Sugar Rush!.....Sugar Crash.......

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  I've been in a sugar coma for the past week.  (I just came out of it this evening after much sleeping and slightly above average nutritional eating.)  This is how it happened.  As most sugar induced comas are caused, it all started with family vacation!! Early this week my sister's family, my parents, Kurt, Rowen and I all headed to Wisconsin Dells for a little R&R, or should I say lack thereof, as we spent most of the time chasing the kids around the indoor water parks that were as abundant as dandelions in springtime at our resort. 

In preparation for lots of swimming and indoor playground climbing, (which turned out to be my nephew, James's, absolute favorite thing to do all the time, much to the cringing of those who had to chase after him what with all those kid germs breeding in there.......shudder) I decided that I should bring along some sugary treats to keep the batteries charged with just enough energy to keep us going but allowing us (and more importantly the kids) to crash just in time for bed.  What better way than to start off the day with a nice healthy portion of Chocolate Coffee Cake?  Which by the way looks like a giant chocolate chip cookie (see pic below!)  It ended up not being as sweet as I thought, which was pleasantly surprising.  And what's a better mid-morning or afternoon snack than homemade Lofthouse Cookies?!  Yes, you know those irresistible pink or yellow frosted sugar cookies with sprinkles that sit in the bakery section of your local grocery store just daring you not to buy them.  And of course your not a sucker when it comes to dares so you buy them!  Well, these are homemade so I felt like I'd conquered something, but then I started making them and it was like "Yeah, even homemade and these have a whole lot of not so good things in them......but at least I made them!"   

Anywho, the recipes are below.  I strongly suggest you make these for your next family vacation.  While my little Rowen is too young to sample these tasty treats, and was ready to go to bed before he even ate dinner, James and his sister, Ava (3 yrs. and 1 yr respectively) were still bouncing off the walls at bedtime.  (Should've gone ahead and brought some raw sugar to be taken by the teaspoon full.....)

Chocolate Coffee Cake
Makes one 9x13 inch cake

For the Streusel:
2/3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 C chocolate chips

For the Cake:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C cake flour
2/3 C unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter
1 C granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/4 C sour cream
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan or dish.  If using a glass baking dish, set the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

To make the streusel, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form.  Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the all-furpose flour, cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla.  Using the mixer on low speed, beat the batter until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the batter.

Bake until the topping is golden brown 40-45 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Cut into squares and serve.

Note:  Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips can be used in this coffee cake recipe.  I used semisweet chocolate chunks because that was what I had in the cupboard.  I also thought maybe a tablespoon of espresso might add to the flavor of this cake, so maybe next time!  Also, this recipe is from my W-S Baking Book!

That is one giant chocolate chip cookie! It's the breakfast of champs! Yum!

Homemade Lofthouse Cookies

 I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It's from sweetpeaskitchen.com  Here is the link: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/05/30/soft-lofthouse-style-frosted-cookies/  I've seen other Lofthouse recipes out there but this is the one I settled on.  The cookies turned out great and were so soft!  The frosting was pretty great too.....I couldn't stop licking it from the bowl! (and I hadn't even frosted the cookies yet!)  I made the frosting green for St. Patty's but let it be your canvas!

Lots of sugar for already sweet kids!