Insanely delicious chocolate truffles

This recipe comes courtesy my friend Abby, who makes these for Christmas every year. They're pretty damn easy, and will impress the hell out of your friends and family. Seriously, make these. Ok?

Recipe for 4 dozen truffles (or 3 dozen if you make them a bit bulkier)

1 Tb instant coffee, disolved in 1/4 c water (or, 1/3 C espresso)
8 oz semisweet chocolate
1 oz bitter chocolate
3 egg yolks
1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 c myers rum or grand marnier
Unsweetened cocoa
Powdered sugar

1 - Chop chocolate into pieces, put in in a double broiler with the coffee, and melt, while stirring.

2 - In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks. Add 1/2 c chocolate mixture to them, beat well, and add back to the chocolate in the pan. Beat well for 2 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes, and then gradually beat in butter, one or two pieces at a time. Make sure no butter is visible, and add the rum/grand marnier.

3 - Refrigerate one and a half hours (or longer if you're making multiple recipes), until firm enough to do the next step.

4 - Scoop up truffles with a teaspoon and drop them onto a cookie sheet. They will be sticky blobs with no particular shape.

6 - Refrigerate for at least half an hour, but probably not more than an hour and a half.

7 - Combine two parts cocoa and one part powered sugar in a lidded container (I like a glass jar). Probably 1/4 c cocoa and 1/8 c powered sugar will be enough. drop truffles into mix, put on lid, shake to coat, and the pluck them out and quickly roll them into a ball with the palms of your hands. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. I also sometimes keep a jar of cocoa/sugar around to freshen them up when needed.

Italian Loooove Cake

I haven't been following this blog too much but I just tried this great cake and I got the recipe and I can't believe how easy it is to make. It was really delicious. I don't have any idea why it is called what it's called. Enjoy!

Italian Loooove Cake

1 Box Fudge Marble Cake Mix
2 lbs Ricotta cheese
3/4 cup sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Box (3 3/4 oz) Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 cup milk
1 8oz carton Cool Whip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix as directed on box. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.

In a separate bowl combine ricotta, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Spread over the top of unbaked cake. Bake for 1 hour. Cool.

Mix pudding with one cup of milk. Fold into whipped topping. Spread over cake and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies - Grad Student Style

*Candied Bacon not included in this recipe

So Bret promised me his first-born child if I posted these to Recipe Go 'Round, and as there is no such thing better than a tiny little helper monkey, I must post it.

History 

It was given to my mother when she was getting her masters in behavioral therapy by another grad student.  The name of the original giver is lost to time, but the recipe remains.  It was a favorite of mine as a child and still is.

Also, this is probably the easiest recipe in the world.

Ingredients

• 1 box Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Fudge Cake
  
• 1/2 Cup Flour
  
• 2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 6 oz Chocolate Chips
  
• 1 Cup Walnuts (optional)
  

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 350˚
  
• Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is well incorporated.  The cookie dough should have a slightly glossy shine to it.
  
• Take a spoonful of dough or just tear out a chunk from the mix and roll into balls between your hand.
  
• Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 8-11 minutes.
  

Notes

I personally prefer the cookies to be slightly undercooked and allowed to cool for 15 minutes before eating them silly-like.  Also, the boxed cake mix doesn't have to be Duncan Hines nor the Fudge cake variety.  The cake mix does heavily influence the flavor of the cookie, so choose wisely.   From personal experience, strawberry cake mix does not taste that good.

The best chocolate pie in the WORLD!

Another great one from my Grandma.

Here's Grandmama's Chocolate Pie Recipe

3/4 cup Sugar
4 Heaping Tbsp. Sifted flour
1/4 Cup Hershey Cocoa

Mix dry ingredients well in your sauce pan -- to that add:

1 1/4 cup milk -- add a little at a time, on fairly high heat, stir constantly -- When hot, cut back heat to medium
and cook 'til it becomes lumpy -- keep stirring 'til the lumps fade away and remove from heat

2 Egg Yolks (save the whites for your meringe) Beat yolks well & add small spoonful of chocolate mixture to egg.
Keep adding spoonfuls ( 4 - 5 ) to the yolk. This will help "cook" the egg without it curdling

Add egg mixture to the pot & place back on low-medium heat and add:

1/2 Stick butter
1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix well & pour into your slightly pre-cooked pie shell

FOR THE MERINGUE

2 Egg Whites
4 level Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Beat egg whites in mixer 'til forms soft peaks. Gradually add sugar 1 spoonful at a time and beat well. Add vanilla and stir into the whites. Spread on pie after it has cooled a bit

Bake @ 325 aprox 15 min.

The Best Chocolate Cake in the WORLD!

From my Grandma, to my Mom, to me, to YOU! Enjoy!

Granmama's Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven at 400 Bake time: 20 - 30 min.

In mixing bowl: Mix these together really well
2 cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar

In Sauce pan: Bring this to a boil
1 Stick butter
4 Tbsp. Cocoa
1/2 Cup oil (Not Olive Oil)
1 Cup water

Pour this over the sugar & flour mixture and add:
1 level tsp baking powder
1 level tsp baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well
Fold in 2 beaten eggs
Bake in 9 x 14 greased & lightly floured pan
Let cake cool for at least 10 min. before icing

For the Icing: This is just the recipe off the Hershey Cocoa can which I like a lot.

1 Stick butter
2/3 cup Hershey cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter & stir in cocoa
Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistencey
Add more milk, if needed
Stir in vanilla

Chocolate cake - in 5 minutes

Yes - that's chocolate cake in a cup, in a microwave.

I haven't actually tried it. For all I know, it could be awful. There is definite evidence in the comments that it doesn't always work, and you end up with a cup of horrible chocolate sludge. The photos make it look part delicious, part gross.

But then again, it takes five minutes, and what if it works? For all those times you wanted a quick snack but didn't want to go to the store - you owe it to yourself to try.  

If anyone does, please report back here. You can also try 5-minute spice cake (no photos, though).