Cooper’s Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Cake

1 cup dark chocolate semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

Frosting

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups fresh whole raspberries

Directions for Cake

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8″ round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit, grease and lay it in the bottom of the pan.

2) Place chocolate and butter in sauce pan on medium heat until the butter is melted and chips are soft. Transfer melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.

3) Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.

4) Mix in the eggs, beating until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and coconut and mix.

5) Spoon the batter into prepped greased pan.

6) Bake cake for 23-25 minutes on middle rack.  No more!

7) Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes then turn onto plate.

8) Loosen edges of pan with knife. Place flat plate on top and flip over, allowing cake to rest on center on plate.

Frosting:

1) Mix chocolate and cream in sauce pan on medium heat until very hot, but not simmering. Remove and stir until smooth.

2) Spoon frosting evenly over cake and dripping over sides. Cover with raspberries on top and allow to set for 2 hours before serving.

Yield: 8ish servings.

Triple Chocolate Lava Cookies

Ingredients:

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (for coating)

Instructions:

Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over (not touching) barely simmering water. Heat, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove from over the water and set aside to cool slightly. In a bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Mixer: In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light in color and thick, about 3 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture on low speed until blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls, about 2 hours.

Bake at 325 degrees on parchment paper.

To form each cookie, roll a rounded tablespoon of dough between your palms into a 1 1/2 inch ball (I make them  mini-size since they are so dense), and roll the ball in the confectioners’ sugar. Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to set them firmly into the baking sheet so they stay into place.

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the tops are puffed and crinkled and feel firm when lightly touched, 13-17 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Farmhouse Kitchen Sink Cookies

I always get asked to bake these cookies for get togethers.  Finally, I’ve broken down.  Here ya go…share it with the world.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter @ room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2⁄3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

2 tbs corn syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1⁄3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup bitter-sweet chocolate (chips or chopped)

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

½ cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup coarsely chopped graham crackers

1⁄2 cup old-fashioned quick oats

2 1/2 tsp used coffee grounds

1 cup rippled potato chips

1 cup pretzel sticks

1 cup corn flakes

½ cup coarsely chopped unsalted pecans

Instructions:

1. Combine butter and sugars in mixing bowl and cream together. Add egg and vanilla, and beat for 10 minutes.

2. On low speed add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix only one minute.

3. Add chocolate, butterscotch chips, grahams, pecans, oats, and coffee and mix 20 seconds. Add corn flakes and pretzels and chips however  LIGHTLY MIX WITH HANDS so you don’t crush these nummy parts.

4. Form 2 inch balls with ice cream scoop and slightly flatten with bottom of a drinking glass dipped in water. Then add a few chips and pretzels atop of each cookie and  gently press into top of dough.  Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.  THIS STEP IS CRUCIAL. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!

5. Heat the oven to 350°.

6. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, place dough discs 3 inches apart and bake for approximately 17 minutes.  Cookie should have a darker edge and lighter center so the cookie with have both crunch and chew!

7. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheets.

Cake Balls

Summary :“These are likely to replace the cupcake as we know it. Imagine cake and frosting living together in a whole new way!”

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs @ room temp
• 2 ¾ cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of baking soda
• 1 Tbsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of whole milk or buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp of Hellman’s mayonnaise
• 2 tsp of vanilla

Instructions

1. In a mixer: cream butter, add sugar slowly, add eggs one at time, add flour one cup at a time alternating with small portions of milk. Add remaining ingredients. Do not over mix!
2. Grease cake pan (bottom and sides) and dust with flour, knocking off any extra flour.
3. Spread batter evenly.
4. Bake at 350 degrees oblong cake pan for 40 minutes or until top is light golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 30 minute. Invert onto cooling rack.
6. Crumble cake into very fine crumbs and set aside in a large bowl.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING Ingredients:
1 cup of unsalted butter (softened at room temp)
4 cups of powered sugar
2 tsp of vanilla
1 tbsp of milk

Directions:
In a mixer on medium speed: cream butter, add powdered sugar one cup at a time then add in remaining ingredients until light and fluffy.

ASSEMBLE CAKE BALLS:

1. In a large mixing bowl, fold frosting into the cake crumble mixture using your hands and thoroughly mix. The end result looks and feels like a dough.
2. Form 1 inch balls and freeze for 1 hour.
3. Remove balls from the freezer and dip in your favorite chocolate (white or dark). You can dip the entire ball or 1/2 in chocolate. Work quickly.
4. After dipping roll chocolate covered ball in your favorite sprinkle concoction (I use toasted coconut, crushed pecans, walnuts etc.) You can get VERY creative in how you finish the Cake Balls so have FUN!
5. Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container. Cake balls will last about a week when store properly.

Cooper's Christmas Crack

“I broke a toe one Christmas after eating this stuff….sugar high gone bad”

WARNING: DO NOT DANCE TO JINGLE BELLS AFTER EATING!

Ingredients

2 sticks butter

1 c. brown sugar (packed)

36 saltine crackers

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. toasted pecans, almonds, peanuts (or whatever nuts you prefer)

Instructions:

1. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and lay out saltine crackers.
2. Spray  surface of tin foil with cooking oil
3. Heat butter and brown sugar to boiling; boil for 4-6 minutes until very creamy and bubbly.
4. Pour butter and brown sugar mixture over crackers, spreading evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.
5. Right after removing from oven, evenly spread chocolate chips over hot crackers with a spatula, creating a chocolate layer.
6. Workly quickly, sprinkle with nuts.
7. Refrigerate until hardened (1 hour) cool then break apart into bit sized pieces

Topping ideas:

Coconut

Pecans

Pretzels

Peppermint candy crushed

M&M’s

Craisins

Raisins

Cashews

Pistachios

AND MORE!

Acorn Cookies

(GREAT FOR KIDS TO DO….ages 10 and up)

 Ingredients:

• Mini Nilla wafers
• Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses
• Pretzel sticks (the skinny kind)
• ½ cup of chocolate chips (melted)

Instructions:

1. Melt/temper chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir, then repeat until just melted.

2. On mini-Nilla wafer, spread a small amount of melted chocolate  on flat side of cookie and adhere Hershey’s kiss (flat side) …flat meets flat.

Dip small amount of chocolate on the end of a pretzel stick (break down to 1/2 inch) and adhere to the other side of the cookie (curved side).  Set (pointy end of Hershey’s chocolate side down) into a bowl of uncooked rice or popcorn seeds to dry. If you don’t do this step the stem/pretzel stick with fall off before drying to the rest of the cookie. Drying only takes 5 minutes.

Apple Butter Crumble

Summary : “Simple, earthy and crazy makin’ good.”

Ingredients

• Apple Filling:
• 7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced on the thicker side
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup flour
• Butter Crumble Topping:
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 ½ cups of whole pecans
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients of the Apple Filling in a large mixing bowl thoroughly.
3. Fill baking dish ¾ to the top. (either a pie tin or oblong baking dish).
4. In a separate bowl, mix together Butter Crumble Topping (easiest to use your hands to mix).
5. Spread topping over apple filling until it forms a nice high mound.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown.
7. Let cool for 15 minutes then serve with your favorite ice cream!

Quick notes

This recipe takes 15 minutes to prepare. You can either bake it in a round, rectangle or square dish. Hey, you can even bake these it in separate ramekins if you wanna get fancy!

Chocolate Zucchini Yogurt Cake

Summary : “This is perhaps the best chocolate cake you will ever have. It reminds me of the cake that Miss Marie used to make for me as a child.”

Ingredients

• 4 oz of unsweetened dark chocolate morsels
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened Cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup softened organic butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup yogurt
• 3 cups grated zucchini (with skins)

Instructions

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans
2. On medium heat, combine chocolate and oil and mix until thoroughly melted and set aside
3. Sift dry ingredients (except for sugar) and set aside
4. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add melted chocolate mixture followed by yogurt. Add dry mixture 1/3 cup at a time. Fold zucchini until fully combined.
5. Bake for 40 minutes on center oven rack. Insert metal knife into one of the cakes, it should come out clean.
6. Cool on racks then frost with Coop’s Orgasmic Frost or blend fresh raspberries and drizzle in between and over layers. Garnish with fresh mint.