Lovin' From the Oven

Archives for February 2010

Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Sheet Cake

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So I just got fingerprinted today for part of my teaching credential program. 80 bucks, seriously!?! I just spent my month’s money worth of food to have my identity taken. I mean, the process only took ten minutes at most, so I’m still confused at why it costs so darn much. Teachers don’t even make any money, anyways! Rip off the ones that have the money to be ripped off.. Sigh.. End rant.

I painted my room last night with my dad and couldn’t LOVE it more. It used to be a bright seafoam green (I went through my Roxy stage ten years ago and decorated my room to fit the whole “surfer theme”) and now it’s a tan/light brown/beige color. It makes such a big difference on the way my room looks now. My room is now currently my little side project that I’m working on and I’m revamping it to make it more suitable to my age. Haha.

Now onto the cake…Thank goodness for Pioneer Woman. I’ve never met her or talked to her in real life, but I feel like I know her. Those are always the best bloggers, right?— The ones that you seem to know oh so well. I don’t take any credit for this recipe, for this one is truly hers. You can find it posted on her blog here. This recipe has wandered across the baking world and finally made its way into my kitchen. I’ve had it bookmarked for months since it’s been raved about so much, and I can now stand behind it with the rest of the bloggers. I took it into work and everyone raved about it. It’s delectably moist without having too much of an overpowering chocolate taste. It’s a light cake, so be careful not to eat the entire thing in one sitting (or do, who am I to tell you what not to do?)!

For the Cake:

  • 2 cups Flour
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
  • 2 sticks Butter
  • 1 cup Boiling Water
  • ½ cups Buttermilk
  • 2 whole Beaten Eggs
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla

    For Frosting:

  • ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
  • 1-¾ stick Butter
  • 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
  • 6 Tablespoons Milk
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar
Preparation Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
  2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
    Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
  3. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
  4. While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.
  5. Cut into squares & eat.

Brown Sugar & Spice Cut-Out DHARMA cookies!

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Ah! Lost premiere tonight! I have a confession to make… I’m not THAT much of a crazy Lost fan like a lot of people out there. I simply pay attention to the show and remember not to miss any episodes, for fear of completely falling behind. Now, that doesn’t mean that I have the need to go buy a khaki jumpsuit, find a dharma patch to put on it, and jump into my blue Volkswagon van. I’m sorry to all you readers that don’t watch Lost, for I probably lost you in this last paragraph alone. You see, my boyfriend is a die hard lost fan– I’m talking about Lost forums, Lost discussions, Lost theories…. all of the above. He was having a little get together to watch the premiere tonight and I decided to bake for the boys. This is what I came up with.

I’m still kicking myself in the butt for forgetting to dye the cookies red before rolling them out, but I wasn’t about to go put the dough back into the mixer just to do that. So, I trucked along and ended up with this. Of course, I didn’t have a fish stencil, so I free handed one on cardboard and used that as a template. As for the letters, I used my Christmas present from my boyfriend’s sister in law to press “dharma” into the cookies. Umm… best present ever! It’s so useful and I can already imagine the numerous possibilities from the little gadget.

Anyways, these come from Bake at 350, who decorated them way better than I ever could. I’ve had them bookmarked for a while, but I just haven’t gotten around to making them. Plus, roll & cut out cookies seem to scare me a bit because of how much effort they take. These, however, rolled and cut with ease. They held their shape and were sturdy after baking. Absolutely perfect! They’re a great alternative to sugar cookies– give them a shot! I would definitely recommend making some royal frosting to go with it, though.

  • 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 c granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c light brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and spices, set aside.
  3. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix until well-blended.
  4. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.
  5. Roll on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cutter. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

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