I swear, there’s something about the first workout once you’re back from vacation that is just SO awesome. Sure, I did some cardio while I was away, but by the time this morning rolled around, I was really in the need for some major butt-kicking.
So I consulted none other than Ms. Jillian Michaels, and decided to do her No More Trouble Zones DVD. You may remember, this is one of my favorite workout DVD’s and always gets my heart pumpin’. Man, I missed that last week!
After finishing up, I snacked on a banana and a blueberry Clif Z Bar that went undocumented (I kept things light since I’m heading to a brunch in a couple hours).
Just in case you missed any, here’s a round-up of all of last week’s vacation posts:
- Welcome to Virginia Beach!
- Burger & Beer
- Tough Workouts, Beach, & Happy Hour
- The Best Kept (Kinda) Secret in Virginia Beach
- The Last Hurrah in Virginia Beach
- Attack of Motion Sickness
- You Need This Recipe
- I Love the Beach, But…
- What I’ve Been Waiting All Vacation For
- We Bid Our Final Farewell
- One Last Tradition To Do
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Later this morning, I have a bridal shower to attend for a very special person, followed up by our 2nd Annual CDNY Blogger Brunch with some more very special people.
It’s definitely going to be a fun day!
For the brunch, I wasn’t sure if I would have time to make anything, seeing as though we just returned back yesterday. BUT, no worries…I was able to scrounge around the kitchen last night and came up with these.
The cookie is a Strawberry Cake Mix Cookie with mini chocolate chips mixed in. Easy peasy.
But it’s the frosting that deserves the attention on these babies…
Usually, I’m a buttercream frosting girl all the way. It’s my favorite, by far. But I decided to try something new last night and whipped up a batch of Fudgy Frosting instead.
If you live locally, then you may be familiar with the famous Fudge Fancy cookies?? Yes, well, while I’m not at liberty to put my own cookies in the same category as those, I will tell you that this frosting tastes very, VERY similar. And it’s probably a whole lot cheaper, too.
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Fudgy Frosting
(original recipe from Betty Crocker Bridal Edition Cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup baking cocoa
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- In 3-quart saucepan, mix granulated sugar and cocoa. Stir in milk, butter, corn syrup and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool 45 minutes.
- Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla extract with spool until smooth. Frost and enjoy!
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*To frost all 24 cookies, I only made half a batch of the frosting recipe from above and still had plenty left. If you’re making cupcakes or a cake, however, I would suggest making a whole batch. There’s nothing wrong with leftovers!
Time to go get movin’…I’ve got lots of fun ahead of me today!
Question for the Morning:
What’s your favorite kind of frosting?
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance says
Thank you for this fudgey chocolate icing recipe! I’ve been looking for a new one to try out!
And I totally feel you on the workout after vacation thing– my favorite part is cleaning up my eating again with homemade salads & greens after a vacation of eating out :D
Carrie (Moves 'N Munchies) says
I LOVEE the first workout after a vacay! feels amazing!! I LOVE FROSTING
Laura @ LauraLikesDesign says
I agree–the first workout after a break is the best! My body is always craving a really great workout after relaxing and getting back in the routine always makes me start my week off to a great start.
I love vanilla frosting!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
I hardly discriminate frosting, however, cream cheese is always a fav! Have a fun day!
Khushboo says
Nothing like a good workout to kickstart the ‘back to reality’ feeling! I’m hit or miss with frosting, but if I am eating it, it has to be buttercream!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
Hate to admit it, but I like any frosting…. It is a weakness.
It’s just SO sweet, I love it all!!!! …..This looks dandy and your decorating skills are rockin!
Aine @ Something to Chew Over says
Wow that frosting looks amazing! Chocolatey varieties are definitely my favourite but I like lemon a lot too. How did you get the frosting to look like that? Did you use piping?
Tara @ the pleased plate says
Brunch is my favorite meal of all time! I bet your cookies will be much appreciated at the brunch you are going to. I love all frosting!!! On a cake, on a cookie, on a spoon, buttercream, cream cheese… frosting is such a weakness of mine!
Sarah @ Food and Love Diaries says
WHOAAA good luck with all those in the house, they’d stand no chance around me :) I love funfetti frosting!
Erica says
I’d have to go with buttercream, too! The only kind of frosting I’m not crazy about is the whipped cream kind on cakes… I like the sugary stuff! But really, frosting is frosting & I’ll take what I can get! :-)
The cookies look beautiful!
Girl in the pibj says
Im at buttercream fan too!!
Those cookies look ridicoulously good!
Sweet and Savvy says
Looks wonderful!!
I’ve never made strawberry cake mix cookies, or even thought to! Those + fudge = howcouldthatbeanythingbutamazing?
Miranda @ Working Mom Works Out says
So pretty. I’ll take the leftovers, please!
Katelyn @ Chef Katelyn says
Fudge frosting is ACTUALLY the best. I would go against my better judgement and eat that frosting out of a tub, most likely.
Lindsay@ In Sweetness and In Health says
Oh wow that looks awesome…I totally want to try it! I’m so jealous of your blogger brunch, that sounds like so much fun! I wish I could do something like that!
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
I loveee workouts after vacations! it feels amazing to get back on track like that :)
Lauren @ Sugar Coated Sisters says
That frosting looks perfect!! I’ve been searching for a great fudgy chocolate frosting that isn’t granular (you know what I mean?) and by the looks of it, this might be it!
thanks Courtney!
Amy @ My Life as a Lazy Girl says
I love strawberry and chocolate together! Those look yummy!
Amber @ Stop and Smell the Wildflowers says
That frosting looks amazing! I will definitely be trying this. I love chocolate frosting!
Jess@atasteofconfidence says
i love no more trouble zones. It never disappoints! My fav kind of frosting is probably cream cheese based. :)
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
Yummm!!! My favorite frosting is easy… I LOVE cream cheese frosting!! It’s my favorite part of any red velvet or carrot cake!! :)
Abby @ Abz 'n' Oats says
I love my grandma’s secret frosting recipe. The only ingredients that I know that go into it are brown sugar and sour cream but it is to die for on a chocolate cake! :) Otherwise I like cream cheese frosting!
Charlie says
I love, love, love butter! o it’s no surprise my favorite frosting is any kind of buttercream :).
Kristine @ Running on Hungry says
Oh WOW! Those look delicious!
Pure2raw twins says
YUM – I love any kind of chocolate frosting, but I don’t like them overly sweet, which I know is the point of frosting but I like rich things :)
kristen says
Those look delicious!
And after being on vacation sometimes its nice to get back to the “regular” schedule (right?!?! haha)
Kellie says
I know you posted this a while ago, but I found your blog through pinterest and had a question. Does this fudge frosting get a little hard, so that cookies can stack on top of each other on a cookie platter? I’m looking for a fudgy chocolate cookie icing that is stable but still a little chewy. Thanks!
Courtney says
Hey Kellie! Yes, it should definitely get a little hard. I’ve never tried stacking with them so I’m not sure how that will go, but I’d say just keep them cold in the fridge before stacking and then you should be good!
Laura says
I just tried this and the flavor is great. However, how did you get your frosting to be firm enough to frost on top so that it remains in the shape you put it on? Mine is too thin even though I added almost 4 cups of powdered sugar. Let me know if you have a trick for this! Thanks!
Otherwise, love it! And I”ve been trying to figure out how to make the fudge fancies, homemade, for some time now!
Courtney says
Hey Laura! You’ll definitely want to leave it in the fridge to thicken up a bit. You could try adding a little less milk too, maybe? But keeping it cool is definitely going to help. Glad you’re enjoying it…I hear you on Fudge Fancies. SO good!! ;)
Laura says
Thank you Courtney!
Ann says
I think the combo of the strawberry chocolate chip cookie with the fudgy frosting sounds too good not to try. With that said, I followed your link to the cake mix cookie recipe which was for confetti cookies. I’m wondering what you added to the recipe to make it strawberry?