Triple Chocolate Cake

We have parent conferences at school today and tonight, so I knew we would need some serious chocolate to get through. This cake did not disappoint! It is super moist and loaded with chocolate.


Triple Chocolate Cake
(Recipe from this blog)

1 18.25-oz package chocolate cake mix (I tend to find cake mixes with the words "triple" and "fudge" and "supermoist" on the box work best)
1 3.9-oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like the Ghirardelli ones)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

2. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, hot water, sour cream and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into bundt pan.

3. Bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack and let cool completely.

And then, for the glaze, I do this:

DARK CHOCOLATE GLAZE
4 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate (again, I like Ghirardelli's)
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

In small, heavy saucepan or microwave oven on medium, melt broken chocolate with butter. Stir frequently until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in milk, syrup and vanilla. When glaze is cool, pour onto cake. Let glaze run down sides. Chill about 10 minutes to set glaze.

Peanut Butter Cookies

My dad loves peanut butter cookies and has been saying he really wants some the past few weeks. He even had a pouch of mix and was trying to convince someone at home to make them for him. So since I will be seeing him today, I decided to make him some. I used the old but reliable Jif recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies
(Recipe from Jif)

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Combine peanut butter, shortening, light brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2" apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

4. Bake at 375°F for 7-8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.