Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Turtle Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients

crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves or pieces (6 to 7 ounces), toasted, divided
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole graham crackers, finely crushed in resealable plastic bag)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

sauce and filling

• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 pints (4 cups) premium vanilla ice cream, divided

ganache topping

• 5 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using on/off turns, finely chop 1 cup pecans in processor; transfer to medium bowl. Mix in graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle butter over; blend until evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly over bottom and up sides of 9-inch glass pie dish (not on rim).
• Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes (if crust puffs, press firmly back into place). Cool crust completely. Wrap in foil and freeze at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

sauce and filling

• Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Boil caramel 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Turn off heat; whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely.
• Slightly soften 1 cup vanilla ice cream in microwave on low in 10-second intervals. Spread ice cream evenly in frozen pie crust; spread 1/4 cup caramel over. Freeze pie until ice cream and caramel are firm, about 1 hour. Repeat with remaining vanilla ice cream in three 1-cup portions and caramel in two 1/4-cup portions. Freeze pie overnight. Cover and reserve remaining caramel at room temperature.

ganache topping

• Combine chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in medium metal bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Cool ganache at room temperature until thick but still pourable, about 30 minutes.
• Pour ganache evenly over frozen pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Freeze until ganache is firm, at least 45 minutes. Drizzle decoratively with 1/4 cup reserved caramel. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. Cover and chill remaining caramel.
• Let pie stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel, stirring over low heat. Cut pie into wedges and serve with caramel.

• test-kitchen tip

  To remove the first piece of pie, slide the knife between the crust and the dish all the way around the pie. Then cut out the first slice, being sure to cut through the crust completely.

Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars

Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars
(Source: Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12-ounce bag bittersweet (or semisweet, if you prefer) chocolate chips
1 & 1/2 cups mini pretzel twists, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chocolate chips, for drizzling (optional)
1/4 cup peanut butter, for drizzling (optional)
1/4 cup pretzels, crumbled, for topping (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.

3. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and press it down evenly with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely.

4. In separate sandwich size baggies, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Cut off a small corner on each bag and drizzle the chocolate and peanut butter over the top of the bars. Sprinkle the extra crushed pretzels on top. Let set and then cut into squares.

Rocky Road Squares

Rocky Road Squares - from Dinner and Dessert
Printable Recipe
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 (10.5-ounce) package miniature marshmallows

In top of double broiler, over boiling water, melt morsels with sweetened condensed milk and butter; remove from heat. In large bowl, combine nuts and marshmallows; fold in chocolate mixture. Spread in wax paper-lined 13×9-inch pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan, peel off wax paper; cut into squares. Cover and store at room temperature.

Snickers Pie

Snickers Pie
Source: adapted from Alpineberry

Crust: (Source: Simply Gluten Free)
1 ¼ cups dry-roasted, salted peanuts
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse peanuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Pulse in the melted butter. Press nut mixture evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes and cool while making the filling.

For filling:

Fudge Layer
4 ounces (1 stick/ 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces of Snickers candy bars, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
(I weighed the Snickers without wrappers)

Cream Cheese Layer
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Keep the oven temperature at 350 degrees.

For the fudge layer:
Combine butter and bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler; set over simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove top insert and cool slightly.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside dry ingredients.

Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar, egg and egg yolk in a large bowl for 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into crust.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist batter still attached. If crust browns too quickly, cover with foil.

Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Evenly arrange Snickers bars over the top.

For the cream cheese layer:
Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth. Carefully spread mixture over the Snickers bars. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cream cheese is set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For topping:

Chocolate Ganache (adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces, at room temperature

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motions. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece. Don’t stir the ganache any more than you must to blend the ingredients- the less you work it, the darker, smoother, and shinier it will be.

Pour ganache over cooled pie and refrigerate until set.