XL Chocolate Chip Cookies

Over the summer I picked up this Muffin Top Pan than Jenny from Picky Palate is always gushing over! (I got mine from Sur La Table)



I made cookies one night with it and fell in love. Who doesn't love thick xtra large cookies? I made these several different ways with the same recipe just changing up the chips. The first go round I just stuck to the basics and used chocolate chips. As you can see in my picture, I had originally thought of adding white chocolate chips but at the last second I changed my mind. I have a weakness for cookies, I see them and just think I'll have a bite and before I know it, the whole cookie is gone! Whoops :)

Xtra Large Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz bag of chocolate chips (or any chips you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Once combined, add the chips.

Scoop 1/4 cup of dough and press into muffin top pan. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until edges just start to turn a golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and then move to a cooling rack.




I made these cookies to go on a dessert platter I was bringing some friends that just moved on our street. They were fabulous and so simple to throw together!

Run out now and go get this pan, you will not regret it! I have a few others things Ill post soon using the pan, for other suggestions go on over to Picky Palate. Ill post the other variations soon, so stay tuned! Also I created a Smitten Sugar Fan Page on facebook, so go like the page if you like my blog.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

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Funfetti Cake Balls

So I have been pretty busy here lately and havent been updating the blog much, but that doesnt mean I havent been baking.

These are just some pictures I took recently of some Funfetti Cake Balls I made. I made a batch and sent them to some girlfriends in Dallas. They arent here much to taste my goodies, so sometimes I have to send them some love! :)









For a recipe on how to make cake balls go here or hop on over to Bakerella's site and check out her video tutorial.

To ship these cakes balls, I put them in an egg carton and shipped with gel ice packs in the box! I think they arrived fully in tact :) Print This

Tres Leches

This month the Cake Slice Bakers baked up Johnny C's Tres Leches Cakes from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. I have made both a regular tres leches and a chocolate tres leches and both were amazing so I was hopeful this one would be as well. I was a little hesitant with the lime zest cause that just seemed so odd to me, but I decided to go long with the recipe. However this recipe just says to top with with cream but I decided I would use the whipped cream from the other Tres Leches cake I used cause it was so good last time.

Johnny C's Tres Leches Cake from Southern Cake by Nancie McDermott

Printable Recipe

Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup milk

Three Milk Sauce:

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

One 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1 tbsp grated lime zest

Garnish with whipped cream and or fresh fruit such as kiwi or berries. I whipped a pint of heavy whipping cream with 3 tbsp sugar and covered the cake in the whipped cream.

Cake Method-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on medium high speed to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the milk, beating at low speed each time until incorporated. Add another third of the flour, the remaining milk and the remaining flour the same way.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Mine took about 45 minutes. Bake until golden brown, the cake begins to pull away from the sides and the center springs back with touched.

While the cake bakes, make the milk sauce. You want the cake to be warm when you add the milk.

Three Milk Sauce:

Combine the milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Hea gently over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture is smooth and steaming hot. Do not let it come to a boil. Allow 10 minutes to cool before using.

To Finish:

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the lime zest over the cake

Punch holes with a toothpick or fork. Slowly pour the warm milk, in stages, stopping to let the cake absorb the sauce before adding more. You may not need it all. You can always add more if needed. Let the cake stand for an hour. Then top with any whipped topping or refrigerate covered until ready to serve. Garnish however you wish!

I really wanted this cake to be good but it really just wasnt as good as the other Tres Leches I had made. I will say I had to bake mine for 45 minutes because the middle was not done and in the process I think the bottom got a little over cooked. Nothing horrible just darker than I would normally cook it. The cake wasnt as light and fluffy as I am used to tres leches being and I think it needed more milk sauce as well.

All in all this cake wasnt bad but next time I would definitely use the other recipes I have in the past.

I also recently added a Smitten Sugar Facebook page so please go online and check it out and while you are there make sure you "Like" my page! Happy Baking everyone!

Krystle

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Sopapilla Cheesecake

My boyfriend had this Sopapilla Cheesecake at the fire station one day and couldnt stop talking about how good it was. He brought the recipe home the next day and of course I had to make it. I love anything with cinnamon and sugar. Plus it looked super easy to throw together. I ended up bringing this to a 4th of July bbq and cut them into squares to serve.

Sopapilla Cheesecake
Printable Recipe


2 cans Crescent Rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
16 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open one can of the crescent rolls and spread out covering the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. You can use your fingers to press any broken seams back together.

Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and the vanilla just until combined. Pour over the crescent rolls.

Open the last can of crescent rolls and spread out on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the crescent roll layer. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cheesecake.

It will look like this above, sorry for the rotated photo, photo uploader wasnt being very cooperative this morning. :)

Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is browned. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. The recipe calls for this to be served warm and refrigerate leftovers. However, I actually preferred these served chilled. But eat whichever way you prefer. Can be served with honey or fruit if preferred. Enjoy!

This really easy one of the easiest desserts I've ever made, run along now and go make it!

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Chewy Fudgey Brownies

I stumbled upon these brownies on Annie's Eats and the pictures really dont do these justice. They are amazing! I looovvee fudgey soft brownies. I honestly have been craving these ever since I made them a few weeks ago. I shared them with my co-workers and a friend of mine. My friend, Christa is pregnant and I sent some home with her, later that night I received a text asking for more. So I guess thats a good testament to how good these are. The recipe comes from Baking Illustrated and really is my new favorite brownie. Go, run to your kitchen and make these. They are good by themselves but I bet warmed with a scoop of ice cream would be amazing as well!

Chewy Fudgey Brownies from Annie's Eats adapted from Baking Illustrated

5 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chcocoalte, chopped

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into quarters

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place oven rack in lower middle position. Line an 8 or 9 inch baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocoalte and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until combined, about 15-20 seconds. Whisk in warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (This might take a little while, dont worry it will smooth out) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even.

Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the brownies from the pan, cut and enjoy!

How cute is this new cake stand I bought? I really need more brownies for a cute picture but this was all I had left, so it will have to do. :)

Printable Recipe

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New Smitten Sugar Stickers

I have been wanting to get some Smitten Sugar stickers and business cards made for a while now. This way when I have baking orders customers have some way of contacting me, plus... its good advertising right? I happen to have been browsing on Etsy one day and came across

Sally's Etsy Store, Your Shop Name Here.

I feel in love with her designs and immediately contacted her. I knew I wanted oval stickers with some sort of a scalloped border. I just directed her to my blog and she came up with the super cute design. I purchased 2 different sized oval stickers as well as some business cards. Here are some pictures below:

If you need anything like this I highly reccommend Sally! She did a fabulous job! Thanks again! :)

I really cant wait for the next baking order so I can use them. If you need anything like this I highly recommend her services, Your Shop Name Here.

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Chocolate Cobbler

Another dessert I brought to the BBQ on Memorial Day, was this Chocolate Cobbler I saw mentioned on Pioneer Woman's Site. I was drooling just looking at the photos. This cobbler is super simple to throw together and really is out of this world! The original recipe comes from Susan Hawkins and she posted it on Tasty Kitchen.

Granny's Chocolate Cobbler Recipe see on Pioneer Woman from TastyKitchen

1 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
7 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/3 melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups hot tap water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8 inch baking dish. (I used a 9 inch square.)

In separate bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (1/2 cup), the brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set. (Mine was ready in about 35 minutes)
Let stand for a few mintues. Serve with ice cream. It will be warm and gooey in the center, dont worry this is how it is suppose to turn out. It similar to a molten chocolate cake...heaven!!

As I was trying to get a good picture, the ice cream was melting quickly so this will have to do.

You will not be disappointed by this recipe at all! Make sure to serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For a printable version of this recipe go here.

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