Gentlemanly arts - Make mom dessert

Hopefully, all the gentleman reading realize that this coming Sunday, May 8th, is Mother's Day. And, knowing this, hopefully all the gentleman reading know that they ought to do something nice for their moms. If you don't live with your mom, I suggest you give her a call or pay her a visit and let her know how you're doing. Ask her how she's doing, too. If you do live with your mom, I suggest you clean your room.

Want to do something extra nice for mom? How about dessert? I'll go out on a limb here and say most moms like dessert. Even more than that, I bet most moms like chocolate desserts. Being that I am a pretty awesome baker (just ask me), I'm going to give you some recipes to try out. Maybe you'll get a son-of-the year award.

I promise these recipes are not hard. The first, Chocolate-Chocolate Almond-Almond Cookies, a cookie recipe of my own, is probably easier if you've baked before but still isn't difficult. I'm writing the directions out for even non-bakers to follow, so experienced bakers may be able to skim through the directions.
The second desert, Death by Chocolate, is easy no matter what. It's more assembling than baking, and you can assemble, right?

Nicole's Chocolate-Chocolate Almond-Almond Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Gather ingredients. To soften the butter, leave the two sticks (two sticks of butter = 1 cup) out on the counter for a couple hours. It's ready when you can poke it with your finger and your finger sinks in. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream the butter and the two sugars. This is best and most easily done by dumping it all in the bowl of a mixer and gradually turning it up fast. If you don't have a mixer or aren't comfortable with using one, you can cream them by hand by alternating between mashing the butter and sugar together with the back of a spoon and stirring. They're considered "creamed" when the whole mess is smooth and fluffy.
3. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time. Easy - mix one in well, then mix in the other well. 
4. Stir in the extracts, and the baking soda water. If you want to make these nut-free you can leave out the almond extract. You'll just come out with chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. 
5. Slowly mix in the flour and cocoa powder. Here you will want to add about a third to a half of all the dry stuff, blend it in, and then repeat until it's all in.  
6. Dump in the chocolate chips and nuts and stir it all up. Again, if you want these to be nut-free just don't add the almonds.  
7. Put balls of dough onto a cookie sheet, leaving about an inch and a half between each one. I usually just scoop out a spoonful and roll that into a ball with my hands. Bigger dough balls will = bigger cookies, smaller dough balls will = smaller cookies. You want them around about 1" in diameter. When your tray is full pop it into the preheated oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. 
8. When the timer goes off, take the cookies out. They're not going to look done. Trust me on this one, they are done. Leave the cookies on the tray for about 5 minutes, then use a spatula to move them to a cooling rack (or if you don't have one, a piece of foil on the counter will do). When the cookies are fully cooled they will finally look done and will be softed-baked and delicious. 
9. Keep repeating steps 7 and 8 until all the dough is used up. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on what size you make them. 

In case that sounds too overwhelming, here's a recipe that can't be easier. Plus, the instructions on how to make it easier. This is also a popular dessert for potlucks or office parties.


Death by Chocolate
Ingredients:
-a pan of brownies, cut into bite sized pieces or crumbles
-8 oz tub of frozen whipped topping (aka Cool Whip), thawed
-6-8 oz of chocolate pudding, prepared
-a couple of toffee bars (like Heath or Skor bars), chopped

1. Gather ingredients. The brownies can be made of scratch, prepared from a box, of you're really lazy, just buy some already made brownies. The Cool Whip should be left in the fridge so that it's soft and fluffy, rather than hard and frozen, when you go to use it. The chocolate pudding can also be either made from scratch, prepared from a box, or purchased prepared. The toffee bars should be cut into little crumble sized pieces. 
2. Find a clear bowl. Any big bowl will work, really, but to get the full visual effect a clear bowl should be used. If you've got a trifle bowl that's even better. 
3. Layer the stuff. First, dump about a third to a half of the brownie crumbles into the bottom of the bowl. Cover that with about a third to a half of the pudding. On top of the pudding goes a third to a half of the Cool Whip. Sprinkle the Cool Whip with a third to a half of the toffee bar bits. Repeat this until everything is used up. 
4. Cover and keep refrigerated until serving. To serve, just scoop out a a bowl-full.