Okay, so, I needed to whip up some desserts for my kid’s graduation party. Nothing too fancy, just some good, simple stuff that everyone would love. I started thinking, what’s something easy and always a hit?
First thing that came to mind was chocolate chip cookies. I mean, who doesn’t love a good chocolate chip cookie, right? So I grabbed my usual recipe, the one I’ve used a million times, and got to work. Creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs and vanilla, mixed in the dry ingredients, and then, of course, the best part – the chocolate chips.
I used a mix of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chips because I like that balance. Once the dough was ready, I used a cookie scoop to portion them out onto baking sheets. Baked them for about 10-12 minutes, until they were golden brown around the edges. The smell filled the whole house, and let me tell you, it was hard to resist grabbing one straight off the tray.
While the cookies were cooling, I moved on to the next thing: cupcakes. I decided to make these graduation-themed. I baked a couple of batches of vanilla cupcakes using a boxed mix because, hey, sometimes you gotta cut corners. Then I made a simple buttercream frosting and divided it into two bowls.
- For the first batch, I added some blue food coloring to match the school colors and swirled it on top of half the cupcakes.
- For the second batch, I went with yellow. Used a piping bag to make them look a bit fancier. Then I found these little graduation cap decorations at the store and stuck one on each cupcake. They looked super cute, if I do say so myself.
Lastly, I wanted something a bit more decadent, so I made an Oreo mousse cake. This one was a bit more involved, but still pretty easy. I crushed up a whole bunch of Oreos for the crust, mixed them with melted butter, and pressed them into a springform pan. Then I made the mousse, which is basically just whipped cream, melted chocolate, and more crushed Oreos.
Poured that over the crust, smoothed it out, and popped it in the fridge to set for a few hours. Before serving, I decorated the top with some extra whipped cream and a few whole Oreos for that extra touch.
The Results
Everything turned out great! The cookies were a massive hit, the cupcakes looked adorable and tasted amazing, and the Oreo mousse cake? Let’s just say there wasn’t a single slice left. It was a good feeling seeing everyone enjoy the treats I made. Baking for people I care about always makes me happy, and this time was no different. Plus, it was a great way to celebrate my kid’s big achievement.
