Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour                               1 cup
• granulated sugar                                3/4 cup
• Cocoa powder                                  2 tbsp
• Baking powder                                  2 tsp
• Salt                                                   1/4 tsp
• Milk                                                  1/2 cup
• Oil                                                     2 tbsp
• Vanilla esscence                                 1 tsp
• Chopped nuts                                    1 cup
• Brown sugar                                      1 cup
• Cocoa powder                                  1/4 cup
• Hot water                                          1 3/4 cups
• Ice cream, if desired

Method:

1. Heat oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, the baking powder and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir in nuts. Spread in pan.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa over batter. Pour water over batter.
4. Bake about 40 minutes or until top is dry.
5. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes. Top with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving. 

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk choc chips
• 1/2 cup white choc chips
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 200g Western Star Salt Reduced Butter
• 2 eggs

Method

1. Sifted flour, cocoa and brown sugar into a large bowl, stir in choc chips. 
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave on medium heat, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly then whisk in eggs. 
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Roll heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and arrange on a baking paper lined tray, flatten slightly with palm of your hand. Bake at 170°C for 10-12 minutes, the cookies will look cooked but still be soft. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
• 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Salt for sprinkling (do not use fine grain table salt as the flavor will be way off and unpleasant)
• Sugar Dredging Mixture

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside. Mix together the sugar dredging mixture in another bowl and set aside.
• Place 10 tablespoons of butter into a thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat. The butter will foam a bit before subsiding. Once the butter takes on a tan color and begins to smell nutty take it off of the heat. Add the other two tablespoons of butter and mix it in until it melts.
• Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once. Add the flour mixture in three increments being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom once or twice. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be very thick.
• Take 1/2 to full tablespoon-sized pieces of dough and gently roll them into ball shapes. Dredge them in the sugar dredging mixture until well-coated. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little bit of the sprinkling salt (be reserved with the salt as very little goes a long way).
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have browned a bit. Be careful not to over-bake. Allow to cool on the sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Tastes best with a glass of milk for dipping.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of Nutella chocolate spread
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix for 10 seconds.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda (do not skip this step as sifting eliminates clumps of cocoa). Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the bottom and sides at least once to ensure even mixing. Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes.
• Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar

• 2 lightly beaten eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla esscence

• 2 tbsp water

• 1 1/2 cups bitter-sweet chocolate chips

• 1 cup chopped pecan nuts

• 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

• 3 cups oats

Method:

• Place sticks of butter in a thick-bottomed medium sized stainless-steel saucepan. (It's important to use a saucepan that has a light, reflective interior like stainless steel; otherwise you won't be able to see the butter browning.) Heat on medium. Melt the butter, whisking so that the butter melts evenly. Continue to cook the butter. As it cooks, the butter will foam up, and then the foam will subside. Whisk frequently to check underneath the bubbly surface. At some point, browned bits will form at the bottom of the pan and the butter will begin to smell nutty. Watch carefully, it's easy for the butter to go from browned to burn. When the browned bits begin to form, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the melted butter, with the browned bits, into a glass or metal bowl. Allow to cool a bit while you prepare the other ingredients.

• Vigorously whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

• Preheat oven to 175°C. Place the browned butter in a mixer bowl. Add the brown and white sugar. Beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for three more minutes on medium speed until smooth and light.

• Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter sugar egg mixture. Stir in 2 Tbsp water.

• Stir in the chocolate chips, and the pecans and shredded coconut (if using). Stir in the oatmeal. Up to this point you can make the dough up to a day and a half ahead and store in the refrigerator.

• Butter two large cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper. Spoon out heaping tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and lay them on the cookie sheet. Make sure you have about 2" of space between each cookie, as they will flatten a little and spread on the cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes, or until they are just brown around the edges, but still soft in the center. They will firm up as they cool. (If you want them crispier, you can bake them from 12-14 minutes. 10 minutes will help yield a chewier cookie.)

• Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool for two or three minutes on the hot baking sheet. Then, using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the still-hot cookies to a wire rack to cool. They will continue to be soft until completely cooled. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugars, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture.
2. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.
4. For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.

Brownies

Ingredients:

• flour                                             1/2 cup
• sugar                                            1 cup
• cocoa powder                              1/2 cup
• butter                                           4 ounces
• salt                                               1/2 tsp
• eggs                                              2
• vanilla extract                                1/2 tsp
• baking powder                              1/4 tsp
• chopped walnuts of pecan nuts      1/2 cup

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.
• In a mixing bowl beat butter, sugar and eggs untill light and fluffy.
• Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the nuts.
• Spread in the baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
• Cut brownies while still a little warm. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.