In the Kitchen with Katie

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Chocolate fudge pie, need I say more?

If I must, let me tell you about this decadent dense chocolate layer covered with homemade whipped cream tucked inside a flaky pie crust (don’t judge me, but I used store bought). 

I got the recipe from Cooking Light so I allowed myself to have two pieces.  Then I decided to take the pie into work so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing by myself.  It is that addicting!

Jordan said it reminded him of the pie from The Help. No, not THAT pie, not the one with Minnie’s secret ingredient in it that she made for Miss Hillly.  Watching her eat the terrible awful pie is what I call sweet revenge.  My pie doesn’t have Minnie’s secret ingredient, but it does have a few of my own. 

I leave you with two bits of advice. 1. Make this pie. 2. Read The Help and then watch the movie.

Ingredients

Crust and Chocolate Fudge Layer:

1 homemade or store-bought pie crust   
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
1/3 cup plus half & half (total of milk & half and half should equal 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoon butter, melted 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs 

For the whipped cream:

1 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

For topping (optional):

1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa, shaved chocolate, or crumbled cookies

Preheat oven to 350°.  Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in freezer until ready to use.

Combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and flour in a large bowl. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through eggs); stir with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to brown sugar mixture; stir until combined.

Pour mixture into crust. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until just set. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover; chill at least 4 hours.

In a large bowl combine whipped cream ingredients, mix on high speed cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like. 

Spread whipped cream on chocolate pie prior to serving.  Garnish with cocoa, chocolate, or cookies (optional)

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Peppermint Bark

This weekend I decided that I wanted to make cookie trays to share, but knew I only had one day off to make everything.  Today ended up turning into a baking extravaganza where I made six different holiday treats.  I plan on sharing them with you over the next couple of days.  

The first recipe I wanted to share was the easiest.  Doesn’t it look like a Jackson Pollack?  This peppermint bark is it’s own piece of art.  To make you simply melt the chocolate, add extract, spread into a pan, press in crushed candy canes, freeze, break apart, and enjoy!  I decided to drizzle some chocolate on top because more chocolate makes everything better.

Ingredients

12 oz. of high-quality white chocolate
1/2 cup crushed up candy canes
1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate (optional)

Break up peppermint candy into little pieces. Melt the chocolate according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once melted, add the peppermint extract and stir.

Pour the melted chocolate out onto a 9x13 jelly roll pan with wax paper and spread out with a spatula or wooden spoon.  Sprinkle the peppermint candy chunks on to the chocolate and gently press them in with yours hands.

Place in the freezer for 5 minutes or until hardened.  Drizzle chocolate on top and put back into freezer until hardens. Break into pieces and serve or store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I worked at a summer camp in Pennsylvania one summer with little phone & internet access.  The only thing that got me through that summer was  getting lots & lots of mail.  I love getting mail.  Okay, I don’t love getting credit card offers or bills, but I love getting cards, handwritten notes, and gift packages.  It is so much better than receiving an email.  I also enjoy brightening other people’s days by sending them mail too.  My grandma’s birthday was this weekend and I knew I wanted to bake her a treat to send to her.  She told me her favorite dessert was anything chocolate and so I decided on these chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

These cookies have the perfect amount of chocolate.  They were simple to make and you probably have the ingredients for these cookies in your pantry.  The final product ended up being dense & soft at the same time.  This recipes make about 3 dozen cookies.  I recommend you make some right now and make someone’s day by sending them some in the mail.  I can attest to that they ship well.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl cream together butter and both sugars, then add in eggs (beat prior to adding), milk and vanilla.  Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined.  Mix in cocoa and once thoroughly mixed stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes.  Cool on cooling rack.

Source: adapted from Food Network

World’s Best Brownies

Before I knew anything about baking my go to dessert was boxed brownies.  They were simple and always a hit.  Also, who doesn’t love a brownie ice cream sundae? Over the last couple of years I have tried to stay away from boxed baked goods and challenge myself to make the item homemade.  I have tried a couple of brownie recipes, but they ended up coming out too cakey and not fudgy enough.  Well, I have found a brownie recipe with the perfect combination of cakey and fudgy.  These brownies were the perfect consistency.  They were moist without being undercooked.  They also had great structure and weren’t too crumbly.  Try these and your search for the best brownie recipe will end!

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9” x 13” pan

In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine.  Continue to heat briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.  Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9” x 13” pan.

Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Source: King Arthur Flour

Mini Chocolate Cheesecake

I crave a sweet treat after most meals, but the desire is the most intense in the evening.  I often can’t control it. If nothing is available I find myself opening a bag of chocolate chips, that were originally intended for cooking, and digging in.  It is a horrible addiction & for the most part I have little control.  There is little junk food I can refuse.   Now that I have gotten that off my chest I wanted to post a recipe I found that is I made the other night when I had one of these urges.  Trust me I was extremely satisfied. I recommended making this earlier in the day because it does need to sit in the refrigerator a bit. Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Cheesecake, Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons & 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons flour
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 wafer cookies, such as Famous (I have also used crushed oreos)
whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place a cookie at the bottom of each ramekin. In a food processor, combine cottage cheese, egg, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, flour, & vanilla.  Process until smooth. Divide mixture among baking cups. Bake until fillings are set . Let cool at room temperature in pan on wire rack, then refrigerate 1 1/2 hours (or, covered, up to 3 days).

Source: January/February 2011 Everyday Food