Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Things are finally beginning to wind down. Hooray for that! I have more free time to myself and time to just relax, although job hunting isn't very fun. Anyone know of a job available in Southern California? Being a recent graduate really sucks with this economy. :/

Who doesn't love an easy dessert that tastes amazing? I'm not gonna lie, I love cake mixes and any dessert using them is okay by me. These were of a brownie texture, thick and chewy. It made about 2 dozen cookies. As always, you can throw in whatever you want in them.. in my case, it was nuts and chocolate chips. The perfect combination! If you're in a rush and want to whip something semi-homemade, give these babies a try. They won't disappoint! You can also try using different flavors of cake mix for the cookies, if you'd like. Funfetti's my personal favorite.

• 1 package devil's food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• handful of chopped walnuts
• handful of chocolate chips

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil together until just blended. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
3.) Roll the mixture into rounded tablespoons and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4.) Bake for 8-10 minutes.
5.) Let cool on sheet after taking them out for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Dorie Greenspan's Chewy, Chunky Blondies

I told you I'd be backkkk (with a really good recipe, too)! As always, when I have no idea what to bake, I turn to my trusty Dorie Greenspan. This time, these blondies caught my eye because they had toffee and chocolate! Score! Blondies are basically brownies, but more of a cookie texture and blonde instead of brown. :) I always thought the name was so cute.

These tasted amazing, straight out of the oven and after they've cooled. I can only imagine how good they'd be with a bowl of ice cream. Mmm.. that's definitely pizookie status! I left out the coconut and nuts, just because I wasn't feeling either at the moment, but feel free to add them in to your liking. Heck, add whatever you want it... it's just one of those recipes that can be easily adapted. Enjoy!

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p.109)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I left this out)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I left this out as well)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

been busy this past week.

Oh gosh, this past week has been crazAAAy! Excuse me for my lack of posting. I baked 14 dozen cookies this past weekend for my graduation party. I made oatmeal toffee cookies, chocolate chip cookies, andes mint chocolate cookies, and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Sorry I don't have any pictures of them! The only picture I had was the first one my dad took of me baking.

I feel like this week really has been non-stop, with my graduation, my parents 25th anniversary, my older sister's birthday, and looking for a job. I'll be back soon with some new recipes!

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since it's finals week, I need my staples to survive: iced coffee, chai tea lattes, candy, chocolate, cheez-its, and chocolate chip cookies. My dearest sister made me batch to take with me back to LA this week, since I didn't have time to bake myself :) My sister isn't much of a baker, but she claims that she can make the best chocolate chip cookies and nothing else. She got this recipe from allrecipes.com a while ago and has been using it ever since. I can definitely see why! It's exactly what it claims to be... "best big, fat, & chewy." That's another chocolate chip cookie recipe to add to my list. I'll be living off of these until Thursday at 1PM.. then I'll be done with school!!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

A win for the Lakers!

My last day of undergrad classes are officially over! Hooray! I celebrated with the bf by going to Crumb's Bake Shop after school, and what did I see? A Lakers cupcake! How fitting for tonight's game. Luckily we also got the W... Maybe I should buy a Lakers cupcake for every game as a good luck charm since it seemed to work tonight. :)

Excuse the poor lighting, I didn't have time til after the game to take a picture because I didn't have my camera with me. I even made the bf wait the entire day to eat it, since I wouldn't let him take a bite out of it without a decent picture first. Ohhh wellll. This one was a plain vanilla cake with buttercream frosting and it was PERFECT! So moist and flavorful, just another reminder of why I love Crumbs so much. And just for kicks, me and the bf driving the cupcake back from Crumbs...

Apple Dapple Cake

I've been a blogging addict as of late. With this one and my other one, I have the need to update one or the other every day. When I'm not updating, I'm always thinking of what I could bake/what outfit I could put together to update. It's terrible with finals just around the corner. Just think.. I graduate IN A WEEK! Oh my goodness.

By the way, has anyone seen the movie UP? Umm best pixar movie ever! (actually I love monsters inc and toy story a heck of a lot). But UP was amazing! I'm a sucker for old people and old people love just makes my heart melt. I was crying within the first 5 minutes of the movie. Sad, I know... but if you haven't seen it yet, I'd highly recommend it for all ages.

Yup, I'm still on that apple kick, getting rid of all the apples in my house. When I saw this cake, I knew I had to make it because 1.) there are apples in the recipe and 2.) just look how moist it is! I actually LOVED this cake. My dad thought it was best warm, right out of the oven and I thought it was the best after it had cooled for a couple of hours. It wasn't very sweet, even with the glaze, which makes it perfect for an afternoon/morning snack. Original recipe can be found from A Southern Grace HERE.

Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups finely chopped apples

Glaze:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk

1.) In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.
2.) In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in apples.
3.) Spread the batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes.
4.) For the glaze, combine the brown sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan. Cook and stir until bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Drizzle warm over cake when it has cooled for 5 minutes, so it can seep into the cake and keep it moist and completely irresistible.