Mary Lee's Brownies

Mary Lee's Brownies

My granny is 100% responsible for my love affair with chocolate. Here is one of my favorite recipes out of her old recipe box. I love that her best friend's name and phone number are on the back of the card.

I'm going to give you the same instructions I received and wish you good luck.

Cream together 2 softened sticks of butter and 2 Cups of sugar.
8 Tablespoons of Cocoa (1/2 cup)
4 eggs
1 Cup flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups of Pecans

Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Biscoff Graham Cupcake

Butter Mix
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup crunchy Biscoff spread
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water

In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and set aside.

Using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer - Cream together the butter, sugar, Biscoff Spread and spur cream until well blended.

Add eggs one at a time scraping the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just blended.

Add milk and water and mix on low for about a minute.

Bake cupcakes at 350 for 20 minutes.

Core and fill with key lime filling (premise or homemade...your choice)

Top with whipped sour cream buttercream. (add a small tub of cool whip and 1 cup of sour cream to your best buttercream recipe)

Glitter in the Moolight

Selma is 6 years old and loves her silver glitter high heels. She wears them with pride almost every day.
They're cheap little shoes that I picked up at Wal-Mart because I knew she would love them and want to wear them for special occasions. She was stoked when I handed them to her and wanted to wear them immediately!
I quickly said, "No. You have to save them so they will look nice when you want to wear them." Still in awe of her beautiful shoes, she trotted off a little less tall with the disappointment of being told to put them away.
For the next couple of months, she wore them maybe twice outside of the house, but was not allowed to go outside in them because she would damage them. I shot her down repeatedly because I wanted to preserve them for her when ALL SHE WANTED TO DO WAS WEAR THEM!!
How could I be so dumb? Has it really been so long since I was six that I forgot that ALL I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO DO WAS WEAR THEM ALL THE TIME!! She is growing and will outgrow these shoes in probably 6 months and I'm making her SAVE these CHEAP SHOES --- I told her they were a gift and made her tuck them away. What good is a gift that you aren't free to enjoy? Sometimes I am so flawed...it was with good intention that I was guarding her shoes, but I was wrong.
She now fashions special outfits every day so she can wear her fabulous shoes. I only object on P.E. days now...It's fair. I AM the mom. =) She's the best dressed kid in the entire school. Every single day and it's her thing. A super fashionista.
Isn't it amazing what a little gift and the freedom to use it cant create?
She has now worn them so many times that I had to repair them the best I could. Spray adhesive and fine glitter, left over from an over the top Easter egg project...I'll never learn.
I did this project about a week ago made a glittery mess on the porch. The glitter has pretty much worn off the shoes, but it remains on the porch. A moonlight reminder of a lesson learned.
ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN THE FREEDOM TO USE THEIR GIFTS!!

Whew! That is all.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cheesecake

Supplies:
Red Velvet Mix
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup canola oil
5 room temperature eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vinegar


Yield: 45

Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the red velvet mix, flour, cocoa and salt.
2. Using the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add the oil and eggs to the sugar mixture: mix until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and mix until it is well incorporated.
5. Add 1/2 of your dry ingredients to the batter and mix well - don't forget to scrape the bowl!
6. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6.
8. In a small dish, combine the baking soda and vinegar and immediately fold
It into your batter.
9. Bake it up!! It will make very close to 4 dozen cupcakes and one good sized cake.

Note: Buy some pre-made Philadelphia Cream Cream Cheese Cheesecake and fill your cupcakes for the ultimate WOW! Top with cream cheese frosting and you're money!! Later Cakers!

Chocolate Groom's Cake

Everyone needs a no-fail chocolate cake. Here's mine. :)

Supplies:
Chocolate Cake Mix (any will do)
Small Box of Chocolate pudding (3.9 oz)
1/4 Cup Cocoa (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)
4 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract (I prefer Madagascar Vanilla)
1 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted salted butter

NOTE: You are entitled to change it up, but I reserve the right to take away the "no-fail" badge of you do...

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. Spray your pan with a no-stick baking spray with flour. I use Baker's Joy.
3. Melt the butter. No, room temp won't work and neither will oil. This is not health class. Use the melted. Utter.
4. Pour the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment an turn it on you lowest setting.
5. Add room temperature eggs one at at a time until well incorporated.
6. Mix in the condensed milk and turn the speed up to medium high for 5 minutes.
7. While the eg mixture is working, and in a separate bowl,whisk together the dry ingredients. (cake mix, pudding, cocoa)
8. Turn your mixer on low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 separate additions alternating with buttermilk additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl in between additions if needed.Mix until smooth - about a minute.
9. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and stir it in by hand. Your mixture should look more like brownies than cake at this point.
10. Spread evenly into a 10x10 square pan and bake at 350 for 40 - 50 minutes.

Cheap Wine and New Beginnings

Today, with our heads held high, we start over. Refined by fire and fueled with heart, we will begin again.
With wisdom and history guiding future choices, we now stand a fighting chance.
So, tonight, we will celebrate with cheap wine and my version of spaghetti and meatballs....after soccer practice, of course.

Chocolate Salted Caramel

Butter mix, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup milk
2 cans frosting
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup dark cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 stuck salted butter
1 bag caramels (50ish pieces)
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Chop 20 Oreos and set aside.

Beat 3 egg whites until they look like this. Set aside.

White cake mix, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix on low for 3 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer on low and add 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk. Mix about 2 minutes scraping the sides as needed. It may be a little lumpy, but it's ok as long as it looks like this.

Gently fold in your egg whites leaving them not completely mixed in. Gently fold in your cookie pieces just until mixed. If you stir too much the cupcakes won't rise properly and the cookie dust could turn the batter grey.

Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes (give or take). You'll know when they're ready because they'll look like this.

Makes a little more that 2 dozen cupcakes.

It is Hard to Tell

There always seems to be a sure fire way to tell if something is as it should be.

Easy Cheesecake Filling