TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES by Hershey's

This recipe comes from Hershey's. I made half the recipe in an 8" pan that I lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. They baked in 26 minutes. I don't recommend you use a 9" pan like they say you can because they'll be too thin. These are slightly bitter from too much cocoa powder and are fudgy. I prefer a cake-like brownie so for those reasons I won't make these again. They're very moist which is really the only good thing I can say about these. I also tripled the salt to 3/8 teaspoon for half the recipe. I didn't make frosting topped with chocolate chips so mine aren't triple chocolate after all.

I grade these a B.

CHEWY OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES From Baker By Nature

This recipe's from Baker By Nature. I made half and got 34 1 T./1.5" dough balls. The dough is very soft and needs to be refrigerated at least an hour before scooping out with scoop else it will stick to the scoop. Mine baked for exactly 8 minutes and the edges got too brown and crisp so the rest baked for about 7.5 minutes. They taste very ordinary and need more salt. They have a dark, greasy look but they aren't greasy. I wouldn't make these again.

I grade these a B.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE from Ina Garten

This recipe comes from Ina herself at her site Barefoot Contessa. I made half the recipe, which yielded one 9"x5" 2 qt. loaf, and it baked in 42 minutes. I made a thick vanilla glaze for it. I omitted the coffee granules. I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of full size ones. It's incredibly moist with an ultra-fine crumb. The only negative is that it tastes very buttery, which I don't care for. Flavorwise this reminds me of most homemade brownies that I've made with all butter.

I grade this a B and I wouldn't make it again because of the strong butter flavor.

THE BEST, CRISPIEST TOPPING from Chew Out Loud

This crisp topping recipe comes from Chew Out Loud. I'm reviewing the topping only, not the peach filling recipe, as I made apple crisp to go with it. Like the name says, it's very crispy, which is how I prefer a crumb topping. It's made with equal parts flour and oats, and equal parts brown and white sugar. I did use half the amount of nuts. I didn't add spices to the topping.

I grade this an A+.

HERSHEY'S OLD FASHIONED CAKE from Hershey's

This comes from Hershey's. I made half and got ten cupcakes. It tastes basically like boxed Devil's Food Cake, so I'm real happy with it. I did use 1/4 c. of cocoa powder, not 1/3 c., not weighed out, and I doubled the vanilla. I made my own vanilla buttercream frosting for it. The cake is made with water though I wonder how it would do with milk, or part milk, part water. It's very moist and I'd definitely make this again. 

I grade this an A.

MASHED POTATO CAKES from Cook's Country

This recipe is from Cook's Country. These taste exactly like what they are...mashed potatoes seasoned with cheese, salt, pepper, and chives ( I used white onion). They were an awful lot of work and I wouldn't make them again despite them tasting good. The full recipe, which I made, makes a lot so you may want to make half.

I grade these an A in flavor.

CHOCOHOLIC MUFFINS from Once Upon a Chef

This recipe is from Once Upon a Chef. It uses buttermilk (I made homemade w/vinegar), all brown sugar, and melted butter. I made half the recipe, filling the muffin cups 2/3 of the way, and got ten. They baked in 12-13 minutes on 375 degrees F. I didn't bake them at a real high temperature then turn it down like the recipe stated. They're very good and cake-like. They have a finer crumb than any chocolate muffin I've ever made before. I do think they need less cocoa powder, so I'll use less next time, not 1/3 c. like I used this time. I think for half the recipe I'll use only three tablespoons. They need more salt too though I did add extra. 

I grade these an A- because of too much cocoa.

Edit: I made half a batch again using all vegetable oil, no butter, an extra 1/8 t. salt and just 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and they turned out great. Those I grade an A+.

APPLE CRISP from Cooking Classy

This comes from Cooking Classy. I unintentionally used a lot more apples so I needed a larger baking dish, 13" x 9". I didn't increase the filling ingredients (sugar, flour) at all and it was perfectly fine. I omitted both lemon juice and vanilla extract from the filling. My dish baked in 50 minutes. Slicing the apples very thin is key to them cooking fully. The topping was good too. I'd maybe use less sugar in the topping next time. Using equal parts flour and sugar isn't a good ratio, IMO.

I grade this an A.

ALFREDO SAUCE from Cooking Classy

This recipe is from Cooking Classy. It turned out great. I used store brand parmesan cheese and it was good. I did use a little garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because I'm not too fond of garlic in any form. I used a little onion powder too, and fresh cracked black pepper and a small pinch of salt. I do think the one tablespoon of flour was unnecessary because the cheese thickens up the sauce a lot. To the finished sauce I added broccoli florets that I cooked in the pasta water along with linguine, half a pound, and I used the breast meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

I grade this an A.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES by Hershey's

This recipe came from Hershey's. These are the best homemade brownies that I've ever made. They're incredibly moist. I love the texture and appearance and they look better in person than they do in my photo. I made half in a 7" square pan that was lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. If you use an 8" pan for half the recipe, yours will cook in slightly less time than mine did and will be thinner, and these are already thin in a 7" pan. They baked in 37 minutes. I doubled the vanilla to one teaspoon and tripled the salt to 3/8 teaspoon and I think it needs more, probably 1/2 t. total. I didn't make the frosting for this but will next time, only using half the amount of cocoa, two tablespoons, not four.

My frosting recipe is: 1 c. powdered sugar (I didn't weigh the sugar), 1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process cocoa is best), 2 T. butter/margarine/spread, 2 T. milk, scant 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract. In microwavabel bowl melt together butter and milk. Stir in cocoa powder, pressing out all lumps with back of spoon. Add vanilla. Pour mixture into bowl containing powdered sugar, stirring until well incorporated. Pour over cooled brownies. Top with nuts if desired.

I grade these an A++.

Edit- I made these again 11/2020 and I made chocolate frosting for them. See photo below. 

Edit- I made these yet again 12/2020 and I used just 1/4 c. cocoa powder, which is 2 T. less than called for, I didn't weight it, and used equal parts melted butter and vegetable oil. They were too moist so just stick with all butter.

ANDREA BEMIS'S MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I made these cookies, without the mint, more than a year before I made them a second time. The second time I actually weighed out the flour and got better results than the previous time (the dough didn't spread out properly the first time, likely from too much flour), and still left out the mint. I got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma, but it's also posted on Food52, with a different photo of the cookies. These are very good with a good flavor on the edges. I used 1 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips, not 1/2 c. like the recipe stated, and got 31 one tablespoon dough balls. Mine baked in 9 minutes and the dough was at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

I grade these an A.

EASY CHICKEN PARMESAN WRAPS from Two Healthy Kitchens

This recipe is from Two Healthy Kitchens. I made half using one large boneless skinless chicken breast and instead of using flatbread and making these into Taco Bell Crunchwrap-type wraps I used crepes (half of this recipe) and made them into enchiladas. I used Monterey Jack cheese instead of an Italian blend, since I already had it on hand. I added a little onion and garlic powder to the filling. Half the recipe yielded three 6" enchiladas. They baked in 23 minutes on 400 degrees F. They're very good but too salty from the cheese. This tastes just like chicken lasagna. If you make enchiladas, leave the cheese out of the enchiladas and just use it on top. I used this exact marinara from Walmart, pureed in the food processor to make smooth.

I grade these an A.