Kahlua Cake Cookies

Yep! Cookies. I wasn’t quite ready for another cake so soon after the Rum Cake, but since Bob decided he was going to finish off the last of the chocolate chip cookies I made, I decided on Kahlua Cake.


I knew there was a way to turn cake mix into cookie dough and I found it. The ingredients used for the cookies are a little different than for the cake, but the taste is insanely delicious, so I will probably be experimenting on other cake mixes and add-ins for more cookie adventures.

 
Kahlua Cake


1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
½ cup Kahlua
1 bag (12 ounces) chocolate chips or 1 disk of chopped Mexican chocolate
Powdered sugar
Freshly made whipped cream, optional

Mix first six ingredients then add chocolate chips and blend in well. Grease and flour Bundt pan. Pour in batter and bake in 350º F. oven for 1 hour. After cake is cooled, sift powdered sugar on top. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Instruction for Converting Cake Mix into Cookie Dough
http://www.ehow.com/how_4869707_convert-cake-mix-cookie-dough.html

Grease a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You can also use vegetable oil spray or parchment sheets instead of grease, if desired.

Mix together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mixing the wet ingredients together first helps prevent dry pockets of mix from occurring in your dough.

Add the cake mix to the wet ingredients and stir until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. You can use any flavor of cake mix that you prefer. Flavored cake mixes, such as lemon and strawberry, work just as well as the traditional chocolate, white and yellow cake mixes.

Include any optional ingredients at this point. You can add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins, oatmeal, shredded coconut or anything else to make your cookies taste as though they have been made from scratch. Mix well after adding optional ingredients.

Roll the cookie dough into small balls and place them on the greased cookie sheet. You can use a teaspoon to help you make the cookies a uniform size, or may want to use a cookie scoop. Place the cookies at least 1 inch apart to allow for spreading as the cookies bake.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven when they are slightly browned on the bottom and place them on a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 15 minutes before eating.

Note:  I followed these instructions eliminating the chocolate pudding and sour cream from the basic cake recipe. Instead of adding vanilla to the dough I added 1 (slightly overflowing) tablespoon of Kahlua. Then I continued to shape the cookie balls and bake as directed. It’s kind of Kahlua Cake To-Go. Enjoy.

Bob's given these a thumbs up, so I guess they're pretty good.  I love cookies.

Pinwheel Cookies

For Christmas I made some Hershey Kiss Cookies for my son and daughter. One batch with pecans one batch without. This is another cookie recipe that my son Mikey likes to have around the holidays. I did make a batch, but Bob kept eating them, so I had to place them in a tin with a big note saying “Do NOT Touch”.

I felt bad about it so I decided to make my honey his own pinwheels. I think I’ll surprise him with a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped off with a couple of these delicious cookies for dessert after dinner tonight. He can take the rest to work with him (or else I’ll just eat them all!)

Pinwheels
(BAKER’S Book of Chocolate Riches)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 squares BAKER’S unsweetened chocolate, melted

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Divide dough in half; blend melted chocolate into one half.

Roll chocolate and vanilla doughs separately between sheets of waxed paper into 12x8-inch rectangles. Remove top sheets of paper and invert vanilla dough onto chocolate dough. Remove remaining papers. Roll up on long side and then wrap in plastic. Freeze for 1 hour. Cut into ¼-inch slices and place on cookie sheets that have been been covered with parchment paper.

Bake at 375-degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or just until cookies have began to brown around edges. Cool on racks. Makes about 4 dozen.

NOTE: I made these with a sprinkle of cinnamon in the vanilla dough and used almond flavoring in both vanilla and chocolate doughs. I wanted to use Mexican chocolate, but I would have had to reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe and I have not experimented yet to see by how much. So for now, I just gave it the flavor essence of Mexican chocolate.

Mexican Coffee Fudge

I know it's crazy.  It's past the holidays and I'm still craving chocolate.  But hey, I've lost 14 pounds over the last 4 months, so a little more chocolate isn't really going to hurt.  All things in moderation!

Look at that silky smoothness of the fudge.  AND I didn't even use marshmallows to make it.  A while back I realized I had accumulated way too many food and cooking magazines.  It kills me to give them away or to throw them out GASP!!!  But, in order for me to buy anymore, I really do have to weed out some of the ones I do have.

I found a couple of CHOCOLATIER magazines that I hadn't leafed through for a while and I found this little Mexican Coffee Fudge recipe.  A few ingredients (no marshmallows) a little time and TADA! you have delicious fudge cut into little pieces that you can eat without feeling guilty (like when you eat a big old slice of cake).    The only adaptation I made to the recipe was to reduce the amount of milk from 1 cup to 3/4 cup and add some Mocha Kahlua for the other 1/4 cup.  Came out really tasty.

It's a recipe you might want to keep in mind as Valentine's Day rolls around.  Enjoy.

Mexican Coffee Fudge
(Inspired by a recipe found in a 2005 CHOCOLATIER Magazine)

2 ½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup Mocha Kahlua Liqueur
3 cups granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped


Butter an 8–inch square baking dish and set aside.

Dissolve the espresso powder and cinnamon in 3 teaspoons of hot water. Stir until a paste forms. Set aside.

In heavy bottom saucepan heat milk, Kahlua, sugar, butter and chocolate over medium heat until it reaches a boil. Do not stir or scrape down sides.

Lower heat and add a candy thermometer. Heat without stirring until mixture reaches softball stage – 238 degrees F.

Remove from heat; allow to cool to 110 degrees F. and then with a spatula scrape in espresso mixture.

In an electric mixer, using a paddle attachment, beat mixture until it loses its gloss and thickens.

Spread fudge evenly into prepared 8-inch square pan. Let cool 20 minutes and cut into small squares.

Note:  I just added some craisins on the plate cause I was snacking on some.