Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi everyone! I wanted to post this cookie recipe earlier this weekend, but Maryland was it with a horrible storm and most of us lost power for most of the weekend. I was one of them. 

Anyways, before the storm hit Friday night, my sweet tooth attacked. I was looking for a recipe that was quick and easy so I headed to Pinterest to check my recipe board. I found the recipe below (thanks Two Peas & Their Pod for blogging this recipe from the Tasty Kitchen) and I had the ingredients for a shortcut method (I listed my method in the notes section). The cookies still came out great!! Try this recipe (or the shortcut) and let me know what you think! :)

Take care!

Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1-¼ cup All-purpose Flour
• ¼ cups (Rounded) Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt
• 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 1-½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla
• 1 cup Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and sugars. Scrape down the sides and then add the egg and vanilla; mix to combine. On a low speed, gradually add the flour and cocoa mixture, until incorporated. Add the shredded coconut and oats and mix. Add chocolate chips and mix until just folded in. The dough will be pretty solid. Form into balls about the size of a heaping tablespoon and place on a lined-baking sheet (with a Silpat or parchment paper).
3. Bake at 350ºF for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 2 minutes more on the sheet, then remove and place on a cooling rack, or on an opened brown paper bag. 

Notes:

• Shortcut method: 
• 1 package of the Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chip cookie mix will all ingredients listed on package
• 1 cup of oatmeal
• 1 cup of shredded coconut
• 2 teaspoons of water

1.  Mix cookie mix according to package instructions.
2. Mix in oatmeal, shredded coconut, and water. The dough will be solid yet slightly sticky. Form into balls that are about a tablespoon in size and place on baking sheet.
3. Bake at 350ºF for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove from cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack or in an open container.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Hi everybody! I know I was supposed to blog this surprise recipe last weekend, but this one took me a little longer than I expected (I had to go purchase missing ingredients and I started later than expected). But as they say, it's better late than never so here is my first non-cupcake recipe. This is my first time ever making bread pudding and my second time ever eating it. I found this recipe on Pinterest (thanks inspiredbycharm.com for pinning this Better Homes and Gardens recipe) and thought it would be interesting to try. It came out pretty good. Try it and let me know what you think.

Take care!

Chocolate Bread Pudding

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 3/4 cup presweetened cocoa powder
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 cups cubed Hawaiian sweet bread or cinnamon-swirl bread (no raisins) (1/2-inch cubes), dried* 
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Presweetened cocoa powder (optional)

1. Lightly coat the inside of a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until very warm but not boiling. Remove from heat. Add chocolate pieces and the 3/4 cup cocoa powder (do not stir); let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth; cool slightly (about 10 minutes).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and chocolate mixture. Gently stir in bread cubes. Transfer bread mixture to the prepared cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low-heat setting (do not use high-heat setting) for about 2 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean (mixture will puff).
5. Remove liner from cooker, if possible, or turn off cooker. Let pudding stand, uncovered, for 30 minutes to cool slightly before serving (pudding will fall as it cools).
6. To serve, spoon warm pudding into dessert dishes. If desired, top each serving with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional presweetened cocoa powder.

Notes:

• *To dry bread cubes: Spread fresh bread cubes in a single layer in a 15 1/2x10 1/2x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cubes are dry, stirring twice. Cool. (Cubes will continue to dry and crisp as they cool.)
• I used dark chocolate pieces instead of semisweet chocolate. (I am a fan of the dark chocolate.)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Hi everyone!! It has been a crazy few weeks, but I am back to baking. Today I plan on making a non-cupcake dessert. When I am finished with it, I will post the recipe and let you all know how it came out.

But right now, I wanted to post a cupcake recipe I used a few weeks ago (another one from the Betty Crocker website). This recipe is truly amazing!! Everyone that tried a cupcake absolutely LOVED it. I guess you can never go wrong with bananas and chocolate. So please check out the recipe below, give it a try, and tell me what you think. 

Take care!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

1. Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffins cups.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, bananas, water, butter and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.
3. Bake 18 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Frost cupcakes with frosting. Store loosely covered.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Note: Instead of miniature semisweet chocolate chips, I used regular sized semisweet chocolate chips because that is what I had in the cabinet. Also, I bought the Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy Triple Chocolate Fudge Chip frosting. Instead of it being a smooth frosting, it had miniature chocolate chip pieces inside which added so much to the cupcake.

Double Almond Cupcakes

Hi everyone! I apologize for it taking me so long to post on the blog, but I did warn you. I am trying something new by blogging. 

But anyways...early last month, I was checking out the Betty Crocker website (I am a big Betty Crocker fan) and I ran across some awesome sounding recipes. I decided to try the one below (Double Almond "Wedding" Cupcake) first. It came out really good and everyone that was able to try one loved it (even the person that hates almonds). So please check out the recipe below, give it a try, and tell me what you think. 

Take care!

Double Almond Cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
• 1 tablespoon almond extract 

Frosting

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• Garnish
• Jordan almonds, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 18 regular-size muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box, adding 1 tablespoon almond extract. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full.
2. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. In medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Add whipping cream and 2 teaspoons almond extract; beat on high speed until well blended. Fit a #46 tip in a decorating bag and fill with frosting. Use tip, with smooth side facing down, to generously pipe frosting in circular motion. Store loosely covered. 

Makes 18 cupcakes 

 

Note: I did not use Jordan almonds as a garnish.

 

Welcome

Welcome to the More Than Cupcakes blog. My name is Nabby and this is actually my first blog. (I know shocker right.) For those of you that know me, you know that I've been against creating a blog for many years...but here I am joining the blog world full of excitement. If you are wondering why I decided to join the blog world now after being against it, to be honest with you, I wanted to try something different. I recently decided to go back to baking and figured a blog would be a great way to share what I know and the recipes that I've tried and enjoyed. 

Now, the title of this blog is More Than Cupcakes so you are probably wondering what else besides cupcake recipes you might see here. Well because I love the kitchen, you will find other recipes related to other desserts as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But besides recipes, you will be able to read posts related to music, architecture, charities, public health issues, etc. so don't be afraid if you see a post or two related to something 'different.' But what ever it is, I hope you enjoy and will share your opinions with me. Thanks visiting and reading my first blog post. 

More to come soon. :) Take care.