Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted in Breads, Breakfast by Emily

three choc chip muffins

The infamous Lucy Jane woke up this morning and wanted chocolate chip muffins. As a mother who never lets her children down (oh how I wish that were true), I indulged. We actually made them together and it was fun to be in the kitchen with my daughter making breakfast (or dessert, depending on your perspective). We decided to double the recipe so that we could freeze a dozen and use them for snacks in their lunches for the upcoming week.

The secret to these moist, tasty muffins is the buttermilk! You can use whole or regular milk, but these babies texture and taste are best when the buttermilk is used. And since we all are chocolate lovers in this house, I don’t skimp and use the mini chocolate chips. But if you are not into eating dessert first thing in the morning, the mini chips may be a good idea for you. 🙂

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Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
half a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold together until combined. Scoop batter into a 12 cup muffin tin. Fill the cups close to the top. Bake the muffins at 425 for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375 and bake for another 13-15 minutes.

Yields 1 dozen

25May2012

Double Chocolate Oven-Baked Mini S’mores

Posted in Desserts by Emily

Summer officially started here yesterday at 3pm. We started it with a bang, too. We were invited to a huge pool party with lots of fun, food and of course, mischief. How cool is it that the host had snowballs in coolers so that the kids could have a massive snow ball fight? It was only 100 degrees here yesterday! So fun!

To keep the fun going I decided that we would make a yummy treat today. My son has a love for s’mores. We aren’t going camping anytime soon and unfortunately, we do not have a fire pit in our backyard, so we did the best with what we had. Is there anything finer than Spiderman eating a s’more?

Maybe a Princess eating a s’more?

Even though these are a “mini” treat, don’t let the mini fool you! With chocolate below AND above the marshmallow, these s’mores are packed with sugar and overindulgence!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE OVEN BAKED MINI S’MORES

10 whole graham crackers (1 cup finely crushed)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, melted
4 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy, divided
12 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place graham crackers into a large plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs. In a small mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter.

Place 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini muffin pan. Use the back of the tablespoon to press crumbs down to create a shallow cup. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Then break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.

Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Remove pans from oven to cooling rack; cool at least 8 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Break remaining candy bars and place in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand until set. (about 20 minutes)

Yields 24 mini s’mores

13Jan2012

Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

Posted in Desserts by Emily

Here is another secret Shannon recipe! The first time I had these cupcakes Shannon made them for my son’s birthday. Amazing! This is the last chocolate cupcake recipe you will ever need. They are moist and full of flavor! I made these for a little get together last night and decided I was going to stray from the chocolate frosting that these little gems are usually topped with. I also made them mini, because wouldn’t it be honest to say that to eat a whole cupcake is a big commitment? Basically, it’s a large piece of a cake. That’s a lot of calories! And I don’t know about you, but sometimes that first bite makes you look like a stinkin’ pig. You have to get the frosting and the cake together in that bite and sometimes it takes a big old, wide open mouth bite! It’s not very attractive, to say the least. With the mini’s you can take a bite or two and still look dainty and sweet. And you know for a surety you will finish it! The pictures are of my mini’s from the party and the 2 different kinds of frostings I made. So, consider yourself lucky. I will give you all 3 frosting recipes!! (My favorite still happens to be the chocolate frosting, but sometimes we have to be able to think outside the box, right?) So the top picture is a simple vanilla buttercream frosting and the second picture is a peanut butter frosting. Yum!!

Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 (16 ounce) package light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt semi-sweet chips in a microwave safe bowl at high for 30 seconds intervals until melted. (about 1 1/2 minutes total time) Make sure to stir after every 30 second interval. Set aside.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed in a mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Add the melted chocolate, beating until just blended.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with cour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Beat on low speed until just blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 cup of hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Add vanilla.

Place 36 cupcake liners in muffin tins, spoon batter evenly into cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (If you are making mini cupcakes, this recipe will yield about 95 mini cupcakes. Bake for 8-10 minutes) Remove cupcakes from tins and cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter (room temp)
8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat the butter for 4 minutes in a mixer. (set your timer!! 4 minutes happens to be a long time) Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the milk. Beat until all sugar is incorporated and smooth. (I will beat my frosting at medium high for a few minutes) Then add the sugar one cup at a time, using milk to thin, until the desired consistency is reached.

Classic Chocolate Frosting

1 stick butter
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Melt in a small saucepan the butter and chocolate. Pour melted mixture in mixer and add 3 cups of the powdered sugar and half of the milk. Beat until all sugar is incorporated. Then add sugar and milk until frosting is desired consistency.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 Tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup heavy cream

Beat the peanut butter and butter together until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and whip at medium high until combined. (I like my frosting light and fluffy, so I tend to mix my frostings A LOT!!)

11Jan2012

Homemade Luna Bars

Posted in Uncategorized by Emily

For anyone who knows me, Emily, I like to run. I am not fast or competitive or amazing at it, I just like it. And everytime before I go running I undoubtedly eat a Luna Bar. It is the perfect pre-run/pre-exercise snack. Have you had one? They are super fab and designed just for women. There is not a lot of sugar in them and lots of protein. I haven’t decided if I like the Chocolate Dipped Coconut or White Chocolate Peppermint Bark the best. Since I love the Luna Bars so much I decided to try my hand at making them! This is the Chocolate Dipped Coconut version. And also for anyone who knows me, I am not a health nut. I may be the opposite, in fact. BUT, specifically for this recipe and to keep up with the good nutrition of the Luna Bar, I used organic or high protein products. I think I just may like the homemade Chocolate Dipped Coconut bars better homemade. Try them, then go exercise off those Double Peanut Butter Blossoms you just made!!

Homemade Luna Bars

3 3/4 cups Rice Crispies cereal (I used a brown rice store brand)
2 Tablespoon almond butter
5 Tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes
4 Tablespoon coconut oil
4 Tablespoon agave nectar (found in the same place as sugars and artificial sweeteners)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12 ounce) bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Put Rice Crispies in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix your almond butter, vanilla extract, coconut, coconut oil, agave nectar, and salt. Melt in the microwave (30-60 seconds) or on the stove. Pour the mixture over the cereal and and stir. Make sure to coat all the crispies and smash them with the back of your spoon or fork. Add more crispies if the mixture seems too liquidy and more liquid (coconut oil or almond butter) if it’s not sticking together.Line a square or rectangle pan (I used a 9×9 pan) with wax paper and spread the mixture evenly. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture and use the bottom of a glass to press the mixture down as firmly as you can. Stick it in the freezer. While your pan is in the freezer, melt your chocolate. I put the chips in a microwaveable bowl and melt on 30 second intervals, stirring after each time. After 30 minutes, bring the bars out of the freezer and coat the top with the melted chocolate. Stick the bars back in the freezer for another 30 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan and slice into about 12 rectangles. Wrap each individual bar in aluminum foil. Keep frozen until your are ready to use!

Linking up at : Lady Behind the Curtain

15Dec2011

Secret Hot Fudge Sauce

Posted in Desserts by Shannon

I’m about to let you in on a little secret. The recipe to my hot fudge sauce. Around these parts it’s known as Shannon’s Secret Hot Fudge Sauce. I give jars of this yummy sauce out as Christmas gifts to our friends and neighbors each year. It’s become known as my “secret hot fudge sauce”, not because the recipe is so earth shattering (although, it really is), but because I don’t give out the recipe on a matter of principle… I want people to look forward to getting this from me each year!

But alas, the blogging world is much bigger than my little world, and I want all of you to have the same opportunity to enjoy this delicious hot fudge sauce. You’ll have to work a little harder to taste it than my lucky friends who just get a jar delivered to their door, but it is worth the effort my friends! And who knows? Maybe you’ll like it so much that you’ll pass jars of it along to your friends and neighbors. (The recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc. Each recipe makes a little over 3 pint jars worth of sauce) ENJOY!

Secret Hot Fudge Sauce

12 ounces semi sweet premium chocolate chips (I use Guittard)
2 cubes butter, chopped into 1 tablespoon chunks
2 2/3 cups heavy cream
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. When melted, add heavy cream and powdered sugar. Stir and bring to a slow boil. Only turn the heat up to medium high, as anything higher will scorch the chocolate. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Stir thoroughly.

Pour into an airtight container. I use canning jars.

Refrigerate after opening.

Linking up at: Stuff and Nonsense, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Everyday Tastes, I Heart Naptime, Serenity You, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Six Sister’s Stuff, A Well Seasoned Life

13Dec2011

Brownie Cake

Posted in Desserts by Emily

We really enjoyed Cookie Week here at Lucy Jane’s and we hoped you liked it, too. With all the holiday baking going on, my sweet tooth is in full effect! How about you? So imagine my delight when my mom brought over this Brownie Cake for dessert when we all got together for a family dinner. She has been making this for years, and it is one of my all time favorites. It is moist and chocolatey and definitely a crowd pleaser. You will be loved and adored if you bring this to your next family dinner, I promise!

Brownie Cake

1 cup butter
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup hot water
2 cups flour, sifted
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan. Add water and boil for 2 minutes. In a mixing bowl sift together flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Combine sifted ingredients with chocolate mixture, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat with a mixer for several minutes until creamy. (batter will be thin) Pour into a 9×13 greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and frost!

Frosting

1/2 cup butter
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup milk
1 package (16 ounce) powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan. Add milk and boil until it thickens and begins to separate. Add this powdered sugar, and mix with electric mixer until very creamy. Stir in vanilla.

Linking up at: Skip to My Lou, Sew Chatty, Crazy for Crust, Mandy’s Recipe Box, This Chick Cooks, Sew Much Ado, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gooseberry Patch, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, All the Small Stuff, Stuff and Nonsense

6Dec2011

Day 6 of LJB Cookie Week… Robert’s Chocolate Cookies!

Posted in Cookie by Shannon

This recipe cracks me up every time I make it, because I don’t know who Robert is! I was given this recipe by one of my Mom’s best friends, Karen, who is a fabulous cook and an excellent cookie maker. The title was “Robert’s Chocolate Cookies” and remains that to this day. Even though I probably could rename it to something like “Chocolate Decadence Cookies” or “Devine Chocolate Cookies”, I just can’t… like I said, because it continues to rouse a chuckle when I pull out the recipe. So, thank you Robert, whoever you are… from one chocolaholic to another… thank you for this delicious recipe!!!!

Robert’s Chocolate Cookies

6 ounces unsweetened premium quality baking chocolate (I use Guittard)
4 ounces semi-sweet premium quality chips (Guittard again)
1/3 cup flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Starbucks VIA finely ground coffee (a little less than an envelope)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place unsweetened chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl and melt together and 30 second intervals, stirring at each interval until melted. Set aside.

In small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

With electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla until pale and thick (about5 minutes). By hand, stir in chocolate mixture, using a rubber spatula. Then gently stir in the flour mixture, followed by the chocolate chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate till firm (one hour or up to 4 days)

Drop level tablespoons (I use a small cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until cookies are puffed, dry and cracked on the surface, but soft and gooey within.

1Dec2011

Day 1 of LJB Cookie Week… Double Chocolate Peppermint Surprise Cookies

Posted in Cookie, Desserts, Kitchen Tips by Shannon

We are excited to kick off our Holiday Cookie Week with this fabulous, scrumptious cookie. We’ve never met a person who didn’t go wild over these tasty little gems!

Double Chocolate Peppermint Surprise Cookies

1 ½ cups flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ sticks butter, softened
1 egg
24 mini peppermint patties , unwrapped and chilled
6 ounces white chocolate, from a bar, not chips
½ cup crushed peppermint candy canes

Using an electric mixer, mix the flour cocoa powder, both sugars, salt and baking soda on low speed. Add the butter and egg and mix to combine. Turn out the dough onto plastic wrap, wrap tight and put in the refrigerator to chill about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Working with 1 Tablespoon of dough at a time, evenly encase each peppermint patty with dough. Place on jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

As cookies are baking, melt white chocolate in the microwave in a small bowl for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval, until melted. Using a spoon drizzle the white chocolate over each cookie and immediately top with crushed candy cane. *** Tip… place a piece of parchment paper under the wire cooling rack when drizzling the chocolate for easy clean up!

Linking up at: Stuff and Nonsense, Simply Sweet Home, This Chick Cooks, Ginger Snap Crafts, Skip to My Lou, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Chef In Training, Blue Cricket Design, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Mom’s Crazy Cooking, The Gooseberry Patch