Cakes

Berry Bourbon Cake (Patriotic cake)

Becca Bakes

Happy Inauguration Day folks!

Today was a historic day in America as we saw our first woman be sworn in as Vice President. And let me tell ya, that left me pretty emotional. To celebrate, I donned my “I’m speaking” shirt and got to work on this patriotic cake. With a splash of bourbon, this cake really feels like a celebration cake. This recipe is so easy, you could whip it out for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day!

Tips and Tricks

  • This cake doesn’t have a frosting, so I recommend topping with whipped cream
  • To make the cake extra special, make your own whipped cream by combining 3 cups whipping cream, 1 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and whipping at medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Super easy to do, and really makes a difference, I swear!
  • You can substitute any berries you’d like! I used raspberries and blueberries, but I’d love to try strawberries or blackberries next time.
  • Normally, I replace unsalted butter with salted butter, but the chemistry of cake is more precise than it is for cookies. Don’t mess with chemistry, friends.
  • For cakes, you’ll definitely want to use a standing mixer. I just got one (and named her Martha!) and she has changed my life.
  • In case you need reminding – once you have added the flour do not over mix the batter. Seriously. Stop mixing about 5 seconds before you really think you need to. You want that cake fluffy as hell.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tsp. bourbon
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • Sanding sugar for sprinkling
  • Whipped Cream for topping

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom of pan with parchment paper, and butter parchment
  3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt
  4. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and creamy (~3 minutes)
  5. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well in between
  6. Add bourbon, mixing well
  7. Add milk and flour mixture and mix until just combined (hey you – don’t over mix that damn cake!)
  8. Pour into the cake pan, smoothing top with a spoon or spatula
  9. Sprinkle with both berries, pressing some deep into the batter.
  10. Sprinkle generously with sugar (make it rain, baby!)
  11. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the sides pull away from the pan and the cake springs back when lightly touched
  12. Cool completely, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!

This cake is one of the easiest I have made from scratch, and can be whipped up in no time! I believe in you!

Happy Baking!

-R

Pies, Tarts, and Crumbles

Grandma’s Apple Pie

Becca Bakes

Sometimes, you need to spend the entire day making pie to give yourself a little slice of home.

I was sitting in my apartment Saturday, bored as hell, trying to figure out what I would do Sunday. So I thought, why not spend the day making a pie from scratch? I started looking through Pinterest at recipes and it dawned on me – my first pie should really be my grandma’s recipe. So I called up my dad to see if he had his mom’s recipe and he sent over a picture of what he had, which honestly wasn’t much. No oven temperature. No time. No variety of apples specified. We’ve run into this problem with her recipes before. I think she is such a brilliant cook and baker that she really doesn’t need much written down. She knows the recipe by heart or instinctively knows what needs to be added and tweaked to make a perfect meal. There were so many decisions my dad and I had to make, but in the end, we uncovered her pie recipe perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier. I think (I hope) after this pie, I am one step closer to being the kind of baker my grandma is.

Tips and Tricks

  • The recipe calls for 5-7 apples, so depending on how large your apples are you may need to add or subtract one to fill the pie
  • You can technically use any apples you like. However, Granny Smith apples are the gold standard for baking because they are firm and hold up well in a pie, and they are tart which counteracts the sweetness of the filling
  • If the pie crust is hard to roll out, you can try refrigerating it for a bit or rolling it between sheets of parchment paper
  • Let the pie filling rest while you are making the pie crust, it allows the apples to really soak up that delicious sugary goodness!
  • If you are worried about the apple browning from being exposed to the air, add a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • You can substitute butter for the Crisco, but old school recipes always use Crisco, and who are we to mess with our grandmother’s recipes?
  • For a crispy, flaky pie crust, you do not want to grease the bottom of the pie dish. Counterintuitive to everything I’ve taught you, I know. Pies are a different breed.

Pie Filling Ingredients

  • 3 Granny Smith apples
  • 3 Golden Delicious apples
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar (heaping)
  • Dash of salt
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (heaping)
  • 4 or 5 tbsp. flour
  • (Optional) Dash of lemon juice

Pie Crust Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup cold Crisco
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 4 tbsp. ice cold water
  • Pinch of baking powder
  • Pinch of white sugar
  • 1 egg and dash of milk for egg wash

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Core, peel, and dice apples into 1/4 inch thick pieces
  3. For pie filling, combine diced apples, white sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a large bowl and set aside
  4. In a separate bowl for pie crust, combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder
  5. Add cold Crisco to the dry ingredients for the pie crust and blend together with a pastry cutter or fork
  6. When dough forms a ball, add water slowly. You may not need all of the water
  7. Roll out on a floured board with a floured rolling pin (are you sensing how much we love flour in this recipe?)
  8. Lay down half of the pie crust in an ungreased pie dish
  9. Pour in apple pie filling
  10. Top apple pie with the remaining pie crust in whatever design your little heart desires. Press fork along the edges of the pie crust
  11. Generously brush the top of the pie crust with your egg and milk wash
  12. Put pie into oven for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees
  13. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and cook an additional 35-45 minutes
  14. Let pie cool, top with ice cream, and enjoy!

My first pie was a success, and it won’t be my last! Help yourself to a little slice of heaven.

Happy Baking!

-R

Breakfast

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes

Becca Bakes

Once you tried homemade pancakes, you will never go back to the box mix. I swear.

Hi friends and faithful followers (all three of you). It has been a while since I have posted in the baking blog, but man, it has been a crazy year! During this time at home, while everyone else was getting into baking, I took a step back. I knew we would be in this for the long haul and I wanted to try some healthier eating habits. Now that fall is here, I have a new kitchen to bake in, and my very first standing mixer (naturally, I named her Martha), I am back to baking!

In my first from-scratch baking excursion of the year, I wanted to try something I have never done before. Homemade pancakes can’t be that much better than the box mix, right? Wrong. So wrong. These pancakes are nearly an inch thick – the kind of fluffy goodness I have only dreamed about. The outsides crisp from being fried in butter, just like how my grandma used to make them. Unlike many fall dishes, the pumpkin spice does not overpower the treat, but acts as a complement to the rich toasted pecans. What I’m trying to say is, these pancakes might be the best thing I have ever made.

Tips and Tricks

  • This same batter can be used to make pumpkin pecan waffles! Just let the batter rest in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. The cooler the batter, the better the waffle (the insides won’t overcook, but the outside will be crisp!)
  • Top the pancakes however you like. I used powdered sugar and maple syrup. You might want to try a cinnamon or honey butter
  • True bakers will tell you to chop nuts after you toast them so that they are less likely to burn. I bought my pecans already chopped, but I kept a close eye on those bad boys
  • You can substitute 1 tsp of pumpkin spice for all of the other spices listed. I prefer making my own mixture so that I can go easy on the ginger and heavy on the cinnamon. Feel free to play around with the spices, or go easy on yourself and use a premixed pumpkin spice
  • Do not overmix the pancake batter! Pancakes need lumps and air to be the fluffy little nuggets we love

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
  • 1/16 tsp ground ginger (a pinch will do!)
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp allspice
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle pecans on the sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until pecans are brown. Set aside
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice
  4. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
  6. Stir until just combined – we love lumps!
  7. Let the batter rest for a few minutes (and a few minutes longer if you chose to make waffles)
  8. Gently fold in the toasted pecans, again, being sure not to overmix the batter
  9. Warm a griddle or non-stick pan on the stovetop on medium-low heat
  10. Just before adding the pancake batter, let a dab of butter melt and brown on the griddle
  11. Add a dollop of pancake batter to the griddle
  12. When cute little holes and bubbles form in the pancake, it is ready to be flipped! Pancakes only like to be flipped once, be patient young grasshopper.
  13. Do not press down the pancake after you flipped it. Are you trying to flatten it? No thank you.
  14. The second side will cook much faster than the first, watch those pancakes carefully before flopping them over to your plate
  15. Sprinkle with toppings like powdered sugar and maple syrup
  16. Enjoy!

These pancakes are everything that is perfect about fall. Happy Baking!

-R

Cookies

Ginger Snaps

Becca Bakes

It’s Christmas cookie season! Last year, I embarked on a journey to taste test dozens of cookie recipes to figure out which ones I would want to make for Christmas each year. Every family seems to have their own recipes that are traditionally made each year, and I wanted to start figuring out mine.

While testing out pecan clouds and chocolate sugar cookies, I had this memory of stuffing my face with ginger cookies in my Aunt Margie’s basement during our family Christmas parties. I realized I hadn’t had these ginger cookies in years. I flipped open my family recipe book (thanks mom!) and there they were! I’ve made these cookies for two years in a row now and each time they have been a hit. Crunchy and spicy, these cookies really balance out the dessert table.

Tips and Tricks

  • Yes, molasses is supposed to smell like that. No, your cookies aren’t ruined.
  • These cookies will harden a bit as the cool because of the molasses, don’t expect them to look crisp the second they come out of the oven
  • You technically can substitute butter for the shortening, but why mess with a classic family recipe?
  • Pop the dough into the fridge for an hour or so so that it is easier to roll the dough balls into sugar

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white sugar (plus more to roll cookie dough in)
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1/4 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup light molasses
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Cream together softened butter, sugar, and shortening
  3. Add in egg and molasses until well combined
  4. Add in dry ingredients (bread flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice) and stir until well combined
  5. Form into balls and roll in sugar
  6. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart, cookies will flatten
  7. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the top cracks
  8. Enjoy!

Happy baking!

-R

Breakfast

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Becca Bakes

Today, I just needed a win. I decided to eat healthy this week, so this morning I put a pork roast in the crockpot and went to work all smug. Meal prep? I’m the epitome of health! I come home to the smell of a beautiful pork roast, take it out of the crockpot, and notice that I left that cute little plastic cooling pack on the pork. And it exploded. And it’s toxic. So, I guess I ruined dinner again.

That’s when I switched to baking, something I never screw up. I had an extra jar of pumpkin puree and my mom just bought me a tub of pumpkin pie butter (delish!), so I decided on making a pumpkin bread.

Now most people will tell you that baking is harder than cooking because it is an exact science – every measurement must be perfect and substitutions don’t always work out. For the most part, I agree with those people, but I also think that there are some substitutions you can make and still be confident that your pastry will turn out tasty. For instance, you can use vegetable oil, butter, coconut oil, and shortening interchangeably. You can substitute, add, or subtract any combination of spices (cinnamon, clove, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, nutmeg, etc). You can sub bread flour, whole wheat flour, or almond flour for white flour. You can’t substitute sugar for flour or baking soda for baking powder. So go ahead and play around with the recipe and make it your own!

Tips and Tricks

  • Try using your favorite oil (vegetable, coconut, shortening) instead of butter in the bread mix if you would like to make this recipe your own. Butter is always my go-to oil
  • Use a fork or a toothpick to check the bread – when the utensil comes out clean, you are done baking!
  • If you don’t have cinnamon sugar, you can create your own by combining 2 parts cinnamon with 1 part white sugar
  • This dough is a little thicker than a normal bread dough – don’t worry, the pumpkin will keep it moist
  • Spraying the pan and dusting with flour before pouring in the dough will allow you to pop the bread right out of the pan cleanly

Ingredients for Bread

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup LIbby’s pure pumpkin
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Ingredients for Streusel Topping

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup butter (room temperature)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Grease and sprinkle flour onto a bread loaf tin
  3. Beat sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl with hand mixer until well combined
  4. Add in eggs and pumpkin and beat until light and fluffy
  5. Add in flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat until well combined
  6. Pour into pan, making sure the dough is distributed evenly
  7. In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon sugar with a fork or pastry cutter
  8. Sprinkle streusel topping over bread dough, covering the top of the bread
  9. Bake for 45-50 minutes
  10. Cool for 10 minutes (don’t eat it yet – resist the temptation!)
  11. Pop out of the pan, and enjoy!

I hope you are enjoying pumpkin season as much as I am! If you need a win too, try this pumpkin recipe and let me know how it turns out!

-R

Cookies

Pumpkin White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Becca Bakes

What a mouthful.

Happy fall, y’all! Yesterday was October 1st and I was really in the mood to make something pumpkin-y to celebrate. Now honestly, when you put pumpkin in any baked good, it’s a slam dunk. Pumpkin keeps everything moist! But I wanted more of a challenge, so I added a little extra crunch and a little chocolate and voila! The ultimate fall cookie was born! One of my coworkers described the cookie as more of a “pumpkin pie bite” – with the pumpkin cookie acting as the pumpkin filling, the macadamia nuts giving the crunch of the crust, and white chocolate chips as the whipped cream topping. It’s the perfect description for the perfect cookie, I only wish I would have thought of it myself.

Tips and Tricks

  • Pumpkin will make your cookie dough very wet, which means that it’s hard to shape the dough into balls by hand because it sticks to your hand. To avoid this mess, I used a cookie scooper, which eliminates the use of your hands to shape the dough. Alternatively, you can use an ice cream scooper and spoon, or refrigerate the dough for 2+ hours to make it more firm.
  • Watch your macadamia nuts closely – it’s easy for them to burn!
  • Don’t chop the macadamia nuts until after you have toasted them, chopping makes it even easier for those babies to burn.
  • When storing these cookies, you have to use parchment paper between layers. Otherwise, all of your cookies will just stick together and you’ll have one giant cookie clump in your tin.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) of softened butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup pure pumpkin (I always use Libby’s!)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup toasted macadamia nuts
  • 2+ cups of white chocolate chips (add as many as your little heart desires!)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. On a lined cookie sheet, spread out macadamia nuts and toast for 10 minutes, or until golden brown
  3. After the macadamia nuts have cooled, use a chopper to chop into small pieces
  4. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda
  5. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together until creamy
  6. In the large mixing bowl, add the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin to the wet mixture. Whisk until well combined
  7. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat or whisk until well combined
  8. Fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts
  9. On a lined cookie sheet, place 1 inch balls of dough about 2 inches apart
  10. Bake for 10-12 minutes
  11. Put on Hocus Pocus, and enjoy!

Happy (spooky!) baking,

-R

Cakes

Heath Cake

Becca Bakes

The world’s most moist cake.

Alright, listen. I know people hate the word “moist”, but I just don’t understand why. How else do you describe the perfect cake without a hint of dryness? An entire jar of caramel is delicately poured onto it making this cake foolproof and… the most moist cake in the world.

Tips and Tricks

  • Never trust the cook times on the box for cookies, cakes, and brownies. They will almost always result in overcooked, dry, baked goods. I’m not sure who approved these cooking times…
  • While this cake is simple, allow for plenty of time between steps for the cake to cool and for the caramel to seep into it
  • Make sure you have space in your refrigerator! This is a great cake for parties, but needs to be refrigerated, which can be an issue when there are other party goodies in the fridge
  • I left this cake in the pan because I was supposed to take it to a dinner party. However, if you grease the pan and sprinkle flour on it before pouring in the cake batter, it should pop right out!
  • Always test done-ness of the cake by putting in a fork or toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, you are done! If not, pop that bad boy back in the oven and check again in a few minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 box of german chocolate cake mix (I use Pillsbury!)
  • 1 8oz bag of Heath candy pieces
  • 1 12oz jar of caramel topping
  • 1 8oz tub of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge for 24 hours)
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Lightly grease 13x9in pan and sprinkle with flour
  3. Combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl
  4. Beat with an electric hand mixer for 2 minutes
  5. Pour cake batter into the pan
  6. Smooth out mixture with a spoon and give the pan a little jiggle to make sure the batter is evenly distributed
  7. Pop into the oven and bake for 29 minutes
  8. Allow cake to cool for at least 1 hour
  9. With a butter knife, create small holes throughout the cake , each about about 1 inch apart
  10. Pour the entire bottle of caramel sauce onto the cake. It should seep into the holes you created
  11. Let the cake rest for 30 minutes (it’s so tired!)
  12. With a spatula, frost the cake with the entire tub of Cool Whip
  13. Sprinkle as much Heath Candy Topping as you would like onto the cake. I used a little more than half of the bag
  14. Refrigerate until ready to consume

Delish! This is Matt’s most requested dessert, and that’s really saying something! Try this for your next birthday party if you want something a little different, very sweet, with a crunchy candy topping 🙂

Happy Baking,

-R

Cookies

Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies

Becca Bakes

The day I accidentally made 300 cookies.

Every summer as a child we would embark on a family road trip to Cedar Point. I didn’t love roller coasters or the 6+ hours in the car each way, but I did love the tin of oatmeal cookies each car got. So when I had to go on a road-trip of my own, it only made sense to make each car a tin of oatmeal cookies. I called my grandma for her recipe which she happily shared and I started making the oatmeal cookies.

Now there were two cars going on our trip so I figured I would double the recipe. One for each car, right? Well I think my grandma already gave me the doubled recipe she used for our road trip. 4 hours and 10 batches in the oven later, I had over 300 cookies cooling across my kitchen, living room, bedroom…

There are worse problems to have.

Now because I had so many cookies, I figured I would make a test batch. There’s no beating my grandmother’s recipe, but I figured adding cinnamon, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips couldn’t result in a bad cookie. If it did, I would still have 200 good cookies! The add-ins did not disappoint, and if you try this recipe, I encourage you to play around with it yourself!

Tips and Tricks

  • These oatmeal cookies will be thin and crunchy. If you want a thick, chewy oatmeal cookie, this is not the recipe for you
  • Be creative with the mix-ins! My dad likes raisins, while I prefer chocolate chips. You could also add in chopped pecans or walnuts, shredded coconut, or even butterscotch chips.
  • These cookies will spread and become very flat in the oven. Use small, 1 tsp sized balls of dough and place cookies at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheet

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter (or shortening)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Recipe #1: Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and grease
  3. Melt the 1 cup of butter
  4. Mix all ingredients in one bowl! Easy peasy!
  5. Place small spoonfuls of cookies on sheet at least 2 inches apart
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes

Recipe #2: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Follow steps 1-4 of Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal cookies
  2. Add 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (or more if you’re like me!)
  3. Add 1 tsp of cinnamon
  4. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  5. Follow steps 5&6 of Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal cookies

I hope you love these cookies as much as I did! If you tried a different mix-in or added an extra spice, drop a comment below and let me know how it was!

-R

Breakfast

Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Lemon Sugar Glaze

Becca Bakes

Look. At. Those. Berries

It’s finally blueberry season! And what’s better than a blueberry muffin? A *lemon* blueberry muffin with lemon sugar glaze. Delish.

Makes approximately 20 muffins.

Tips and Tricks:

  • As always with muffins, mix until just combined. Over mixing muffins results in dry, dense muffins.
  • When I cook with fresh squeezed lemon juice, I store the baked goods in the fridge so that they last longer. Be sure to use an airtight container.
  • Always warm up for 15 seconds in the microwave when eating the leftovers (if there are any!)
  • These muffins were packed with blueberries. If you like a little more muffin and a little less blueberry, try only 1 cup of blueberries.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of blueberries
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar (set aside 1/2 cup of this sugar for glaze)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1/4 cup of melted butter

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Line muffin tin with liners
  3. Mix together baking powder, flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and zest of one lemon in a large mixing bowl
  4. Mix together egg, milk, and 1/2 cup of softened butter in a medium mixing bowl
  5. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat with hand mixer until just combined
  6. Fold in blueberries
  7. Bake muffins for 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown
  8. While muffins are baking, mix 1/4 cup of melted butter and 2 tbsp of lemon juice with 1/2 cup of sugar for glaze
  9. When muffins are out of the oven, pop them out of the muffin tin and drizzle the glaze onto the muffin tops
  10. Enjoy 🙂

These muffins didn’t even make it to my office – they were too good to share!

Happy baking!

-R

Cookies

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Becca Bakes

“Oh my god. Holy sh*t. Oh. My. God” – Direct quote from Papa Rach.

But seriously, these may have been the best cookies I have ever made. I mean, just look at them. This weekend I made over 200 cookies for Mother’s Day weekend (more recipes to come later!), but these were the mack daddys. Soft, chewy, chocolaty, rich.

Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Tips & Tricks:

  • Do not over heat the chocolate, it will burn and ruin the cookies
  • The dough will be thinner than a traditional cookie dough. It should look more like a brownie batter. This is okay! No need to refrigerate the dough, this may result in dried out cookies.
  • If you like sea salt, sprinkle a little on top. It’s a great way to break up the intense sweetness of this cookie.
  • If you are like me and you do not have a cookie scoop yet *hint, hint, Matty*, use a small ice cream scoop to make your cookies round and equally sized.
  • I almost always under-cook my cookies because it keeps them moist for days!

Ingredients:

  • 2 – 3.5 oz bars of 72% dark chocolate
  • 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 3/4 packed dark-brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp of salted butter
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Combine 2 bars of chopped chocolate, 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks, and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is mostly melted (about 60 seconds total)
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy
  4. Mix in the melted chocolate
  5. Mix in the flour and baking powder until just combined
  6. Stir in as many chocolate chunks as desired, I used about 1 1/2 cups
  7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
  8. Scoop heaping spoons of dough on to the baking sheet 2 inches apart
  9. Bake 12 minutes until cookies are crackly and soft
  10. Remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I did! Happy baking!

-R