Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake

For the past week, I've been trying to find words where there are none. I can't help but feel a crushing heartbreak for families, children, and a community I'd never heard of before last Friday. The holidays are a season of reflection and gratitude, and I am so very grateful for the life I am able to live.

I'm thankful I could take this picture. That Santa belly is all him by the way. It's probably from the bits of cookies and whatnot I sneak him. 

This pudding cake started out as a pan of cookie bars. We're making lemonade out of lemons here. Or cake out of cookies. Same thing. You'll need: flour, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, marshmallows, brown sugar, cocoa powder, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, and eggs.

Dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt, espresso) make it into a medium bowl.

Butter and sugars start out in a large bowl. Cream them until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.

Now, you could sift the cocoa powder into the bowl. Or you could sprinkle a little in, mix, sprinkle a little more in...you get the picture.

Serious chocolate action. It's time for the vanilla.

Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Then add the rest and mix until barely incorporated.

Stir in the marshmallows. They're what make this hot chocolate-y.

You don't have to line the baking pan with parchment paper. I did that when I thought these would turn out more like bars. Just grease the pan like you would normally and spread the batter evenly.

Mostly the marshmallows will melt into the batter, making it super-gooey. But you'll see little bits that get toasted, kind of like it's been over a campfire. The edges get crispy and brownie-like, while the middle is fudgier. Much more my speed. Y'know ice cream probably wouldn't be a bad idea here.

I watched White Christmas two nights ago. One particular song struck a chord with me. When I'm worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. It's a sentiment that means more now than ever.

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake (makes one 9x9 cake)

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tbs instant espresso powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 heaping cups miniature marshmallows

• Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 9x9 pan with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, espresso, salt, and baking soda. 
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract. Slowly sprinkle in cocoa powder and mix until smooth. 
• Add half the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the remaining half and stir until just incorporated. Stir in miniature marshmallows.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until edges are crispy and middle has set but is still gooey. Let cool in the pan.

Sweet & Salty Fudge

Let's talk about how I've been trying to show you this fudge for like...5 days. Or something. The important part is that I get it to you, right? Because this is good stuff. It's the sort of Christmas decadence worth wearing stretchy pants for. 

It's the kind of thing babies like to get on their fingers and wipe on everything they see.

It's the kind of thing flaky sea salt was made for.

Five ingredients. No candy thermometer. No hassle. You'll need: miniature marshmallows, bittersweet chocolate, unsalted butter, sweetened condensed milk, and flaky sea salt.

Butter, marshmallows, and the condensed milk meet in a medium saucepan. Condensed milk is just luscious. Much more than its name would suggest.

Here we're getting melty and starting to smooth out. Keep stirring until it's completely smooth.

Time for the good stuff. Add your roughly chopped chocolate to the gooey marshmallow mixture. Bittersweet chocolate is really best here because the marshmallows and condensed milk have plenty of sugar.

You can take it off the stove now. The residual heat should be enough to melt the chocolate completely.

Pour that velvety mixture into a pan lined with parchment paper.

Smooth it out with your spatula.

And sprinkle with sea salt. It's kind of the prettiest ever.  Let it chill in the fridge for about an hour.

A note: If you let it sit longer than a day, the salt will kind of melt onto the surface of the fudge. So it won't have that pretty crystal look, but it'll still taste dynamite.

I really shouldn't have put two pieces of fudge on the plate. I feel like that's being deceitful. Because you really can only eat one piece at a time. 

But you can't fault somebody for trying. The depth of really good bittersweet chocolate with a healthy dose of sweet and salt just can't be beat.

Sweet & Salty Fudge (makes about 1 pound of fudge)

Via Coastal Living

3 c miniature marshmallows

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

4 tbs unsalted butter

12 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

• Line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan, combine marshmallows, condensed milk, and butter over medium heat. As marshmallows melt, stir mixture and continue until completely smooth.
• Stir in chocolate and remove from heat. Continue stirring until chocolate has completely melted into the marshmallow mixture.
• Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle sea salt over the fudge. Refrigerate at least an hour before cutting. Store leftovers in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.

Salted Caramel Mocha & Hot Chocolate

I hope y'all had a delicious, stretch-pants-worthy Thanksgiving. With Thanksgiving comes my most favorite time of year. The Christmas music starts playing non-stop on the radio and becomes my Pandora station for the month.  And wouldn't you know it, we're actually having some cool weather here in good ol' South Carolina. Last year it barely got cold enough for me to need long sleeves, but this year the air has a crispness that I've sorely missed.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

I...have a flair for the dramatic. I don't mean that I'm an overreactor kind of dramatic. I mean that I have a sense of theater, and I appreciate a good production. This leads me to wear things like (faux) fur vests, bright coral pants, and pretty much anything that sparkles. I also rock a pixie cut.

Triple Chocolate Chunk & Pistachio Cookies

Do you know what I love about the world? Little favors. Little favors that take a craptastic day and turn it into a less craptastic day. It's especially uplifting when the little favors are perpetrated by a total stranger because it restores just a little bit of faith in humanity.

Like two weeks ago in the Kroger by my sister's house. See, I'd found out earlier that day that we had to put our dog, Daisy, down. It ripped a hole in my heart, and I tried to make myself feel better by going to the gym. It's hard to feel sad in Zumba when you're making a fool of yourself. And I did feel better while I was there, but then it was raining and gross outside. On the way back to my sister's I decided to stop at Kroger because it was easier to get to during rush hour. I grabbed a few things and parked myself in the wine section to find a decently priced bottle (P.S. Kroger, your mark-up was a little ridic). I was checking out, and the clerk asked if I had a Kroger card. I said I didn't, and the man in line behind me said "Oh here" and had the clerk scan his card for me. I thanked him, paid, then turned back and said "If I'd known that was gonna happen, I'd have picked a better bottle of wine." He laughed, I laughed and thanked him again, and I left with my heart a little lighter because he did a little something nice.

Kahlùa Pudding Cake

My sister's birthday was this week. Since I'm such a good sister, I made her a cake. I also babysat G-man so that she and Rich could have a nice dinner. I've been wanting to make this pudding cake for weeks now, and I figured I should make it for my sister and Rich because it's pretty much guaranteed to get eaten. Rich would eat this for breakfast if he could get away with it.

My sister said that since it's her birthday cake she can eat it out of the pan with a fork if she wants. Rock on, man. It's a seriously rich dessert that is only enhanced by a dollop of very lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Vanilla Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

Mantyhose.  Have you heard of them?  They're becoming a thing.  "What are mantyhose?" you ask.  Pantyhose for men, silly!  Oh my goodness, Will and I could have matching tights!  Except that there's no way on God's green earth that Will would ever wear mantyhose.  If you want to see mantyhose in all their epicene glory, I direct you here.

Duke's Chocolate Cake

 Do you want the chocolate-iest chocolate cake you've ever had?  Then forget about the fact that this has mayonnaise if you're one of those unfortunate people who doesn't like mayo.  I've never suffered from this problem, but I hear it can be a doozy for those who do.

What the mayonnaise does is make this incredibly moist and rich, replacing the eggs and oil normally found in chocolate cake.  Of course, you know my mayonnaise preference.  Duke's all the way!  Actually, that's how I came to find this recipe.  Someone found my humble little blog by searching for "Duke's mayonnaise cake."  Naturally this piqued my curiosity.  A cake made with mayo?  Duke's no less?  I mean, I haven't heard of a Hellman's cake for sure.  God bless America, I had to try it.

Peppermint Mocha Krinkles

Y'all.  It's crunch time.  Gifts need to be wrapped.  Actually, gifts need to be bought.  Whomp whomp.  I'm going to get to it, promise!  Speaking of gifts, have y'all seen the trend of people making payments on other people's layaways?  I think that's pretty awesome.  It's one of the things I love about this season.  People doing good things for other people.  No recognition needed.  Doing it just because it'll make someone's life a little easier.   I'm a big believer in karma.  That's why I let cars in ahead of me in traffic (safely of course).

These cookies will totally get you some good karma if you make them for other people.  They'll also just make you happy if you eat them yourself.  So it's a win-win.  I got the idea for this cookie when I had a similar cookie from Panera.  My sister and I like to split a chocolate chip cookie now and then, and one time they were out of our usual; so I picked out a peppermint chocolate cookie for us instead.  I also wanted it to have a bit of a coffee flavor, like a peppermint mocha from Starbucks.  P.S.  I have no idea why I'm spelling krinkles with a "k" when I know good and well the word is crinkles.  It's a mystery.

Peppermint Marshmallows with Peppermint Hot Chocolate

My sister has a critter.  I'm not talking about Grady either.  There's something in her attic that makes little noises that can only be heard when the TV is off and no one else is with you.  She had suspected something was up there for a while, then she got confirmation when they went to get Christmas decorations out of the attic and ornaments were strewn about.  Also up there was an empty bag of jerky treats that had been torn apart.  That's how we ruled out a ghost.  Ghosts don't need jerky.  So we're thinking a raccoon.

I really hope it doesn't decide to take a walk downstairs.

Y'know what you need?  Marshmallows.  Legit homemade marshmallows.  Because guess what?  They're incredibly easy to make.  I know what you're thinking.  "I can buy marshmallows at the store.  Why on God's green earth would I take the time to make them?"  Because they're way freakin' better if you do them yourself.  You may quote me on that.  My only qualification is that you need either a stand mixer (preferable) or at least a hand mixer because this business has to go 12 minutes straight.

3 C's: Country Concert, Chow Mein, and Chocolate

Let's start with the Rascal Flatt's concert I went to with Kaitlin.  It was an absolute blast.  Her mom and cousin went with us, and we tailgated at the Verizon Amphitheater with subs and Coronas.  Ballin'.

How do I love Sara Evans?  Let me count the ways.  She was flawless.  It's nice to hear a voice that hasn't been auto-tuned to death.  Don't get me wrong, auto-tune can be used for some cool effects, but to hear someone with a crystal clear voice just can't be matched.

I'm pretty sure she was singing "A Little Bit Stronger" at this point.  Her set was simple and feel-good.

Then came the big boys!  Oh yeah, they definitely came in three separate doors down staircases.  It was fantastic and a little over-the-top in all the right ways.

I really liked the background they used here.

They played a little bluegrass ditty!  Basically, it was a blast.  They worked the crowd, we danced, and fun was had by all.

That same weekend my sister's mother-in-law came for a visit.  Miss Susan is an incredibly nice lady who happens to make bangin' chow mein.  I'd show you a picture of it, but I was too busy eating it.  No joke, 4 bowls in 2 days.  The beef gets a little marinade-time with what we call Happy Cow Sauce.  I have no idea what the real name is because I can't read Chinese.  I have a jar of it my sister gave to me, so I'll make some chow mein soon for you guys.  The Happy Cow Sauce gives a bit of spice to the beef, which takes on a caramelized quality during cooking that flavors the noodles.  Then you have bell peppers, onions, and carrots for even more flavor.  I might be obsessed.

Now for the chocolate.  I had a hankering for a chocolate cookie, and I had some chocolate chips that needed to be used.  Thus the triple chocolate chunk cookie bar was born.