Chocolate Sheet Cake

I found this on PW's Tasty Kitchen and couldn't resist trying it out.

Delish!

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Cake: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp (heaping) cocoa

2 sticks butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 whole eggs, beaten

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

1 3/4 stick butter

4 Tbsp (heaping) cocoa

6 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour sugar and salt. Set aside

3. In a saucepan, combine butter, water and cocoa. Heat until butter is melted and let boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and pour cocoa mixture over flour mixture. Stir until combined.

4. In a small bowl or glass, stir together buttermilk, egss, baking soda and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into the batter. Pour into a sheet cake pan (I line mine with parchment paper) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

5. While cake is baking, make frosting: Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in cocoa and remove from heat. Add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir together and pour over warm cake.

Awesome.

Note: These are NOT brownies, people! Just because it is denser that the Betty Crocker stuff made from a box, does not mean it is automatically brownies. This is cake; dense, delicious, heavenly cake. If you come and ask me for more 'brownies' I'll send my dog after you. Unless of course I'm serving brownies that day. Then I'll send my dog after you just for kicks. ;)

"How do you like them apples?"

I watched Good Will Hunting last Saturday. That movie has nothing to do with my sugar cookies. Except that while I was baking them all I could think of was Will saying "How do you like them apples?!?"

Yes, I'm weird.

Weird in so many ways. Especially while decorating the 55th apple sugar cookie at 11 pm.

I made these cookies for a couple my husband's coworkers who requested them for Teacher Appreciation Week. The best part was that I got paid for making them. My first cookie order!

After a moment of utter panic and stress (I'm out of toothpicks! I'm out of frosting bags! The icing is running off the darn cookie! My baby is crying! My world is coming to an end!), I finally calmed down, stop thinking about all the people who would glare at my cookies and think "well, that's a funky looking cookie if I've ever seen one!".

I don't think I could be a professional baker. I worry too much. Can you tell?

They did turn out quite fun, after a couple of practice runs.

Practice run #1

This one looks like something Snow White would take a bite of.

Practice run #2

And this one is just lumpy. That's what happens when your icing is too thick. Duh.

Rest of them turned out better though. And the cute packaging just makes it all look like I almost know what I'm doing.

Maybe my world isn't coming to an end, after all.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These warm my heart.

I originally made them for my brother who was visiting from Finland. They warmed his heart too.

Then I ended up taking some to my husband's graduation party. They were gone to the last crumb.

Warm, chewy, slightly spicy, and oh so yummy!


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time adding vanilla with the last egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

I ended up keeping the dough in the fridge for a couple of days while baking some everyday. I thought they turned out nicer after having the dough chilled. And it was great to have some warm cookies everyday. Made me feel spoiled!