Yes, We Cook!

Let’s hear it for the scones, again!  Okay, I’m just going to tell you now – this is a very traditional scone in that it is a bit more on the ‘bitter’ side.  Most scones you see now are sweetened by what’s added into or on top of them (IE. chocolate, fruit, icing, etc.).  So I don’t want you to be surprised.  Despite that, I still really liked the coffee and nut flavor and they are perfect paired with your daily coffee or espresso (I have a great connection with this – my friend makes and sells his own). If you’re up to it – here you are!

Ingredients:

2/3 c low fat milk

2.5 tbsp instant coffee granules

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2.25 c flour

1/3 c sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinammon

1/4 c chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3 tbsp finely chopped walnuts

2 tsp low fat milk

2 tsp sugar

1. Combine 3/4 c milk and coffee granules in a microwave safe bowl – heat on high for 1 minute.  Cover and chill completely.  Stir in egg and vanilla.

2. Preheat oven to 425.

3. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients into the bowl.  Cut butter in with a pastry blender.  Stir in walnuts.  Add milk mixture, stirring until moist (dough will be sticky).

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times with floured hands.  Pat dough into an 8 in circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Cut dough into 10 wedges (do not cut all the way through the dough though so as to retain moisture).  Brush with remaining milk and sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Makes 10 servings.

***Van, these would be the third scones I’ve made and I will tell you – each time the dough seems like a sticky mess but apparently they are supposed to be that way.  Adding more flour will make the scones too dry.  So if you care to try again don’t fret if the dough seems “off”.

Like I said, I really enjoyed these but because I’m a chocolate freak I will probably add some chips in there the next time

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 207

Fat: 7 g

Protein: 4.9 g

Carbohydrate: 31 g

Fiber: 1 g

Cholesterol: 35 mg

Otherwise known as seven layer bars (but I counted in this recipe and I didn’t find seven – so I’m not sure what constitutes an actual “layer”) these are ooey, gooey, and absolutely delicious!  These are quite simple and since I have never made them before I just stuck with the original recipe I had on hand but the possibilities are endless here.  My friend who doesn’t even like coconut said she liked these.  You be the judge.

1.5 c graham cracker crumbs (about 9 cookie sheets)

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 tbsp water

1/3 c semisweet choco chips

1/3 c butterscotch chips

2/3 c flaked sweetened coconut

1/4 c chopped pecans, toasted

1 15-oz can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 in square baking pan with parchment paper.

3. Place crumbs in a bowl and drizzle with butter and water.  Toss with a fork until moist.  Gently pat mixture into an even layer in the pan (do not press firmly because the milk needs to seep into the graham cracker crumbs).  Sprinkle with chips.  Top evenly with coconut and pecans.  Drizzle milk evenly over the top.  Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.  Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Yields 24 small bars or 16 medium sized bars.

What was left 5 hours later. . .

The bottoms came out pretty moist, especially the center pieces.  I think I would leave them in the oven a bit longer so the crust is harder.  But other than that the taste is wonderful

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 123

Fat: 4.4 g

Protein: 2.1 g

Carbohydrate: 19.1 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Sodium: 64 mg

Fiber: 0.5 g

So I went with this recipe because I wanted to use what I had on hand – and we ran out of the chocolate hazelnut drops.  Holy crap these were so good!  Definitely not your average chocolate chip cookie.  Add these to your gourmet cookie box collection – that’s my goal, you know!

Heaven’s ingredients:

1 c butter, softened

scant 3/4 c superfine sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp orange extract

2.5 c flour

generous 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

salt

1.5 tbsp each superfine sugar and ground cinammon

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat your butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until well combined then beat in egg yolk and extract.  Sift together your flour and pinch of salt into the mixture and add the chocolate chips.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Keep in mind the batter may be somewhat crumbly.

3. For the coating, mix your tbsps of sugar and cinnmmon.  Scoop out dough by tablespoons and form into balls and roll them in the coating.  Place on your cookie sheets spaced well apart.

4. Bake for 12-15 mins and let cool on cookie sheets for 5-10.  Then transfer to wire racks with metal spatula. Makes 30.

Guaranteed to make your kitchen smell so delicious!

Enjoy these as much as I have =D

Not too long ago I made an apple streusel muffin that was very good. Well. . .I came across this recipe and decided to try it since I needed more homemade breakfast goods on the kitchen counter.  Let’s just say the first apple muffins are now complete history.  I believe, yes, I believe my husband ate 3 out of the dozen the first day.  These are so moist and satisfying and for being low-cal I fell in love!

Your supplies:

3/4 c plus 2 tbsp packed brown sugar

1/4 c chopped pecans

1/2 tsp ground cinammon

1 c each flour and wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c canola oil

2 large eggs

1 c natural applesauce (= 2 small individually packed applesauces)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c lowfat buttermilk

1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 and prep your muffin pan.  In a small bowl mix the 2 tbsp of brown sugar and pecans.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl mix together flours, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl mix remaining 3/4 c sugar and oil until combined.  Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each.  Then add applesauce and vanilla.   Whisk in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with buttermilk.  Gently stir in apple.

4. Fill your muffin pan and sprinkle with sugar/pecan topping.  Tap the pan to remove any air bubbles (did not know this previously!).  Bake for 20 mins and let cool on wire rack for 15.  Enjoy!

sorry about the flash - took this with my phone :-p

Nutritional Information:

Calories:  219

Total Fat: 8 g

Protein: 4 g

Carbohydrate: 35 g

Fiber: 2 g

Hello.  My name is Eileen and I am a chocoholic. . .I once again hit the jackpot with these cookies.  Hazelnuts are my favorite nut and although I think almost anything is good drenched in dark chocolate – this combination is incredibly satisfying.  But that’s just my opinion.  Feel free to form your own once you’ve made these

Supplies:

1 c softened butter

scant 3/4 c superfine sugar

1 lightly beaten egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 c flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa

1/2 c ground hazelnuts

1/3 c semisweet chocolate chips

4 tbsp chocolate and hazelnut spread

salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line your cookie sheets with parchment.

2. Mix your butter and sugar with a wooden spoon and then beat in yolk, and extract.  Stir together flour, cocoa, and a pinch of salt, add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips and stir until thoroughly combined.

3. Scoop out tablespoons of the mixture and shape into balls.  Place on sheets and use the dampened end of a wooden spoon to make a hollow in the center of each cookie.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes and let cool on the sheets for 5-10.  Then transfer to wire rack to cool completely and fill the hollows with the spread.  Makes about 30.

Let me count the ways. . .

Incredibly decadent :9

Yeah, I wasn’t counting calories with these.

Enjoy!

From what I hear you are either a custard fan or not.  I grew up with flan and desserts of the sort but for some reason didn’t care for custard until much later in life.  I used the following recipe to make this for a friend’s father whose favorite dessert is this.

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• 2 1/2 cups scalded milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Mix together eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir well. Blend in the scalded milk. For more yellow color, add few drops yellow food coloring.
3. Line pie pan with pastry, and brush inside bottom and sides of shell with egg white to help prevent a soggy crust. Pour custard mixture into piecrust. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack and give some time to set.

***This was the first time I made this and so being the type of person I am I made a second pie to taste test it myself before giving what I made to someone else.  However, I decided to put a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom so that others in my household would partake of it too.  I had to increase the baking time by about 5-7 minutes.  The custard filling came out exactly as I expected and the chocolate, although I even questioned throwing that in there, was really good.  Even my husband who doesn’t care for custard thought it was a nice touch.

This goes to show you: don't shift the pie while it is baking. The nutmeg will move over! Errr. . .

. . .with the chocolate layer . . .

From what the recipe stated each slice (8 per pie) has approximately 225 calories (without chocolate).

I don’t know why I’ve held off on this recipe.  I’ve had pretty good success with a few other muffins I’ve made for breakfast-on-the-go and one or two “fails”.  This is one of the ones I like the most!  And if you’re into supplementation and good-for-you ingredients the flaxseed will probably be appealing to you.  Moist, not overly sweet, and just the right size (don’t be fooled by mega muffins!) here you are. . .

Ingredients:

1 c flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c packed brown sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp apple pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 c buttermilk

2 tbsp canola oil

3/4 c shredded/peel apple (1 medium)

2 tbsp finely chopped pecans

1 tbsp flaxseed

1 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 and prep your muffin pan (12 ct).  In a large bowl, stir together flours, 1/3 c br sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice, and salt.  Set aside.

2. In medium bowl lightly beat eggs and stir in buttermilk and oil.  Add this mixture to flour mixture and stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Fold in shredded apple and spoon all of this into muffin cups (fill about 3/4 full).

3. In a small bowl combine pecans, flaxseed and 1 tbsp br sugar.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Spoon this mixture over top of muffin batter.

4.  Bake for 18-20 min and cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes.  Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!

You'd be proud of your muffins too

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 163

Total Fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 39 mg

Protein: 4 g

Carbohydrate: 25 g

Fiber: 2 g

Sodium: 167 mg

For crying out loud, how did I stray from low-calorie dessert treats?  Okay, this was totally worth it.  Soft, buttery, and tastes very gourmet – here is your new favorite cookie.  Don’t eat them all at once, please; otherwise, who  else would know you bake so well?

Components of heaven:

1 c butter, softened

3/4 c superfine sugar (this is now the sugar I carry on hand at all times)

grated rind of an orange

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp orange juice

2.5 c flour

1 tsp ground ginger

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

salt

1. Put first three ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Beat in egg yolk and orange juice.  Stir flour, ginger, and pinch of salt into the mixture until thoroughly combined.  Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30-60 mins.

2. Preheat oven to 375 and line cookie sheets with parchment (I will comment on this later).

3. Unwrap dough and roll out between 2 parchment sheets to a rectangle.  Using a sharp knife cut into 4 x 3/4 in strips and put them on the prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on sheets for about 5 and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

5. Put chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of gently simmering water, then remove from heat and cool.  When it is cool but not set then dip cookies in 1/4 to halfway (whatever you prefer) and put on wire racks and let set.  Makes about 35 cookies.

Fabulousness dipped in even more fabulousness. . .

A few things:

When a recipe tells you that you need to chill the dough, this is to make it easy to handle.  So when you’re working with the dough, once it reaches room temperature again, it becomes pretty slippery and very soft so it is best if you can work fairly fast.  As you can see I tried to get all the cookies to be of the same size and shape but I took my time rolling the dough out and cutting it out in strips and the dough became pretty soft again.

Additionally, I only had so much parchment paper left and so I used a baking spray on my cookie sheet.  I have one extra large Ultrabake cooking sheet which I absolutely love because my cookies never burn and come out perfect every time.  However, I had extra dough and ended up using another cookie sheet with spray and the cookies browned so much faster and some even burned (you can probably notice it in the upper RT corner of the photo).  If you’re into baking cookies often, definitely invest in a good cookie sheet – saves money in the long run.

Be careful when dipping your cookies in the chocolate because they might break!

These cookies are approximately 110 calories each – Blah!

So I found a more “reasonable” recipe after the sugar cookie post – and what I mean is that the dough was more malleable and didn’t make me want to pull my hair out.  This was still time-consuming because I used cookie cutters but the chocolate drizzle is easier to deal with than sprinkles and decorative sugar.  I will leave that to the pros for now.  These were excellent!  I decided to double the recipe this morning and I yielded a TON of cookies!  So these are perfect to share with others

You will require:

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 c superfine sugar (caster)

1/2 c sweet butter (I used regular)

2 1/4 c all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

1. Mix together first 3 ingredients and then stir in melted butter.  Sift the flour, salt, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and then add to egg mixture.  Chill until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 375 and prep your cookie sheets.  Roll the dough out between parchment or plastic wrap to about 1/8 in  and use cookie cutters. Place on baking sheets and bake for 10-15 mins until golden.

3. Cool on wire rack.  Dip fork into melted chocolate and drizzle onto cookies.  Allow to set on parchment and then enjoy!

I had fun with these - used cookie cutters kids would enjoy!

Cookies galore - this is the second sheet out of 4 large!

***Alternately instead of the cinnamon you can use ginger or the grated zest of 2 lemons (4-6 tsp) and add to egg and sugar mixture.

***This is NOT low cal

Nutritional Information (per cookie):

Calories: 65

Total Fat: 2.8 g

Cholesterol: 8.7 mg

Sodium: 63.6 mg

Carbohydrate: 9.5 g

Fiber: 0.3 g

Protein: 0.9 g

I love blending fruit and meat together. . .and this is just one of this instances  This makes a great lunch or snack and for dinner you can pair with beans and/or rice.

Get started:

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp)

1/8 tsp salt

8 0z skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp canola oil

4 – 6 in corn tortillas or purchased baked tostada shells (I usually go for crispy!)

2 c shredded romaine

3 kiwifruits chopped and/or 2 plum tomatoes chopped

1/2 c shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a small bowl combine cumin, red pepper and salt.  Brush all sides of the chicken with oil and sprinkle evenly with cumin mixture.

2. Place on a grill uncovered for approx 12-15 minutes and turn halfway through until no longer pink.

3. Cut chicken in bite size strips and assemble on top of tostadas with lettuce, fruit/tomato, and cheese.   Makes 4 servings.  (Of course with recipes like this you can always make more depending on how much you happen to have on hand. I say you’ll need more, these are delicious!)

A little sweet and a whole lot of savory!

***I was worried while grilling that there wasn’t enough of the cumin mixture on there.  I made sure the chicken wasn’t dry so a lot of the flavor still came through.  I think next time I would make a bit more of the cumin mixture and even add a bit more red pepper because I love kick but that’s about all the tweaking I would do.  Oh!  And if you didn’t care about the low cal of course add sour cream and avocado and even a little cilantro/red onion.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 208

Total Fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 43 mg

Protein: 19 g

Carbohydrate: 21 g

Fiber: 4 g

Sodium: 238 mg

Seems like I can’t go one week without baking something for breakfast – but that’s a good thing, right?  This bread sounds rich, but it’s not.  It has just the right amount of peanut butter/chocolate flavor to leave you satisfied.

You’ll need:

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1/3 c creamy peanut butter

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg whites

2 tbsp canola oil

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 c fat free milk

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp fat free milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prep your loaf pan.

2. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Beat with electric mixer until combined.  Beat in egg whites and oil until combined.  In a small bowl, combine flours and alternately add this and 1 c milk to peanut butter mixture beating on low speed after each addition.  Transfer 1/2 c of the batter to small bowl and stir in cocoa powder and 1 tbsp milk.

3. Spoon half the light-color batter evenly into prepped loaf pan.  Then drop all the chocolate batter by small spoonfuls on top of batter in pan.  Spoon remaining light-color batter over it.  Using a narrow metal spatula, swirl batters to create a marbled effect.

4. Bake for 50-55 mins or until inserted toothpick in middle comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 mins and remove from pan and continue to cool on wire rack.  Makes approx. 12 servings.

I probably could've done better with the "marbling" effect but still tastes delish!

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 181

Total Fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Protein: 5 g

Carbohydrate: 28 g

Fiber 1 g

Sodium: 177 mg

Let’s hear it for the scones!!!  These will knock your socks off, no joke.  I’ve loved scones for as long as I can remember but for those of you who dislike the ‘dry spots’ this recipe retains a bit more moisture without being too soft and ‘cakey’.  And the glaze is amazing!

Here you go:

1.5 c all purpose flour

1/2 c wheat flour

1/4 c sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp finely shredded orange peel

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c butter

1 egg

1/2 c buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 c fresh blueberries (you can use frozen)

1. Preheat oven to 400 and prep your baking sheet.  In a large bowl mix first 6 ingredients together and then cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Whisk together egg, buttermilk, and vanilla and add this mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened.  Gently stir in blueberries (you don’t want to mash them).

3. Turn out dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 strokes.  Lightly roll out dough into a 7 in circle and cut into 10 wedges.  Place on baking sheet about 1 in apart.

4.  Bake for about 15 mins or until golden brown.  While you are waiting prep your glaze: 3/4 c powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp finely shredded orange peel and either just enough orange juice or fat-free milk (4-5 tsp) to make drizzling consistency.  Makes 10 servings – Enjoy!

Freshly drizzled

Nothing better than homebaked goods for breakfast!

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 171

Total Fat: 5 g

Cholesterol: 34 mg

Protein: 4 g

Carbohydrate: 27 g

Fiber: 1 g

Sodium: 215 mg

Ok. . .I am going to preface this by saying these were one of the most difficult baked good items that I have had to make.  With other cookies you simply put a ’rounded teaspoonful’ of batter on a baking sheet and could care less about what they look like afterwards.  Sugar cookies are made to be ‘pretty’.  Well, these tasted wonderful (and are surprisingly low cal) but for a late, late night amongst doing other chores, it was unexpectedly a lot of work.  This is not to deter any of you from attempting to make these but just learn my lessons before you do it!  Make sure you have the time and the patience to devote to these.

What you will need:

1/4 c butter, softened

1/2 c sugar (or you can use a substitute)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2.5 c sifted cake flour

coarse sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, colored sugar, etc for toppings

1. Beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, baking powder, salt and beat until well combined.  Add oil, egg, and vanilla – combine.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.  Divide dough in half, cover, and chill for 1-2 hrs or until easy to handle.  (My dough was still crumbly and not easy to handle but the rolling pin helped)

2. Preheat oven to 375.  On a lightly floured surface roll out dough (one half at a time) to 1/8 in thickness and use our cookie cutter(s).  Reroll scraps as necessary and place cookies on baking sheet.  If desired, decorate (and this was the time-consuming part).  Bake for 6-8 mins or until edges are firm and just starting to brown.  Cool on wire rack.  Makes approx. 48 cookies.

I’m going to have to work on my cooking decorating skills but regardless they tasted delicious!  Once these were done I swear I didn’t want anyone to touch them besides me after all that work. . .

Nutritional Information (per avg cookie size – about 2-2.5 in AND sans decorative sweets):

Calories: 54

Total Fat: 2 g

Cholesterol: 7 mg

Protein: 1 g

Carbohydrate: 8 g

Fiber: 0 g

Sodium: 26 mg

Can we tell I love a coconut, nut, and chocolate combination?  This surprisingly low-cal recipe is excellent.  I anticipated them looking differently (like store bought macaroons) but the texture and taste is amazing.  When you bite into them they feel soft and as light as air but then end with a nice crunch from the almonds and coconut.  Just awesome.  I served these as one of the dessert options at a dinner party.

3/4 c slivered almonds, dry-roasted and finely chopped

2/3 c sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 c all-purpose flour

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

whites of 4 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp imitation coconut flavoring

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 c sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 and prep your baking sheets or you can use parchment paper (I did the latter for these).

2. In a small bowl, stir together almonds, coconut, flour, and cocoa

3. In a large metal/glass bowl combine remaining ingredients except sugar and beat on high until foamy.  Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating for 2-3 mins or until the egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks forms and remain standing.

4. Gently fold the almond mixture into the egg whites and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 in apart on baking sheets.   Bake one sheet at a time for 12-14 mins or until tops are dry.  Cool on wire racks.  For a light dessert serve with strawberries and light whipped cream.  I yielded 36 macaroons.

***I still have a feeling that they shouldn’t be as flat but the taste did NOT disappoint.

Nutritional Information (per serving=2 cookies each):

Calories: 97

Total Fat: 3.5 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 20 mg

Carbohydrate: 16 g

Fiber: 1 g

Protein: 2 g

This is one of the most decadent desserts I have made – per my friends’ request (they are so lucky!).   I took a cake recipe and decided to do cupcakes instead. . .presentation could have been better but I kid you not these taste incredible!

It was strongly suggested to make the frosting first as it takes time to reach the right consistency:

12 0z evaporated milk

1.5 c sugar

3/4 c butter

4 egg yolks

1-8 oz flaked coconut

1.5 c chopped pecans (I smashed them up more for a finer and more even consistency)

Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for about 12 min or until thick (soft rolling boil is good).  Remove from heat and then stir in coconut and pecans.  Keep stirring until consistency is thick enough for frosting – when you remove your spoon from the mixture it should stick.  This may take a while. . .

For cake:

4-1 oz squares German Sweet Chocolate (Baker’s)

1/2 c water

2 cups all purpose flour (you can use cake flour if you decide to make an actual cake)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 c butter softened

2 c sugar

4 egg yolks and whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prep your pan/cupcake pan (liners)

2. Microwave chocolate and water about 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway.

3. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda

4. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add one yolk at a time and beat.  Stir in chocolate and vanilla.  Add flour/buttermilk alternately.

5. In separate bowl beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form and fold into batter.

6. Bake for approx 30 mins for cake and about 20-23 mins for cupcakes.  I yielded 24 cupcakes, but I think I could have put a little less batter in each and made more.  Note: I also used cake flour which may have affected how they came out.  Tops were a bit flat so I’m not sure where I went wrong.  So far I have rave reviews by the hubby!

UPDATE: The cupcakes have made it to their destination and from what I’m told I’m getting ribs in return.  Not a bad exchange so they must be good – LOL!

***I am definitely going to attempt making this again and hopefully they will come out looking a bit better.  I think once you taste the frosting it won’t matter what the rest looks like.  I swear, the BEST frosting ever.

I have no clue what the nutritional information is for each cupcake.  Why bother?