Something hit me when I was browsing TasteSpotting a couple weeks ago: I haven’t had a cookie cake in ages. I decided right then I wanted a cookie cake at my birthday party this year, because clearly I’m 20 going on 12. But then I figured why wait? I could bake a cookie cake for any occasion.

Of course I made mine gluten-free using one of my favorite flours: Almond flour. It also just happens to be dairy-free because I was low on butter that day. The peanut butter helps to act as a binder, makes the cake richer and adds a nutty flavor. You could substitute in almond butter to work around a peanut allergy.

I liked mine slightly under-baked because it kept the inside moist and gooey almost like eating cookie dough. If you like your cookies a little crustier, I would recommend adding a few minutes onto the baking time and watching it carefully.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 6 Tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 Tablespoons chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the almond flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. Beat in the eggs, peanut butter, oil, vanilla extract, and water.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Pour the batter in and spread it around the bottom into an even layer.
6. Bake for 20 minutes until the outside is firm and bounces back to the touch.
7. Let cool slightly before cutting in.

I thought this could have used a little more sugar, but that’s probably because I love things sweet. If you’re making this for adults, it’ll be fine the way the recipe is. If you’re making this for little children or me, I would add a 1/4 cup of sugar to the recipe.

Sunday night I realized I needed a secret santa gift in just a few days and that I hadn’t bought anything. Whoops. I raced around the house to see if there was anything I could pass off as a well thought out gift and couldn’t find a thing. Then it hit me: Homemade mixes. They’re easy, thoughtful, and I already had everything I needed. Plus, who wouldn’t want to get what essentially equal gooey brownies only for whenever you want them?

I based the ingredients in my mix off of my almond flour brownie recipe since they’re easily my favorite brownies ever. Theoretically you can use any brownie recipe you love, but if you use this one I promise you the gift recipient won’t be disappointed at all.

For the mix, you need:

• 1 18oz mason jar
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Enough chocolate chips to fill the jar
• 1 index card
• Ribbon to attach the card.

Method:

1. Clean and dry an 18oz mason jar
2. Add in layers the almond flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.
3. Write on an index card the following:

“You’ll need:

1 mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
4oz your favorite chocolate

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt and mix the butter and chocolate together. Work in the eggs and gently fold in the mix until it’s all combined. Pour in an 8×8 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.”

It’s not quite as fun as baking brownies because you don’t get to lick the bowl. Go ahead and steal a few chocolate chips for yourself to compensate and feel good knowing you’re giving a thoughtful gift.

Tomorrow: Chocolate chip cookie mix!

Over this weekend I went to Philadelphia and ran a marathon. How did I do? I don’t actually know yet; I’m writing this 2 days before the actual marathon. You can probably check my Twitter. I hope to have an actual recap up by tomorrow.

But whether I hit my goal or not isn’t important(OK, it’s kind of important); what matters more is that I had fun with some awesome people. Madeline and her boyfriend were kind enough to let me crash at their place the night before the marathon so it only seemed fair that I shower them in chocolate. 

Madeline and Boots love gluten-free pretzels and gluten-free chocolate covered pretzels even though neither are gluten-free, which I find hysterical as someone who’s gluten-free and never even bought pretzels before I decided to make these. I don’t know that they like peanut butter, but I’m just going to assume that that’s the case, too. Because—I mean—who doesn’t like peanut butter?

I sneaked a piece before I gave the rest away(because you can’t give something as a present and not taste it first to make sure it’s good, right?) and they were good. I would have added a touch more salt; when I tried the gluten-free pretzels on their own I realized they weren’t as salty as I expected them to be and I think the sweetness is a little overpowering. Otherwise I hope these will be a hit. And if you enjoy things that are sweet and salty I’d highly recommend them, too.

Peanuts And Pretzels Dark Chocolate Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes(allow 20 minutes for cooling)

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate OR 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup crushed pretzels
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Method:

1. In the microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it’s smooth and liquid.

2. Spread the chocolate out on a piece of parchment paper in a 1/2-inch thick layer.
3. Evenly distribute the peanuts, pretzels, and peanut butter chips over the chocolate. Press the ingredients lightly into the chocolate to make sure that they stick.
4. Refrigerate the chocolate for 20 minutes until it has hardened.
5. Break the bark into individual-sized pieces. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

I hope to have a full marathon/weekend recap up tomorrow morning, but if it’s a little late it’s because I’m going from Philadelphia to Boston to Providence and then back to Massachusetts to cook and photograph and eat Thanksgiving dinner. Basically it’s going to be a bust week and I can’t wait for all of it.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, you know I don’t really like alcohol, unless it’s in dessert and then I go crazy for it. If I wrote It’s a Wonderful Life, the line would have been, “every time chocolate is mixed with liquor, an angel gets its wings.” I think these are that good. The texture is soft and almost chewy, like a chocolate candy with a sweet, seductive twist.

Embarrassingly enough I’m a lightweight and one of these is enough to make me feel way too good. When I was tempering and tasting the chocolate I wasn’t sure there was enough rum in it, but once the truffles were cooled and I took a bite—wow! They pack a punch of flavor.

No rum? No problem. Improvise the recipe with a different liquor. I can’t wait to try these with Kahlua.

Chocolate Rum Truffles

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time:

Ingredients(makes about 20 truffles):

• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips OR 9.7oz semi-sweet baking chocolate cut into chunks
• 2oz Bacardi rum
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder plus more for dusting

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once it’s in a liquid state, slowly incorporate the rum until it’s all combined and evenly mixed.
2. Cool the chocolate and rum in a refrigerator for 10 minutes until it’s hardened but still sticks to itself.
3. Sift in the cocoa powder while mixing the chocolate until all the cocoa powder has been used.
4. Tear off pieces of chocolate and roll it into 1-inch balls.
5. Fill a shallow bowl with cocoa powder and roll each ball in the powder until covered all around.
6. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

After making these we’re almost out of rum and chocolate chips. That’s what I call an emergency.

I’m kind of a scatterbrain when it comes to making desserts; there are only a few recipes I can make without having to look at a recipe. Because of that, I usually end up making those same ones again and again like this fudge. It’s hard to forget 4 ingredients and how to use the microwave. You don’t even need to dirty any dishes. On top of that, it tastes just as good as any other fudge I’ve had. That’s probably why I keep making it again and again.

Microwave Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients(Makes 16 servings):

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 4oz stick butter(coconut oil and Earth Balance work, too)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk(or non-dairy substitute)

Method:

1. Melt together the chocolate chips and butter.
2. Sift in the powdered sugar and pour in the milk. Mix until completely uniform.
3. Pour the hot fudge into a 6 x 6 pan. Refrigerate until set.
4. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares and serve slightly chilled.