Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

This month's What's Baking theme: Red Velvet was fitting for February. Who doesn't like red velvet—especially around Valentine's Day? Did you know that true red velvet is not chocolate flavor, but actually buttermilk? Some recipes differ and call for more chocolate or cocoa than others, which gives some red velvet recipes more chocolate flavor than others. In cookie form, these red velvet chocolate chip cookies were one of those chocolate-heavy red velvet recipes. They were not as red as I hoped they would be because the brown cocoa overpowered the red food coloring, giving them a reddish-brown color.Color aside, these cookies were so delicious that I could not stop eating them! They had a deep chocolate flavor that paired well with the white and semisweet chocolate chips.


Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: The Barbee Housewife

1 stick butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup of  brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used a mix of about 3/4 cup of white and semisweet chocolate chips.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a large bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and red food coloring and mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop balls or mounds of dough onto the baking sheets and bake for 10-13 minutes.

Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate, Toffee, & Coconut Cookies

Sometimes you just need a cookie. Life doesn't always go as planned. You will have bad days. People will hurt your feelings. It will snow every day with no end in sight. And sometimes nothing will make you feel better. These cookies will make you feel better. They are chewy, sweet, and delicious with hints of salty toffee to keep them from being overly sweet. So if you are sad, or even if you are happy, make these cookies. You won't be disappointed.

White Chocolate, Toffee, & Coconut Cookies
Source: Lick the Bowl Good

2 sticks butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 and 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup toffee bits

1 package (12 oz.) white chocolate chips

3/4 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. 

Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

With the mixer on low, add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Stir in toffee bits, white chocolate chips, and coconut.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden along the edges.

Allow to cool for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Souffle Cake for Two

My husband wanted a Stove Wave pot after seeing it tested on television. I'm usually weary of those "As Seen on Television" products because they usually never work as promised. He first used it to make an omelet, and it came out perfectly! The booklet that came with it had a recipe for chocolate souffle cake that looked easy enough, so I decided to give it a try. I mixed together the ingredients, tossed a few chocolate chips on top, popped on the lid, and put it in the microwave. Two and a half minutes later, I had a chocolate cake—the perfect size for two, which fits this month's What's Baking theme: Small Servings. The cake tasted delicious! The texture was not perfect, and it could have been lighter, but it satisfied my chocolate cake craving. It would have been even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Chocolate Souffle Cake for Two
Source: StoveWave

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
3 tablespoons milk
1 and 1/4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons of a whisked egg
a dash of vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate chips

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except chocolate chips until smooth.
Stir in chocolate chips, reserving a few for the top.
Pour mixture into an ungreased Stone Wave pot and top with reserved chocolate chips.
Put on the lid and cook in the microwave for 2:15 minutes. (I had to cook mine for 2:30 minutes.)
Enjoy with ice cream, fresh fruit, or whipped cream.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

I love to bake, but I don't love being stuck with a whole cake, a plate of cookies, or a dozen cupcakes because—like everyone else this time of year—I'm trying to eat healthier. I was looking for a healthy oatmeal bar recipe when I came across these bars. Let it be known, these are far from healthy. But they caught my eye, and I had to make them. The ingredient list wasn't too bad, and they didn't require me dragging out my mixer. These were quick and easy to whip up on a Sunday evening for snacks all week. While they were a little greasy from all the butter in the recipe, they were delicious and tasted like thick and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm already dreaming up variations such as adding craisins and almonds.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

Source: Martha Stewart 

1 and 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used quick-cooking, and they came out fine.)

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (You can also line the bottom with parchment paper.)

Whisk together butter, brown and white sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add flour, oats, and raisins, and fold in until combined.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in pan.

Green Apple Slaw

My husband makes the best pulled pork. Actually he makes the best proteins from steaks to turkey sliders to BBQ chicken. What that man can do to a cut of meat can only be described as magical. Grilled, sauteed, braised, slow cooked—you name it, it's simply the best! This time we decided to make pulled pork tacos instead of BBQ pork sliders with the pulled pork. We usually top them with regular coleslaw, but we decided to put a twist on it and make green apple slaw. It had the perfect combination of sweet and tangy that made the tacos out of this world.




Green Apple Slaw

1/2 bag shredded coleslaw mix (or 1/2 head cabbage and 1 carrot)
1 green apple
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used the one with olive oil.)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste

If not using coleslaw mix, finely shred the cabbage and carrot and place in a large bowl.
Peel, core, and shred the apple and add it to the bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, dijon mustard, sugar, and vinegar.
Add salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste.
Mix in the cabbage, carrots, and apple.
Let set in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to meld flavors before serving.

Ricotta Cookies

This month's What's Baking theme fit perfectly with the holiday season: Christmas Traditions. Like many others, my Christmas Tradition is to bake Christmas cookies. Every year I bake way too many cookies and way too many varieties, but I love cookie time! This year, I dropped a few of the tried-and-true recipes in favor of some new ones. I have eaten many ricotta cookies through the years, but I had never made them myself. So this year, I decided to add them to the list. I loved how tender and light this cookie baked up; almost cake-like. I used almond extract for that hint of cherry flavor and topped them with a simple vanilla glaze. They were delicious! 

Ricotta Cookies
Source: adapted slightly from Rachael Ray

4 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 pound (15–16 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used almond.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.
Cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. 
Add sugar and continue beating until well combined.
Add eggs, ricotta, and vanilla (or almond) extract and beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until mixed well.
Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets.
Bake 11 to 15 minutes until edges are golden brown. The tops will remain pale.
Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
When completely cooled. top with glaze and sprinkles.

Simple Vanilla Glaze
2 cups powder sugar
3 tablespoons milk (or water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together powdered sugar, milk (or water), and vanilla extract until smooth, adding more milk (or water) or powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.

Apple Cider Cupcakes

Fall is my favorite season. I love the leaves changing colors, fresh apples, everything pumpkin, and the overall feeling of the season. Every fall we make a trip to a local orchard for honey crisp apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. This year, I wanted to replicate those little delicious donuts in cupcake form. The little bites of heaven taste strongly of apple cider and are covered in cinnamon-sugar. I love them, but I only allow myself to eat two a year. The only thing I don't like about donuts is that they are fried. When I eat them, the oil slick covers my tongue and leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth. This is why I opted for cupcakes. I make a spice cake spiked with apple cider and shredded apples and dipped the tops in melted butter and cinnamon-sugar. Boy we these addicting! I loved the light, airy texture and strong apple flavor of the cake, and the cinnamon-sugar topping added a nice little crunch to each bite. 

Apple Cider Cupcakes
source: adapted from So, How's It Taste?

Cake:
1 box Spice Cake Mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider
2 apples, peeled and shredded

Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325  degrees, and line two cupcake pans with 24 paper cupcake liners. Shred and peel 2 apples and set aside. Mix together cake mix, cinnamon, eggs, cider, and oil in a large bowl and beat at low speed until moistened. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in shredded apples. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 18–22 minutes. Remove cupcakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Mix together the sugar and remaining cinnamon in a small bowl. While the cupcakes are still warm, dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.