It's a dangerous thing to have an entire batch of cookies around the house when it's just you and one roommate. First you justify one right out of the oven, ignoring the fact that it's really too hot to enjoy. Then you decide you need to test one out when it's warm, since that's prime cookie eating time. Then you decide you might as well have one that's room temperature because all cookies taste at least decent right out of the oven and you need to test out whether you actually like them. Next thing you know you're at three cookies in a matter of hours. Such is life.

That's why sometimes you just need to make one, giant cookie. That and the fact that who doesn't love a giant, amazing double chocolate cookie. Heaven is full of these cookies (obviously there are multiple giant cookies in heaven...and none of them have calories). It's incredibly rich and the massive amount of chocolate chips mixed with the brownie-like batter makes the cookie super gooey. I might have to make one of these every weekend because I inevitably need a quick chocolate fix every weekend. Apparently you can make four smaller cookies with this recipe as well. Four mini cookies or one giant cookie...it's a win-win.

XXL Death by Chocolate Cookie

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar (or dark brown)
• 2 Tablespoons beaten egg (crack an egg, beat it, and use 2 Tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1 Tablespoon, divided
• sprinkles, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix the softened butter and sugars together with a spoon or fork until creamed. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
3. In a separate small bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Fold in 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
4. Place the dough in the center of the baking sheet and mold into a tall ball using a spoon. Dot the top of the cookie with 1 Tablespoon of chocolate chips. Add sprinkles on top if desired. Bake for 14-15 minutes, or up to 16 minutes. The cookie will appear very soft, but will firm up as it cools. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet.

Cake pops have to be one of the most brilliant food creations of the 21st century. Cake pops, Chick-fil-a sauce and those milkshake machines they have at Sheetz and WaWa...all acts of pure genius. I make cake pops every once in awhile when I have an occasion. They're super easy, but I'd never make them just for fun because they take quite a bit of time (especially when you want to make them into shapes). For those that somehow still have not hopped on the cake pop train, here's the 'recipe' again. It's not as much of a recipe as it is steps for assembly.

I made this batch for my roommates birthday, but gave them a little Valentine's Day flair. The round ones were red velvet with cream cheese icing and the heart shaped ones are funfetti with rainbow chip icing (note that using anything other than those two types of icing with their cake counterparts is forbidden). The cake pop stand is one of my typical weird, impulsive Amazon purchases, but I LOVE it. I think it was well worth the money. It also packs up into a cute little bag. As you can see, I've already justified the purchase. I set it up at a party we had for her Saturday night, and we've been eating the leftovers with breakfast and dinner since then. Cake for breakfast. That's the way to go.

Cake Pops
Recipe from Bakerella

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
1 package white chocolate bark
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with one can frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)
I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

 

Something about anything Little Debbie or Hostess always makes me slightly nostalgic. I know most people complain about terrible school lunch food, but from middle school until I could go off campus for lunch in high school, I LOVED school lunches. It could be because this was all before they started making school lunches healthy. I remember getting a box of chicken strips with honey mustard, a cup of fries, a large lemonade and a triple stack of freshly baked cookies for $5 in high school. What a deal! Ah, to have that metabolism again. In middle school I was more of a plastic-wrapped dessert, fries and lemonade type of person. I'm sure my mom is cringing at the thought that I spent my lunch money on that for so many years.

I feel like everyone I know had a very specific style to eating Ho Hos. I personally was a Swiss Cake Roll kinda person, but I'm pretty sure Hostess' Ho Hos are the exact same thing. I'm also quite certain I've had both in my lifetime. Anyway, if you just chomped right into one of these, they'd be about four bites total. It'd be like the iced Christmas trees that you could eat 14 of because they're practically air and icing. So, you had to make it a process. 

My personal style was to break off the chocolate coating in sheets to enjoy that part first. Next, I unrolled one at a time and ate the chocolate and icing part wherever the cake would naturally break while unrolling. That's how you turn four bites of Ho Ho into a 10 minute activity. 

I saw this cake and immediately knew I needed to try it. Unfortunately I realized my favorite part about Ho Hos was never the taste, it was the art of eating them. When you make a 13x9 cake...it's still just a cake. No chocolate sheets. No careful unrolling. What a letdown. On the bright side, this cake tastes much better. It also cuts perfectly, so it's easy to share and serve (unless you want the whole 13x9 to yourself).  My only suggestion would be to make sure you use a flavorful chocolate cake for the base. You can use boxed cake mix, but make it a good one because the top and bottom layers hold the majority of the flavor. The middle is just a nice add-on to complement the others (still good, just a more subtle taste). Enjoy!

Ho Ho Cake
Recipe from Scrumptious and Sumptuous 

Ingredients

Cake
Use either a boxed chocolate cake mix (18.25 ounces) or Make a Chocolate Cake from Scratch (adapted from Hershey’s Chocolate Cake):

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. (7.45 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp.Hershey’s cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional, but it helps deepen the chocolate flavor)

Cream Filling

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 5 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Icing

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 2 tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch brownie pan (mine is 9 x 13 x 1.5 inches). If using boxed cake mix, use a larger jellyroll pan, 10 x 15 inches. If you have the larger jellyroll pan and make the cake from scratch, use the full Hershey’s cake recipe, so check the original link to Hershey’s. I altered it to fit the smaller pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat on medium speed with mixer for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake before adding other layers.
6. To make cream filling: Combine the milk and flour in a small saucepan; cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding, 5-8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
7. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
8. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture; beat on high for 7 minutes.
9. Spread onto the cooled cake. Refrigerate until set. (I didn’t alter the ingredient measurements to fit the smaller 9 x 13 cake, so you’ll end up with some extra cream.)
10. To make icing: Melt chocolate using the double boiler method by placing a heatproof bowl over a pan filled with water that reaches just below the bowl and heat the water to a simmer, not a boil. Alternatively, melt in the microwave by heating in 15-30 second increments, stirring between each increment, until melted. Cool slightly.
11. In a large bowl, use electric mixer on medium-high speed to mix together powdered sugar, melted/cooled butter, melted/cooled chocolate, milk, hot water, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
12. Spread icing over cream filling.
13. Serve either at room temperature or cold, from refrigerator.