Double Chocolate Cupcakes

I cheated making these cupcakes and they are somewhat healthy, minus the chocolate sauce of course.  The chocolate cupcakes were easy to make with just 1 box of devils food chocolate cake mix, plain greek yogurt and water.  Can you believe that is it?  No eggs and no oil were needed at all.  The cupcakes were moist and light, similar to my pumpkin spice cupcakes (made with 1 box of spice cake mix and 1 can pumpkin puree).  I also topped these chocolate cupcakes with my homemade chocolate sauce, which is really easy to make and stores well in the fridge.  I brought these double chocolate cupcakes to my aunt and uncle's holiday party and they were a hit! 

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 box devils food chocolate cake mix

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1 cup water

2 cups homemade chocolate sauce (click here for recipe)

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mini-chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the box of cake mix, yogurt and water.

Fill cupcake liners halfway with batter.

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Place cupcakes on wire cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Warm homemade chocolate sauce in microwave if needed.

Spoon warm homemade chocolate sauce over cooled cupcakes just enough to cover the tops.  Sprinkle with some mini-chocolate chips (optional).

Allow chocolate sauce to cool and harden slightly.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

If making ahead of time, store cupcakes in refrigerator.

Peppermint Patty Brownies

These are brownies with York Peppermint Patties in them and they are so mintlicious!  Yes, I did just make up a word,  mint + delicious = mintlicious.  I've previously made Thin Mint Brownies and they were a hit too.  I made these peppermint patty brownies over the weekend for a BBQ and an afternoon of watching Michigan football.  In case you were wondering, Michigan won!   It was a big win for Michigan because they had lost to Michigan State since 2007!  How crazy is that?  These Peppermint Patty Brownies made the win extra special!  Enjoy!

Peppermint Patty Brownies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix (I used Market Pantry 19.8 ounces fudge brownie mix.)

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

¼ cup water

12 peppermint patties, unwrapped

½ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix brownie mix, oil, eggs and water to make a brownie batter.

Pour half the batter into the baking dish.

Top evenly with peppermint patties.

Pour remaining batter over the peppermint patties.  Use a spatula to spread batter evenly.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes 12 large brownies. (Hint:  Cut with a plastic knife.)

Pizza Dough 2

I haven't made pizza in awhile and I wanted to tweak the pizza dough recipe I typically use.  This dough came out well and was great for making a thinner crust too.  I was able to roll out half the dough to make a pizza the size of my large baking sheet.  I froze the other half of the pizza dough to use another time.  You can freeze any leftover dough in a freezer safe plastic bag.  Just defrost in the fridge the night before and the pizza dough will be ready by the time its dinner time.  I made a veggie pizza with this dough, and I will share that recipe tomorrow.

 

Pizza Dough 2

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 ¼ teaspoons yeast

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)

½ teaspoon sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together the warm water and yeast.  Set aside for about 10 minutes, it will get foamy.  Stir in sugar, olive oil and salt.

In a stand mixer with dough attachment, add in flour and yeast mixture.  Mix on low to medium speed until a ball of dough forms, about 5 minutes.

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Grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough with your hand.   

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour.   Halve dough and roll out with a floured rolling pin.

Makes 2 pizzas.

Eggless Waffles

Easy like Sunday morning...with Eggless Waffles!  I finally received my waffle plates for my Cuisinart Griddler.  I have been wanting to make my own waffles for awhile now and I finally caved in and bought the waffle plates.  Its actually great since I don't need another appliance to make waffles, I just have to switch out the plates.  I was finally ready to make waffles but then realized I had no eggs.  Major fail on my part!  I realized I didn't get to go to the farmers market last Tuesday due to torrential rain and I usually buy my eggs from an Amish farmer.  So instead I did some online research and realized there were plenty of recipes for waffles with no eggs.  These Eggless Waffles turned out great and I couldn't even taste a difference. 

  

Eggless Waffles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups milk (I used organic lowfat 1% milk.)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons melted butter

Optional Ingredients

2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (I added this to half the batter.)

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and sugar.

Add in the remaining ingredients - milk, vegetable oil, water, vanilla and melted butter.

Whisk together until batter is mixed, it will be slightly lumpy. (Optional ingredient, add in chocolate chips last.)

Spray waffle maker with non-stick spray.  Once heated and ready, I used a ¼ measuring cup of batter for each waffle.  Let cook for about 3 to 4 minutes depending on your waffle maker instructions.

Serve warm with butter and/or maple syrup.

 Mmm.....I love Sunday morning waffles!

Buddy likes to sleep in on Sundays...or everyday!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

This chocolate bundt cake was scrumptious especially with my homemade chocolate sauce.  I served this cake for dessert this weekend and I was told it was the "best chocolate cake".  He must be right since he ate 2 slices!  This cake was moist and chocolatey.  You wouldn't think there was greek yogurt in the cake either.  What made this cake extra special was the homemade chocolate sauce, and it was simple to make.  If you love chocolate, you will love this cake, enjoy!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients for Cake

1 package devils food cake mix

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup greek yogurt, plain

¼ cup coconut oil

½ cup vegetable oil

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup water

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions for Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease and flour a bundt pan (or other baking pan).  

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix together the cake mix, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vegetable oil, eggs, and water.  

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour cake batter into bundt pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes.

Invert cake onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

 Drizzle cake with chocolate sauce.

Basil Tomato Sauce

This basil tomato sauce was delicious!  I was trimming my basil plant and needed to use up the basil leaves and a basil tomato sauce was the perfect thing to make.  (I love the smell of fresh basil too!) This sauce is great with pasta or as a pizza sauce too.  I also used a chili pepper instead of chili pepper flakes, so if you don't have a fresh chili pepper from your friend's garden like I did, than you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon of red chili pepper flakes.  I served this basil tomato sauce with capellini pasta.  Enjoy!

Basil Tomato Sauce

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

6 ounce can tomato paste

1 cup water

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced (from a jar)

1 small chili pepper, minced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 bunch fresh basil, torn

Directions

In a heavy pan, over medium heat, add in olive oil.  Add in garlic and chili pepper.  Add in 1 tablespoon butter.  Stir and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes until garlic is lightly browned.

Add in crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Using the cans, fill about halfway with water and add into pan.   (This will equal to about a cup of water and rinses the can to add in any remaining tomatoes to the sauce.)

Stir in Italian seasoning.

Cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes.

Stir in torn basil leaves.

Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons butter (optional).

Serve with your favorite pasta.  You can also freeze this sauce in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers.

Buddy and Ellie like to be in the kitchen with me...probably hoping for a treat from their treat jar on the counter :)