by J A Whiting
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*½ teaspoon baking soda
*¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
*Line standard muffin tin with paper liners (foil liners are best)
*In heatproof bowl, mix together the chocolate and cocoa powder
*In saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar, butter, and water together until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves into the mixture
*Pour the sugar and butter mixture into the heat proof bowl containing the chocolate and cocoa powder. Whisk the mixture (you can use a fork or a whisk) until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth
*Whisk the milk, egg, extra yolk, and vanilla together in a bowl until combined. Pour into the chocolate mixture and whisk until the ingredients are mixed
*In a bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until blended
*Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk together until smooth
*Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour
*Set the oven at 350 degrees
*Spoon the batter into the muffin cups (sometimes an ice cream scoop works well)
*Bake the cupcakes for 30 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed (you can also test the cupcakes with a toothpick)
*Set the muffin tins on a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting
*Frost with your favorite frosting recipe or sprinkle with powdered sugar
LOWER-FAT VERSION OF
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Ingredients
*2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped up (can substitute 2 ounces of dark chocolate chips)
*¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
*¾ cup All-purpose flour
*1 tsp baking powder
*½ tsp baking soda
*¼ tsp salt
*2 tbsp canola oil
*1 tbsp vanilla extract
*¾ cup granulated sugar
*¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
*⅓ cup water
*½ cup nonfat milk
Directions
*In heatproof bowl, mix together the chocolate and cocoa powder
*In saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves into the mixture
*Pour the sugar mixture into the heat proof bowl containing the chocolate and cocoa powder. Whisk the mixture (you can use a fork or a whisk) until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth
*Whisk the milk, oil, and vanilla together in a bowl until combined. Pour into the chocolate mixture and whisk until the ingredients are mixed
*Add the yogurt to the chocolate mixture and whisk until blended
*In a bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until blended
*Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk together until smooth
*Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour
*Set the oven at 350 degrees
*Spoon the batter into the muffin cups (sometimes an ice cream scoop works well)
*Bake the cupcakes for 22-25 minutes (you can also test the cupcakes with a toothpick)
*Set the muffin tins on a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting
*Frost with your favorite frosting recipe or sprinkle with powdered sugar
ANGIE’S EASY 5-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Ingredients
*3¼ cups confectioners' sugar
*1¼ cups cocoa powder
*1½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature so the butter is soft for
mixing
*½ cup milk, room temperature
*2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
*In a bowl, mix together (with a fork or a whisk) the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder
*Add milk and vanilla; stir together
*Add the butter, stir into the mixture until smooth and free of lumps
FINCH AND ROSELAND’S EASY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
This recipe makes about 30 truffles
Ingredients
*16 ounces of chopped dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate, or if you like, use a combination of the different kinds of chocolate
*1 cup heavy cream
*¾ teaspoon vanilla
*¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
* Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl
*Simmer the heavy cream in a small saucepan to just near boiling and then pour the cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes
*Whisk the chocolate and cream mixture together until very smooth
*Whisk in the vanilla and salt
*Refrigerate the mixture for 45 minutes - 1 hour (The mixture should be similar to the consistency of soft ice cream). If it’s too soft, leave longer in the refrigerator. If it's seems too hard, leave at room temperature until it gets a bit softer
*Line a pan with parchment paper. Use a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to scoop a dollop of the truffle mixture onto the paper-lined pan. There will be enough mixture to make about 30 truffles
*Place pan in refrigerator for about 40 minutes. The truffles should be firm but pliable
*Gather the toppings you want to roll the truffles in, such as: unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar (or mix powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder), chopped nuts, sprinkles or anything else you can think of!
*Remove the pan of truffles from the refrigerator
*Roll each truffle between your palms to make nicely shaped balls. (Hands will get messy!)
*Now roll the balls in the toppings. It looks nice to place the finished truffle into a small cupcake/mini muffin wrapper.
Note: Truffles can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
ANGIE’S BLONDIES
Ingredients
*1½ cups packed brown sugar
*1½ sticks of melted unsalted butter
*2 eggs lightly beaten
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*1½ cups of all-purpose flour
*¾ teaspoon baking powder
*½ teaspoon salt
*1 cup of chocolate chips (your choice of dark, milk, semi-sweet, white, toffee, or a mixture of the different chips)
Directions
*In a large bowl, blend the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla
*In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and then add to the brown sugar mixture
*Stir in your favorite chocolate chips
*Spread the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan (you can line the pan with parchment paper if you prefer)
*Bake at 350° for about 18-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean)
*Cool on a wire rack
*When cool, cut into bars
Note: Makes about 36 bars
MR. FINCH’S NUT AND
MARZIPAN COOKIES
Ingredients
*150 grams or 1⅓ cups flour
*½ teaspoon baking powder
*⅓ cup sugar
*1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
*2 tablespoons of water
*1 stick of butter
*150 grams or 5½ ounces of ground
*250 grams or 7-10 ounces of marzipan – you can buy it in a roll
*For the icing –
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
*Mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl
*Whisk in the water
*Add the vanilla and whisk together
*Cut the butter into very small pieces and place on top of the flour mixture
*Add in the ground nuts
*Form the dough by mixing with a fork and then with hands (messy!)
*Let the dough rest for 20 minutes
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
*Roll out the dough to ½ inch thick
*Cut out cookies with a juice glas
s or a round cookie cutter
*Bake on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes
*Remove the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely
*Spoon a little jam on each cookie to cover the top
*Roll out the marzipan (sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar on the counter so the dough won’t stick) – don’t roll it too thin (just a little thinner than the thickness of the cookie)
*Cut out the marzipan with the same size juice glass or round cookie cutter
*Place a round of marzipan on top of each cookie – press gently
For the icing –
*Stir lemon juice into the sugar
*Stir in the vanilla
*Thicken with more sugar or thin with more lemon juice as needed
*Glaze the cookies with the icing
*Decorate the top with a bit of nut or with sprinkles
*Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
About the Author
SOME RECIPES FROM SWEET SECRETS
ANGIE’S CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
LOWER-FAT VERSION OF CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
ANGIE’S EASY 5-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE FROSTING
FINCH AND ROSELAND’S EASY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
ANGIE’S BLONDIES
MR. FINCH’S NUT ANDMARZIPAN COOKIES
