Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These are so delicious!!  It's hard to eat only one.  My nephew has an egg allergy so there is an eggless option to these as well.  I entered these in the Iowa State Fair and got a lot of really useful feedback!  I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does.

 

Ingredients:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs (½ ripe banana for eggless option)

¾ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20 second intervals, stirring between each, until mostly melted.  In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs (banana for eggless option), brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low, beat in melted chocolate.  Mix in flour mixture until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chunks.

Use cookie scoop to drop balls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in the centers.  Let cookies sit on cookie sheet for 10 minutes.  Transfer to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

 

Moscato Cake with Strawberry Frosting

I made this cake (in cupcake form) for the Iowa State Fair.  It was my first time entering anything and I had a lot of fun doing so!  I also entered my m&m cookies, frosted sugar cookies, and eggless double chocolate chunk cookies.  This is a delicious dessert and looks so elegant.

 

Cake Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup moscato wine

5 egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Cake Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  In a medium bowl, combine wine, eggs, and vanilla.  In a second medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Use an electric mixer to beat together 2 sticks of butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.  With the mixer on low speed, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/3 of the wine mixture.  Alternate the flour and wine mixing until well combined.

Pour into greased cake pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until sides start to pull away from edge of pan.  Allow to cool before frosting.

 Frosting Ingredients:

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons strawberry puree

Frosting Steps:

Beat butter in stand mixer until it is pale in color and fluffy.

Add in powdered sugar slowly.  Next, add the vanilla.  Mix in 3 tablespoons of strawberry puree.  (To make puree, place 1 cup of fresh washed, drained, and hulled strawberries into a food processor and blend until it is a liquid puree)

Homemade Pancakes

Since the weekdays are so busy all the time, I like to make an effort to make breakfast on the weekends.  What's two days a week, right?  I like making Bryce pancakes because they are so quick and easy.  These pancakes are thick but not too heavy.  Very delicious.  Go crazy and add chocolate chips, blueberries, anything else!






Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons melted butter






Steps:
Sift together dry ingredients.  Add the egg. 




Melt the butter and add it to the milk and vanilla. 




Whisk together the dry and wet ingredients. 


Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a greased hot skillet.  Once the top is covered in little bubbles flip the pancake.  Let the other side cook a little and your pancake is done. 


Makes 8-10 average sized pancakes. 
Enjoy!