Tried and Liked: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These muffins actually come from a cake recipe, but I like muffins better!

Here's the original recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
(Adapted from Something Edible)
The usual suspects:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups grated zucchini, loosely packed
3/4 cup pecans roughly chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

The prep:
Preheat oven to 350º.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy (stand mixer, hand mixer, elbow grease…) Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating/whisking until creamy. Add salt, baking soda, and cocoa; continue whisking until incorporated. Slowly add in flour in thirds, stirring after each addition until fully incorporated. Fold in the grated zucchini. Pour into a greased 9×13″ dish and top with brown sugar, pecans and chocolate chips. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake. Keeps nicely covered at room temp for a few days.
Eat up!

I did a few things differently, I obviously put them into a muffin pan instead, and because of that I had to make more topping. I didn't really measure the topping but I would probably do about half of the recipe of topping extra. (Wow I don't know how to say that right, I'm a little tired!) I also added walnuts to my topping and it was so good!

Taken from: Whisk Flip Stir

Hot Chocolate Cookies

These are great winter cookies!

Ingredients:

1 C Butter, room temperature
1 C granulated sugar
⅔ C packed brown sugar
2 whole large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-¼ C flour
4 packages (1 oz. Packets, NOT Sugar-free) Hot Chocolate Mix
1 tsp salt
1-¼ tsp baking soda
1 C white chocolate chips
1 C milk chocolate chips
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars together until well blended. Add in eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 to 4 parts, making sure all is incorporated.
Fold in chips.

Scoop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (I pressed the dough a little to help flatten it out.) Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Taken from: Your Homebased Mom

Browned Butter Cookies

1 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup sugar

3 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/3 Cup flour

Browned Butter Frosting (see below)

Mix butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add in egg yolks, salt, soda and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Form dough into one inch balls. Chill dough on a cookie sheet for about 1 hour in the refrigerator. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into sugar and then press the ball of dough flat (about 1/4 inch) Bake cookies on an ungreased cookie at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a minute and then remove to a cooling rack.

Browned Butter Frosting

1/2 Cup butter

4 Cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Cup heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2

In a small pan brown butter over medium heat. Watch closely. Allow it to just turn golden brown, flecks will appear. Butter will get foamy. Stir often to make sure it browns evenly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla and cream. Beat in mixer on medium high until it has a creamy texture. Frost cooled cookies.

Taken from Your Homebased Mom who took it from 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone by Wendy Paul.

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients:
2 3/4 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup shortening
1 slightly beaten egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
48 Whole almonds

Directions:
Stir flour sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Mix in egg, milk and almond extract. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Place an almond in the center of each cookie and flatten slightly.
Bake at 325 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 cookies

Taken from: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (1981)

S'mores Cookies

Ingredients:

1½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cups miniature chocolate chips

1½ cups mini marshmallows

2 Hershey bars, chopped

Directions:

In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, graham crackers, salt, and baking soda, mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for about an hour. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of a Hershey’s bar into each cookie. Return to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Taken from: Jennifer's Road Trip

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. milk

Directions:
In one bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract; add the dry ingredients, mix well.

Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place the balls 2-inches apart (the cookies do spread a little) on an ungreased cookie sheet. Push in the center of each ball with your thumb to make an indentation, dip your thumb in flour as needed to get a nice deep impression.

Heat chips and milk in saucepan until the chocolate is melted. Stir this mixture until smooth. Spoon the chocolate into each indentation. You’ll have enough chocolate sauce to “overfill” each indention. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies look "dry". Cool on racks. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Whopper Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 Cups softened butter
3/4 Cups packed brown sugar
3/4 Cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1 Cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Cups Whoppers, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in chopped Whoppers.

Bake at 350 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet for 8 to 12 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Taken From: Your Homebased Mom who took it from Sprinkled with Flour.

Blender Banana Bread

I wanted to use a couple of bananas before they went bad, but the usual Banana Bread recipe I use called for more bananas then I had so I tried the recipe that came with my Blend Tec Blender. It turned out really well, but I'm sure it would still turn out being mixed without the blender.

Time: About an Hour

Ingredients:
2 Eggs Whites (I just used the whole egg)
1/2 Cup Light Olive Oil (I used Vegetable Oil)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Bananas -Peeled and Broken in half
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg (I left this out)
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Nuts (Optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ingredients, minus the nuts, in the blender jar in the order as listed and secure the lid. Press Speed Up button until Speed 6. Let run for 30 seconds, or until well mixed. Mix nuts in and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden.

Taken From: Blendtec Lifestyles Recipe Book

Peanut Butter Cookies

Time: About an Hour

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar or 1/4 Cup Honey
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 3/4 Cups Flour

Directions:
Mix butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add baking soda and powder. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well, then add flour slowly. Mix until everything is well combined, the dough should be like play dough.

Set oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll them in granulated sugar. You can also sprinkle the sugar on top after you flatten the cookies, but the extra on the pan may burn. Flatten the cookies with the traditional criss-cross marks so that everyone knows its a peanut butter cookie. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the bottoms are light brown.

Taken From: Miller, Jan, ed. Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation, 2006. Simplified by Monica.