These baked blueberry doughnuts have blueberries inside and out, coated with a blueberry glaze but also contain a surprise ingredient!

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Happy National Doughnut Day! I almost waited until Sunday to share this recipe in memory of the Science Sundays posts I used to share but when I found out today was doughnut day I couldn’t resist spilling the beans/blueberries a bit early.

Two months ago I was discussing how to make blueberry doughnuts taste more blueberry-ish with the owner of a local doughnut shop, Rose Dough Donuts, and discovered that the answer is ground coriander! Evidently coriander enhances blueberries and I will try to briefly explain how and why I used it in my baked blueberry doughnuts today.

Terpenes are naturally occurring aromatic compounds produced by many plants for their smell, taste, and color. Linalool is one type of terpene found in both (you guessed it) blueberries and coriander so if you add just a little coriander, preferably freshly ground, it tricks our mind into thinking there is more blueberry flavor in there.

I did also add a bit of lemon zest because citrus is also helpful in boosting those bloobs. I wasn’t taking any chances even though I used very fresh ripe blueberries that I picked up from a Farmers Market the very same day I made these baked blueberry doughnuts. Stumbling upon that market might be the real reason these blueberry doughnuts were born.

While baked doughnuts are never going to hold a candle to fried doughnuts they certainly win points in the cleanup category as I hate dealing with frying food and already have doughnut pans in my arsenal. It is a special day that I willingly deal with a vat of hot oil. Since I bet I am not alone in this sentiment, I present to you my baked blueberry doughnuts! Glazed with even more blueberry puree just incase the coriander and lemon wasn’t already doing enough work. I am not messing around when it comes to my blueberry doughnuts as they are one of my absolute favorites.

You should also try my baked strawberry-ginger glazed doughnuts that I dream about as well.

BAKED BLUEBERRY DOUGHNUTS

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Yield: 18 servings Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 8 Minutes 8 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

DOUGHNUTS

• 3/4 cup blueberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar, separated
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, room temperature*
• 2 eggs, room temperature*
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

GLAZE

• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat 3 doughnut pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, toss the shopped blueberries with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and set aside to macerate for 10 minutes
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, lemon zest, coriander, and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining wet ingredients until incorporated.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients stir until just combined. Fold in the macerated blueberries until distributed..
5. Spoon or pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling each mold about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the doughnuts to cool in the pan for about 3 minutes before removing onto a cooling rack.
7. While the doughnuts cool, prepare the icing. Puree the blueberries in a small food processor and passage through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a small bowl**. 
8. In a medium bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the blueberry puree and powdered sugar together. Dip doughnuts into the glaze, and allow to set for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes

*It is very important that the ingredients are room temperature. If they are cold the melted butter will harden when added. **Should yield approximately 1/4 cup. Use a rubber spatula if needed to help dislodge particles to let the puree run through.

Source: Adapted from my Baked Strawberry-Ginger Glazed Doughnuts.

Don’t be fooled, these deviled egg cookies might look like your standard party eggs on the appetizer table but they are meant for the dessert table!

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My original plan was to share these deviled egg cookies on April Fools’ Day because I legit fooled people into thinking they were deviled eggs, but alas I lost track of time and missed it by 2 days. Over the years I’ve not been the best at catching this holiday but I have shared plenty of silly-fun food recipes of the years.

For example: my recent carrot cake crepes, new ways of thinking of deviled eggs in the form of deviled potatoes and deviled strawberries, disaster turned fun holy crap cookies, rice krispie sushi for a nephew’s birthday, buckeye AND chocolate deviled eggs, and my every growing collection of Halloween and Cheetos recipes.

Some might say I have a thing for deviled eggs and deviled egg-like food. Some might be right, because obviously today is yet another silly deviled egg creation. This time instead of testing peoples limits by making a dessert filling for a real hard boiled egg white (it’s not that weird I promise, the egg white is just a mostly bland vehicle anyway) I went for something less scary for those that are not as adventurous – sugar cookies.

I baked these deviled egg cookies in an egg-shaped silicone baking mold a friend gifted to me for the sole purpose of making these (thanks Beth!). We had seen others online baking similar things but I had an idea – what if I dipped the tops in white chocolate to make them look like true egg whites? Sure enough if you dip them in white chocolate and lay them face down on wax paper, once they set and you peel them off they really do look like little egg white cavities ready to be filled with deviled egg filing. All that remained was a little lemon curd frosting for the filling and red sanding sugar for “paprika” to lock it in.

I do have to admit I was a little distressed that the white chocolate coated eggs weren’t perfectly shaped despite my best efforts to remedy the fact that the cookies obviously weren’t perfectly flat. However several people said they are more realistic to the struggles of peeling eggs to make deviled eggs which was hilariously accurate.

So instead of trying to make these again but *prettier* I decided to just go for it and share them in all their imperfect glory. The internet needs a little more reality even if it’s just in the chocolate coating of a cookie to make it look like a deviled egg. Even if deviled egg cookies are a bit of a distortion of reality – whoops!

DEVILED EGG COOKIES

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Yield: Approximately 20 Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 Minutes 15 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

SUGAR COOKIE

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

TOPPING

• 6 oz. white chocolate candy coating
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp lemon curd
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Yellow and red food coloring
• Red sanding sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 8-cavity egg-shaped silicone baking molds with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the egg and vanilla just until incorporated.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture 1/3 at a time until incorporated.
4. Place a 1-1/2 tablespoon ball of dough into each cavity (I used a medium cookie scoop). Place silicone trays on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until the tops are slightly golden.
5. Remove from oven and immediately press an small indentation (where the egg yolk would have been if it were an egg) using the back of a measuring spoon. Allow to cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the cookies cool, prepare the white chocolate. Line a flat tray with wax paper; set aside.
7. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler (or metal/glass bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water). Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
8. Dip the top (flat side with indent) of the egg cookies into melted chocolate letting excess drip off. Place on wax paper, chocolate side down. Repeat with remaining cookies then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. 
9. While the chocolate sets, prepare the frosting. In a small bowl, beat together the butter, lemon curd, and powdered sugar until creamy. Add a couple drops of yellow food coloring and the smallest drop possible of red, mixing into the frosting to create a rich yellow color. Add a little milk or powdered sugar to reach desired consistency, but should remind you of deviled egg filling.
10. Spoon or pipe into the indentations of the cooled, white chocolate topped egg cookies. Sprinkle to red sanding sugar to resemble paprika. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Source: Adapted from my Sugar Cookie Spoons.

Nutty pistachio and tangy lemon pair exceptionally well in these soft and pillowy pistachio lemon ricotta cookies, topped with a lemon glaze and even more pistachios.

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On the second day of Spring Sweets Week I gave to you, a batch of pistachio lemon ricotta cookies. They may not be as colorful as the blood orange ricotta cookies recipe from which they were derived, but they certainly pack as much flavor.

The earthy nuttiness of the pistachios pairs just as well with the zesty freshness of lemon as it does with lime (as seen in key lime pistachio cheesecake and lemon-lime pistachio bars). And in case you were unsure what flavor you are dealing with, the yellow lemon glaze on top sprinkled with chopped pistachios should help.

Normally I am not a soft/pillowy cookie fan but these pistachio lemon ricotta cookies have just the right about of chewiness that I am on board. Of course that meant that I had to chop up the pistachios more finely so as to not have large crunchy spots in these otherwise soft textured cookies.

Don’t get me wrong, I love nuts in cookies but my husband often seems off-put by surprise nuts inside so that’s why I chopped them up smaller. Granted I then saved the larger pieces for topping but at least you can see those coming. My logic is flawless, don’t come at me.

• Strawberry Swirl Banana Bread by Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
• Sushki by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Baked Carrot Cake Donuts by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Cardamom Buns by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Carrot Halwa by Magical Ingredients
• Lavender Creme Brulee by Art of Natural Living
• Chocolate Raspberry Marble Pound Cake by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Easy Lemon Curd by Rave About Food

PISTACHIO LEMON RICOTTA COOKIES

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Yield: 4 dozen Prep Time: 40 MInutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

COOKIES

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (from ~5 lemons)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

GLAZE

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ~1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from ~5 lemons)
• Yellow food coloring, if desired
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, ricotta cheese, pistachios, zest, and vanilla and mix just until combined.
4. Add half the flour mixture and mix until combined. Repeat with the second half until a soft dough forms. Use a medium cookie scoop to roll into golf ball sized  balls and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool 5 minutes on the pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
6. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, then start to add the lemon juice a little at a time until you reach desired consistency (I prefer mine a bit less firm). Add a few drops of lemon food coloring, if desired, and mix until blended.
7. Spread glaze over the cooled cookies (or dip tops into the glaze) and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Let set until firm.

Source: Adapted from my Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies.

Don’t let the racks in the powdered sugar fool you, these basil lime gooey butter cookies are as chewy as they are flavorful.

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Second to Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays for which to cook and bake. I feel like they both lend themselves to so much creativity and are often overshadowed by all the festive and/or traditional creations for the bigger holidays. Most people don’t have set things that they make for Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day so I can usually get away with more than I could otherwise.

These basil lime gooey butter cookies might not be the most festive thing I’ve ever made in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day but they are green and that’s the most important part, right? They are based on my lemon gooey butter cookies but with some basil added in for a little something special. Also since I didn’t have lime extract, I added more lime zest and used lime juice instead. The result may be a more subtle flavor than with the lemon version but they are still quite delicious.

These basil lime gooey butter cookies are slightly bigger than normal as well as I was just feeling a slightly larger cookie, but I left directions in the notes if you want to stick to the classic little guys. I did use a small amount of green food coloring as well – just enough to give them a slight green hue. If you are not a fan of food coloring, even the more “natural” food coloring, then feel free to leave it out. Just be prepared for them to not be very green so don’t say I didn’t warn you :-P.

BASIL LIME GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES

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Yield: Approximately 3 dozen Prep Time: 2 Hours 30 MInutes Cooking Time: 12 Minutes 12 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• Zest from 2 limes (about 4 tsp)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp fresh minced basil
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• Green food coloring, optional
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed (or handheld electric mixer and a large bowl), cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar, zest, juice, and basil until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk (and a few drops of green food coloring if using) and beat until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
3. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, arrange oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
5. Roll dough into 1.5-inch balls (I used a medium cookie scoop*), flatten slightly, roll in powdered sugar to coat, shake off excess, and place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and crackly. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cooled, transfer cookies to an airtight container.

Notes

*In the past I have used a small cookie scoop, baking 10 minutes, with a yield over 4 dozen

Source: Adapted from my Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies.

Matcha white hot cocoa is the holiday drink of the season for all the matcha latte lovers out there. Whip up a batch for gift giving!

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I may not make a new flavor of homemade hot cocoa mix every year, but I’ve certainly made my fair share. After the chai hot cocoa I made two years ago I knew what had to be next – matcha!

Normally there is 1-1/2 cups of cocoa powder in the basic hot cocoa mix recipe but I wanted to make this matcha version with a white hot cocoa base. However, a little bit of matcha goes a long way and you only need 1/2-1 teaspoon per serving which if we use the high end equates to 1/2 cup for 2 dozen servings for this mix.

Due to the decreased volume I did consider increasing the amount of dry milk powder to make up for it but in the end decided to just leave it as is and reduce the amount of matcha white hot cocoa mix needed for each serving – reducing from 1/3 cup to a slightly mounded 1/4 cup.

The result was even better than I imagined, even though I already imagined the combination of a matcha latte and white chocolate to be delicious. And the color is extra fun for the season/holidays! I plan to bring this one along with a few other fun flavors to make a little holiday hot cocoa bar for family when we visit this coming week. Maybe serve them with some festive cookies because ’tis the season!

Other Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix Flavors:

• Brownie Batter
• Cake Batter White Chocolate
• Chai
• Cinnamon
• Dark Chocolate
• Malted
• Peanut Butter
• Red Velvet
• Salted Caramel

MATCHA WHITE HOT COCOA MIX

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Yield: 2 Dozen Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup matcha powder
• 1-1/2 cups* white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Working in two batches, pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the white chocolate is finely ground.
3. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
4. To make matcha white hot cocoa, put a slightly mounded 1/4 cup of the mix in a mug and whisk in 1 cup of hot milk**. Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.

Notes

*About one 12 oz. bag. **Not boiling, preferably 140-175F (60-80C).

Source: Adapted from my Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix.

Why have regular round molten lava cakes when you can have skull lava cakes? Normally the inside is what counts but I think the outside does too in this scenario.

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More skulls! I seem to go through phases of Halloween inspiration and skulls are predominating in recent times. It helps that I finally got my hands on my favorite Skull cakelet pan that I found last year at HomeGoods (or Marshalls/TJ Maxx, who knows).

Last year I used to make skull sloppy Joe bombs which where amazing and turned out even better than I had hoped. The same goes for this years creation with the same pan – skull lava cakes! I think you should just have an entire skull-themed meal from start to finish.

Just like my skull gnocchi the recipe itself is just a classic molten lava cake but it’s the shape in which you form it that sets it apart and with all those little nooks in the pan you need to make sure those skull lava cakes comes out whole. With precious cargo like these you don’t want the outside layer of cooked cake to get stuck and cause an eruption of chocolate lava before you’ve even had a chance to plate it.

Tip for successful skull lava cakes:

• I swear by Bak-klene ZT for shaped pans like these skulls, it’s freaking magical. PAM for baking would be my second choice if you cannot find Bak-klene ZT (try Williams Sonoma, Gordon Food Service, or Amazon).
• Don’t use chocolate chips! Besides the fact that chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape better, this is a dessert where the chocolate is the main component so please use a good bakers chocolate.
• Room temperature eggs are a step even I often skip but when mixing into the warm chocolate-butter mixture you don’t want the chocolate to seize up with the addition of cold eggs.
• Underbaking is the whole point. Once you see that the batter is no longer shiny on top it’s probably time for them to come out of the oven or you risk these small cakes cooking all the way through and lacking the molten effect.

Once you have successfully released the skull lava cakes are ready to be devoured! These are an eat right away kind of dessert and don’t keep that well. Technically you can save the leftovers but they won’t be as molten once they cool and you don’t want to reheat and thus cook the centers. So find 3 companions and enjoy them while they are hot, literally.

I served mine on plates splattered with melted red candy coating but some warmed up seedless fruit jelly or strawberry sundae syrup would also work well. I almost made them with a red cream cheese center similar to my slime lava cakes or a skull red velvet version but decided to stick to the classic and instead incorporate the “blood” into the presentation. A dusting of powdered sugar on top would look nice, too.

Technically one cake serves 2 people but I won’t tell anyone if you don’t share. Heck I put peanut butter cup ice cream on top of mine once I finished taking photos, who am I to judge?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Welcome to 2025’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

This is our 8th year doing #HalloweenTreatsWeek … has it really been 8 years? Wow!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife every October. This event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween-loving bloggers!

Make Sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!

Make sure to check out all of the fun recipes that we’re sharing this week!

• Witches Brew Risotto by Big Bear’s Wife
• Magic Wands by Semi Homemade Recipes
• Melted Witch Fudge by Southern Halloween Queen
• Chocolate Haystack Werewolf Paws by Savory Moments
• Graveyard Brownies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cookies and Scream Cupcakes by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Pumpkin Shaped Cheeseball by Art of Natural Living
• Monster Meat Pie by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties by For the Love of Food

SKULL LAVA CAKES

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Yield: 4 cakes (8 servings) Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 11 Minutes 11 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 4 oz. (4 squares) Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour*

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Generously grease** four cavities of a skull cakelet pan***.
2. In a large microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate and butter on high for 1 minute, stirring every 20 seconds, or until melted and completely smooth.
3. Whisk in sugar, eggs, and egg yolks followed by the flour until just incorporated. Divide batter between the four prepared skull cavities.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are still soft and jiggle when disturbed. Remove from oven and let stand 1 minute. Carefully run small spatula or knife around the edges to loosen then invert onto a platter or dessert plates**** (Lightly tap the bottom of the pan while inverted to help loosen further, if needed). Serve immediately.

Notes

*You can easily sub your favorite GF flour for a GF option. I prefer Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour here. **I swear by Bak-klene ZT for all my shaped bakeware, but it's sometimes hard to find so PAM for baking would be the next best option. ***I used a pan with a little over 3/4 cup capacity in each cavity. ****I splattered some red chocolate candy melts on the plates to look like blood. Red fruit dessert topping would also work.

Source: Adapted slightly from Kraft.

Potato chip buckeyes are a sweet and salty dream. With a creamy peanut butter and crispy bits of potato chip dipped in a chocolate coating.

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The 2025 season of college football starts today, which means it’s #PBchoSat! To kick off, I am starting out strong with this years version of my buckeye peanut butter balls – potato chip buckeyes.

Ohio State plays Texas at home today and you better believe I will be there in person. I’m lucky enough to be friends with a graduate student who not only doesn’t want her tickets, but is married which means she is allowed to buy two sets of tickets at a discounted rate. But I digress.

When I was brainstorming ideas for today I was reflecting on the last time we played them in the CFP earlier this year in January and I made buckeye pecan pie bars inspired by the state nut of Teas – pecans.

This time I found another source of inspiration. Did you know that Frito-Lay is from Texas? I have had potato chip truffles on my general list of things to make for awhile so when I realized I could make them in buckeye form I was sold. Sweet and salty and ready to take on the Longhorns!

I actually brought these to our annual Labor Day neighborhood potluck last night. No matter where allegiances lie (or lack thereof) these potato chip buckeyes were a popular item in the mix. Obviously slightly more appreciated by those in attendance that are Buckeye fans.

Now that we are sufficiently stuffed and ready to go, I hope the home team advantage is real today because we may not be as strong of a team as we were last year. It’s so hard to know with it being the first game of the year. Only time will tell… O-H!

POTATO CHIP BUCKEYES

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Yield: 8 dozen Prep Time: 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 oz. finely crushed crinkle-cut potato chips, plus larger pieces for garnish
• 1 lb. (~4 to 4-1/2 cups) sifted powdered sugar
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate candy coating*
• Wooden toothpicks, preferably round

Directions

1. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter and butter. Add crushed potato chips, then powdered sugar one cup at a time to reach desired consistency, then use hands to form a smooth dough.
3. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball (or a small cookie scoop). Place on prepared pan, insert a wooden toothpick, and place in the freezer.
4. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (or metal/glass bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water). Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
5. Remove balls from freezer. Dip into melted chocolate leaving a small circle uncovered at the base of the toothpick. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down. Repeat with remaining balls.
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Remove toothpicks and if desired, carefully smudge the holes left behind with fingertip.

Notes

*Chocolate chips will not melt as well as candy coating.

Source: Adapted from my Oreo Buckeyes.

Ferrero Rocher fell in love with a Buckeye and made these Hazelnut Buckeyes. A traditional peanut butter ball coated in chocolate and finely chopped hazelnuts with a whole hazelnut stuffed inside.

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While buckeyes are the state nut of Ohio, hazelnuts are the state nut of Oregon. In fact, 99% of all the hazelnuts in the US are produced in Oregon. But in honor of the quarter final rematch game between Ohio State and Oregon today you know I had to play a mashup on the two state nuts.

I thought about making Chocolate Hazelnut Buckeyes (aka Nutella Buckeyes) which I somehow have not made yet, but I wanted to keep the peanut butter. It may not be Saturday, but the edible version of these Ohio Killer Nuts is a peanut butter ball wrapped in chocolate. And I couldn’t miss the chance to use the metaphor of wrapping that hazelnut up in a peanut butter and chocolate buckeye. Hopefully manifesting what will happen this evening.

So what did I end up doing? You know those Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut truffles that are particularly popular this time of year? Replace the chocolate that surrounds the hazelnut in the center with peanut butter, and leave a spot uncovered when you coat it with the mixture of melted chocolate and finely chopped hazelnuts and you get a Ferrero Rocher-inspired hazelnut buckeye! And it’s freaking delicious.

I will admit, I missed the ease of dipping these with a toothpick. Due to the hazelnut inside you could not insert the toothpick deep enough to be sturdy for dipping. So I had to kind of lap up the chocolate over the peanut butter ball while still keeping the buckeye “eye”. Could you just dunk them completely in? Yes, but then they would just be peanut butter calls, not buckeyes! Best thing about making buckeyes is that they don’t need to be perfect. The real things are lumpy and weird!

FERRERO ROCHER HAZELNUT BUCKEYES

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Yield: Approximately 8 dozen Prep Time: 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 8 dozen whole roasted hazelnuts
• 3 oz. roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
• 8 oz. chocolate candy bark
• 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp food grade paraffin or shortening, optional

Directions

1. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, and vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time to reach desired consistency, then use hands to form a smooth dough.
3. Using 2 teaspoons of dough, roll around one whole hazelnut and roll into a ball. Place on prepared pan and place in the freezer.
4. Melt chocolates (and paraffin or shortening if using) together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat and stir in the finely chopped hazelnuts.
5. Remove balls from freezer. Dip into melted chocolate leaving a small circle on the top. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down. Repeat with remaining balls.
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Serve immediately or store in fridge until ready.

Buckeye cookie cups are chewy chocolate sugar cookies baked in a mini muffin pan, topped with peanut butter frosting!

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Not to be confused with my peanut butter mousse cookie cups or brownie peanut butter cups, while these buckeye cookie cups are baked in a mini muffin pan, they are made with chocolate sugar cookie dough instead of chocolate chip cookie dough or brownies, respectively, and topped with peanut butter frosting.

Originally I had wanted to fill them with peanut butter mousse but unfortunately lacked one of the ingredients and didn’t feel like dashing to the store. Thankfully I pretty much always have the ingredients to make peanut butter frosting and was able to improvise.

The end goal was to create something that resembles a buckeye candy – chocolate on the outside and peanut butter on the inside/ It may not be mousse but these buckeye cookie cups still earn their name in appearance. For extra spirit I added some scarlet and gray sprinkles on top.

Why the worry about resembling a buckeye? Because today is THE GAME against that team up north! It may not be as even of a match up as in recent years but a big game like this is hard to predict sometimes. So I’ll be stuffing my face with these before heading to the shoe!

BUCKEYE COOKIE CUPS

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Yield: 2 Dozen Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 8 Minutes 8 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

COOKIE CUPS

• 1 batch chocolate sugar cookie dough

FROSTING

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• Pinch salt
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two mini muffin pans.
2. Please a tablespoon of prepared cookie dough in each cup. Bake for 8 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes (middles will sink slightly) before removing from pan to cool completely on rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
3. While the cookie cups cool, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and salt together until smooth. On low speed, mix in the powdered sugar until just incorporated, followed by the vanilla and cream. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip until light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add more powdered sugar or heavy cream if necessary to reach desired consistency.
4. When the cookie cups have cooled, pipe frosting on top of each cookie cup and top with sprinkles if desired. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and remove 5-10 minutes before ready to serve.

Source: Inspired by my Peanut Butter Mousse Cookie Cups, adapted from my Chocolate Sugar Cookies and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake.

The famous Michigan chocolate bumpy cake gets a buckeye twist with stripes of peanut butter buttercream piped over a rich chocolate cake topped with fudge frosting.

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Today Ohio State plays that cheating team from up North. A team that somehow is playing the victim of their own crimes, using it to band together. As such I am nervous about going into the big house for the game. Even if the game were at home I would still be on edge, just a smidge less. There are always fights but tension is running extra high this year.

In honor of these bumpy times I decided to take a famous Michigan cake, chocolate bumpy cake, and make a buckeye version. They stole our signs so I am stealing their cake!

Have you heard of chocolate bumpy cake before? It’s a chocolate sheet cake that was born out of an accident of Fred Sanders Schmidt having too little frosting and deciding to just pipe lines of buttercream before pouring chocolate fudge icing on top. Long story short, it became the famous Sanders Confectionery Chocolate Bumpy Cake.

But what if you changed the buttercream to peanut butter buttercream? After all, peanut butter buttercream is basically the same as the filling of Buckeye Candies just slightly different proportions. And I’m pretty sure peanut butter > regular buttercream any day. And just like that the Peanut Butter Chocolate Bumpy Cake was born in honor of The Game: Ohio State vs Michigan.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BUMPY CAKE

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Yield: 24 Servings Prep Time: 2 Hours Cooking Time: 40 Minutes 40 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

CAKE

• 1/2 cup (43g) Dutch-process cocoa
• 1/2 cup (113g) brewed coffee or water, hot
• 1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
• 1 cup (227g) buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-3/4 cups (347g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour

PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

• 8 Tbsp (1/2 cup/113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups (227g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tbsp (14-28g) milk, as needed

FUDGE FROSTING

• 1/2 cup (113g) buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp (39g) dark corn syrup
• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup (43g) Dutch-process cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 cups (454g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan; set aside.
2. For the cake: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa and hot coffee until smooth. Whisk in the oil and buttermilk until combined.
3. Using a hand mixer, add the baking soda and salt and beat for 30 seconds. Then add the vanilla and eggs, mixing just until smooth. Add the sugar and flour and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
4. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 33-35 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed and the edges just begin to pull away from the pan.
5. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
6. For the peanut butter buttercream: In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and salt together until lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until the frosting is fluffy, then add 1 tablespoon of milk if needed for a smooth consistency.
7. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a 1/2-inch round tip. If soft, chill in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
8. Pipe the buttercream across the cake's shorter side (9") in 1/2"-diameter strips, one inch apart. Return to the freezer while you prepare the frosting.
9. For the fudge frosting: In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine the buttermilk, dark corn syrup, 1/2 cup of butter, cocoa, and salt over medium heat.
10. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the bubbles make a snapping sound as they pop (or until the mixture reaches 235°F). Immediately stir in the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated.
11. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the powdered sugar until it melts and the frosting is smooth and glossy. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla.
12. Remove the cake from the freezer. Immediately drizzle the frosting over the surface of the cake, covering all the buttercream and tilting to fill in any gaps. If needed, gently rewarm the icing and pour again.
13. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve, slicing into 24 pieces. Store any leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Source: Adapted from King Arthur and The Kitchn.

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