Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

Here's the promised recipe, Kaylee!

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cupcake pans.

Prepare the "surprise" filling:

Mix together:
1 8-oz. package softened cream cheese
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla

Prepare your favorite chocolate cake recipe, or use a mix. Fill pans with cake batter. Drop a little of surprise filling in batter and sprinkle with a few mini chocolate chips. Bake cake according to directions. Let cool completely, and frost with chocolate frosting.

Hershey's Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

I spotted this recipe in a magazine at least 17 years ago. When I really want chocolate, this hits the spot every time! The cake is extremely moist, and it has the most decadent, rich fudge sauce ~ a chocolate lover's dream!

Ingredients:

1-1/4 c. granulated sugar, divided
1 c. all-purpose flour
7 T. Hershey's cocoa powder, divided
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. melted butter
1-1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1-1.4 c. hot water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 c. of the granulated sugar, flour, 3 T. of the cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Spread batter into ungreased 8 or 9 inch square baking pan. In another small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 c. granulated sugar, brown sugar, and remaining 4 T. cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Pour hot water over the top of the dry ingredients. DO NOT STIR!

Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over the top. Garnish with whipped cream or serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

For extra chocolate goodness, I love Breyer's Triple Chocolate ice cream ~ white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate all together! Delicious!

Utterly Peanut Buttery Bars

These are delicious right out of the oven! The filling transforms into this incredibly decadent peanut butter-flavored caramel that's a dream! If you love peanut butter, this dessert's for you!

Preheat oven to 375.

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c. peanut butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1-1/2 c. flour

For the filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
2 T. peanut butter

Directions:

Crust:
Mix butter, peanut butter & sugar until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Add flour & mix well. (Mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1 c. of mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into 9x13 pan. (I prefer using an 11x7.)

Filling:
Beat eggs & sugars together until smooth. Add in peanut butter. Spread over unbaked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping mixture. Bake 20 minutes if using the 9x13, (If using the 11x7, bake an additional 15 minutes.) or until golden. Let cool in pan, cut into bars. Makes 2 dozen bars of rich, peanut buttery deliciousness!

Delectable Pink Lemonade Pie

My mom made this several times every summer! It's extremely rich, so cut those slices on the small side!

Ingredients:
1 large graham cracker pie crust
1 can frozen pink lemonade
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 small container of Cool Whip, thawed

Directions:
Set out the pink lemonade so that it is slushy in consistency. Combine Eagle Brand and Cool Whip in a mixing bowl, fold in lemonade. Pour into graham cracker pie crust. Place in freezer for 30-45 minutes. Serve cold.
This dessert is wonderful on a hot summer evening!