chewy red velvet chocolate chip cookies.

I know I know I've made red velvet cookies and posted them on here before but I just had to try this new recipe and share them with you because they were beyond delicious!

Just a few notes about this recipe...I doubled the recipe because the website I got this from (listed below) said it only makes 12-15 cookies. And that just isn't enough cookies in my opinion (plus I wanted both Grant and I to be able to share some at work)! Doubling the recipe worked great- I made the cookies smaller and got 5 1/2 dozen.

I used Nestle Toll House's Dark Chocolate & Red Morsels and they were AWESOME.  I got them on sale after Valentines Day and finally got around to using them. Although I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips, I believe any kind of chocolate chips would work great- white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or semi sweet chocolate chips. 

Speaking of chocolate chips, you could use a whole bag for this recipe if you wanted to because there's no such thing as too many chocolate chips!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2-1 cup chocolate chips* 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. 

3. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined, scraping down the sides when needed. 

4. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop out 1/2-1 tablespoon of dough and set on baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Recipe Credit: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/10/red-velvet-chocolate-chip-cookies-from-scratch/

homemade funfetti cake.

I had the honor of making my sister in law's birthday cake last weekend. I heard she liked funfetti cake so I just had to make this version. It was homemade, incredibly moist, and most importantly delicious.

The frosting was also to die for, seriously. It was rich and creamy. It calls for heavy cream which sounds deadly but it's all worth it for the flavor. 

The birthday girl!

Ingredients:

CAKE

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup yogurt  (plain or vanilla; or greek yogurt; or sour cream)
• 3/4 cup milk (cow's milk; or soy milk; or almond milk)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sprinkles (not nonpareils)

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. 

2. Spray a 9-inch springform or baking pan (round or square) with nonstick spray. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

4. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in the sugars vigorously getting out any brown sugar lumps - mixture will be gritty. Whisk in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. 

5. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil (loosely to avoid the top from sticking to the foil). Bake for 13-17 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

7. To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add 1/4 teaspoon (or more) if frosting is too sweet. Frost cooled cake as desired and top with sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you wish to use.

Recipe from http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/03/19/easy-homemade-funfetti-cake/