My Mom's 7 Minute Sticky Frosting Recipe with swirled Chocolate Chips on top of Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Cake :0

I will never forget after meeting my husband we would talk about childhood memories and still do.  One of my fond memories involved Birthday Cake.  My mom would make an awesome chocolate cake and top it with "too die for" 7 minute Sticky Frosting.  She always added chocolate chips in the end and swirled them around gently.  I start to drool just thinking about it.  My husband always said "yuck".  He made it  very clear he didn't like cooked frosting. 

So being the good wife that I am.....I never made it until........I was pregnant with our 3rd son.  I wanted it so badly I decided even if I had to eat the whole cake myself I was going to make my mom's 7 minute sticky frosting.

The way we ate chocolate cake at our house changed from that day on.....My husband LOVED IT!!!  He asked why I never had made that frosting before.  I reminded him of the comments he had made years ago.  He explained he had never had cooked frosting like this before. 

Now it seems like almost monthly - like clock work he asks for this sweet treat - and so do our little boys. 

So first I made a wonderful box dark chocolate cake - but it is not just any dark chocolate cake - it has to Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Cake mix with 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top of the cake batter before baking.

Recipe for the 7 Minute Frosting.

Ingredients:

1 cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup

3 Tablespoons of Cold Water

3 Egg Whites

1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tarter

1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Over a large double boiler - I like to use a pot of water boiling on the stove with an large metal bowl over the top.

Beat all ingredients except the vanilla and chocolate chips.

Beat until peaks form - usually around 7 minutes - hence the name.

Remove from heat and continue beating while adding the vanilla.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips - they will begin the melt due to the heat of the frosting.

Frost the cooled cake - I like to coat the cake in a double batch of this addicting sticky frosting.

As the frosting cools the chocolate chips will set up and make tasty ribbons of goodness throughout the frosting.

The only problem with this recipe, but well worth it....It makes a big splattery mess...as you can see by the photo below.

Best Not to Sweet Sugar Cookies Recipe

When I was in high school...many years ago a dear friend of mine mother's made the best sugar cookies, ever!  I was lucky enough she shared the recipe with me and it has become a family favorite at Christmas.  I have tweaked the recipe to fit my tastes.

I love to work with the dough.  It is soft but not overly sticky.  It is so easy to roll out and cut into shapes. 

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Crisco
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Blend the following together flour, baking powder, baking soda and Crisco like pie crust.

In a separate bowl beat the following well - eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla and almond extract.

Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to make it a little more firm.

Roll out dough to 1/4" and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes - until edges are brown.

Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Once baked the cookies puff up, but keep their shapes.  They are sturdy so children can decorate them easily without them breaking. 

The texture of these sugar cookies is perfect.  They are so light and flaky inside.  The refreshing part is they are not overly sweet.  The frosting I make helps balance the slightly sweet, flakiness of the cookie and the rich sweet frosting.

Bring on Santa - we are ready!