Gooey Double Chocolate Brownies

These are ooey gooey chocolicious brownies that are super good for any chocolate lover. When I made these I didn't quite cook them enough and didn't figure it out until they were cooled and cut which was kind of a bummer but they were still good. So make sure that you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean so that you know they're really done before you turn off the oven let them cool. When you take these out of the oven they will be slightly gooey but when they cool they will turn more fudgey except if it's uncooked then it just stays the consistency of the batter. 

BROWNIES:

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup butter

-10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

-1/3 cup cocoa powder

-2/3 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp. salt

-4 eggs

-2 cups sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 19x3 in. pan with foil allowing excess to hang over the edges of the pan, and spray the foil with cooking spray.

     Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, add the chocolate and stir until melted and combined. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool. 

     Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on a high speed until light and fluffy-about 3 minutes. 

     Whisk the cocoa into the chocolate batter. Add the flour and salt and whisk until incorporated then whisk into the egg mixture. The fold in half of the chocolate chips into the batter.

     Pour batter into prepared pans and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the batter. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. The brownies should be soft and moist. Let the brownies cool in the pan before cutting and serving. 

before oven

finished product

       

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

These cupcake are awesome!! The icing especially is very good it tastes store bought. This icing is my new official buttercream from now on because it is seriously delicious. Along with the icing these cupcakes are scrumptious especially while they are still warm but they are delicate moist cakes perfect for anything. The amount of icing this recipe produces is a lot and if you're not a huge icing lover I would recommend  cutting the recipe in half. Also, I lined the cupcake pan with liners but you can also just butter the crap out of the pan and it works the same. 

CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

-2 sticks butter

-2 cups sugar

Just out of the oven

-1 egg

-4 egg whites

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

-1 tsp. baking powder

-3/4 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 1/2 cup milk

-2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two cupcake trays with liners. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and egg until white and very fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and beat just until incorporated. Pour batter into a large measuring cup and pour batter into lined cupcake tins. Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. 

FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter

-2 lbs powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Using an electric mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly begin beating in powdered sugar and vanilla. Begin adding milk to mixture turning mixer on high. Add just enough milk so that the mixture is light and fluffy not runny. Continue beating frosting until light and fluffy. Then fit a pastry bag with a star tip and spoon icing into bag and pipe swirls onto the cooled cupcakes. 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

These cupcakes are pretty awesome along with pretty much everything else I make. The cupcakes have bits of oreos in them and so does the icing. I swear this icing tastes exactly like the inside of an oreo! These cupcakes are actually not that hard to make either but they taste like they are. I was able to make about 22 cupcakes but I did put a little too much batter in some of the cupcake tins. I also ran out of cupcake liners in the middle of making them so I lined the pan with a HEAVY coat of butter, either way they tasted pretty much the same and the cupcakes with liners are obviously easier to transport and are better for events but you really have the option to do it either way. So here it goes, Cookies and Cream cupcakes:

CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup cocoa powder

-1 1/4 cup sugar

-3/4 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-3/4 cup milk

-3/4 cup hot water

-one package of double stuffed oreos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tray with baking cups (or an excessive amount of butter if that's what you prefer). Set aside 6 oreos for crushing for the icing later, and break the remaining oreos into smaller pieces and place evenly throughout the cups. 

     Mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl using a whisk. Then add the eggs, oil, vanilla, milk, and mix well until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should look like normal batter about the color of hot chocolate. 

     Then add the hot water and mix until combined. Now the mixture should be a much thinner liquid. Transfer the batter into a large measuring cup and fill each cupcake up until its about 3/4 full (when you add the batter you will see bubbles and the oreos will float to the top, the bubbles go away). Bake for 16-18 minutes. Repeat the baking process for any excess batter.

FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-1 cup butter (2sticks) softened, at room temperature

-1 Lb powdered sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-3-6 Tbsp. milk

-4 Tbsp. oreo cookie crumbs (from cupcake recipe) 

Directions:

Put the 6 extra oreos (from the cupcake recipe) into a large zip lock bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the oreos until extremely fine and crumbled (if they are too big they won't go through the piping tip). 

     Beat the butter with a whisk (or electric mixer) until it is creamed. Add the vanilla. Then add the powdered sugar in increments, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Add 1 Tbsp. of milk at a time until you get the desired consistency. Add the 4 Tbsp. of oreo crumbs and mix until fully incorporated.

     Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and swirl the frosting on each individual cupcake. Lastly, sprinkle the extra oreo crumbs over the cupcakes and enjoy!!

finished product = awesome