Brownie and Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bites

 

I love chocolate. I know it's passé, but I seriously do love chocolate. I bake a lot of different chocolate recipes - cookies, donuts, cupcakes, cheesecake, mousse, and probably more if I think on it longer. So, I thought what could be better than combining different chocolate desserts? Behold my version of a brownie and cheesecake bite. I decided to make the cheesecake as a vanilla and chocolate chip version, and it's pretty darn tasty.

Brownies 

3 1/3 cup sugar (667 grams)

1 cup butter (or margarine)

8 oz unsweetened chocolate baking bar

1 tsp ground instant espresso

1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (400 grams)

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size pot, melt the sugar, butter, unsweetened baking bar, and the espresso dissolved in warm water over medium heat until melted.

While the chocolate mixture melts, in a bowl measure out the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 

When the chocolate mixture finishes melting, transfer the contents to a bowl and allow it to cool so the eggs don't scramble when you add them. I recommend you prep the cheesecake mixture while the chocolate mixture cools. (see below)

Add the vanilla and stir until combined.

Once the chocolate has cooled enough, add the eggs one at a time, combining well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1/2 cup sugar (50 grams)

8 oz cream cheese (full fat)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth.

Add the egg and beat until incorporated, but not more than necessary. Be sure to scrape down the sides to ensure the cream cheese is incorporated.

Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Fold in the mini chocolate chips.

Put muffin liners in 24 muffin tins. Using a 30 scoop, put one scoop of brownie mix in the bottom of each tin. Use your fingertip to slightly flatten the scoops of batter.

Using a 50 scoop, put one scoop of cheesecake batter on the brownie batter and spread out.

Using the 30 scoop again, top each cup with another scoop of brownie batter. Again, use your fingertips to slightly flatten and spread out the brownie batter.

Bake 20 mins until tops are set.

No-bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

 

No-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. Sounds unassuming, right? Maybe even sounds a touch healthy. But these little gems just melt in your mouth and taste absolutely amazing. I'm not even sure where I got the recipe. Many moons ago, I got a similar recipe from my high school English teacher who had made something she called boiled cookies. It is a very similar recipe, but just slightly different. Here's the card I filled out at least 30 years ago... and this one has definitely survived the test of time. If you've never tried them, you'll want to hurry to the store for the ingredients, because they are so worth it!

2 cups sugar (400 grams)
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa
4 ounces evaporated milk (1/2 cup)
4 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 cup or 1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (180 grams)

3 cups oatmeal

I rarely ever make a single batch of these cookies, so you will see that my measurements look rather large. I made a quadruple batch in these photos.

In a pot large enough for your ingredients, combine the sugar, cocoa, butter, and evaporated milk and turn heat to medium-high. 

While that begins to heat up, measure out the vanilla, peanut butter, and oats to ensure a smooth and swift mixing process. You will also want to lay out parchment paper on several baking sheets or your counter. I normally just use the kitchen counter.

Bring the cocoa mixture to a roiling boil, stirring frequently. Not a light bubbling boil, but you want the mixture twisting and turning and bubbling everywhere. 

Add the vanilla and peanut butter and stir until smooth and creamy and you no longer see ribbons of peanut butter.

Stir in the oats and ensure they are disbursed throughout the mixture evenly.

Use a cookie scoop to make your cookies consistent and evenly sized. The scoop also makes it easier to get through the mixture before it cools and hardens. And you will want to move quickly. Once the mixture cools, you're just going to get crumbs - not cookies.

Let the cookies cool at least 30 minutes before trying to move them. Once you're able to pick them up, store the cookies, minus what you eat while packing them, in a sealed container. These will last for a couple of weeks if stored properly.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Is there anything quite as wonderful as chocolate cake? Does it take you back to happy childhood memories? I love chocolate cake, but the cake in the picture was made at the request of my grandpa. For his 84th birthday, he said he wanted chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing, so being a good granddaughter, I went in search of an amazing recipe to try. I must admit... I found it. The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe (Ever) and Classic Buttercream Frosting, both found on Pinterest, were the recipes I decided on to try, and the result was fantastic! I ended up making this cake again for one of the Soldier's I work with for his birthday, but he wanted chocolate icing instead. The results were equally as delicious! One of these days I may try this cake with the chocolate icing recipe used on the original blog, but here's the recipes I used for this cake...

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

Note: Espresso powder can be purchased at a specialty store, or you can do what I did. Buy instant espresso, and use a mortar and pestle to grind it into a powder. It works great.

Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.

Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.

Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.