German Chocolate cake mix cookies and a quicker version, German Chocolate Brownies

My grandma made german chocolate cookies when I was a teenager and I LOVED them.  The recipe died with her, but the cravings never did!  Several months ago I was determined to find the recipe so we could enjoy them again.  And thanks to the miracle of the internet, and particularly in this case to allrecipes, I think I have.  Try these, you will not be sorry!  I usually triple the batch so I can use even cans of evaporated milk.  Not to mention the fact that they go fast!  I have listed the recipe with these ratios.  It makes about 6-8 dozen cookies.

German Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Topping:
3 cup white sugar
2 cans evaporated milk
3 squares butter
3 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 egg yolks, beaten
4 1/2 cups flaked coconut
4 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Cookie:
3 (18.25 ounce) packages German chocolate cake mix
1 cup butter, melted

In my opinion it works best to make the topping in advance.  Combine sugar, milk, butter, and egg yolks in a pan on the stove and blend them well.  Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Make sure you are stirring constantly.  It doesn't have to be a fast stir, just a slow methodical movement making sure you are hitting all parts of the bottom of the pan regularly so it doesn't cook on to the pan.  It usually takes 15 to 20 minutes for this big of a batch.  After it thickens, remove from heat and add coconut and pecans.  Then get it cold in the fridge.  These cookies spread a little when cooked, even in the best of circumstances.  In my experience, they work best when cold.  So I either make sure my topping is really cold, or I put the dough in the fridge to get it cold before making the cookies.  In fact, I try to keep it in the fridge between batches.
Here goes...  Combine cake mix, either soft or melted butter, and 6 cups of your topping.  I use my cookie scoop to shape my cookies.  Then, I use a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon to make a well in the center of each cookie.  Of course if you don't mind getting messy, thumbs work great for this purpose :).  Fill well with approximately a teaspoon remaining of filling, it will stick up over the cookie.
Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes to set up and then move to a cooling rack.  Make sure not to overbake.  I usually pull these out just BARELY before they look done. and they finish cooking while setting up on the pan. If you're not real familiar with cookie baking, that is when they are still puffed up, and before they start to fall.  It might take a few batches to learn what point they are about to fall.  If you pull out a little too early, just leave them on the pan a little longer and they will keep cooking.  They are SO chewy and good.  They are even chewier the next day if you store them in a sealed container.

Here's a bonus short cut german chocolate brownie recipe too!  I hope it is accurate...I made them months ago and forgot to write it down at the time.
I was in a big hurry to make something for a relief society gathering I had forgotten about.  I didn't have time to do the cookies, but I whipped up a half batch of the frosting (using one can of evaporated milk) and used two large size brownie mixes (9 by 13 size) made per directions on the box, and poured in a cookie sheet.  I think I left just a little bit of the batter in the bowl for fear that it would overflow, but not much.  I poured the warm topping over the brownie batter and baked at 350.  I was afraid they would overflow the pan, but they didn't.  They did, however take longer than I planned on to cook.  Right now I can't remember for sure how long but I think it was more than half an hour (30-40?).  By the time they were done, the topping was a little brown, but they still tasted really good.  I like the cookies best, but lots of people loved the brownies and asked for the recipe, and they are much less work.

A word for the wise, do not, I repeat, DO NOT try the frosting by itself.  If you do, you might not want to leave any to fill your cookies with!  It is delicious! :)

Marshmallow frosting

I wouldn't advise this one unless you have a kitchenaid mixer or LOTS of patience!  Or come use mine! ;)

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I started whipping my egg whites with the vanilla. (you want to get them to soft peaks).  While they whipped, I started the sugar, water, and cream of tartar on the stove.  You need to boil it till the sugar is dissolved and its all bubbly and clear.  When that is done, make sure your whites make a soft peak when you pull out your beater.  When they are there, continue to beat them while slowly drizzling sugar mixture into the bowl.  When its all in just beat it FOREVER till it is shiny white and forms a really stiff peak.  ( I think it is often called 7 minute frosting because you have to whip it that long.  I think I whipped mine longer)  It is a BEAUTIFUL glossy white frosting!  I used it to frost Kayleigh's chocolate ganache birthday cupcakes.  I used my easy accent decorator and it was so easy to manage and held up so beautifully.  I might turn the pics someday, no time tonight!  You can add food coloring or extracts too to change things up.  I wished I added 1/4 tsp of almond extract.

Sturdy Whip Cream frosting

I must thank my mother in law for this recipe.  Yummy!

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till smooth.  Gradually add cream and whip to stiff peaks.  I don't know if I whipped mine quite long enough because it kind of sagged over time, but it tasted fantastic and stayed on the cupcakes so I was happy.  In fact, everyone at the party was using the extra on their fruit and whatever else they could find.  Wonderful stuff!  I used it to frost blueberry cheese cupcakes.

Blueberry Cheese Cupcakes

I made these for my sister's birthday, and I thought they worked out great!  Not to mention they tasted amazing!

1 (18.25 ounce) betty crocker cake mix white or lemon
1 pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 (21 ounce) can Blueberry pie filling

I was making lots of cupcakes that day and wasn't sure what cake flavor would taste best so I did half of them lemon cake and half rainbow chip. I liked both, but I think they were best with the rainbow chip (or white).  Others who were there can also weigh in if you like!  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter as directed on package and put in the fridge while you prepare the filling. 

 Mix cream cheese, egg, and sugar until well blended. Remove 3/4 cup of the pie filling and set aside for topping the cupcakes. I used my cookie scoop (1 oz size) to fill the cupcake cups uniformly.  Then I washed out the scoop and filled it about 1/2 full of cheese and put on the center of each cupcake.  Then approximately the same amount of blueberries.  Finally I topped it off with one more scoop(slightly less full) just to cover the filling.  It almost filled the cupcake cups and I was afraid they would all overflow, but it worked out just fine.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan to wire racks. Cool completely. 

Frost with sturdy whip cream frosting (I used my pampered chef easy accent decorator), and top with reserved pie filling.

I made two frostings and I liked the sturdy whip cream frosting best for these cupcakes, but the marshmallow frosting was good too so I am going to post both of them.

Great Gingerbread Men, Even Better Chewy Ginger cookies!!

I hunted down this recipe because Jayden really wanted to make gingerbread men.  Of course when the cutters were brought out, they wanted gingerbread elephants, dinosaurs, monkeys, airplanes, and trains more, but a good time was had by all.  We intended to share at least some of them...  But even though they were crunchy and not our usual cookie choice...we just kept seeking out that spicy orangey flavor and before we knew it they were gone!
They were so good crunchy I wondered how good they would taste if I left them thicker...  And I felt a little guilty eating the best ones leaving Jay to eat the more crunchy small ones when he got home from work.  (I didn't realize he would crave them like I did!) So I got up a little early the next morning.  With some of the leftover dough I used my cookie scoop and made a dozen ginger cookies to send with him to work.  I cooked them until JUST before they looked done and then left them on the pan for a few minutes... WOW.  We DEFINITELY didn't share that dozen.  In fact, after eating two right out ot the oven, I put the rest in Jay's lunch box to get them away from me!  Then I stole one more in the 5 minutes before he left!  I never thought I would replace my favorite soft ginger cookie recipe...until now!

So here goes!

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Just typical cookie directions... Cream butter and sugar then add other wet ingredients and mix well.  Then mix in the dry ingredients.  Refridgerate for at least several hours or overnight if you are making gingerbread men.  You don't have to refridgerate them to make the ginger cookies, but they do stay a little taller if you do.  If you are going to roll the dough one tip that worked great for me is to roll it between two pieces of waxed paper.  I've never done that before and it worked so well!  Great gingerbread men!  Then bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  (ours were only crunchy because we put huge cookies on the same pan with tiny ones, so many of them were really crunchy by the time the big ones were done.)  Remember if you do ginger cookies to pull them out when they are still puffy and look just moist in the middle.  (About 9-10 minutes.  Right when the first ones fall or even JUST before.)  The ones that ended up best were the ones that I was afraid were underdone so I left them on the pan to continue cooking.  They stayed really chewy and good!