4 ounce package German sweet chocolate
5 tablespoons butter
3 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Melt chocolate with 3 tablespoons butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool. Cream remaining butter with cream cheese until soft. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar. Blend in 1 egg, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. Beat remaining eggs until thick. Gradually add remaining sugar. Add baking powder, salt, and remaining flour. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture, almond extract, and remaining vanilla. Measure 1 cup chocolate batter and set aside.
Spread remaining chocolate batter in a greased 9-inch square pan. Top with cheese mixture. Drop measured chocolate batter from tablespoon onto cheese mixture; swirl to marbleize. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Makes 18 brownies

One of my Twitter friends expressed an interest in some vegan baking recipes. I have a few for you…and here is one to start. If you are vegan and you cannot find vegan baker’s chocolate, use about 16 oz. vegan chocolate chips and decrease the amount of maple syrup by about 1/2 c.

8 oz. unsweetened baker’s chocolate
1 1/2 cups maple syrup, grade B
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups soy milk or skim milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups firm tofu (not silken)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans

Begin by blending applesauce, tofu, soy milk or skim milk, maple syrup, and vanilla until it is completely smooth. Heat applesauce mixture with chocolate on low to medium heat. Stir frequently to keep chocolate from burning.

When chocolate is entirely melted, preheat the oven to 375. Add flour and salt and stir or whisk until “just mixed.” Last, stir in pecans.

Pour batter into a greased 13x9x2 pan. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the brownies comes out clean.

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup Raspberry Chambord or 1/4 cup Raspberry Chambord
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, (optional)
1 cup hazelnuts, roasted and finely chopped

1. Cut butter into pieces and melt in top of double boiler or metal bowl over (but not touching) hot water. Add chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Blend in raspberry jam and raspberry liqueur, until smooth. Cover. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours; or refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight.

3. Place the cocoa or hazelnuts in a wide shallow pie pan.

4. Using a melon-baller or a tablespoon, scoop about a tablespoon of the cold chocolate mixture between your palms and roll to form a round ball. Roll in desired coating and place on a sided baking sheet. Repeat until all the chocolate mixture is gone. Cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving.

Servings: 36

2 1/4 cup flour, unsifted
1 tsp. baking soda
Salt
1 (4 serving size) of chocolate instant pudding mix
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
Mix flour, soda, and salt. Combine butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy, beat in eggs. Add flour mixture, then pudding mix. Stir in chips. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups peanut butter cups, chopped
3/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Set aside. Beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. Fold in peanut butter cups, peanuts and chocolate chips. The batter will be stiff.
Form into balls about the size of a tablespoon. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Base:
2 cups Vanilla wafer crumbs
6 tbs Margarine, melted

Body:
1 14-ounce bag caramels
1 5-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup Chopped pecans, toasted
2 pkg 8-ounce cream cheese, soften
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Base: Combine crumbs and margarine; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degree F for 10 minutes.

Body: In 1 1/2 quart heavy saucepan, melt caramel with milk over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Pour over the prepared crust. Top with pecans. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in chocolate; pour over pecans. Bake at 350 degrees F, 40 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill. Garnish with whipped cream and additional finely chopped pecans, if desired.

Today was just one of those days… I just lounged around the house all day, relaxed and watched TV. Next thing I knew, I was craving something sweet. I need to go shopping badly, but luckily I had everything I needed to make this sweet treat!

2 cups cold milk
1 pk (4-serving size) Jell-O Chocolate Fudge Flavor Instant Pudding
2 cups crushed ice

Pour milk into blender container. Add remaining ingredients; cover. Blend at high speed 15 seconds or until smooth. (Mixture will thicken as it stands. Thin with additional milk, if desired.)
Makes 4 servings.

Bring on all the sweet tooths!  This recipe takes the classic brownie to another level.

Cheesecake Topping

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon cake flour

Brownie Batter

1 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To Make Cheesecake Topping:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an 8-by-11 1/2-inch baking pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in sugar and vanilla until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg, followed by egg white; beat 2 to 3 minutes to thoroughly blend. Add 1 tablespoon flour and, with the mixer on low speed, beat just until blended. Set aside.

To Make Brownie Batter:

1. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and salt. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg, egg whites, and vanilla on high speed until smooth, making sure no lumps of brown sugar remain. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until blended.

2. Set aside 1/2 cup of the brownie batter. Transfer the remaining brownie batter to the prepared pan, spreading it into the comers and smoothing the surface. Carefully pour the reserved cheesecake topping onto the batter and spread it evenly to the edges. Dot the cheesecake layer with the remaining brownie batter. Without disturbing the brownie layer, swirl the cheesecake layer with a table knife.

3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, just until the top is set Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting. Makes 16 cheesecake brownies.

220 calories per brownie: 4 grams protein, 7 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 34 grams carbohydrate; 155 mg sodium; 37 mg cholesterol; 0 grams fiber

I know what you are thinking, “Who wants to bake in this heat!” I thought I was a little crazy myself…but I baked these last night and they came out soooo good!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
1 large egg white, beaten

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cocoa together. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, applesauce, vanilla, mint and egg white. Beat with a hand mixer until well blended. Combine the flour mixture with the sugar to form the dough. Roll into a log and cover with plastic wrap. Put into the freezer for about an hour. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Slice into 1/4 inch pieces and place on the greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

A truly sinful dessert. Delicious chocolate cookie crust filled with rich mocha cream cheese and covered with a chocolate glaze

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/3 cups of chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
1/3 cup of melted butter

Filling:
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons of instant coffee
2 packs (8 oz each) softened cream cheese
1 cup granulated 8 squares (8 oz) melted semi sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sour cream

Glaze:
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 tablespoon instant coffee
4 squares (4 oz) semi sweet chocolate
Chocolate curls or something similar to garnish (optional)

Preparation:

Crust:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the crumbs and butter into a small bowl. Pres the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a nine inch round springform pan. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Filling:
Stir the eggs and instant coffee in a small bowl until well blended; set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer set on medium speed until well blended. Beat the melted chocolate and the sour cream. Pour the mixture over the crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the center is almost set. Run a knife or spatula around the edge of the pan. Cool the cheesecake completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Prepare the Glaze:
Stir the cream and instant coffee in a medium bowl until well blended. Add the chocolate. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Spoon the glaze evenly over the cheesecake. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish with chocolate curls or something you would like to add on top. Cut into slices and serve.

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 50 minutes
Refrigerate: 3 Hours
Servings: 16