow bits - not mini marshmallows - in these cookies. The mini marshmallows will melt, but the bits stay in tact while baking.

Recipe for Mini Rocky Road Cookies

Lesson #136: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Even though my life has gotten hectic since we've moved, I decided to take the morning and bake these multiple component cupcakes. Boy, was I glad I did!

The cupcakes are a brown sugar cupcake with chocolate chips baked right into the batter. The filling is an egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough (warning: you will want to eat a few spoonfuls of this by itself!). The frosting is a brown sugar butter cream that really tastes like cookies. AND the cupcakes are topped off with mini chocolate chips. Too cute!

Here's a photo of the finished product, but I took some pictures along to way to give you an idea of how they are assembled.

LESSON LEARNED: Make each part of the cupcake in steps. That way it doesn't seem as overwhelming.

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Lesson #133: Mini S'mores Cookies

These cookies are so darn cute and equally as YUMMY! The base of the cookie is part crushed graham cracker and part flour. Mixed in the cookies are mini chocolate chips and marshmallow bits. The bits are a newer product and remind me of the mini marshmallows found in packaged hot chocolate. They hold up really well in these cookies. Normal marshmallows seem to melt away when they are baked, but these bits worked perfectly. These cookies are incredibly DELICIOUS and ADDICTIVE!

LESSON LEARNED: Mini-marshmallow bits don't melt in the oven!

Recipe for Mini S'mores Cookies

Lesson #132: Baby Shower Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I baked cupcakes for a baby shower. Since moving into our new house, I haven't had time to take big baking projects, so taking the time to make 9 dozen cupcakes was a nice change of pace. I adapted one of my cupcake recipes that worked well for large batches. The recipe acted like a blank slate for flavoring the cupcakes since I needed to make 3 dozen of different flavors (vanilla bean, chocolate, and strawberry). Overall, the cupcakes were well received and the display was pretty cute!

LESSON LEARNED: When making a large amount of cupcakes, use one recipe as a base and adapt it as necessary.

Recipe for Versatile Cupcakes

Lesson #128: Chocolate Chip & Cornflake Cookies

I had some leftover cornflakes from another recipe, and I didn't want them to get stale, so I incorporated them into my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I know this combination sounds a little strange, but chocolate chips and cornflakes really work together. The cornflakes add a slightly chewy and crunchy texture to the cookies. I would highly suggest adding your favorite cereals to cookies! :)

LESSON LEARNED: Form the dough into balls on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Then place them in a freezer bag and you have cookies ready to bake whenever you need them (or have a cookie craving!).

Recipe for Chocolate Chip & Cornflake Cookies

Lesson #124: Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

These cupcakes are so CUTE! Not only do they look like eggs, they have a surprise in the middle!

I made them as part of our Easter celebration along with a few other desserts I'll be posting this week. The cupcake base was a "new-to-me" recipe and uses chocolate syrup as part of the batter. These cupcakes are incredibly moist. I made them Friday night and by today they were still great.

LESSON LEARNED: Be warned - these are extremely rich! They might be good as mini-cupcakes or eaten with a glass of milk.

Recipe for Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes