Perfect Chocolate Frosting

This is exactly what the title says - PERFECT CHOCOLATE FROSTING. It is a-freakin'-mazing.

This ain't no grainy buttercream with a bit of cocoa thrown in to make it powdery brown and cocoa-flavored. No, this is frosting of the smoothest, creamiest caliber, with a rich, dark chocolate flavor that simply can't be beat.

It is perfection.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting 
2 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. milk chocolate, melted and cooled

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, about 5-10 seconds. Scrape the bowl again, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10-15 seconds. Pipe or spread onto cake, cupcakes, cookies, or straight into your mouth.

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party

Chicken Cordon Bleu Braid

I love Chicken Cordon Bleu. Absolutely love it. I do not, however, love pounding and rolling chicken. It's messy and not very fun. So a few weeks ago I tried this shortcut Chicken Cordon Bleu, which involves slicing the breast in half lengthwise instead of pounding it, and layering the ingredients instead of rolling them in the chicken. It turned out great!

Here is another fun variation on this classic dish. All the components of Chicken Cordon Bleu are wrapped up in bread dough and baked into an easy and delicious loaf.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Braid
2 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
1-2 tsp. minced garlic
Deli ham
Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup parmesan
1 loaf bread dough

Preheat oven to 375. Saute chicken with garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Combine cream soup, mustard, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, and parmesan. Set aside.

Roll out bread dough into large rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut 1-inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side.

Spread soup mixture down the center strip (use a lot or a little, depending on how saucy you want your loaf. You might not use all the sauce). Top with the chicken, ham, and cheese. Fold the side strips over filling, alternating strips from each side and pressing them into the dough on the opposite side, forming a braid. Pinch or twist to seal.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Let cool a bit, then slice and enjoy!

Linked to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party

Divinity

Wow, I'm actually posting a recipe! I haven't really done anything on this blog in almost a year. Crazy.

Anywhooooo.......

Jeff made this delicious divinity this afternoon. Divinity is a light, fluffy candy that is like the love child of clouds and marshmallows. It's soft and airy, with a little bit of chewy, and a touch of crunch from pecans. Very yummy, I'm so glad that Jeff decided to make it.

Divinity
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 large egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 2 drops food color, if desired
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Cook sugar, corn syrup, and water (use 1 tbsp less water on humid days) in 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring to 260 degrees on candy thermometer, until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water forms a hard ball that holds its shape but is pliable.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently transfer egg whites to large bowl. Continue beating constantly on medium speed while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites. Add vanilla and food color. Beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in nuts.

Quickly drop heaping teaspoonfuls of mixture from buttered spoon onto waxed paper. Let stand uncovered at room temperature at least 4 hours, but no longer than 12 hours until candies feel firm and are dry to the touch. Store in airtight container.

Cookies n Cream No-Bake Cheesecake

Right about this time, Oreo is celebrating its 100th birthday. So I went and bought a couple packages of delicious chocolate sandwich cookies with the intention of making a yummy dessert to celebrate. This is what Jeff and I came up with - a light and creamy cheesecake filling with chunks of Oreos, surrounded by a crisp cookie crumb crust. Yummers!

Cookies n Cream No-Bake Cheesecake
40 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 8-oz carton whipped topping
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

For crust, place 25 cookies in food processor, crush into fine crumbs. Mix well with melted butter. Press into 9-inch pie plate. Set aside in refrigerator while you make the filling.

For filling, cream together the cream cheese, whipped topping, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer. Coarsely chop remaining cookies and fold in gently. Spread mixture into crust.

Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours or until set.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars with Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Can you believe that something with a title like that started out as a simple cake mix?

Today is Jeff's birthday, and he loves lemon-flavored desserts. I didn't feel like baking a whole cake, but naturally had to do something special for the occasion. I used the basic cake mix cookie recipe and changed it around a bit, and came up with these delicious cake bars with a rich, brownie-like texture, and a light lemon flavor. The topping is my favorite cool whip and cream cheese frosting, flavored with lemon extract.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars
1 box white or yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon juice, and lemon extract. If using white cake mix, you can also add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Mix well. Stir in white chocolate chips. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes. Let cool, then cut into bars and top with cheesecake topping.

Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 8-oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 tsp. lemon extract

Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Beat in whipped topping and lemon extract. Spoon on top of cake bars.

Seriously, this stuff is freakin' fantastic.

Taste&Create - Min's Pear Pie (but with apples)

Been a long time since I posted, I'll just jump right into this post and we'll forget about the fact that I haven't put anything up here since, um, September. Yeah.

This is a super yummy pie from The Bad Girl's Kitchen, my partner for November's Taste&Create. Taste&Create is a monthly blog event where you're paired up with another blogger, and you make a recipe form your partner's blog while they make one from yours. I chose to make Min's Pear Pie, because it looked tasty, and simple to make. And I love pie. I made it with apples instead of pears, because that's what we had on hand. I would love to try it with pears next time I make it, because there will definitely be a next time. :)

Pear (or apple) Pie

7-8 large pears (or apples), pared, cut into slices
3 TBL lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
3 TBL flour
1 tsp. lemon zest

Mix all together and spoon into one 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Sprinkle with the following mixture:

[ 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. each ginger & cinnamon
cut in 4 TBL butter until crumbly ]

Bake Pie in preheated 400 oven for about 45 minutes.

Black Forest Cobbler

I've been really into cobblers lately. After making that peach cobbler, I tried the same recipe but with a can of apple pie filling, and it turned out delicious. Then tonight, in the mood for another fruity cobbler dessert, I created this easy and tasty treat. I simply topped cherry pie filling with cake mix cookie batter. Sweet success!

Black Forest Cobbler
1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 can cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl combine cake mix, eggs, and oil. Mix well.

Spread pie filling into greased 9x13 baking dish. Drop batter by spoonfuls over pie filling. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

This would be great with ice cream or whipped cream, but even by itself it's super delicious.