Super Addictive Brownies

August 1, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

You know I love a good brownie. Delicious, moist and full of chocolaty goodness! Well, now I’m totally obsessed with these Super Addictive Brownies, with a fabulous frosting and marshmallow layer adding to it’s perfectness!

Super Addictive Brownies / by Busy Mom's Helper #Brownies #Chocolate #Dessert

So today I’m in one of those moods where I really have no idea what to say. Nothing much going on, feeling a bit ‘blah’, so how about we just go right on to these absolutely delicious, superly addicting brownies? Luckily I made two pans, one for Flash to take to work (they raved about how yummy they were), and one for us. Or, I guess I should say half for me and half for the rest of my family. Ya, I was pretty bad calorie wise with these, but they were oh so good!

Ingredients – Brownies:

1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Butter, melted
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. Vanilla
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag mini marshmallows (enough to do a full layer of a 9×13 pan)

Ingredients – Frosting:

1/2 cup Butter, melted
1/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup Evaporated milk
4 cups Powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan, set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.Mix in the butter, whisked eggs, and vanilla for about 4 minutes, or until well blended. Add the chocolate chips. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Don’t overcook!
Remove from oven, spread the marshmallows in a layer on top, and return to the oven for about 3-4 minutes, or until the marshmallows are puffy and turning golden brown on top. Remove from oven and cool completely. (now you can turn the oven off)
For the frosting, beat together the ingredients until fluffy. When brownies are completely cooled, spread the frosting on top.

Makes one 9×13 pan of decently thick brownies.

Mint Marshmallow Cookies (in a blender!)

February 6, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

Who else is all about the FOOD during Super Bowl? That’s me all the way – it doesn’t matter what teams are playing, all that matters is delicious game day food we can enjoy guilt-free! Since I don’t believe in a super bowl party without yummy desserts to snack on – we whipped up these delicious Mint Marshmallow Cookies really quick – in a blender!

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Yes, you heard that right – blender cookies are my new crazy thing, and I love how easy it is! A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have believed you could make cookie dough in a blender, but when I received a Nutri Ninja® Auto-iQ Pro Compact System (for free to review) and tested out their dough blades, it was like magic!

My favorite features in a nutshell:

Different blades and speeds for a variety of uses
EASY to clean – seriously, the dough slid out and hardly any stayed in the blender!
Grips to counter/table on the bottom of the blender
Thermos cup is extra insulated to keep things cold longer

Anywho, this blender is AWESOME, and I’ve really enjoyed using it for my daily smoothies and many other fun recipes!

Now on to these moist, creamy pudding cookies with just a hint of mint – topped with gooey marshmallows! Sounds delish, right? Well they are! I adapted them from my mint pudding cookie recipe, but I love these tweaks to it!

Ingredients

1 1/2 Sticks Butter, softened
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 cup Sugar
1 small pack INSTANT Vanilla pudding (3.4 oz)
2 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. Mint Extract
2 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips
Marshmallows for topping

If you aren’t using a blender, just use a mixer to blend instead.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Spray or line 2 baking sheets, set aside.
Add the butter, brown sugar, regular sugar, pudding mix, eggs, vanilla and mint extract together to the blender until creamy.
Add the flour and baking soda and blend until well-combined. Add in the chocolate chips just until combined. Scoop the dough in 1″ balls, pressing down slightly, onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake about 6-8 minutes. Top with a few marshmallows in the center, then bake another 1-2 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown.
Allow to cool on sheets about 2 minutes, then remove to cooling racks.

Enjoy these yummy pudding cookies along with your other game day foods!

More Game Day Recipes

Polar Express Treats

December 20, 2015 by Nikki Cole

Polar Express Hot Chocolate!

Ever watch Polar express and see the hot chocolate scene and think how amazing that hot chocolate has to be? Every time I watch Polar Express I have to have hot chocolate and now have a recipe for Polar Express Hot Chocolate that is amazing!

This recipe is pretty simple but it does take longer than sticking a cup of water in the microwave and pouring in a packet. This recipe is also very versatile where you can take out things or adjust it to your liking, like when I am in a hurry I will usually just mix a little heavy whipping cream, milk, and hot cocoa mix together. With this recipe you can also have a fun hot chocolate party with your kids or in my case my sister and friends. So try it out, change it up, but grab a cup and the movie Polar Express and enjoy!

Ingredients:

¾ cup heavy whipping cream
½ can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
¾ cup milk chocolate chips (make sure they are milk because semi and dark make it not so sweet)
3 cups milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
Toppings! Marshmallows, chocolate chips, cool whip, candy canes, or whatever you like on your hot chocolate!

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a medium pot (except for toppings) and stir until chocolate chips are melted. Can also put in a slow cooker.
Once melted take off burner and let cool for 20 – 30 minutes or faster if you put it in the fridge. Usually getting it all melted boils the liquid and no one wants to burn their tongue so just make sure it’s not boiling when you try or your kids try to drink it.
Pour hot chocolate into a cup and top with desired toppings and enjoy!

Polar Express Cupcakes

Now we have our drink for the movie and you can’t watch a movie without some kind of treat. These Polar Express Cupcakes are perfect for those with a sweet tooth. These cupcakes also carry a little surprise in the middle of them.

I use a basic betty crocker cupcake recipe and a vanilla cream cheese frosting, but really you can use whatever recipe you like.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup hot water
2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
¾ cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag large marshmallows

Toppings:

Candy canes
Mini chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows
Mini candy canes
Christmas sprinkles

Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1 – 4 tablespoons milk (I usually end up using just over 2 tablespoons)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350⁰ F. Place cupcake liners into cooking sheet.
In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder together and set aside. Mix hot water and cocoa together until dissolved; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat shortening until creamy, then slowly add sugar about ¼ cup at a time beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla.
Alternating between flour mixture and cocoa mixture slowly add to the mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners filling them about 2/3 full. (about 24 cupcakes)
Cut 12 marshmallows in half and place in the middle of each cupcake, you don’t have to press them all the way down.
Bake 20 – 25 minutes. Marshmallows will have mostly dissolved and look messy but that’s ok because they’ll be covered.
Once you pull the cupcakes out place 1 marshmallow into the crater or you could just place a half marshmallow.
Place cupcakes back into oven for about 3 – 5 minutes just until marshmallows get softened.
Pull out and let cool completely, very important they are cool before you start frosting.

Frosting directions

Place butter in a mixing bowl and cream. Add cream cheese and mix until full combined and smooth.
Add vanilla and powdered sugar and blend on low until fluffy.
Slowly add milk a little at a time until the right consistency.
Beat until fluffy, about 1 – 2 minutes

Decorate! Frost the cupcakes, then add any toppings you would like. To finish it off place a mini candy cane on the side for a “Handle” for a nice Hot Chocolate Cupcake! Try adding ¼ teaspoon mint extract to the cupcakes or frosting for a nice mint flavor!