Minny's Chocolate Pie

"After seeing the movie "The Help" I was excited at the concept that there could be a recipe out there for a chocolate pie you could bake. I found the recipe they used for the movie on Food and Wine.com it tasted like homemade pudding in a pie crust...YUM!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 packaged pie dough crust, such as Pillsbury
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream, for serving

    Preheat the oven to 350°. Ease the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges decoratively. Prick the crust lightly with a fork. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake for about 5 minutes longer, just until the crust is dry but not browned.
    Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.
    Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking. Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream.

Make Ahead The chocolate pie can be refrigerated overnight.


My Notes:

-When you pre-bake the pie crust you can put a piece of parchment over the crust and place another empty pie plate on top to hold it in place.... I did not have pie weights or dried beans

-I think the pie is much yummier slightly warmed.  I placed a cooled piece in the microwave for 20 seconds and it was perfect.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark

"I found this recipe on Pinterest.  The recipe came from Live Sigma Kappa and the original from  Big Red Kitchen.  This stuff is the bomb...but how could it not be?  I now have a gallon freezer bag of it in the freezer and it'll last me forever.  It also makes an awesome gift."

INGREDIENTS:

2-1/2 lbs chocolate candy coating (I used 4-12 oz bags of semi sweet chocolate chips)

1 (16.3 oz) jar creamy peanut butter (I used an 18 oz. jar of chunky PB...could not find smaller)

2 c Confectioners’ sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (oops...just realized I forgot this part)
1/2 t. salt (makes it taste more Reese's Peanut butter cup-ish, but not part of the original recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt half of the chocolate candy coating according to the package directions, (I used a double-boiler) then spread over parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. Spread to a large rectangle, but not too thin – approximately 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness. (I had about an inch left of pan around each side) Place in freezer to firm up.
In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, Confectioners’ sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Remove first chocolate layer from the freezer and spread the peanut butter mixture over the top. Return to the freezer and melt the remaining chocolate candy coating. Once that is melted, spread it over the top of the peanut butter layer and freeze until set.
Break up the bark into small pieces using a butcher knife. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve.

Tips:

-I did not think it was necessary to let the peanut butter layer firm up in the freezer, so while I was stirring that up, I put the second half of the chocolate on the stove to melt.  Also, the easiest thing to do is to spoon all of the peanut butter mixer on top of the firm chocolate and press it down with your hands....it's a lot faster than a knife....it doesn't stick because of the added butter.

Jen's Reese's Pie

"I was craving a chocolate cream pie, and had never made one before.  I wanted to make one with peanut butter as well, and since I couldn't find a recipe I liked I just made it up."

INGREDIENTS:

1 pre-made chocolate graham cracker crust

6 oz (large) box jello instant chocolate pudding

3 cups milk (I used 2% to make it creamier)

4 oz light cream cheese

8 oz. container Cool Whip

1/2 cup peanut butter

1  T. powdered sugar

25 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups

DIRECTIONS:

Use blender to mix jello powder with milk and cream cheese.  Melt 15 Reese's cups in small bowl in the microwave.  I heated for 30 seconds at a time until I was able to stir together.  Spread  melted Reese's unto the graham crust.  Pour mixed pudding over melted chocolate.  In medium bowl use mixer to blend Cool Whip, peanut butter and powdered sugar.  Spread that gently over top of pudding layer.  In small zipper bag place 10 Reese's cups and crush with hammer or meat tenderizer (flat side).  Sprinkle crushed cups over top of pie.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serves 6-8

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 t. vanilla
3/4 t. corn syrup
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. flour
2 c. oats
1 bag chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter with sugars. Mix in eggs, vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda and peanut butter. Add flour, oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 14 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen

Easy OREO Truffles

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com"

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Refrigerate mixture for two hours. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Freeze balls for 1/2 hr.
2. Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Fudge Wreath

"I got this recipe a few years ago, and thought it was some of the best fudge ever! It's Rachel Ray's recipe."


Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, softened
One 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (save the can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
One 12-ounce can of peanuts (I like to use honey roasted)

Directions:

Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with softened butter. Pour the chocolate and peanut butter chips, condensed milk and vanilla into a medium saucepan. Put the pan on the stove and turn the heat to low.
Cover the empty condensed-milk can with plastic wrap and put it in the center of the round cake pan.
Stir the chips and milk until they melt together, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4's of the nuts. Scoop the fudge into the cake pan all around the plastic-covered can in the center to form a wreath or ring shape. Keep pushing the can back to the center if the fudge moves it.
Put the fudge in the fridge and chill until firm. Remove the can from the center, then loosen the sides and bottom of the fudge with a spatula. Cut the fudge into thin slices to serve.

Notes: I cut mine in slices...keeping the ring shape, and then put a small bowl in the center with the remaining 1/4 of the can of peanuts.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

"I was on an airplane and a lady across the aisle was reading a magazine with this recipe in it. I asked her what magazine it was and found the recipe online. It ended up being a Paula Dean recipe. Please read my notes at the bottom."


Ingredients:

2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 6-ounce package raspberry cream-filled dark chocolate baking pieces, such as Hershey's brand, or plain dark chocolate pieces
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon seedless raspberry preserves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 1 or more cookie sheets.

Using a mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and both sugars in a bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the baking pieces. Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and raspberry preserves. Stir until smooth. When the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over them.

Yield: 4 dozen

Notes:

-This recipe makes very small cookies. I made my tiny and still only got 3 1/2 dozen. Next time I would double the recipe and the size of the cookies.

-The only chocolate I found with raspberry inside was Ghiradelli squares. The package was a little less than 6 ounces, but it worked out fine.

-The only brand of seedless red raspberry preserves I found was called Polander All Fruit, and it still wasn't preserves, it was spread. The color was too brownish for the icing compared to the pinkish icing in the photo for the original recipe, so I added a couple drops of red food coloring. I also had to add an additional tablespoon or two of milk to the icing

Monkey Munch

"I saw this made on an episode of "John and Kate Plus Eight", and found the recipe on recipezaar.com. Another name for this is Puppy Chow."

Ingredients:

9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Put chex in a large bowl and put aside.
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a quart-sized microwavable bowl.
Stir the ingredients together.
Microwave the mixture uncovered for a minute on "high." Stir the mix again and continue to zap in thirty second intervals until it mixes smoothly.
Add the vanilla and stir.

Stir chocolate mixture into the cearal.
Put combination into a 2-gallon, Ziploc freezer bag.
Add powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake until distributed.
Spread Monkey Munch out on wax paper to cool and dry.
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for storage.

Devil's Food Layer Cake

"Wow...let me say, one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. The cake is very moist and the frosting is awesome. I found this in a Family Circle magazine."

Cake:

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. 82% extra dark chocolate

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup reduced fat (light) sour cream

3/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Coat two 9 x 2-inch round baking pans with nonstick flour-and-oil baking spray.

2. Coarsely chop chocolate. Place in a small microwave-safe bowl with oil. Microwave on HIGH power for 1 minute; stir until smooth. If needed, heat an additional 15 seconds. Let cool slightly.

3. In medium-size bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla.

4. Place sour cream in a 2-cup capacity measuring cup. Whisk in milk until smooth. On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with thinned sour cream, beginning and ending with flour; beat 1 minute. Spread into pans.

5. Bake at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers tests clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool layers completely (about 2 hours).

Frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

In large glass bowl, microwave chocolate chips on medium power for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave another 30 seconds until completely smooth. Let cool slightly. With mixer, blend 1-1/2 cups of the sugar with butter. Beat in sour cream, milk and then half of the chocolate until smooth. On low speed, beat in remaining sugar until blended; then beat in remaining chocolate. Continue to beat until good spreading consistency, about 1 minute.

Slice one of the cooled layers in half horizontally (insert toothpicks into sides of layer to use as guide). Repeat with other layer. Gently place one layer, cut-side down, on serving plate (layers will be tender). Spread top with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat with remaining cake layers and frosting, ending with cake layer, cut-side down. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Refrigerate 1 hour, until firm.

NOTES:

-I only made a two-layer cake

-I only cooled about a total of an hour before frosting, and I didn't refridgerate before serving.

-I would recommend refridgerating it if you're not serving it right away...the frosting gets a lot thicker.

Unholy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze

"This is not the original title for the cake." I got both the cake recipe and the glaze recipe from allrecipes.com. The cake is very heavy and brownie-like."

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini-chips so they wouldn't sink in the pan)

Glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased (I used baking spray and dusted with flour) 12 cup bundt pan.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. (kind of hard to tell with the melty chocolate chips) Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. When cake is nearly cooled, make glaze:

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
Drizzle warm glaze over top of cake, letting it run down the sides.

And here are my kids enjoying the batter

Judy's Brownies

"Another recipe I got from my mother. We made this when I was little, and then when I got older I made them a lot at home. My recipe has my childhood handwriting and it's covered in cocoa....it's a great keepsake. I'm not sure where she got the recipe."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 tablespoons cocoa

Optional add-ins:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in baking powder, salt and vanilla. Add flour and stir well, then last the cocoa and optional add-ins. Spread into 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes.

Note: If you're not sure how to "cream" something:

Definition:
To beat vegetable shortening, butter, or margarine, with or without sugar, until light and fluffy. This process traps in air bubbles, later used to create height in cookies and cakes.

Chocolate Macaroon Rice Pudding

"My mom found this for me because she knows I love rice pudding, chocolate and coconut. I'm not sure where she found it."

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups medium grain rice

1 (14 oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 cup milk

8 oz. chocolate chips

2 c. flaked coconut (I used sweetened)

DIRECTIONS: Combine rice, coconut milk, condensed milk, and milk in 2 qt. saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy (about 20-25 minutes), stiring frequently. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, and coconut, stiring until chocolate is melted. Best served warm.

Makes 8-10 servings

Jen's Chocolate Cherry Parfaits

"I found this recipe a long time ago and modified it to include the chocolate chips, whipped cream and creamed cheese. This is one of my family's favorite desserts. I would say if you make them up a few hours before you eat them it gives the oreos time to become soft and saturated with pudding. Depending on what size container you use, you may have left-overs."

INGREDIENTS:

1 small box (4 serving size) Jello instant chocolate pudding

2 cups milk

4 oz. cream cheese

1 can cherry pie filling (I like Comstock's "More Fruit")

1/3 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Oreo cookies (3 for each parfait)

1/2 container Cool Whip topping

DIRECTIONS:

Put pudding mix, milk and cream cheese in blender and blend until smooth. Place one cookie at the bottom of each glass/serving container. Layer alternately, pudding, cherries, chocolate chips and Cool Whip until filled. Garnish top with dollop of Cool Whip and one cookie.

Makes 4 medium - large servings