Ultimate Gooey Brownies

Brownies are a girl's best friend.  Wait, maybe that's diamonds.  Well, brownies are definitely top three.  I know what you're thinking.  Based on the above picture, these don't look like a very good quality of brownie.  It didn't stay in a perfect square; it fell apart!  If you like super-hard fudgy brownies, this recipe isn't for you.  But if you like your brownies gooey and melt-in-your-mouth moist, try this recipe.  You will never make brownies from a box again.  The best part is that this recipe is so simple, most of the ingredients are things you keep in your pantry anyway.  With the exception, perhaps, of the chocolate chips.  Unless you are like my mother, then you keep chocolate chips on hand too.

What You Need

-1 1/2 Cup sugar
-3/4 Cup flour
-3/4 Cup cocoa powder
-3/4 Cup of butter, melted (That's 1 and 1/2 stick)
-3/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs

What You Do

-Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 8x8 baking pan.
-Combine all ingredients.  Mix by hand; do not beat.
-Bake about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean or mostly clean.

The finished consistency will seem almost like they are not cooked through, but it will melt in your mouth.  Best if served warm.

Servings: 16
Approximate Cost: $3.50

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling

Mom discovered this recipe on Pinterest.  It comes from a blog called Dreamy Desserts.  Here is a link to the original recipe.  When mom said she wanted to make them, I was thinking, "Why have pumpkin when you can have chocolate?" but figured it was something to do.  I have to say... These are absolutely amazing!  They would be welcome at anyone's Thanksgiving festivities, and I can guarantee you they will grace my table!

What You Need

Cookies

-1Tablespoon Cinnamon
-1 teaspoon Baking Soda
-1 teaspoon Baking Powder
-1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
-1/2 teaspoon Salt
-1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

-1 cup Brown Sugar

-1 cup Sugar

-1 cup Vegetable Oil

-1 - 15 oz.Can of Pumpkin

-2 Large Eggs

-1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Filling

-1 8oz Package Cream Cheese, softened

-1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature

-1 16oz Package Powdered Sugar (Or 2 Cups)

-1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together brown sugar, white sugar, oil, and pumpkin.  Add eggs one at a time, beating in between.  Add Vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients.  Slowly incorporate dry ingredients, beating in between additions.

Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a freezer back with the corner snipped, pipe cooking onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Start in the middle and spiral outward, making each cooking about 2 inches in diameter.  Bake for 11 minutes and cool on rack.

Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese and butter.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Beat until smooth.  After the cooking have cooled, cover the flat side of the cookie with frosting, then cover with another cookie, making a sandwich.

Enjoy them warm or chill overnight.

This recipe for me made 4 batches of 15 cookies, and a 5th batch of 16 cookies.  After being iced, that's 38 cookies.  The frosting recipe was exactly enough, quite literally.  Not too little and none left over.

-Servings: 38

-Approximate Cost: $8, assuming these spices are already in your pantry.

S'mores Croissants

First off, please forgive the quality of the above picture.  My camera wasn't cooperating.  Now, I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was a neat idea.  The original pin came from a blog and can be found here.  I did them a little different, but they were good all the same!

What You Need

-1 roll of Crescent Rolls
-About 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips because I had an open bag but they were a pain to keep on the dough!)
-About 1 cup or 40 mini marshmallows
-1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

What You Do

 Start by spraying your cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Don't be like me and forget!  Preheat your oven to 375.  Unroll and separate the crescent rolls.  Add approximately 1/8th of a cup of chocolate chips for each triangle.  Push them down into the dough; it makes them stay in place when you roll the dough up.  Add about 5 mini marshmallows on each triangle.

Begin rolling each triangle, starting with the wide end.  I ended up having to tuck the corners of the wide end around also, to keep all of my annoying little escapee chips in.  In a saucer, mix the sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mix on top of each s'mores roll.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown.  Enjoy!

Servings: 8
Approximate Cost: $3