Grandma's Yummy Pink Jello Recipe

 No party is complete without Grandma's yummy pink jello.  It's a special occasion treat, and only she makes it.  I've been wanting to get the recipe from her for ages, which doesn't exist because she goes with the flow each time it's made, so on Michael's birthday she brought over the ingredients, and I took careful notes and pictures.

Ingredients:

 1 Box Raspberry JELL-O

1 Box Strawberry JELL-O

3 Cups Boiling Water

23.2 oz Frozen Sliced Strawberry's, juice completely strained out, no longer completely frozen

Large Cool-Whip Tub (to be divided)

4 Cups of Ice (divided 2 cups and 2 cups)

(Optional) Crushed Nuts of choice

 Put both the Raspberry jello and the Strawberry jello in a large bowl.  Mix the two together.

 Pour 3 cups of boiling water (boiled either on the stove or in the microwave) into the jello powder.  Try to get as dissolved as possible.  (My Grandma says this is one of the most important steps.)

 Put 2 cups of ice into jello mixture.  Stir ice and jello so that the jello starts to set, a jell like texture will begin to form.  When it starts to jell up, start taking out ice. You don't want too much extra water in jello mixture.

 Repeat above step by putting the remaining 2 cups of ice into jello mixture, stirring, helping the jello set up even more into a jelly texture.  Spoon out ice before it fully melts and jello fully sets.  Don't let jello set.

 Stir the jello mixture.

 Put a few large spoonfuls of Cool-Whip into jello.  Stir.

 Keep adding Cool-Whip until desired texture and taste.  (There isn't a science to this, just personal preference.) Keep some extra Cool-Whip for later use.

 How we like it.

 Get frozen sliced strawberries and strain out all the juice.

As a note, the strawberries are not frozen by this point, having set out for a while.  Soft, but still chilled.

 Put the strawberries into the jello mixture and stir.

 When strawberries are properly mixed in, take the remaining Cool-Whip and smooth it over the jello.

 (Optional) After Cool-Whip is spread over jello, add a layer of crushed nuts.

Place jello in fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes to set.  Can be left in as long as you wish.  This jello makes great leftovers (which we love).

Take out and Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Muffin Cake Recipe

Dark Chocolate Muffin Cake

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup + 1/8 cup granulated sugar (which is technically 5/8 cups)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 1 TBSP milk 

3/4 cups small bitter-sweat Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup chop nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir together.

3.  In another large bowl use a mixer (I used a hand-held one) mix butter with sugar.  Make sure they are smooth.  Now add the eggs and vanilla, mix together until they're fluffy.  Don't over mix it.  This step, along with the next step, must be done with a mixer, and not by hand.  The fluffy consistency is crucial for the final outcome of the cupcake.  

4.  This next step may seem complicated, but it's not.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the bowl with the sugar and butter, mix on low speed for about 45 seconds (or until well mixed).  Add half of the milk into same bowl, mix for 30 seconds (or until well mixed).  Add another 1/3 of flour, mix 45 seconds.  Add final 1/2 of milk, mix for 30 seconds.  Add final 1/3 of flour mixture, mixing it until it's blended and fluffy.  

5. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. 

6.  Tablespoon equal portions into a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until done, using the good ol' toothpick test.  (I'm at a high altitude, so it doesn't take as much time up here as it will at sea level.)

I don't use frosting, because the final result is something akin to a cupcake and muffin, which is why I call it a muffcake.  I feel frosting would ruin it.

         This recipe is a variation of a recipe I found in the Dec 2010 issue of Family Circle, called Hot Chocolate Cupcakes.  I was super excited to make them, only the result was bland, dry, and in serious need of cocoa, which defeats the purpose of the cupcakes name.  So I tweaked it.  Next time I make them I going to add another tablespoon of milk, to see what that does.  And I'm going to use Dutch cocoa instead of Hershey's, and see if that ups the chocolaty goodness.  What I have now tastes very similar to the Chocolate muffins you buy at Costco.  Enjoy!  

I just googled Muffcake to see if anything popped up, and there were matching results!  I guess I'm not as original as I thought.  But it's still tasty.