Chocolate and Chocolate Whoopie Pies

 

First attempt at whoopie pies and they were a success! I might tweak the recipe a bit, we loved the cake-like consistency of the cookie portion but I think they could have been just a tad smaller. Believe me, go big or go home, but these were monstrous and filling! Also, I used chocolate cream cheese frosting this go-around, maybe I'll try a vanilla frosting next time. With mini-chocolate chips. 

Ingredients: 

Cookies: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Set oven to 375 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. In a medium bowl whisk together first 4 ingredients - flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

3. In a larger bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Your mixture will look soft yellow in color. 

4. Add half of the flour mix to the large bowl and combine slowly with mixer. Add the milk and vanilla, beat on low. Add remaining flour mix and beat until combined fully. 

5. I used a tablespoon, scooped and plopped onto the parchment-lined baking sheet spacing about 2 inches apart. I tried to make sure that my scoops were about the same size so as to easily pair with another cookie to form the whoopie pie. 

6. Bake for 12-13 minutes and allow to cool first on the baking sheet and then move to a wire rack. 

Frosting: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 oz block of cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups powered sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, add the butter and cream cheese. Using a hand mixer, combine until smooth. 

2. Add vanilla extract and salt. Mix again on low. 

3. With mixer on low, slowly begin to add the powdered sugar. Then add the cocoa powder, using a spatula in between to scrape down the sides of the bowl incorporating everything together. 

This recipe is good for about 24 cupcakes so this is more than enough for the whoopie pies depending on how much you scoop onto each cookie. Any frosting leftover can be placed into an airtight container, allowing to sit out for a little bit on the counter when you need to use it again. 

Flowers are a girl's best friend

 

The blog needed some Chicco love

 

I love this cat. Me? Someone that said they would prefer a dog over a cat anyday. Not until this little love came into our lives. He is the best. 

Tie-Dye Fun!

Summer in America to me means tie-dye. Don't ask me why but we did it and we had a lot of fun. I may have had more fun than the kids did. Simple, not-messy and we love our creations!

 

The day began with hot, fresh donuts

I wasn't lying, it began with hot, fresh donuts. That's what the sign said when we were driving by the falls and Anthony pulled into a big shoulder of the road near a wildlife preserve. And there was a tiny little food truck selling "Hot, Fresh Donuts!" Perfect start to the day. 

We drove from Seneca Lake to Keuka Lake to the small lake town of Hammondsport and it was love at first sight for me. Such a sweet town, quaint shops and restaurants and not very busy at all. 

We took a walk through the town, one adorable house after another and found these great painter's palettes throughout town. This was one of my favorite. Of course, a big, red barn. 

The lake was sublime. Just perfect, on a perfect weather day. I could have sat there for hours just staring across this work of art. 

Did I mention that there were antique shops? Another reason I loved this town. 

Oh. And my lunch helped too. Aside from the meat (I'm a vegetarian), it was incredible. My son ate the meat pieces. 

Onto our next and final campground for the trip! But first...tractors and farms! 

 

Welcome to the Finger Lakes Region!

I fell in love with the landscape of Western New York and I was so excited to be entering the Finger Lakes region. One farm after another, red barns and cows for as far as the eye could see and bright blue skies and fluffy clouds.

Being our first family RV trip, I did plenty of research looking into places that weren't too far away, were participating in social distancing and that would be beautiful. We lucked out with the Finger Lakes. We definitely crammed a lot into a few days but in the end I think it was worth it so we could see as much as possible and decide what to return back to in the future.

So, our first Finger Lake where we stayed at a lake campground was Seneca Lake. The campground was right across a small street from the lake and we arrived just in time for dinner and the sunset. What a welcoming gift!

Simple Chocolate Cake

I woke this morning thinking about chocolate cake. But not just any chocolate cake, something simple with no frills ingredients that I would have on hand so I could make it from scratch. After researching my go-to, Pinterest, I decided to mix and match to make my own version from the many that I looked at online. I also wanted to make only one 8inch cake pan worth of cake too. This way, this little experiment of mine wouldn't be too much of a waste in the event my taste-testers weren't satisfied. 

Cake Recipe #1

Ingredients: 

1 cup flour, sifted

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (if you don't have applesauce, use 1/2 cup vegetable oil)

1/2 cup buttermilk (I did not have buttermilk so did a substitute - 2 tsp apple cider vinegar added to a measuring glass, filled remainder of glass to 1/2 cup line with half & half)

1/2 cup hot water

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8inch cake pan with butter or equivalent. 

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and gently whisk together. 

3. In a separate bowl, add the remaining ingredients: egg, applesauce, buttermilk or buttermilk substitute and water. Mix together until just combined. 

4. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and using a mixer on low, beat for a few minutes until smooth. Pour into prepared baking pan. 

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

6. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan. Gently sift powered sugar on top before serving. 

So, right away I'm going to admit that if you like sweet desserts, this might not be the dessert for you. We like chocolate in this house and are pretty particular about our sweets. While this cake is good, it wasn't sweet enough for us. Also, it has a fudge-like consistency, which is very good because we love fudge in this house, but again, not as sweet as I'm used to with a box mix but still good. 

Erie, Pennsylvania

Our first overnight campground was situated on Lake Erie and was so peaceful. Small, clean and right on the water, the breeze coming off at night and in the morning was so perfect. After breakfast we took a walk near the campground to an inlet off of Lake Erie and then once we closed our RV site, drove to Presque Isle State Park for a drive around the peninsula and to make a simple lunch right on the beach in the RV.

The space was so relaxing, I loved it instantly.

Presque Isle Lighthouse was closed to visitors due to the Pandemic, but we were able to take a short walk to get a closer look. Leaving Erie for our next campground we drove by a chocolate factory and had to stop.