Kathy's Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 pkg chocolate cake mix (I absolutely think that Betty Crocker is the best)
1 pkg instant pudding (vanilla or chocolate)
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all above ingredients together. Beat for 3 minutes. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bale at 350 for 45 minutes (sooner if your oven cooks hot, you don't want it to be dry). Cool.
Frost with chocolate frosting or buttercream frosting with chocolate shavings.
(Kathy)
 
VARIATIONS:
 
Too Much Chocolate Cake
from AllRecipes
1 pkg devil's food cake mix
1 pkg (5.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
(Merideth)
 
Wendy's Variation
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 large package of instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
 
Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 T. butter
1 T. corn syrup
1 t. vanilla

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk Blondies

1/4 Cup butter
3/4 Cup white chocolate chips
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup white chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1/2 Cup pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 Cup chopped crystallized/candied ginger
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
4-5 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish until melted and hot. Pour in chocolate chips, let sit for a minute then stir until melted. Set aside. In a large bowl add sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and white chips. Stir in melted chocolate. Beat eggs and sour cream into a small bowl, then mix into main bowl. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until just combined then pour into a foil lined 8×8 inch baking pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with 1/4 Cup chopped candied ginger. Bake for 28-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely, cut into squares then refrigerate (so much better chilled, trust me on this one

2. Mix heavy cream and powdered sugar in small bowl until smooth, drizzle over blondies just before serving.

**I have never made it with the ginger and it is GREAT without!

Liege Waffles

We were introduced to these at Bruges in Salt Lake City. I got a Belgian Waffle Maker for Christmas so tonight we gave it a try. These are NOT a traditional batter waffle. Instead, they use yeast and rise like a bread dough. Pearl sugar, which is not easy to find, adds a caramelized crunch. They are more of a dessert than a breakfast. Divine!

Liege Waffle Recipe:

2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pearl sugar

1.Sprinkle the yeast and white sugar over warm milk in a small bowl. The milk should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 15 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
2.Whisk the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract into the yeast mixture until evenly blended; set aside. Stir together the flour and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Gently mix in the pearl sugar.
3.Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
4.Place a baseball-size ball of dough on the preheated waffle iron. Cook waffles until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Allow waffles to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Source: All Recipes

Oreo Cheesecake Pretzel Bites

Ingredients
14 whole Oreo Cookies
2 oz cold cream cheese
48 square pretzels
1 Cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips, melted
White Sprinkles

Directions
Place Oreos into a food processor and process until finely ground. Mix Oreo crumbs and cream cheese until dough forms. Pinch 1 Tablespoon of dough and form into a little square. Place onto pretzel then gently press top pretzel to close. Top with melted chocolate and white sprinkles. Chill until chocolate has hardened and serve.

*Yet another gem from Picky Palate! These are quick and yummy. However, I didn't bother with the sprinkles!

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Ingredients

For the Meringue Base:
6 large egg whites
2 cups superfine sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

For the Toppings:
2 cups heavy cream
4 cups raspberries
1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate

Directions
Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9-inch-diameter circle on the paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size.

Flip the paper over so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks - you'll still be able to see the circle.

Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.

Shape the meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue under each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and the top with a spatula.

Bake the meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.

Let it cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you'reready to serve, invert onto a big flatbottomed plate and peel off the parchment.

Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Coarsely grate the chocolate haphazardly over the top so that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want the Pavlova to look like a frosted cake.

*Ok, so we halved the amount of whipped cream and it was still AWESOME! It looks like a lot of directions, but it really isn't all that hard! It is SO TASTY!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.

Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.

Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before serving.

**I used regular vanilla, but the Mexican would make it really good.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

3/4 c. brown sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 t. salt1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
3/4 c. milk
1 1/4 c. canned or mashed cooked pumpkin
3 egg whites
1/3 c. sugar
19 inch graham-cracker or regular crust

In saucepan, combine brown sugar, gelatin, salt and spices. Combine egg yolks and milk. Stir into brown sugar mixture. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin. Chill until mixture mounds slightly when spooned (test every now and then - don't let it get too stiff). Beat egg whites until s oft peaks form. Gradually add white sugar, beating to stiff peaks. Fold pumpkin mixture thoroughly into egg whites. Turn into crust. Chill until firm. Garnish with whipped cream.

Orange Balls

12 oz. finely crushed vanilla wafers
16 oz. ( 3 3/4 c.) powdered sugar
1/2 c. softened butter
6 oz. thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
Finely crushed nuts or coconut (to roll the balls in)

Combine the first four ingredients and roll into one inch balls
Then roll in nuts or coconut. Refrigerate until serving.

Jonah's Microwave Caramels

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. butter (not margarine)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. karo syrup






Put all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 2 minutes and then stir. Repeat for 2 minutes then stir. Cook again for 1 1/2 minutes and stir. Cook for 1 minute and then pour into a well buttered 8x8 pan and let cool for 3 hours. Cut and wrap in waxed paper that is cut into squares (roll as a diamond and twist sides closed).

For a slightly softer caramel use these times: (2 min, 1.5 min, 1.5 min, 1 min).

This recipe is for a high wattage microwave (i.e. 1100 watts). If your microwave has fewer watts then you'll need to increase some of the times. This recipe is so easy! 8 minutes and you have perfect caramels. Jonah makes these every Sunday.

For black licorice caramels add:
1/2 t. black food coloring
1/2 t. anise flavoring (before pouring into pan)

Other variations:
Pour warm caramel over pretzels, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut etc. You can also make a flavored caramel - i.e. Raspberry caramels -- using flavored extracts. Follow directions on the back of the extract bottle.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

(Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen, Food Network)

2 (14 oz) packages gingerbread mix
1 large package cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling (the one with the spices)
½ c packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (I used 1 pint real whipping cream)
½ cup gingersnaps (optional)

Instructions:
Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar and cinnamon into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour ½ of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. 20 Servings.

One downside of using the whipping cream is that if you don't use all of the trifle, within a day or two the cream begins to weep. In that regard, I suppose the frozen topping would be better to use.

(Kathy)

Strawberry Mozzarella Salad

Salad:
Mixed greens
strawberries (sliced)
shredded Mozzarella cheese
slivered almonds

Dressing:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ t. poppy seeds
½ t. sesame seeds
½ t. paprika
2 dashes Worcestershire
2 dashes Tabasco
1T. minced onion (I used 1 teaspoon of dry minced onion, fresh may have been better)

Mix dressing together and put in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the dressing to thicken. Toss the greens, strawberries, mozzarella cheese and some toasted slivered almonds. Add the dressing just before serving.

(Kathy)

Peppermint Patty Bars

Brownie:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup sliced almonds

Melt chocolate and butter together in top of double boiler over hot water. In a bowl beat eggs and sugar well; add flour, nuts and chocolate mixture. Bake in a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool

Mint Cream:
Beat 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 TBLS soft butter
4 TBLS light cream
1 ½ tsp peppermint extract (I would try 1 tsp first and add more if desired. I don’t like it real strong) You can also add a light green food coloring for fun.

Chocolate Glaze:
Melt over hot water: 4 oz sweet chocolate and 4 TBLS butter.

Spread Mint Cream evenly over chocolate brownie. Cover and chill until firm. Drizzle chocolate glaze over mint layer. Cover and chill until firm. Cut in 36 squares.

(Kathy)