She is out to make us all overdose on chocolate.

And I love her for it.

The Yankee bought me her cookbook for Christmas and it’s fantastic. This chocolate sheet cake (also on her site here) was the first recipe I tried out of the book and it [...]]]> It’s time to speak the truth about the Pioneer Woman:

She is out to make us all overdose on chocolate.

And I love her for it.

The Yankee bought me her cookbook for Christmas and it’s fantastic. This chocolate sheet cake (also on her site here) was the first recipe I tried out of the book and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Try it yourself.

You will need for the cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 heaping Tbsp (heaping) cocoa
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

You will need for the icing:

• ½ cups finely chopped pecans (I omitted; Yankee is not a fan)
• 1 ¾ sticks butter
• 4 heaping Tbsps. cocoa
• 6 Tbsp milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) powdered sugar

To make the cake:

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add cocoa and stir
3. Add boiling water to saucepan and boil mixture for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Pour this mixture over the flour mixture and gently stir to cool it off.
4. In a separate boil, mix together buttermilk, beaten eggs, baking soda and vanilla; stir this mixture into the chocolate mixture
5. Pour batter into a jelly roll pan (I used a 9×13 Pyrex for thicker layers) and bake at 350F; a jelly roll pan will take about 20 minutes; add about ten minutes onto that for a 9×13

While the cake is in the oven, make the icing:

1. Finely chop pecans, if using
2. Melt butter in a saucepan (same pan from earlier is fine) and add cocoa, stirring to combine
3. Turn off heat, then add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir, and then stir in pecans if using
4. Pour over just-out-of-the-oven cake, working quickly because the icing will quickly develop this wonderful glaze-y crust on top that is phenomenal

Nutritional information: one bazillion calories (roughly) per serving. And worth it.

A hint: it’s these.

You know how it works. They pipe the smell of this stuff through the mall [...]]]> Let’s just run into the mall real quick. It’ll take five minutes. I need black pumps, a white shirt for your dad and…. um… a white…. um… nope, now I’m hungry. Are you hungry? What smells so good?

A hint: it’s these.

You know how it works. They pipe the smell of this stuff through the mall at the height of Christmas shopping season. And they offer free samples. You know, the first one’s free. Mm hmm. Well now you can just say no. Well, you don’t have to. You could actually buy some to eat while you’re shopping until you can come home and make more, which will have Craisins, making them even better.

I found this recipe at Buns in my Oven and went to the grocery store about an hour later. I had no idea these were so easy! Crazy good, crazy easy. Speakin’ my language.

So gather this (I roughly halved her recipe and added Craisins)

• 1 pound nuts, any kind – I used the 1.4 lb jar of mixed nuts
• 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this will not light you up. I promise)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 – 1 cup Craisins, depending on your level of love for them

Now do this:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F
2. Pour nuts (not Craisins) into a large bowl — bigger than you think you need so you have room to stir
3. In a small bowl whisk together egg white and water until frothy, then pour over nuts, stirring to coat
4. In another small bowl mix together sugars, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon, then sprinkle over nuts, stirring to coat
5. Spread nuts onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet; we’re going to bake for a total of 30 minutes
6. Bake for ten minutes and stir, then bake another ten minutes
7. Fold/stir in Craisins and bake another ten minutes
8. Move the sheet of parchment to a cooling rack, breaking up any giant clumps (little clumps are yummy) and allow nuts to cool completely before storing in an airtight container
9. Eat for breakfast, lunch, and supper. And snack
10. Put in Mason jars and give as tasty Christmas gifts. Try not to eat them in the car on the way to deliver them