Mini Chocolate Fudge Cookie Bites (weight watcher friendly)

I know we are all looking to eat healthier, these little cookies are perfect to satisfy any sugar craving I might have.  They are bite-size, so one is not enough.  Luckily they are only 1 point each.

1/3 cups cocoa (without sugar)
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar, white (I might try reducing this and substituting the difference with splenda or something like that)
4 oz. applesauce, unsweetened
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour, white
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
powder sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat cookie sheets with spray.  Place cocoa, margarine and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer.  Add applesauce and vanilla; beat to blend.  In another small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir flour mixture into cocoa batter with a wooden spoon.  Shape batter into 48 marble-sized balls  (I did a little bigger, about 1/2 a small spoon ).  Arrange 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.  Bake until set, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to stand for 1 minute.  Remove to wire rack and cool; sprinkle with a little powder sugar.  You can store any extra in freezer -safe containers and save for another day.

p.s. The first time I made these I made them what I thought was "marble sized" and I got like 5 dozen.  This time I made them too big and only got 3 dozen (so maybe 1.3 points per cookie, but WW rounds to the nearest whole number).

Healthy Peanut Butter and Chocolate No Bakes

1 Cup of Peanutbutter – use the healthy stuff (I used Adams Natural PB, the kind you have to stir)



1 Cup of honey



1/2 Cup of ground almonds (I just chopped up some almonds really fine)



1/2 Cup of ground flaxseed



3 Cups of oats



Dark chocolate or regular chocolate chips – as many as you like.



Mix it all up and roll them into balls. Then keep them in the refrigerator.


These are really good and will satisfy your peanut butter/chocolate cravings.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/4 C flour (I use whole wheat)
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2 C lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ounces baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1 t vanilla extract
3 C grated zucchini or summer squash
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a fluted cake pan.

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Beat brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.

Add flour mixture. Fold in squash.

Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert. Allow to cool completely and dust with sugar if desired.

Another Peanut Butter Bar Recipe (No Bake!)

Fair warning: this recipe is sinfully delicious.

(You can find the original here.)



No Bake Reece’s Peanut Butter Bars



1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs

1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar

1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter

1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted

1 12oz bag chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark, you pick!)

2 tsp shortening



In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined. Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9×13 pan.



Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly. Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars. Tip: If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through. Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp. They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.

Moist Chocolate Cake and Creamy Chocolate Frosting

So, first of all, to make a regular, boring, store bought Devil's Food cake mix-in-a-box taste more fabulous, just add 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream. Who knew? It really works! Just prepare the batter according to package directions, then stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream, then bake.

Now on to the good part. The frosting!

I'm a little behind on the times, and have never learned how to make homemade chocolate frosting. I LOVE the taste of the homemade SO much better than the store bought stuff. So I searched the internet, and found this recipe. I made it today for our cupcakes that we had at New Beginnings. I have to tell you, it is delicious!

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (aka powdered sugar)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter, softened, but NOT melted in the microwave
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside. (Make sure you sift it, because I didn't, and there were a few lumps of powdered sugar and cocoa in the frosting).
In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars

Why is it that I only am in the mood to bake when it is 100 degrees outside? I needed a chocolate fix and so I decided to try a recipe I found on My Kitchen Cafe.

Makes a 9x13 inch pan of bars

2 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil leaving a little hanging over the edges for easy removal. Spray foil with cooking spray.

Mix flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and fold in until just blended. Don't overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and place in pan using a spatula to smooth out the top. **I, Kristen, found that it was a very thick batter. Don't be alarmed. It's ok.**

Bake until the top of the bars are light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start to pull away from the pan. The recipe says about 24-28 minutes but I had to cook mine for about 33. I checked at 24 minutes and again at 29 minutes and then they were good to go at 33. Keep an eye on them. Cool completely and remove from pan.

These are oh so good and oh so rich. They have that slightly undercooked texture to them that I love so much because it's like eating raw cookie dough. My family gave it rave reviews as well.