Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

Have you ever had the legendary molten chocolate cake at Chili's??  Well...this was better.  I made this tonight and it was a chocolate lover's dream. It was on my plate maybe for a mere 45 seconds. My dad and I were practically drooling everywhere.  And it was so easy to make!!  I wanted to create a rich dessert because I was really in the mood for a good chocolate fix (I have a major sweet tooth...if you didn't know)..and this hit the spot - for sure.  It's not sickeningly sweet, like some other molten cakes I've had in the past.  The addition of cocoa powder in this recipe gives it more of a bittersweet taste, and it blends really well with the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  This is an easy, elegant dessert that is sure to impress anyone you cook for.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1.5 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• toppings: powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease 4 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups very well.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and the chocolate until chocolate is almost completely melted.  Set aside.  Stir in cocoa powder until just combined.  (You don't want to stir this mixture too much so that it doesn't get too runny)
3. Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light colored and thick (about 2 minutes).
4. Beat together the melted chocolate and butter. While beating, slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour and mix until just combined.
5. Divide the batter between the four molds and bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 7-8 minutes. The centers of the cakes will still be quite soft and won't looked puffed up in the oven. Invert cakes on serving plates and let sit for about 15 seconds, then unmold. Serve immediately.  Dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Nutella Peanut Butter Pillows

Oh yes. These really are just as good as the picture.  But I can't take credit; these wonderful pillows originated from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine.  I only altered it a little. These are so flavorful and incredibly amazing.  The outside is a peanut butter cookie with slightly crisp edges, and the inside is a soft cloud of peanut butter-nutella filling.  They're rolled in a sweet-and-salty pile of peanuts, cinnamon, and sugar.  And it's really fun to roll them...who doesn't love playing with cookie dough? ;) The slight saltiness, especially from the sea salt, makes these little master pieces have loads of flavor.  The almond extract gives it a really fantastic nut taste, as opposed to using vanilla extract.The cookie tastes like a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich only without the boring slice of bread. Imagine that instead of bread, you have a sugar cookie with a sprinkling of sea salt and cinnamon. Grab a tall glass of ice cold milk and prepare to be transported to a Nutella and peanut butter filled heaven.

Cookie Ingredients
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of cake flour (if you don't have cake flour, all-purpose can be substituted, but just use 1/4 cup...so a total of 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp. of baking Soda
3/4 tsp. of sea salt
1/2 cup ( 1 stick ) butter. At room temp.
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter (crunchy is fine too, but they're more "pillow-like" with smooth)

Nutella Filling Ingredients
1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup of Nutella
1/4 tsp. of sea salt
1 Tbsp. of cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. of confectioners sugar

Topping/Rolling Ingredients
1/4 cup of finely ground, roasted (regular peanuts are fine too) peanuts (run through the food processor )
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of sea salt

Method
In a small bowl, Sift the flours and baking soda together. Whisk in the sea salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, Cream the butter. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the almond extract and *peanut butter.* Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time. Be careful not to over mix. Stop beating when all the flour streaks are gone. Cover and refrigerate for an hour while you make the filling and topping.

* If you lightly grease and flour the measuring cup it will be much easier to remove the peanut butter. *

To make the Nutella filling, Combine all the ingredients and mix well. You should be able to easily roll the filling into ball forms. If it is too sticky add more confectioners sugar. Set aside until ready to use.

To make the topping, Simply mix all the ingredients into a shallow bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Measure out about 2 level tablespoons of the chilled cookie dough. Roll into a ball and flatten out onto the parchment paper. Roll some of the Nutella dough into a smaller ball and place on top of the cookie dough, Press in slightly. Gently fold the cookie dough over the Nutella so it is completely covered. 

Carefully roll into a ball and roll the ball into the topping so it has a nice coating. Place ball back onto the parchment paper and lightly press down with the bottom of a glass.

Place cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are a light gold.

Makes about 20-28 cookies. *You can adjust the size of your cookies and use as little or as much filling as you want. Just be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.*

Campfire Biscuits

This is probably one of my top 5 favorite foods ever. And that is saying a lot.  Trust me.  I’ve tried an incredible amount of food in my short lifetime.  These biscuits from heaven are so, so, so, soooo good!!!!!!  Way better than s’mores.  I seriously go into a food coma every time I make them.  Each biscuit melts in your mouth and I could eat the entire thing in one bite.  You can put whatever ingredients you want in them. I’ve made many variations: different types of chips (all are amazing, like butterscotch and white chocolate), mini marshmallows, & graham cracker crumbs…nut butters…cheese…butter, brown sugar and cinnamon…be creative!  My favorite is definitely butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  They get super melted in the hot dough, and sometimes the butter will ooze out of it and you’ll have to eat it really fast…but you’ll eat these fast anyways, because they’re so darn good.

Ingredients:

Croissant dough (I used the canned Pillsbury kind that comes in triangles)

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Salted butter

Instructions:

1. Place the croissant dough (1-2 triangles=1 serving) on the end of a stick (or pole; whatever you’re using to roast it over the fire) so that it’s covering the end.  Wrap the sides around the stick, and pinch it all the way down (should be about 4 inches) so that it’s sealed (this prevents the ingredients from oozing out when you stuff them).

2. Roast the dough over the fire until browned.  Make sure it’s pretty crisp on the outside (but not burned!) to make sure the inside is well cooked, because it will be less cooked on the inside than on the outside.  When browned, carefully slide the biscuit off the stick – if it sticks and doesn’t slide off smoothly, then it’s not cooked enough.

3. While it’s still hot, fill the biscuit with chocolate chips and butter, alternating in shifts, so that each is distributed evenly within the biscuit.  Make sure to stuff it down to the bottom and fill it completely up.  Wait about a minute to make sure it all melts.

4.  Bite, chew, swallow, and smile (:

Best Chocolate Cake

This is the absolute best, most perfect chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted.  I don’t know about you, but most cakes I’ve eaten are dry, and wouldn’t have tasted very good without whatever frosting was on them.  Even with boxed cake mixes…I think you just have to be really careful not to overcook them.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a party and the cake was dry (I would never say anything, of course…and I still eat it). It’s pretty hard not to make a cake dry if it doesn’t use lots of butter, and you need to be sure not to over cook it.  However, this amazingly fantastic chocolate cake is not dry at all.  It’s very moist, but also fluffy.  It’s perfect.  The coffee in the cake really brings out the chocolate flavor.  And it’s so easy to throw together!  The frosting is the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had also.  It’s so rich and smooth and delicious…I could eat it plain with a spoon.  I made this for my dad’s birthday last year and he wants it every year now. à I wish it was his birthday every day.

Yield: about 24 servings (2 9-inch round pans)

For the cake:

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
3. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost with chocolate frosting below.

For the chocolate frosting:

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
• 9 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 cups baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.