Chocolate

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe

35 whopping grams of protein in this skinny peanut butter cup smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

I’m going to be really honest with you… the weight loss thing isn’t really my strong suit in life. I haven’t quite cracked the code on that one.

Do I love Weight Watchers? You betcha.

I love to exercise too, believe it or not.

And I can whip up healthier versions of dessert recipes all day long (like Skinny Chocolate Donuts, Skinny Brownie Batter Dip, and Banana Pancakes). Or Cottage Cheese Breakfast Ideas.

But when it comes to actually dropping the pounds… not so much.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

However, I fully anticipate that I will one day eat my way through enough Halo Top Ice Cream to discover that it’s finally made me skinny.

At least that’s what I tell my husband every time I spend 5.99 on a pint ????.

Good man that he is, I never actually see him roll his eyes.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Anyway. The point that I’m trying to make here is… I may not be very good at the actual losing of the weight. But I’m very, very good at breakfast on day one of a new diet. Ahem, er, “lifestyle change.” ????

Side note: how irritating is it that no one is allowed to “diet” anymore. The PC way to say diet these days is, “lifestyle change.” But… what if I just want to lose 30 pounds? Do I really have to change my mindset and my pantry for the rest of forever. Is that really totally necessary?? Is it???? *hysterics*

But back to breakfast on day one…

How about a ridiculously decadent skinny peanut butter cup smoothie WITH 35 FREAKING GRAMS OF PROTEIN that tastes like peanut butter cups? Works for me.

Enjoy!

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake Recipe

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It’s super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

You guys want to hear something CRAZY?

I first published this recipe 6 years ago to the day! As you know, I’ve been updating recipes and photos for quite some time (I’ve been moving like a turtle on this project). I actually baked and shot this cake last week, and when I sat down at the computer tonight to write the post, I totally geeked out when I saw “Published: April 21, 2011.”

I’m sure I’m the only one getting excited over this, but it felt serendipitous and I just had to share ????.

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

SIX YEARS! I still can’t believe it’s been that long since I posted this recipe– or since I started blogging, for that matter. I’m not really one of those bloggers that has an exact date for my first post and celebrates a blog birthday or anything. I mean, I totally would if I could! But I think I deleted and re-published my first post about 14 million times, so I had totally lost any concept of my “start date” by the time I realized celebrating your “blogiversary” was a thing.

So basically, I just have a vague recollection of some of my very first posts, and I know for sure this was one of them! Which makes it extra special to me.

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

This batter is THICK. And all kinds of amazing.

Thanks to two large eggs and 2/3 cup of sour cream, it’s an incredibly rich and moist cake as long as you don’t overbake it. What’s overbaking it look like? A totally clean toothpick is overbaked. That’s not to say you want a ton of batter sticking to the toothpick when you test it, but if a little bit of moist cake is still sticking to it– you know it’s perfect.

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

You could go a couple of different routes with the frosting. Chocolate ganache is a solid option, obviously. And my all-time favorite Chocolate Frosting is another great way to go. And this glaze is quick and easy and would look stunning!

The day that I made this cake for photographing, my brain was stuck on a one-minute fudge frosting I had seen on Pinterest. So that’s what I did and that’s the recipe I’m including for you today. But seriously, the sky is the limit with the frosting, so don’t feel limited to what I did here!

Not that I want to scare you away from this one-minute frosting. It was pretty awesome, and I’m glad I tried it! It turns into an almost fudge-like state when it cools and firms up quite a bit. Yum!

This old fashioned chocolate cake was one of the first from-scratch cakes I ever made. It's super moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. Top it with chocolate ganache or this yummy 1-minute frosting!

???? And trust me, you’ll definitely want a glass of milk to go with this recipe. Enjoy!

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

Tagalong Pound Cake Recipe

 An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

There are three very important things happening in this uberly (it’s a word. shut up.) delicious cake.

☝????Pound cake. Easy, Sara Lee, ALWAYS GOOD and always easy ???? pound cake.

✌???? Peanut butter. And I don’t mean peanut butter that’s been diluted with sugar or whipped cream or something. I mean PEANUT BUTTER. In all of it’s creamy glory. The way the Girl Scouts intended it to be.

✌????☝???? (why isn’t there an emjoi for three??) Chocolate. Duh.

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

Step number one: buy a Sara Lee pound cake out of the frozen section. I’m not even going to bother arguing with the make-it-from-scratch crowd here. Trust me. It’s just as good if not better than a homemade pound cake for this particular recipe.

I rest my case.

Step number two: smother it in creamy, creamy peanut butter.

Step number three: Freeze it. Really about 30 minutes ought to do the trick. We just don’t want it to melt when we pour the chocolate over it.

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

Are you ready for this step?

Canned frosting. Mmm-hm. I’m not even embarrassed. Homemade frosting has it’s place. Like on this cake. But half a can of melted Pillsbury Milk Chocolate frosting works like a dream for this recipe.

Plus… mama likey easy.

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

So, to sum up:

Cake. Peanut butter. Chocolate frosting.

Crazy stupid easy.

Crazy stupid good.

Yep, I think that about covers everything.

An unbelievably easy and delicious cake that tastes like your favorite peanut butter and chocolate Girl Scout Tagalong Cookies. Only three ingredients!

Enjoy my dears!

Indulgent chocolate muffins with a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft, extra fudgy, and extra chocolate-y!

Triple Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Indulgent chocolate muffins with a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft, extra fudgy, and extra chocolate-y!

Indulgent chocolate muffins with a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft, extra fudgy, and extra chocolate-y!

I thought we might all be in the mood for a healthier recipe to balance out all the chocolate chip cookies, Samoas Fudge, and Snickerdoodle Pie we’ve been eating around here lately.

Just kidding. What I meant to say was that I thought we might all be in the mood for muffins that taste like brownies, because who needs to balance out dessert?! More like, let’s make dessert for breakfast! ????

Which is exactly what I did.

Indulgent chocolate muffins with a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft, extra fudgy, and extra chocolate-y!

These muffins are full of whole wheat goodness, healthy fat in the form of coconut oil, and a shot of Greek yogurt for an extra soft and moist center. So you see? Despite their chocolate-y goodness, these muffins really are more substantial than super fudgy cupcakes sans frosting.

I mean. They taste like cupcakes. Or brownies. But they aren’t.

Because these are for breakfast. ????

Indulgent chocolate muffins with a secret ingredient that makes them extra soft, extra fudgy, and extra chocolate-y!

So, besides that Greek yogurt, these muffins are packing a secret ingredient that makes them unbelievably soft and moist– almost cake like, really.

You know how pudding mix makes cookies and cakes super soft and tender? Well, of course, it does the same thing to muffins! Adding a box of chocolate pudding mix (I like Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate pudding mix, but you can use any chocolate mix) takes these muffins to a whole new level of indulgence.

And did I mention they taste like dessert? For breakfast?! ????

Enjoy!

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It's like eating cookies for breakfast :)

Samoas Baked Oatmeal Recipe

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It’s like eating cookies for breakfast 🙂

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It's like eating cookies for breakfast :)

You guys. This week. This week. Is it going to end? Please? Someone tell me it’s almost over. I’m not sure I’m going to survive any more of it.

It’s like I desperately need an “off” button or something. But when you’re a mom, you don’t really get one of those do you? Ha! You should. Or at least a mute button or something.

Sometimes I swear that would be enough– just to be able to turn off the noise. I think I could handle the rest of it, if I could just mute everything and plod along in blissful silence. So yeah. I’m thinking a mute button would suffice. And if I could order it on Amazon Prime, well, that would just be swell.

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It's like eating cookies for breakfast :)

Ok, daydream over.

Back to reality.

Thank heavens I live in a reality that includes dessert for breakfast. Because if I don’t get a mute button, I think I should most certainly be allowed to have dessert for breakfast. amiright?!

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It's like eating cookies for breakfast :)

This Samoas Baked Oatmeal is a revamp of a very old, archived recipe that I am super excited to share with you today!! The original recipe was for a single-serve, microwave version, and you can still find it here.

But I like this baked version much better! Today’s rendition is simply my favorite go-to baked oatmeal transformed into an indulgent version of Samoas Girl Scout Cookies. The plain oatmeal recipe already called for coconut, so it’s a pretty natural transition to add caramel and toasted coconut to the top! And of course a chocolate drizzle. Because #chocolategoals.

My favorite baked oatmeal recipe topped with caramel coconut and melted chocolate. It's like eating cookies for breakfast :)

You can make the oatmeal base the night before and bake it in the morning if you want to save a little time. And be sure to toast the coconut ahead of time too. Then all you’ll have to do is mix in the caramel, and voila!

Enjoy! And happy Girl Scout Season 🙂

Incredibly moist banana cake with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glazed Banana Bundt Cake Recipe

Incredibly moist banana bundt cake recipe with a sneakily easy chocolate glaze.

Incredibly moist banana cake with chocolate glaze.

You know what I’d rather do than watch my husband try to do homework with my first grader? (because o.m.g. it’s like having TWO first graders who won’t stop arguing with each other)

So, yeah. Pretty much anything else would be good.

But this banana bundt cake recipe — and licking that big puddle of chocolate glaze off the plate — would be pretty high up on my list.

Incredibly moist banana cake with a sneakily easy chocolate glaze.

Two things really surprised me about this recipe. And not because one or the other, but because both things are going on here.

One. This cake is supremely soft and moist. Like, crumbs-that-stick-to-your-fork moist. Which I’d typically expect from a banana cake. Except for–

Two. It baked into a fabulously sturdy bundt cake. In my experience, bundt cakes that hold up really well aren’t always high up on the soft, fluffy, and moist scale. Maybe they’re moist. But never quite as tender and fluffy as this cake is on the inside.

🍌🍌🍌 CELEBRATE BANANAS with us: our favorite Banana Bread Recipes 🍌🍌🍌

Basically, this is the superhero of bundt cakes. And banana cakes. It’s the superhero of all cakes.

Incredibly moist banana cake with a sneakily easy chocolate glaze.

And that Banana Bundt Cake recipe glaze…

Also, that chocolate glaze. ????????

And want to hear my dirty little secret about that? It’s store bought frosting. YES. IT. IS.

Listen. I have really solid, fool proof, fantabulous chocolate ganache recipe right here that would work perfectly for this cake. And if you want to go the all homemade route, please! Be my guest!

But if you’re running short on time (who isn’t?), melting down about half of a can of Pillsbury Milk Chocolate frosting to pour over this cake is an excellent option. It tastes delicious, and it pours beautifully. Plus, it takes about 30 seconds and is virtually mess-free. You won’t be sad if that’s the way you go, I promise.

Incredibly moist banana cake with a sneakily easy chocolate glaze.

No matter how you slice it, it’s always better than watching my husband attempt homework with a first grader. ????

Yellow Birthday Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting Recipe

This is the perfect birthday cake recipe! Buttery golden yellow cake with creamy, fudgy chocolate frosting. And lots of sprinkles, of course!

This is the perfect birthday cake recipe! Buttery golden yellow cake with creamy, fudgy chocolate frosting.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t do birthday cakes.

I don’t make my husband’s birthday cakes. I don’t make my kids’ birthday cakes. And I don’t make my own birthday cakes. It’s a very firm personal policy that I established a few years back.

Why? It’s just too much unnecessary stress. And I can’t emphasize the unnecessary part enough. I mean, between planning a party, buy and wrapping gifts, and setting up the whole DAY in general, whyyyyyyyyyyy go through the ordeal of making a cake too? After enough birthdays of ending up grouchy and tired in a sticky, messy kitchen, I decided to abandon the practice of birthday cake-making altogether. I’d rather spend the day in celebration and eat a delicious cake from one of my favorite bakeries.

If you ask me, there’s absolutely no shame in that (especially when I’m baking cakes nearly every other day of the year!).

But, back when I used to make birthday cakes for myself, this is what I would make. A perfect, simple yellow cake with glorious fudgy frosting and a ridiculous amount of sprinkles! It’s everything that a birthday cake should be!

This is the perfect birthday cake recipe! Buttery golden yellow cake with creamy, fudgy chocolate frosting.

When I was in college, we’d make this cake on each roommate’s birthday. But we used a box cake and store-bought frosting and pink crystal sprinkles.

This is my grown up version of that.

Moist and tender, butter yellow cake made extra soft by using whole milk and incorporating sour cream into the batter (is there anything not made better by sour cream??). It’s thick and puffy, and crazy delicious.

The coup de gras of this cake, however, is the chocolate frosting on top. I took my favorite chocolate fudge frosting and made one teensy-weensy, but oh-so-significant alteration… I omitted 3/4 cups of the powdered sugar from the recipe.

What does that mean?

It means that we’re taking out just enough powdered sugar to make this frosting extra creamy by increasing the ratio of fat to dry ingredients. You wouldn’t want to frost a free-standing cake with this frosting, because it wouldn’t firm up well enough to stay where you put it. But if you’re frosting a sheet cake? That’s a different story! It’s the perfect vessel for all that creamy, indulgent goodness.

This is the perfect birthday cake recipe! Buttery golden yellow cake with creamy, fudgy chocolate frosting.

This rich, indulgent, fudgy frosting is the perfect compliment to that buttery yellow cake underneath. The only thing that could make it any better?

SPRINKLES. And lots of them. So don’t forget to add plenty of those!

And hey– Happy Birthday 🙂

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, because it's so quick and easy and delicious!

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Toasted coconut, crunchy toffee, and chocolate chips enveloped in a sweet, buttery cookie with golden crisp edges and soft chewy middles. What’s not to love??

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, because it's so quick and easy and delicious!

About 6 years ago, I decided to have a bake sale in conjunction with a yard sale we were having. I emailed all my favorite bloggers at the time and asked them to send me their top bake sale recipe. My plan was to “market” my bake sale as a “blogger bake sale,” and have all the recipes submitted by my friends made up and ready to sell.

Several people saw my signs and excitedly showed up, hoping to meet really cool food bloggers with samples of their recipes… ????.

And instead, they found me (just me) with a table of baked goods I had clumsily made in our little apartment kitchen. Mind you, this was back when I used margarine instead of butter ????– so there was still quite a bit of development in my baking abilities yet to occur.

Woops.

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, because it's so quick and easy and delicious!

Annnnnnyway. Embarrassing memories aside– I only bring it up, because it was that bake sale that landed me with this cookie recipe. A friend of mine gave me the recipe, and I fell instantly in love with it!

Albeit, I’ve tweaked it a little bit to use my favorite Quick & Easy CCC as the cookie base instead of her original recipe. But it’s the same concept– toasted coconut, toffee bits, and chocolate chips. So, so good!

I was pleasantly surprised at the texture of these cookies. The toffee, of course, lend a buttery crunch to each bite. But, to me, the real star of the show is the toasted coconut! Besides being deliciously fragrant and tasty, the coconut adds another layer of crispy texture to the cookies.

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, because it's so quick and easy and delicious!

Toasted Coconut & Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, because it's so quick and easy and delicious!

I absolutely adore these cookies. Crisp, buttery, golden edges. Crunchy, crispy toffee and coconut mixed with warm, melty chocolate in every bite. Believe me, you are going to fall head over heels for this recipe too!

PS- did I mention this is a spin-off of my Quick & Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies?? That means NO mixer, NO chilling, and NO spreading! Seriously, best. recipe. everrrrrrrrr.

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

We DEVOURED this bread. Inhaled it.

Like… it didn’t even last two days. It barely stuck around past the 24 hour mark.

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

It’s incredibly moist thanks to THREE CUPS of zucchini and the brown sugar.

And can you see how shiny the chocolate chips are? That’s my favorite part. In both banana bread and zucchini bread, I love how the moisture seeps into the chocolate chips creating a little chocolate “bubble” around each chip. I know I’m not doing a great job describing this, but you know what I’m talking about right?

I don’t know why, but that just gets me every time. ????

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Now, I’m no nutritional expert…. ahem, clearly ????… but I figure all the green veggies here make this bread a pretty square meal. Who’s with me?!

Enjoy a thick slice of this delicious zucchini bread warm or day-old, smothered in butter, with a tall glass of milk. And try it with my Maple Cinnamon Butter. You’ll be in heaven!

How To Make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Making zucchini bread is an efficient way to use up fresh zucchini, and it’s a recipe that’s both simple and rewarding. The process begins by combining the key wet ingredients in a large bowl—zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs. The grated zucchini adds moisture and a subtle, earthy flavor, while the sugar and oil ensure the bread will be sweet and tender. The vanilla and eggs bind everything together, creating a rich and flavorful base for your batter.

In a separate bowl, you’ll mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. These ingredients not only give structure to the bread but also infuse it with warm, spiced flavors. The cinnamon and nutmeg add a cozy, aromatic touch that complements the zucchini perfectly. Once the dry ingredients are well combined, gently fold them into the wet mixture. It’s important to mix just until a batter forms—overmixing can lead to dense, tough bread.

To make your zucchini bread extra special, fold in a generous amount of chocolate chips. The chocolate adds a delightful sweetness and a bit of indulgence to each slice. Once the batter is ready, divide it evenly between two prepared loaf pans. As the bread bakes, the kitchen will fill with the irresistible aroma of spices and chocolate. After about 45 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaves. If it comes out clean, the bread is ready. If the tops are browning too quickly, cover the loaves with foil and continue baking until fully cooked.

Allow the zucchini bread to cool in the pans before slicing. This ensures the loaves firm up nicely and are easy to remove. Once cooled, slice into thick pieces and enjoy the soft, moist texture combined with the rich flavors of chocolate and warm spices. This zucchini bread is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert, making it a versatile treat that everyone will love.