Marble Brownies

These brownies didn't turn out as moist as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the combination of white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate on top.

Marble Brownies

Ingredients:

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 ounce unsweetened chocolates

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9-inch pan with aluminum foil. Leave some foil over the edge for handles. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, melt the 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate, 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate, and butter for one minute on high. Add cocoa powder and stir. The butter should be all melted, but the chocolate won't. Microwave another 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, combined the sugar and salt. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the eggs, stirring after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Place flour and baking powder into sifter and sift into mixture.

Spread in pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle semisweet chips and white chocolate chips on top. Bake one more minute. Then use knife to swirl the two types of chocolate on top. Use foil handles to lift brownies from pan.

Ginger-Pear-Lime Jello

I made this as a side dish for Easter dinner, but you could easily add Cool Whip and call it dessert. This recipe is adapted from the Kraft Under-the-Sea Jello Salad.

Ginger-Pear-Lime Jello

Ingredients:
1 large (15 oz) can of pear halves
2 cups boiling water
1 large box of limo Jello
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Dice the pear halves and save the juice.

In medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the jello and salt. Continue stirring for two minutes until jello is completely dissolved. Mix in pear juice, lemon juice, and lime juice.

Pour two and a half cups of jello mixture into clear 9x13 baking dish. Refrigerate for an hour. Jello should be partially set but not firm.

Beat remaining jello mixture and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in diced pears and ginger. Spoon over first layer.

Refrigerate at least four hours before serving.

Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

Cupcakes are good, but cupcakes filled with something sweet are even better.

Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Lemon cake mix with ingredients listed on box
Raspberry Pastry and Cake Filling
Cool Whip

Tools:
Melon baller
Decorating bag

Bake the lemon cupcakes as directed on the box.

Use the melon baller to scoop out a portion of the top center of each cupcake. Save these scooped-out sections.

Mix some of the raspberry filling with the Cool Whip. Place the mixture into a decorating bag and pipe a small amount into the hollow section in each cupcake. Replace the scooped-out portion.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes as usual.

Easter Cupcakes!

Happy Easter! This post will probably reach you too late to enjoy this year (unless, of course, you're Greek Orthodox and celebrating next weekend), but I thought I'd share anyway. You can always keep it in mind for next year. :)

Easter Cupcakes

There are actually two different designs here. The one requires coconut; the other requires a special decorating tip.

Method #1: Green Coconut Grass

In a small bowl, place the desired amount of coconut. Add a few drops of green food coloring and then toss like you're making a salad. Continue tossing until the green dye has spread as evenly as possible.

Ice your cupcake with white icing. Sprinkle some green coconut on top to be your "Easter grass." Then add a few jelly beans or chocolate candy eggs.


Method #2: Green Icing Grass

Tint your icing green. Fit a decorating bag with Wilton tip #233. (This tip has many tiny openings on top. It's good for making grass as well as hair.) Put your icing in the bag and hold your bag directly above your cupcake. Squeeze and pull up quickly. Release the bag after a short squeeze, and you'll have a little tuft of grass. Continue all over the top of the cupcake and then add your jelly bean or chocolate candy eggs.
If you want a fun way to display them, you can add some colorful plastic grass around the edges like I did in the photo above. Just don't let your guests eat the plastic grass. :)

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies tasted good, but they were a little crunchy for my liking. The centers were still chewy, so if you like that kind of crunchy outside, chewy inside cookie, then this one's for you!

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm going to do something a little different today. Usually, I take an old recipe or two, make some changes, and then come up with my own version.

For this cookie, I didn't change a thing from the original recipe. I found it on two different websites: The Curvy Carrot and How Sweet It Is. The second site claims the cookies are supposed to be chewy, so maybe I simply left mine in the oven a tad too long.

Nonetheless, since I didn't make any changes, simply click on the link to either website if you want the recipe. I'll be a kind blogger and throw some traffic their way. :)