The best chocolate cake recipe you’ll ever make!

I love all things chocolate, but I’ve struggle with chocolate cake. So many times, I get bakery chocolate cake that is dry. Ugh. While I’ve tweaked a chocolate cake mix with great results, this fudgy chocolate cake recipe tops them all hands down. It’s a mic drop sort of cake.

My parents don’t even eat chocolate cake and they love this cake. Same for my husband. It’s just its own level of yum! It’s somehow airy yet moist. And it just plain works. So, when I made it most recently for my son’s birthday, I knew I had to share it on the blog.

Usually I only make this chocolate cake recipe for birthdays, because we don’t have cake too often at home. Unfortunately, my daughter opts for Oreo ice cream cake for her birthday in October. But my son asks for this chocolate cake for his January birthday, and I always make it for my own birthday in May. I can hardly wait the two more months until my birthday!

And, I also encourage you to try this recipe even if you haven’t made a cake from scratch before. This is literally the only cake I make from scratch. Usually I do just tweak a box cake mix with awesome results, but this one is worth making from scratch. I promise you can do it — and you don’t even need special cake flour or other uncommon ingredients. In fact, I’d guess you have everything you need to make this cake in your kitchen right now!

Making the fudgy chocolate cake recipe

Like any baking recipe, start by preheating the oven. Turn the oven to 350-degrees and then prepare your baking pan(s). I usually bake this cake in a 9×13-inch pan, but this time I used to 9-inch cake pans to make a layer cake for my son. He wanted the cake to look like the one in a video game he likes.

Grease the pans or spray them with non-stick cooking spray, and then dust them lightly with flour. I use non-stick cooking spray because it’s easiest — and at least a bit healthier!

Next, stir together 2 cups of white sugar and 2 cups of all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. I use the bowl of my stand mixer, because this is the bowl you’ll be mixing the batter in later.

Let the flour and sugar hang out while you get out a medium saucepan. Put 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of water and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the saucepan over medium heat.

You want to bring it to a boil so that the liquid is bubbly and moving around. While I wait for it to boil, I move on to the next step of whisking 1/2 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 2 eggs together. I measure the milk into my 2-cup measuring cup and then add in the rest of the ingredients. It’s easier to pour that way and I don’t end up with a dirty measuring cup and a dirty bowl!

When the butter, water and cocoa powder reaches a boil, then it’s ready to remove from the stove.

Pour the boiling mixture into the bowl with the flour and sugar mixture.

Stir the flour mixture and cocoa powder mixture together by hand or using a mixer. I use my stand mixer to make life easier. If you are using a mixer, start out on low speed until the ingredients have combined a bit before moving to medium speed to mix completely. If you start out too fast, then the boiling cocoa powder mixture will splash out. When it’s all combined the mixture will be loose.

Add in the egg mixture and keep stirring or mixing until it’s incorporated. I usually add this in slowly while the mixer is running.

Once the egg mixture is incorporated, the cake batter is ready. It is going to be a thinner consistency than you might expect for cake batter, but that’s exactly correct!

Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan(s), and place them in the oven.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes for two 9-inch pans or 30 to 35 minutes for a 9×13-inch pan. You’ll know the cake is finished when it begins to shrink away from the sides.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Let it cool completely before topping it with icing. This time around, I used my favorite quick, easy and oh-so-delicious homemade buttercream icing. I tinted it for the color to match the cake in the video game and did the swirl design in white like the same video game cake.

Look at the airy, yet moist inside of this fudgy chocolate cake recipe!

Find more delicious family recipes like this one in the “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook. Download your FREE copy today!

You’ll never have a better baked mac and cheese than this one inspired by a restaurant in St. Louis!

Nearly two years ago, we took a family vacation to St. Louis. We had a great time exploring the city and making lots of family memories. We also tried some incredible food. The hamburger from Hi-Pointe Drive-In was fabulous. Cookies from Insomnia Cookies hit a sweet spot. Floats from Fitz’s Root Beer were in their own category of sweet treats.

But, hands down, the most memorable for me was Salt + Smoke BBQ. My daughter and I went there solo while the boys ate elsewhere. The barbeque was good. Stupidly good. However, the baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping stole my heart.

I literally said to my daughter as we were eating, “If I wasn’t already married to your dad, I’d marry this mac and cheese.” That may sound dramatic, but the mac and cheese really was that good. (I’m not even a big mac and cheese fan.)

Since we live a few hours away from St. Louis, I knew my odds of having that baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping again were slim. If we go back someday, I’ll definitely hit it up. But until then, I’ve found and tweaked a recipe that tastes incredibly similar.

This baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping has become a regular for Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I’ve served it to up beside sloppy joes. Most recently, I made it as a main dish and enjoyed every single bite of it. So much so that I seriously debated having its leftovers for breakfast the next day. You have got to try this simple recipe that only uses six ingredients (besides a bit of salt and pepper)!

Stovetop prep for the baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping

Salt the water in a large pot and let it come to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. While the pasta cooks, preheat the oven to 300-degrees (F). The Salt + Smoke mac and cheese uses pasta shells, so that’s what I have used. You could use any pasta shape you prefer.

About four minutes before the pasta is finished getting, melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.

When the pasta is finished cooking, strain it and return it to the pot, removed from the heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Here’s how it will look start to finish:

Once the flour and butter are well combined and cooked together, begin adding in the heavy cream about 1/4 cup at a time. Let it mix in each time completely before adding more. It will go from a texture of runny oatmeal to mashed potatoes to pudding to sauce.

Once the cream is completely stirred in and the mixture is more sauce-like, continue cooking it over medium/high heat, stirring frequently. When it just starts to move around a bit, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil. It will look like this:

Next, stir in 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. Salt + Smoke uses white cheddar, I think, but I use triple cheddar blend because it’s easier for me to find. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Getting it ready to bake

Once the cheese sauce is totally together, pour the sauce over the cooked and strained pasta.

Stir together the sauce and pasta so it is well mixed and all the pasta is covered.

Transferred the coated pasta into a 9×13-inch baking dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Use a spoon to spread it evenly throughout the dish.

Crush the Ritz crackers for the topping and spread over the top of the prepared mac and cheese. I use about 8 to 10 Ritz crackers for this. I have store brand ingredients for everything except the crackers, because the buttery flavor of Ritz really does work best for this recipe. (Please note that I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Ritz crackers.)

Bake it in the preheated 300-degree oven for about 12 minutes until heated through. I often serve this with additional crackers on the side for added crunch if people want. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

I promise this will become your favorite baked mac and cheese recipe! Look at this cheesy, yummy goodness!

Find more delicious family recipes like this one in the “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook. Download your FREE copy today!

Using the microwave and the oven for baked potatoes speeds up cooking time without compromising texture!

I haven’t met a potato I didn’t like from cheesy party potatoes to mashed potatoes to potato soup to to french fries to potato chili, I love them all. When it comes to baked potatoes, I like them soft and tender. But baking them for hours isn’t really my jam. I don’t have time for that! Instead I take a trick from my mom using this microwave baked potato recipe. Because you start the potatoes in the microwave and finish them in the oven, they cook faster and you still get that nice oven-baked texture.

These microwave baked potatoes are incredibly easy. They’re perfect for weeknight or weekend dinners!

Microwave the baked potato

Turn your oven on to 450-degrees (F) to start preheating.

Before you put your baked potatoes in the microwave, you need to poke holes in the potatoes or else they will explode. I usually stab mine all over in random places with a fork. I don’t know that I need to make as many holes as I do, but I figure better safe than sorry. After all, I don’t want to clean up an exploded potato mess!

Put the potatoes on a microwave-safe plate, and then place them in the microwave. I cook them in the microwave at 100% power for about three minutes per potato. You can probably get away with two minutes per potato if they are smaller potatoes, but I usually do this with large ones and serve them as our main dish.

So, I cooked these three potatoes in the microwave for 12 minutes.

Prepare for the oven

A couple of minutes before the potatoes are finished in the microwave, I get set up to transfer them to the oven with a baking sheet, sheets of aluminum foil, vegetable oil with a tablespoon and coarse sea salt.

When the microwave stops, take the potatoes out. The potatoes will be hot, so use oven mitts to pick them up one at a time to transfer them to the foil sheets.

Once the potato is on a foil sheet, drizzle one tablespoon of vegetable oil over it.

Next, sprinkle the potato with the coarse sea salt, if desired.

Wrap the foil around the potatoes and place them onto a baking sheet. Cook them in the oven at 450-degrees (F) for 20 minutes.

Enjoy the potato

When the potatoes are finished cooking, take them out of the oven. Carefully open the foil to let them start to cool.

Cut the potato open carefully and use a fork to mash the inside a bit, if you like it that way. (I sure do!)

Add your favorite toppings and you’re good to go! We usually have baked potatoes as our main dish, so I loaded this one up with butter, cheese, sour cream and bacon bits. On the night I took these photos, we had a total carb fest. I also served up this delicious homemade french bread! Another great pairing for these baked potatoes is my mom’s meatloaf with ketchup glaze.

My all-time favorite meatloaf recipe

There are so many different ways to make meatloaf. I’ve seen it with brown gravy over the top. Sometimes it’s dry. Other times it’s spicy. But, my all-time favorite meatloaf recipe topped with ketchup glaze comes from my mama. It’s one of my favorite dishes she makes.

I hadn’t made meatloaf myself until more recently. My husband and son won’t eat it. They don’t eat much meat. But after trying various meal kit delivery services, I learned making two different dinner options was sometimes worth it. I tried out some meatloaf recipes, and they were good enough. However, they weren’t my mom’s.

For just over a year, my parents have lived states away from me instead of five minutes away from me. So when they were here for a visit in the fall, I asked my mom to make meatloaf. She not only made it, but also froze some meatloaf patties that my daughter and I enjoyed later on for dinners. When my parents were back for my son’s recent birthday, I knew I had to write down her recipe, take photos and share it with you guys as well!

This meatloaf recipe is home-cooking at its finest. It’s not fancy, but it’s hearty and delicious. Serve it up with mashed potatoes or cheesy party potatoes and oven-roasted vegetables for a complete meal.

Figure out the meat

So the issue here is what kind of meat to use. You can use all ground beef (we use chuck at 80/20 fat) or a mix of ground beef and ground pork or sausage. It’s good all the ways! This particular time, we made it with the mix of ground beef and ground pork, because I had some leftover ground pork I wanted to use.

If you do use a mixture of meat, you want to use 3/4 ground beef and about 1/4 ground pork or sausage. We used 2.5 pounds of meat total for five adults (with leftovers), which broke down to 2 pounds of ground beef and 1/2 pound of ground pork.

The fresher your meat is, the better the meatloaf will be. If you have a butcher or butcher’s case at your grocery store, go with ground meat from there. You don’t need it to be all-organic and grass-fed (unless that’s your thing). You just want fresh. However, this time around, we used frozen meat I had, and it was still incredibly good.

Mix up your meatloaf

Switch your oven on to 350-degrees (F) to get it preheating, and then start mixing your meatloaf. Put all of the meat into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of sage (unless you use sausage, in which case omit this), salt, pepper, 1/2 cup diced onion, 3 tablespoons of ketchup and 3 tablespoons of honey barbeque sauce.

Cut up about three slices of bread into small pieces. You an use whatever bread you have. This time, I had leftover french bread from serving slow cooker potato soup for dinner a couple of nights prior, so I used that. But regular sandwich bread works. In a pinch, crumbled crackers can work as well.

Add the bread pieces into the meat mixture and mix it all together well. You can use a spoon for this or your clean hands to do so. I think using your hands is easiest, but do what works for you.

The next step in this meatloaf recipe is putting the meat into a 9×13 baking dish. My mom’s tip is to make a bit of a “well” around the meat in between the meat and the pan. The grease will collect there and be easier to drain off.

After your meatloaf is in the pan, top it with the 6 ounces of tomato paste. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place the meatloaf in your preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Finish the meatloaf

About five minutes before the 45-minute mark, mix up your glaze. The ketchup glaze in this meatloaf recipe is probably my favorite thing about it! Mix together 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of ketchup and 2 tablespoons of honey barbeque sauce.

Pull the meatloaf out of the oven. The tomato paste will have baked into the top a bit and grease will have gathered around the sides.

If you want, an optional step for this meatloaf recipe is to drain off some of the grease. That’s what we chose to do. Here is what it looked like after we drained the grease.

Next, it’s time to spread the ketchup glaze over the meatloaf. Spread the mixed up glaze right on top of the tomato paste.

Put the meatloaf back into the oven, uncovered, for 15 more minutes. Let it set for about five minutes and then slice and put onto a plate for serving. (You want to move it to a plate to serve from because baking the second time will create more grease that you don’t want the meat sitting in.)

Serve up with some cheesy party potatoes, oven-roasted vegetables or mashed potatoes and enjoy!

A delicious cookie dough dessert without any raw eggs

I love chocolate. A lot. A super lot. My favorite cookies are chocolate chip cookies. And I definitely enjoy some chocolate chip cookie dough when I’m baking them.

But, I don’t eat it otherwise, because the risk of salmonella. My son loves chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. So when I discovered an easy recipe for edible chocolate chip cookie dough, I knew I had to try it.

I first made it in 2020 when we were spending lots of time at home thanks to COVID-19. Since then, I’ve made this edible chocolate chip cookie dough multiple times and learned a few things along the way.

The first being that I need to double the recipe. Making just the amount for the original recipe isn’t nearly enough for my family!

I’ve made a couple of other tweaks to the recipe and it’s the absolute best. I just made a couple of batches for my son’s 10th birthday and knew I had to share the recipe for this edible chocolate chip cookie dough. I can’t keep the deliciousness to myself!

Prepare the flour

My concern in eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough used to be just the salmonella in the eggs. However, I’ve more recently learned raw flour also poses a risk.

Processing grains into flour doesn’t kill the bacteria in the flour. So this recipe starts with cooking the flour to get rid of the bacteria.

The good news is that you can do this easily in your microwave. Pour two cups of all-purpose flour into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until the flour reaches 165-degrees (F). My microwave usually does this in two run-throughs.

I grab my kitchen thermometer and really do measure the temperature for this process to be sure. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, then just heat the flour for at least 1 minute in 30-second increments.

Mixing the cookie dough

Once your flour is all prepped and ready to go, you just need to mix together all the ingredients. I use my beloved stand mixer, Dorothy, for making this edible chocolate chip cookie dough, but you can also use a hand mixer or spoon.

Put your prepared flour to the side and beat the 2 sticks of room temperature butter with 2 cups of packed brown sugar.

You’ll know it’s creamed when it is thoroughly combined and fluffy.

Next, add in 1/4 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix the ingredients together. (Be sure to slow down your mixer before adding in the wet ingredients to avoid getting splashed by them. Yes, I speak from experience!)

The mixture should be thick, but still wet and clumpy.

Now you’re ready to put treated flour to work. Mix it into the mixture in stages. I usually put it in with a heaping tablespoon at a time.

Once the flour is all mixed in, you should have the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough that is thick and soft.

Finally, it’s time to stir in the chocolate chips. You could use full-sized semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but the mini ones work better and are easier to eat.

I use my stand mixer’s “stir” setting to stir in the chocolate chips, but you could also do it by hand. You want to avoid a higher setting that will break up the chips.

Transfer the edible chocolate chip cookie dough into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. I can’t tell you how many days it lasts in the fridge beyond two or three, because my family doesn’t keep it around for long!

Serve it by itself, alongside fudgy brownies, with ice cream or however you think sounds best!

Baked hot dogs have a fresh-from-the-grill flavor any time of year!

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The first year my husband and I were married, he told me he liked hot dogs. Since he’s a relatively picky eater and I was a relatively awful cook, I made hot dogs. A lot. As a result, the guy won’t eat boiled or microwaved hot dogs any more.

As a Midwestern resident, I decided to look for a winter-friendly way to get a grilled hot dog taste that didn’t involve anyone standing out in the cold at the grill. I decided to try baked hot dogs and was pleasantly surprised. Even my husband agreed that baked hot dogs were nearly as good as grilled.

Picking the hot dogs

When it comes to hot dogs, my husband prefers what I call “old school” dogs. We skip the specialty or all-beef hot dogs. Bun length dogs don’t even have a place in our home. And forget the extra thick guys. So, we get regular length, skinny dogs. That’s all I’ve tried baking in the oven. If you are baking thicker or longer hot dogs, you may have to have a longer baking time. Just beware of that.

Let’s get baking!

This is an incredibly simple and straightforward recipe. Start by preheating the oven to 400-degrees (F). Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. I spritz mine very lightly with non-stick cooking spray, but I’m not sure that’s necessary.

For my family of four, I use my 8×8-inch glass baking dish. It easily fits eight hot dogs.

Next, just put the hot dogs into the pan in one layer. (How simple is that?!)

Pop the hot dogs into your preheated oven. They baked for 15 minutes total. (Maybe more if they are thicker.) I usually set my time for 7 minutes and shake the baked hot dogs around halfway through. If you really want crispy or blackened hot dogs, you can broil them for the final couple minutes of baking time to the correct doneness. We like ours to be cooked with a bit of crisp on the outside but not color.

And that’s it. I told you this was a simple recipe! Serve the hot dogs in buns with your favorite toppings. The baked hot dogs pair well with this super easy fire-roasted corn and red peppers. If you’re looking for a crunchy side, try this skillet queso with tortilla chips. And whip up some mint chocolate chip mousse for a simple and refreshing dessert!

A super simple side dish for family dinner

When it comes to making dinner, I love easy recipes. And super simple sides that work in veggies are the best! I found a recipe for fire-roasted corn and red pepper salad that I decided to try without looking too closely. When I realized it was intended to be served cold, I decided to change it up and make it my own way. That’s how this fire-roasted corn and red peppers side dish was born.

It’s nearly as easy as oven roasted vegetables and certainly as tasty. It comes together in about 10 minutes and doesn’t take much babysitting, which leaves you free to make other things while the fire-roasted corn and red peppers are cooking. The last time I made this recipe, I paired it with grilled barbeque chicken for a delicious dinner.

Prepping

The prep work for this fire-roasted corn and red peppers dish is minimal. Start by opening a can of whole kernel fire-roasted corn and draining it. This is what I used:

Then clean and dice one red bell pepper.

Cut 2 tablespoons of butter and separate them. Put a medium skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.

Cooking

Put the drained fire-roasted corn and 1 tablespoon of butter into the skillet.

Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter is melted and the corn is heated. Add in the diced red bell pepper, 1 additional tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes until the red pepper pieces have begun to soften. Serve the fire-roasted corn and red peppers side warm.

An easy homemade, creamy tomato soup recipe to warm you up

I’m sort of late to the tomato soup and grilled cheese party. I know it’s been a staple kind of meal for generations, but I never got on board. The closest I got was Spaghetti-Os and grilled cheese. Canned tomato soup just never did that much for me. Then I tried making a creamy tomato soup recipe and not only loved the flavor but also loved how easy it is to make!

The same recipe I started with and have modified also recommended making grilled cheese on ciabatta rolls instead of with bread. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. And I’m glad I did. Seriously. Pair this creamy tomato soup with ciabatta grilled cheese and you have a dinner hit on your hands. Even my particular eaters get down with this meal!

Making the creamy tomato soup

What sets apart this tomato soup from others is the garlic base. We love garlic in my family, so I use 4 cloves of fresh garlic. If you’re not as big on garlic, use 2 cloves. After you peel the garlic, use a grater to grate it finely. The first time I made this recipe, I didn’t have a grater and just chopped my garlic as finely as possible, so you can do that, too.

In a medium sized pot over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter has melted, add in the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds until it’s fragrant.

Then add 4 tablespoons of flour and whisk constantly for another 30 seconds until a paste forms.

Next, add a 29-ounce can of tomato sauce, 3 cups of water and 3 teaspoons of sugar to the pot. Add a good dash of salt and pepper as well. Bring the soup to a boil over high , then reduce the heat back down to medium-low and simmer until the soup thickens a bit, about 5 minutes.

Soften the cream cheese and stir it into the soup. Once the cream cheese is melted, turn the heat off the creamy tomato soup, but leave it on the stovetop or cover it to keep it warm.

Making the ciabatta grilled cheese

While the creamy tomato soup simmers, prepare your ciabatta rolls. Slice them completely apart and top the bottom of each roll with about 1/4-cup of shredded cheddar-jack cheese.

Add the tops onto the sandwiches.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Place two of the ciabatta sandwiches into the skillet.

Use a second skillet to press down onto the tops of the bread and cook for three minutes; flip the sandwiches and cook three more minutes until the outside is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted. I don’t hold the skillet down the entire time the sandwiches were cooking, but I press down every minute or so.

The sandwich will get a nice crisp on the outside but still have a gooey cheese center. So yummy!

Serve the creamy tomato soup in bowls along with the ciabatta grilled cheese. You don’t have to dip the grilled cheese into the soup, but that’s our favorite way to eat it!

Looking for more soup recipes? Don’t miss these!

Taco soup

Slow cooker potato soup

Taco ranch meatball soup

Slow cooker potato chili

Restaurant-style skillet queso made easy!

I can’t resist a good queso. The mix of tortilla chips dipped into creamy cheese is just divine! I’ve tried making a few queso recipes through the years and this skillet queso recipe is one of my all-time favorites. It tastes almost exactly like the skillet queso we order at a chain restaurant named for a pepper.

Basically, you put all the ingredients into a skillet or pot, let them melt and combine together and then serve it with chips. I’ve made this as a side. (In fact, I made it for Thanksgiving last year as a side for my particular eaters.) Or you can also use the skillet queso as a topping for nachos rather than a dip. My son prefers them nacho style. I like it both ways — nacho style or dip. No matter how you eat it, it’s yummy!

Getting started

The most work you’ll do for this skillet queso recipe is prepping the cheese by cutting it into cubes. Not too shabby at all. It uses cheese loaf that is known for melting. The name-brand is Velveeta, but I use the store brand without an issue.

(If you’re not a fan of this processed cheese, don’t let that stop you from this recipe. This is the only thing I cook using it and does not have a strong flavor of the cheese, I promise! )

You need 16 ounces of the cheese. The last time I made this skillet queso, I was only able to get a 32-ounce block. So, I cut it in half by looking at it, wrapped one half in foil and placed it in a zip-top bag in my freezer. (You’ll notice I used the brand-name label just for easy identification!)

Put the cheese loaf on a cutting board and slice it into cubes for better melting. I first slice it in about 1-inch increments.

Then using two or three squares at a time, I cut those into nines.

And now you’re finished with the hardest part of this entire recipe. I told you it was easy!

Putting it together

Pull out a deep skillet or medium-sized pot and put it the cubed cheese into it. Place it on the stove over medium heat.

Add 1 cup of milk. I make this using 1% milk because that’s what my family drinks, and it works just fine.

Add in all the seasonings: 2 teaspoons paprika, 4 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and 1 tablespoon lime juice. (You can use fresh-squeezed lime juice, but I usually just buy a bottle of lime juice and keep in my fridge.)

Finally, add in one 15-ounce can of chili with NO beans.

Give it a good stir and let it hang out over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Stir it every few minutes to keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom.

Serve the queso with your favorite tortilla chips. You can use it as a dip or as a nacho topping, whichever you prefer!

You can also make this skillet queso in a slow cooker if you prefer. Put everything into your slow cooker on low and let it set for about an hour until melted. Alternatively, you can make it on the stove and keep it warm until serving from your slow cooker. It’s incredibly versatile and scrumptious!

Your family will go crazy for this Oreo ice cream cake!

This Oreo ice cream cake recipe has been a family favorite since I was child. The recipe has evolved a bit through the years and now is a heck of a lot easier to make with only four ingredients.

We still love this recipe. In fact, my daughter asks for this each year as her birthday dessert. It’s delicious, easy and is made ahead of time!

And, in the spirit of complete honesty, I’ve never made this Oreo ice cream cake recipe myself. My mom is who usually makes it these days.

In spite of her moving a few states away, she ended up being in town to make it for my daughter’s birthday this week, so I had her walk me through it and took some photos.

I no longer live in the land of sweet oblivion when it comes to making this dessert, but I don’t mind a bit. Because I knew I had to share this recipe with you guys and make sure I can re-create it myself in a pinch since my family loves it so much.

My mom actually made two of these this week so my daughter had one for her family birthday party last night and will have one for her friend birthday party this weekend. Her friends look forward to it every year as much as my daughter does.

Affiliate links are used in this post. If you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.

Cookies and cream

This is an ice cream cake recipe, so you don’t need to preheat the oven, but you do need to let your ingredients thaw a bit. Thaw your whipped topping.

Your ice cream needs to be softened. You can leave the ice cream sitting on the counter for 10-15 minutes or pop it in the microwave. We usually go for the countertop method because some of my family members think microwaving the ice cream gives it a different taste.

Once your ingredients are thawing, pull out a 9×13-inch or 3-quart baking dish. I love my glass 3-quart baking dish with a lid for this Oreo ice cream cake recipe because it’s easy to store in the freezer. And when we are finished, I can stick it in the dishwasher!

Fill the bottom of the pan with Oreo cookies. We use Double Stuf Oreos for this to have some extra cream in the mix. But regular Oreos work also!

I buy the family size pack of Oreos that is 20 ounces. We usually end up with about 10 to 15 cookies left and happily eat them. But, you can get a smaller pack if you don’t want any leftover Oreos.

We added three more cookies after taking this photo. Mostly, you just want the bottom covered and then you’re ready to start smashing the cookies.

Like I said, my mom is the pro of this Oreo ice cream cake recipe. Through the years, she’s found the easiest way to crush the cookies is with the bottom of a drinking glass. Then she uses a butter knife to remove the excess from the bottom of the glass. Easy as that!

You want the cookies to be crushed but still chunky. Move them around in your pan to so the bottom is completely covered. (If not, add more Oreos!)

Add the layers

Next up, you layer on the ice cream. The original recipe for this used butter pecan ice cream. We now use vanilla. But you could use chocolate, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip or whatever sounds best to you!

Either way, make sure your ice cream is softened. Then dollop it in mounds over the top of the cookie layer.

Carefully smooth the ice cream over the cookie layer.

Put the pan into the freezer to chill and harden for about 10 minutes. While the ice cream is freezing, get out the hot fudge sauce.

I got a store-brand hot fudge sauce that was 11.5 ounces in the jar. My mom usually gets Hershey brand, which is 12.8 ounces per jar. Both worked well.

In order for it to spread over the ice cream layer, the hot fudge sauce needs to be warmed up. It doesn’t need to be as hot as if you were making a hot fudge sundae. The sauce just needs to be hot enough to be pourable.

My mom says the best option she’s found is removing the lid and heating the hot fudge sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds. However you heat it, once it is nice and warm, pull your Oreo ice cream cake out of the freezer. Drizzle the hot fudge sauce all over the top. It doesn’t need to cover every inch, but should coat well.

The final layer

The warm fudge layer softens the ice cream again. So, put the cake back in the freezer for about 10 minutes to let it refreeze some more.

Then carefully spread the whipped topping over the top of the fudge layer.

And that’s it for this Oreo ice cream cake recipe. Simple, easy and delicious! For birthdays, we often sprinkle some miniature M&Ms on top of the cake before serving. You can also used crushed Oreo cookies on top just before serving (any sooner and the cookies will get mushy) or chocolate chips.

Store the Oreo ice cream cake in the freezer and remove it 10 to 15 minutes before serving.