Reeses Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Okay. Every once in a while I am going to post recipes on here for you to pin onto pinterest. Unlike my other posts, this is not something I found on pinterest that I've tested, but it is a recipe that I can promise you tastes incredible. So, feel free to pin it if you'd like, or make it first and decide from there!

The Best Reeses Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small pkg Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips (I actually opted not to use these, and it still tasted amazing)

*For Colby's birthday cake I used this recipe + another half of the recipe…that way I ended up with 3 round cakes to stack 3 tiers high. 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pans. In a very large bowl or kitchen aid, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased cake pans of choice (I prefer using 9-inch round cake pans). For cooking time, I used the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and added 10 minutes to whatever it said. Then I did the toothpick check and checked on it every 5 mins after that until it was done. It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch cake pans.

After my cakes were out of the oven, I immediately dumped them upside down on individual pieces of aluminum foil so they wouldn't sink. I then wrapped them up in the foil and stuck them in the freezer. A couple hours later I took them out, unwrapped them, and stacked them with a layer of frosting between each tier. The cake is much easier to frost if it's frozen. 

After it was stacked I frosted the whole cake in a thin layer of frosting, and then I did a second coat to cover up any chocolatey crumbles that got stuck in the first layer.

Crumble up some reeses and sprinkle them on top, and surround the base with mini reeses cups. Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting (this is the buttercream frosting from my previous post with one spoonful of peanut butter added)

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter

1 T vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar (or icing sugar)

4-5 T coffee cream (18% and up)

1 small spoonful of peanut butter

Directions:

Whip the butter with a paddle beater. Add in the powdered sugar (using a fresh bag makes all the difference–powdered sugar goes stale and you can taste the difference!)

Add in the cream and peanut butter and mix.

Add in the Vanilla and mix until fluffy and thoroughly combined.

Rating:

Difficulty:

"Best-Ever" Chocolate Chip Cookies

"Best-Ever" is a pretty bold statement, but these cookies showed up multiple times on my pinterest homepage so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. No one I follow had actually tried the recipe yet, and I wanted to know if the rumors were true!

So, here's the lowdown. If you like soft, chewy cookies, you will love these. They really are slightly fluffy and perfectly gooey—just the way I like them. AND, the flavor is delicious! 

I have included the recipe below, but there is one thing I altered. I am an almond-extract fan and this recipe doesn't call for any...so, I put in slightly less vanilla than it calls for, and added that much extra almond extract. You'll still only be adding a tiny bit of almond so it's not overwhelming, but you'll find that your cookies have the perfect "kick." Everyone who has tried them so far concurs that the almond is an essential addition.

However, if you aren't an almond fan, don't despair! Just use 2 T of Vanilla and leave out the almond! You won't be disappointed.

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

1 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp. almond extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.

Rating:

Difficulty: