The Chocolate Lover's Club: We Eat Chocolate Responsibly.

Molten Lava Cakes

2011-11-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

So, I've been a little MIA. Mostly, because I am expecting my first little one in a couple of weeks (super exciting) and I felt like I had (and still have) a million things to do to get ready! However, I realized that since my list will never even be close to getting done, I might as well just still find a little time to dedicate to the things that I truly love in life. And of course, chocolate must make the list!

By the way, my new little girl, I'm sure, will be a chocolate lover. I read some article talking about a study that says baby in the womb will develop their tastes according to what you eat during pregnancy. (Take it for what it is - I just read it on the internet so not much backing to it, really). There was a brief stint in my first trimester where I didn't crave chocolate (it was weird and I didn't like it) but then things fixed themselves quickly and the natural me came back out! So, I have still been enjoying my fair share.

Anyway, I have a few treats that I've stored away to share with you, and a new camera to take much better pictures than the previous pitiful shots. So, we'll get this party started again!

The first recipe to share from my new bunch of favs:

Molten Lava Cakes courtesy of The Neelys (Food Network) - thanks to Cami Smith for introducing me to this recipe!

The thing that makes this recipe so good - the hint of almond, cayenne, and nutmeg in these little delights! It takes you by surprise at first bite, and you will just simply fall in love with it!

Also the first time I made these, it was fun to see the tops crack open. See, the way a molten cake works is it sets up around the edges and top but the middle is still gooey deliciousness. Right in the last minute of cook time, there's kind of a like a mini "volcanic eruption" in your oven where the goo is located. FUN TO WATCH I TELL YOU!

Here's the recipe. This is for eight 6-oz ramekins - way too many for me and hubby (although if necessary, I'm sure we could eat them all). I have four 4-oz ramekins, so I actually cut this recipe in thirds to make 2 nice servings for each of us.

2 sticks butter, unsalted, plus more for ramekins
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
6 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter 8 (6-ounce) ramekins and sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

In a saucepan combine butter, cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg, and chocolate over low heat until melted and smooth; stir frequently. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, eggs and yolks, vanilla extract and almond extract until creamy. Add melted chocolate to the batter and whisk together. Pour into prepared ramekins.

Bake cakes until the top is stiff and cracked and the edges are dark, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake with a small paring knife then invert onto plates while warm.

Chocolate Caramel Tart (w/Raspberries and Cream)

2011-05-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Ben and I really wanted to try something out with our new cocoa bean purchase, so he found this recipe on epicurious.com. It looked pretty good, and it is pretty good! However, we didn't have raspberries or cream last night when we taste tested it, and in my opinion, it actually really needed it to help tone down the sweetness factor. Or maybe the caramel needs to be adjusted (that's where most of the sweetness was stemming from). I think I'll buy some fresh cream to whip up and fresh raspberries to give it a second chance today. Don't get me wrong - it was still very good - but there is such a thing as too sweet and it definitely caps my threshold. But maybe that's a good thing for me to not be able to eat as much? Eh.

Chocolate-Caramel Tart with Drunken Raspberries and Vanilla Crème Fraîche

Bon Appétit | June 2006

Jeanne Thiel Kelley

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cocoa nibs*

Ben's notes: Seemed a little salty and eggy. Will add a little vanilla next time to round out.

Caramel filling
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 teaspoon finely ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt

Christina' notes: Watch closely! Did not take full cooking time noted for me, and b/c I did not have the cream ready to add immediately it kept cooking even after I took it off of the heat and ended up getting burned. Round two worked out much better!

Chocolate ganache
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Edible gold dust (optional; for garnish) - I was fresh out of this :) You'll be fine without it
Drunken Raspberries - I plan on just using fresh raspberries
Vanilla Crème Fraîche - and diddo on just using fresh whipped cream

For crust:

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Butter 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add 1/2 cup butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks; process until moist clumps form. Add cocoa nibs; blend in using on/off turns. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack while preparing caramel filling.

For caramel filling:

Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until mixture is deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Add butter and stir over low heat until caramel is completely smooth. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; stir in salt. Cool 10 minutes. Pour warm caramel into crust. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 45 minutes.

Christina's notes: Because we were in a rush (I had a meeting to get to) we tried to cut corners on cooling the caramel (putting in fridge/freezer to speed cooling). DO NOT DO THIS! It compromised the texture, making it a little grainy. Still tasted good, but not as good as it should have been.

For ganache:

Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Let stand until slightly cooled but still pourable, about 10 minutes. Pour ganache evenly over caramel filling. Refrigerate tart uncovered until chocolate is firm, about 2 hours. do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Brush top of tart with gold dust, if desired. Cut tart into thin slices. Arrange 1 slice on each plate. Spoon berries and crème fraîche alongside.

Cocoa Nibs Baby!

2011-05-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

So, here's the scoop. I got tipped off on an awesome deal for Amano gift certificates on CityDeals: $25 gift certificate for $12. Since this chocolate is great, but expensiveish, I snatched a couple of these up really quick. Who doesn't want 52% off? Anyway, last time I checked the deal's still up, so go get you some certificates if you haven't had a chance to try this chocolate.

I've been craving cocoa nib brittle from their store, and I also wanted to get some cocoa nibs to do a little bit of my own baking (think brownies, cheesecake, etc.). So, I went yesterday and picked these up:

(Sorry picture is kinda crappy - camera is just not doing it anymore since half of the buttons died on it.) These nibs are from the Barlovento region of Venezuela. They were highly recommended for baking. Amano has 3 other kids of nibs they sell, too. Anyway, now for some experimenting! I have to figure out how to make this brittle! I've never really cared for brittle in the past, but this stuff is something else. It's so light and flaky.....just good! I'm not much of a candy maker, but I guess I have something new to start learning. If you do have a good recipe for brittle, pass it along!

Cocoa Powder: to dutch or not to dutch?

2011-05-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

So my awesome sis-in-law, Tammy, brought me a treat a couple of months ago when we got together on family vacations: cocoa powder! What more could I have asked for? Anyway, I've been wanting to do a little more baking with cocoa powders because like everything else, not all cocoa powders are created equally. From the origin of the beans to the way that it is processed.....it all makes a difference. And if you want that end product to turn out absolutely divine, well, it definitely helps to start out with good quality raw ingredients.

How is cocoa powder made in the first place? I thought you'd never ask. To quote, from the Hershey's website (http://www.hersheys.com/nutrition-professionals/cocoa-powder.aspx):

"Cocoa Powder is the end product from a pressing or extraction process that removes a significant portion of the fat or cocoa butter from the cocoa bean. The starting cocoa bean material that is pressed is usually in the form of chocolate liquor. This liquor contains no alcohol but is simply the roasted cocoa bean material (either whole beans or ground beans referred to as nibs) that is finely ground and refined into a paste that becomes fluid at temperatures above 40°C. This fluid paste or chocolate liquor is then subjected to a pressing process at 6000-12,000 psi., removing most of the fat or cocoa butter from the liquor. The resulting material is called “cocoa press cake” and typically contains from 10-12% residual cocoa butter, reduced from approximately 54% cocoa butter. This press cake is then mechanically broken into smaller pieces and subsequently ground into a fine powder which is commonly known as “cocoa powder”."

So, of course when you go to the common grocery store, this is what you're going to see on the shelf: Hershey's, Ghirardelli, and one common one around here is Saco (dutch-processed). I've used 'em all, but I wanted to try some new ones. So Tam brought me a sampling of Sharffen Berger and Valrhona (dutch-processed).

First, what is the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch processed? There is a significant difference in flavor so it's worth understanding. And to quote again from Hershey's (same webpage):

"Natural Cocoa Powder comes from pressing cocoa beans with no additional modifications. The resulting natural cocoa powder is usually a light brown color.

Alkalized Cocoa Powders, sometimes referred to as Dutched, come from cocoa nibs and/or chocolate liquor that have been treated with mild alkali solutions in order to raise the pH. This alkalizing or dutching process is a safe and approved process for cocoa that is used to modify the color, taste, and functionality of cocoa powder in food products. Alkalization can be used to create a range of dark brown and red-brown colors that add desirable appearances to some food products that contain cocoa powders. Alkalization can improve taste by reducing some of the sourness and bitterness associated with natural cocoa powders. The alkalization of cocoa powder can also improve the solubility of cocoa powder in certain beverage applications."

I didn't want to over-complicate things when testing out these new powders, so I kept it simple and tried them out in a chocolate frosting on top of my favorite boston cream cupcakes. They were both really great, but surprisingly I found that my taste liked the Valrhona dutch-processed a bit better for the frosting. The flavor was a little darker and richer. I also read that a taste test on Cook's Illustrated found that most people prefer dutch-processed in baking over natural, although too much dutch was no good. I think I'll just have to keep testing things out to see if this holds true for other recipes :)

In the meanwhile, I've read some opinions that natural cocoa powder is tastier for stuff like homemade hot chocolate. Well, I know I grew up on Hershey's cocoa powder in my household, and I loved the hot chocolate my dad used to make, so I can buy into that....

Anyway, have fun testing out different cocoa powders! Next time you go buy cocoa powder, try a different kind. Just do it! It will be a baking adventure.

On a side note, I'm really craving cocoa nibs right now. I tried some cocoa nib brittle a few weeks ago, and I think I am now addicted.....

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2011-05-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

What to do when 3/4 of the bananas I purchased last week are already passed their prime? Well..... banana bread of course! Since I was in a rush the other day, my man, Benny, made some in the mini loaf pan. We prefer to cook them in there because they seem to brown better. Also I always say I should take a loaf to a neighbor or something and that seems like a good size. That usually never happens though because we eat it so fast...... :) In fact, we ate this last batch so fast that I didn't even have a chance to take a picture of it! Also b/c half of the buttons on my ghetto camera just stopped working so now I really can't get a decent picture....Time for a new camera? I think so.

Of course, what's even better than banana bread? Well, that would be chocolate chip banana bread, of course! That's maybe the "not so healthy" variation, but it tastes so good! For an inexpensive but delicious addition, throw in some Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips. They are probably the better of the "low-end" brands that I have used. Another cool variation Ben made this time was to sprinkle toasted coconut on top of some of the loaves before baking. Both highly recommended!

This recipe is a mix between a recipe we found on epicurious.com and a recipe from my mom with some alterations from us. Hope you enjoy!

C&L's Banana Bread

1/4 cup butter, room temp
1 cup sugar/brown sugar (we like brown, or you can do a comb of the two)
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas (or semi-overripe), mashed very well
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
chocolate chips - as many as you want!
toasted coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Creme butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Add mashed bananas and sour cream. Add all remaining dry ingredients. Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan until a toothpick stuck into the bread comes out clean, about 60 minutes. For 4-mini loaves, bake 45 minutes.

Notes: I'm pretty sure the reason I like this recipe the best is the bread comes out really moist. I credit that to the sour cream which does wonders in baking in general! Also, one other tip is to mash the bananas up really well for a consistent texture. I will never forget my dear roommate (who shall not be named) in college who made banana bread once (or twice). I don't remember much about it except that it seemed like I could've thrown it at a wall and it would have bounced right back to me. Mash those bananas or weird things may happen!

Here's a fake picture to enjoy until I get one from my actual bread next time.....

Chocolate Travels: Switzerland!

2011-01-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

Although this is not always the case, when I find a good chocolate that I like, its origins tend to reach back to Switzerland (or very close neighbors). Hallelujah for that country and their chocolate history! I'm sure chocolate would not be where it is today if it wasn't for them, and that would just be an honest shame.

So, as I was snacking on my Milka bar this morning that I got for Christmas (can you believe it's lasted this long?), I was reminiscing about the first time I had a Milka bar. It was back the summer of 2002. I was doing Study Abroad in Costa Rica, and the food court at the University had them visible in every corner it seemed. Same way at the mall. I had never even seen one of these before. So I had to try it. It did not disappoint. That's one of those moments where I started realizing that most mainstream chocolate in the U.S. was somewhat of a sham and I'd definitely been missing out up to that point. Well, when I came back to the states, as expected, I had not just overlooked this candybar. Milka bars were no where to be found in my territory. Now 8ish years later, I am happy to announce that you can find a Milka bar without having to go to a foreign country, although you may have to visit a few different stores.

Don't you just love this cow?

So anyway, I looked at the back of the bar and was surprised to find that Kraft actually owns Milka. Upon further research, I found out they've owned it since 1990, but just didn't really sell in the U.S. until recently. This bar I'm eating was made in Germany. But where did Milka actually come from? My interest was piqued, so of course a quick Wiki search was called for.

And this is what I found. The original Milka bar was formed around 1884 by the Suchard Company (founder Phillipe Suchard from Switzerland). He started a confectioner's business in 1824 and actually developed a method to grind cocoa paste which is still used today. I could go into details, but I'll just say, kudos to you, Mr. Suchard. You done good.

So, as I previously stated, all good chocolate seems to have Swiss roots. This brings me to my second thought as my mind was wandering. I once passed through Zurich, Switzerland, on a layover from some travels in Europe. Upon passing through, I wished I had planned it into the trip. It was the most fairytale village I have ever seen. The scene was absolutely breathtaking. And obviously others think so, too. The airport was very protective - checked our passports at least 20 times it seemed, and had armed security guards throughout to make sure no one could try to enter illegally. They might never want to leave.

Anyway, although we couldn't actually stay long, there was a duty-free shop in the airport. And you guessed it..... lots of chocolate. We settled for the oversized Toblerone - it was huge. Each Toblerone letter was the size of its own candybar. And who is the distributor of Toblerone? Kraft. Interesting. But the original chocolatiers were Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann from, you guessed it, Switzerland. They merged with Suchard in 1970 and were then obviously included in the Kraft buy-out.

I think I really better plan a trip to Switzerland. And maybe I'll just end up staying.

Chocolate Cake on a Stick....

2010-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

I made some of these delicious cake balls again (and cheesecake balls). They are really soooo easy! And, did I mention, delicious? Here's the recipe for the cake and cheesecake mixture. Then simply form into balls, chill (I do this step in the freezer 'cuz I'm impatient), and dip in delicious chocolate! I do prefer putting them on a stick as well. I'm not very good at the whole dipping step yet, and that tends to make it a little easier.

My favorite combination is chocolate cake center, white chocolate coating, and topped off with Heath toffee. Um, can I say, to die for?

Happy Holidays! And if you want some ideas to spruce these up for Christmas, go to my other post, and/or visit bakerella.com! She has a lot of cute ideas.

Choktoberfest!

2010-10-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's starting to get that chill in the air.... in a serious way. I didn't think it was too bad until this morning. Brrr! Winter is right around the corner.

But I don't want to jump the gun just yet.....we still get to celebrate the leaves changing, and with Halloween coming up, let's not forget the chocolate carameled apples!

I just had my birthday a week ago, and my sweetie bought me an awesome carameled apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory - second year in a row! I hope this becomes a delicious tradition :) This year it was covered in chocolate and reese's peanut butter cups. It was sooooo good! I keep thinking that maybe this week I will have to experiment to make some of my own chocolate carameled apples. We'll see.

So anyway, back to the freezing morning air. It just reminded me that there is one thing I do love about the cold...it's the perfect excuse for drinking hot chocolate! Like.....everyday! I love it just plain, with marshmallows, with whipped cream....or you can always add a candy cane, cinnamon.... so many options! I used to go on 7-Eleven runs and get the hot chocolate there. They had mix ins that you could just squirt in - hazelnut, irish mint, caramel..... seriously that stuff is good! I don't even know if they still have them anymore. Haven't really been there lately. Now I usually just buy the Stephen's hot cocoa and make it on the stove. It's quite delish as well. Or you can always make it "from scratch" with cocoa powder, milk, and sugar like my mom used to back in the day. Anyway, one way or another, it's definitely time to stock up again!

Happy October!

The Great Wall of Chocolate Cake! (similar to P.F. Chang's)

2010-08-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Alex is getting excited about his Uncle Ben's cake!

It was my husband's birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday Ben, wooh!), so what better way to honor his advancement in age than an amazing chocolate cake!

I love straight up chocolate cake, but I like to mix it up with some other flavors so that the chocolate's not too overwhelming (for others, that is. You all know I can take on any amount of chocolate any day of the week. But I try to think of others, I really do try).

So, I chose to go along the lines of the famous "Great Wall of Chocolate" from P.F. Chang's. Basically it's a towering cake packed with chocolately goodness inside and out, with berry touches.

I've dabbled around with this in the past with different chocolate cake recipes. And really, my suggestion is find one that suits your cake tastes and make it. The beauty is, if you don't want to spend a lot of time making the actual cake, go pick up a cake mix. Here's some links to a couple of different recipes that I have liked for the cake: Devil's Food Cake from Food Network, Chocolate Cake from Epicurious. If you're going full on traditional layer cake, bake in two 9" rounds (line bottom with wax paper, butter, and flour). If you truly want to have a WALL of chocolate, you can double the recipe, and do a four layer! I wasn't that adventurous yesterday, but that would be cool..... I've also done a cupcake variation which turned out quite nicely.

PS - I almost never follow a recipe to the exactness. I just can't. It's just me. So seriously, with your chocolate cake, be creative! Throw in some melted chocolate, chocolate chips, or chopped choco chunks to the batter. You can also mix in some sort of extra flavor just depending on how you're complimenting it (in this case, fruity raspberry undertones would be delish!)

For the Frosting:

Being in the berry spirit, I found a great chocolate raspberry ganache to frost this baby, and it really turned out great!

I only did about 2/3rds of this recipe, and it was still plenty for my cake. Just depends how thick you like to smear it on.

18 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or if you prefer sweeter, that's fine, too)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam (you will definitely want seedless to keep the smooth texture)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in small cubes

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream and raspberry jam. Put in the cubed butter and salt, and bring just to a boil (stirring often to make sure nothing sticks).

So, this is the most random thing, but when I started making this raspberry cream mixture, it totally reminded me of a Schwann's raspberry push-up pop. That was like the coveted treat at my friend's house back in the day. Yum.

Ok back to the recipe. Bring just to a boil. Then pour mixture over the chopped chocolate in the bowl and let it stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth then mix in the vanilla extract.

You'll want to cover this with plastic wrap so that it will not get a weird film on top. If you actually plan ahead you can make this in advance and let the frosting thicken overnight. If you're like me, you will make it two hours ahead of when you need and put it in the fridge to set (you'll only want to leave it in there 1 to 1 1/2 hours so that it is still easy to spread).

Simple Raspberry Sauce:

Seriously, I play this one by ear. Get some fresh raspberries (I did a 6 oz container yesterday) and blend in a food processor. Thin out with a little water. Put in a small saucepan. Add sugar to sweeten to your preference. Bring just to a boil. Let boil for about one minute. If you want a little thicker, whisk in a little bit of cornstarch.

If you don't have fresh raspberries, I bet you could take some seedless raspberry jam and thin it out a bit. Just probably don't add any sugar.

Lastly, get your berries ready. Fresh strawberries - wash, core, and slice. Fresh raspberries - wash. Fresh blueberries - wash. Wash them all, okay? I just want to make sure we're being sanitary :) Anyway, I just throw 'em all together in a bowl and garnish one piece at a time as I serve. If you really want to impress, you could probably throw some fruit ensemble on top of the cake and on the platter before you serve so it's picture perfect.

Okay, time to put this baby together! It's really quite simple.

Get the two rounds. Layer with ganache in-between. Stack, and frost outside with remainder.

Oops, someone snuck an early piece :)

Decorate edges with chocolate chips, mini chips, chocolate shavings, chocolate chunks, however you want! I was a little lazy yesterday and in a rush, so I just did a ring of choco chips along the top, but you can seriously go all out with this to make it simply beautiful! Throw on any other deco such as fresh fruit.

That's it! It turned out simply delicious. And even the non-chocolate lovers at the party tried it, which made me happy :) The only warning: the second piece may just do you in. I learned that firsthand. And here I am, always bragging that I can handle my chocolate.....

If this cake is a little too much to handle, just make a chocolate cake, and serve with the simple raspberry sauce. That's also quite excellent.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN! YOU ARE THE BEST!

S'mores Bars

2010-08-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, I discovered these S'mores Bars when we were visiting some neighbor friends and they brought them out for a treat, and.....well..... I'm hooked!

These are an awesome, fast treat to throw together, and they taste way better than traditional s'mores, in my opinion. The chocolate is more melty gooeyness, which in this case, is quite perfect.

Anyway, try 'em out. You'll be glad you did!

S'MORES BARS

3/4 cup light corn syrup
3 tbsp butter
1 pkg (11.5 oz) milk chocolate morsels
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tsp vanila
1 pkg (12 oz) Golden Graham cereal (9 cups)

Heat corn syrup, butter, and morsels in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly to prevent burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over cereal and toss until well coated. Fold in marshmallows, 1/3 at a time. Press in well-greased 13x9x2 pan with buttered spoon/spatula. Let stand until completely cool and set (if you'd like to speed things up, refrigerate, or even put in freezer for a few minutes so the chocolate will set faster.)

Once completely set, cut into bars. And eat away! (It's healthy, right? There's cereal in it at least.....)

Did somebody say....Frosting?

2010-08-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

I don't know about all of you, but I remember the good ole' days when my sis would make a batch of homemade chocolate frosting when my parents were away and then we would get some big spoons and go to town! I imagine my parents probably didn't appreciate the after-effects of such occasions.

Anyway, despite the bellyaches, I am still a huge advocate of enjoying delicious frosting. Yes, all by itself. Especially chocolate frosting! Luckily, my husband is quite an awesome frosting maker, and basically can whip up any kind of flavor that you can imagine!

So, given that this is a chocolate blog, I definitely wanted to share two of my chocolately favorites with you: chocolate coconut frosting, and chocolate peanut butter frosting. (He also makes an awesome strawberry frosting and cinnamon sugar frosting, so if you would like these let me know and I'd be happy to share them, too!)

Oh, and if by chance you do want something to put them on, I'm including a delicious cupcake recipe that we've been working on for you to try out!

Chocolate Coconut Frosting

1/2 stick butter (softened)

1/2 box (4oz) cream cheese (softened)

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp coconut extract

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp sifted flour

Cocoa powder to taste (2 Tbsp ish)

Beat together butter, cream cheese, salt and extracts on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add powdered sugar (measure, then sift), flour and cocoa. Beat until well combined. Frosting should be smooth and creamy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

I don't have exact proportions on this one, as my husband and I often like to bake using the "taste" test method. Anyway, you'll get the idea.

1 part creamy peanut butter

1 part butter (softened)
(so basically 50/50 split on these)

Mix together peanut butter and butter. Add a "decent" amount of vanilla. Then mix in cocoa powder to taste (Ben warns not to put in too much - it won't look dark, but then when you add the powdered sugar, the darkness comes out.) Finally add powdered sugar to your desired sweetness. Texture of the frosting should be thick and moldable. This one basically tastes like a reeses pb cup.

Vanilla mini-cupcake with cinnamon-sugar frosting

Ben's Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup whipping cream
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temp. Preheat over to 350 for cupcakes, or 340 for miniature cupcakes. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer on high, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Separate two of the eggs. Add the remaining egg and the two egg yolks to your butter mixture and beat on high until light and fluffy. Beat the separated egg whites on high speed until firm peaks form and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour (sift, then measure) and baking powder. In a measuring cup, combine the whipping cream and the vanilla extract. Add 1/2 flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on medium speed until combined. Slowly beat in the cream mixture on medium speed. Add the reamining flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined. Don't overbeat. Mixture should be very thick. Fold in the egg whites with a scraper. Fill the cupcake cups about 3/4 of the way. Cook cupcakes at 350 for 23-25 minutes and mini-cupcakes at 340 for 16-18 minutes until the cake springs back when pressed lightly and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Tops should be white, not browned. Let cool in muffin pan. Makes approx 12 cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes.

Variations: Chocolate of course! (take out some flour and subs cocoa powder); Pureed strawberries (subs for a portion of the whipping cream); Coconut (add coconut extract to basic recipe). Have Fun!

Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes

Chocolate: The Cure-All

2010-07-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

So, did you know that scientific data has shown that chocolate can cure cancer!?!?!??!? Especially dark chocolate, because it has antioxidants and blahblahblah..... Is this really true? Who really knows, and personally, who really cares?

I mean sure, try to justify your chocolate addiction with these "amazing" wannabe facts that some study might disprove in 5 years. But, you know, I really eat chocolate for a different reason: because it tastes awesome and it makes me happy. And that's evidence tested and approved by me personally so I know it's true! So I fully embrace the fact that I could honestly eat chocolate all day. And when people say "Doesn't that make you sick," I am proud of my high chocolate tolerance. :)

However, since I do promote eating chocolate responsibly, I'll throw in that even though I could eat chocolate all day, I don't..... at least not EVERY day. :) 'Cuz that's responsible, right?

But can chocolate be a cure-all? A most definite YES. It can cure me from a bad mood! It can heal hurt feelings - great forgive me gift (wink, wink), and I even think it can be the perfect cure to certain desserts that need a little help. Sounds pretty all-inclusive to me.

For instance, take peanut butter cookies. Plain - okay. Add chocolate chunks, divine! (recipe)

How about your everyday rice crispy treats. Have you ever tried melting some chocolate and butterscotch chips and pouring some of that on top before you dig in? Or maybe try some chocolate peanut butter frosting on for size (recipe). It fits perfectly!

So there you have it. Proof that chocolate really is the Cure-All!

(And maybe that even includes cancer folks, but don't take my word for it on that one. Ask the professionals.... or your network marketing buddy.)

AMANO ARTISAN CHOCOLATE REVIEW

2010-06-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

So, I did it. I visited the new Amano Artisan Chocolate storefront located in Orem, Utah! It was awesome! And in fact, I'm pretty sure I will be going back quite regularly, as the budget allows.

First of all, before I tell you about the delicious chocolate I tried, let me tell you a little bit about Amano. The founder/head chocolate maker, Art Pollard, didn't start as a chocolate connoisseur. He was working at BYU in the physics department when he came up with the idea to make his own chocolate. And then he just went from there. Researching techniques, finding the best beans, and even designing his own chocolate-making machine. To me, this is inspiring, because it makes me realize that if you truly have a passion for something, you can make it happen!

Anyway, now to the chocolate. I sampled 4 different kinds while there, so I still haven't tried to whole spread, but I'll be back. Here they are with a little description:

Madagascar (70%): This is the one that I ended up bringing home, not necessarily because it was my fav, but because my niece that was accompanying me was so enthralled with the name (most likely, because a particular "film" that she is familiar with). She informed me that is the one that we MUST buy! It has a very complex flavor - a very fruity undertone. When I was eating some a little later, it almost tasted like raspberry to me. The cool thing with Amano Chocolate is that they do not add any flavorings to their chocolate (other than vanilla which enhances the natural flavor.)

Guayas (70%): The beans for this bar originate from Ecuador. Also delicious! This was a little more subtle, smooth flavor... A deep dark chocolate. I don't know how else to describe. Loved it! I want more.

Jembrana (70%): These beans come from Bali. It looks like Amano will be discontinuing the bar soon because they said the new crop of beans was not up to their standard. Too bad, because this one's good. But, since Amano's all about quality, they want to keep it that way. And I have a great admiration for that. Anyway, this one's a bit sweeter - and like the description on Amano's website, there are hints of honey and spice in it.

Ocumare Milk (30%): This chocolate also had a little bit of a fruity undertone, which was cool for me. I've never really had a milk chocolate bar that had any hints of extra flavor. Liked it.

So, which one did I like best? That's a great question. I honestly can't compare. They are all so very good but for different reasons. And I haven't even had a chance to try all the flavors yet. There's still Dos Rios, Ocumare Dark, Montanya and Cuyagua (both currently sold out), and the new origins chocolate! We'll just have to see over time.....

As my niece who accompanied me to the store and had some samples said, "They just keep getting better and better."

Go check it out: www.amanochocolate.com , or go to their storefront at 450 S 1325 W Orem, UT 84058 (Open 10-8 M-F, 10-6 Sat).

PS - The new Amano Origins Bar is from Chuao, Venezuela and I'll let you know how it is once I get a try!

Amano's New Origin Contest! (Win a year's supply of chocolate!!!!)

2010-06-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

Can you tell I'm excited? Well I am and I'll tell you why - because Amano's Artisan Chocolate, frequently touted as some of the best in the world, is having a contest for the new bar they are releasing. If you correctly guess the origin of the new cocoa beans you will be entered into a drawing to win a year's supply of chocolate (10 bars/month for a year - VALUE: $830+).

And how exactly do you go about becoming the lucky winner? Well, first, go to this link http://www.amanochocolate.com/promos/guess-the-origin-contest.html. You will find a picture of the cocoa beans that they are using for the new bar and a few hints in their description. At the bottom of the page there is an entry form for you to put your contact info and your guess. And....submit. Easy as that.

Oh, and since I am the one who brought you in on this little secret, there's one promise you have to make me: If you win, split the proceeds!!! :) Pleeeeeeeease. I have no luck when it comes to winning contests so my chances are sparse. (Okay - you don't HAVE to share, but if you do win, just remember your indebtedness to me since I am such a nice person.)

GOOD LUCK!

Christina

Update: Didn't win, but that's okay. I still love chocolate!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

2010-06-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Hey all you chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there.....you need this recipe!

My husband, Ben made some of these cookies the other day, and then somehow a few days later, we needed to make them again :)

The reason I like this recipe so much is that the cookies come out so soft. The second reason is obvious - you take a good peanut butter cookie, and then add the best ingredient in the world: CHOCOLATE. You really can't go wrong, can you?

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chunky peanut butter (abt 9 oz)
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Mix flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, honey, egg, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture in 2 additions. Stir in chopped chocolate. Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm and no longer sticky, abt 30 min.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 2 heavy large baking sheets. With hands, roll 1 heaping tablespponful of dough for each cookie into 1 3/4-inch-diameter ball. Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake cookies until puffed, beginning to brown on top and still very soft to touch, about 13 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to rack and cool completely. Makes 27 cookies.

Can I say it again? YUM!

Mmmmmmm..... chocolate.

2010-03-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, here's a new choco brand to try out. Hageland. Named after the Hageland region of Belgium.

I've tried a couple of different chocolates from them. All delicious!

They have big 14 oz bars that I've found are really good for my baking needs - comes in 3 varieties, although I've only really tried out the plain milk and dark chocolate. (P.S. - they are still really good for snacking!)

For just enjoying a square here and there and savoring the flavor, I've been trying their origin special selection, which features chocolate bars made with cocoa beans from different regions of the world: Madagascar, Uganda, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

I first tried the Ecuador (which is 43% - milk chocolate), and then the Costa Rica (71% - dark chocolate). They are amazing! First of all, the presentation is awesome. Beautiful wrappers, etc. Just makes you all smiley. But then, you break inside, and yes, still in for a treat! The big thin squares practically cry out to be eaten.

Anyway, check 'em out. You'll love it!

http://www.hageland-chocolate.com/

Warning, cheesy music contained on website. Turn off in lower right corner. :)

(P.S. - I have been working on my newest found cookie recipe lately, and man, these cookies are a hit! I'm officially never going back to any other recipe. Only change I've had to make is baking for exactly 13 minutes (I'm at 4500 altitude so I'm sure that varies the baking time a little). The fun part is once you get the basic recipe down, you can do a lot of different varieties. I'm still working on chocolate dough since the cocoa powder changes the consistency a little. Anyway, I've recently made big chocolate melts to put in the centers. The newest try is white chocolate cranberry - really tasty! Get the recipe here)

Oprah: My New Chocolate Hero

2010-03-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

Oprah, you are kind of my new chocolate hero.

So, I am not much of a TV watcher. In fact, basically not at all. Mostly spend time watching movies and good TV series on Netflix with hubby (no commercials), or sports games in their season. But when I caught word of this Oprah episode that aired a couple weeks ago, I was actually kinda sad that I didn't see it, and even more sad that I couldn't have been there.

These pictures pretty much explain it all:

So hopefully, you're catching my drift, but if not, I'll clue you in. The whole set is made of Godiva chocolate! White, milk, dark, and truffles and glued together with ganache.

Some more facts:

800 boxes shipped to construct set

52 types of chocolate

Over 15,000 pieces

1,400 man hours to create

And of course, Oprah, being the generous person that she is, let the audience and all of her staff come onstage after the show and take chocolate home. Now that's eating and sharing chocolate responsibly!

You go girl!

Check out these pics and video on her website:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/The-Making-of-Godivas-Chocolate-Set-Video_1

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Godivas-Chocolate-Set

Easy and Exquisite Truffle Recipe

2010-02-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

I decided it was time to find a good truffle recipe. I really like truffles, but making them has always intimidated me. I've had some good homemade truffles from others, and I've had some average to pretty blah, so I wasn't quite sure how difficult it was to attempt.

Well, a little while ago I found a truffle recipe from two of the Master Chocolatiers on the Lindt website. It looked pretty simple, and I figured they know what they're doing, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Just as a side note, isn't that a cool job title? Master Chocolatier. Has a nice ring to it. And they get to wear the cool baker's caps and stuff......Maybe this will have to be one of my new lifetime goals. We'll see.....

Okay, so most importantly, the key to making a good truffle is to start out with good quality chocolate. Of course this Lindt recipe suggested using theirs, but I wanted to give some others a try. Here are the ones I experimented with:

Green & Black's Organic 70% Dark Chocolate
Hageland's Origins Ecuador 43% Milk Chocolate
Andes Mint Chips!

So, firstly, the G&B dark chocolate is amazing! I like the dark much better than the mint that I had previously tried, just because you can appreciate the natural flavors much better. Hageland's is a new brand that I discovered, and this milk chocolate is to die for! More notes on this later. And, I just love Andes Mints and just happened to have a bag of their baking chips in the cupboard, so I figured, why not?

All three turned out really great and were really easy! The one thing I suspected and discovered is that every chocolate has a slightly different density (since it's already tempered and has different levels of cocoa butter). I may adjust the proportions in the future depending on each chocolate type, but honestly, I was still really pleased with all of them. The dark chocolate truffles were the most dense, and going down with each one. The one regret I had is that I was in a hurry and so I just dusted all of them in cocoa powder to finish. I think the softer truffles would have been better if I would have dipped them in a hard chocolate shell. So.........next time (which I think will be very soon)!

HERE'S THE RECIPE! (By Ann Czaja & Hans Mazenauer)

Ingredients:

Ganache (this is technically what the truffles are made of - ganache can be used in a variety of other chocolate desserts as well)

1/4 cup heavy cream
5 oz milk, white, or dark chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp butter, softened

Method:

Heat the cream until it just comes to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate and remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir or whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the butter until the ganache is smooth.

Put the ganache in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, ensuring that the plastic makes contact with the entire surface of the ganache. Refrigerate overnight or until the ganache is set.

To form basic truffles:

Use a melon baller, small ice cream scoop, teaspoon, or piping bag. Roll the ganache in a ball and place on parchment paper.

To finish the truffles:

Option 1: Roll truffles in unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate shavings, chopped chocolate, chopped toasted nuts or coconut.

Option 2: Temper a few ounces of desired type of chocolate. Wash hands, rinse them in cold water and dry them thoroughly (cold hands prevent the truffles from softened and the tempered chocolate from getting too warm). Place a tablespoon of tempered chocolate in the palm of your hand and roll the truffles to coat. Place the finished truffle on the parchment paper. Replenish the chocolate in your hand as needed. The chocolate coated truffles can also be rolled in the toppings suggested above.

Makes approximately 20 truffles

So, not super pretty (at least not like the picture perfect website display on Lindt). I'll work on the details later. I just wanted to make sure the recipe was worth trying again, and it is!!!

I had to hurry and get this picture before they all disappeared, because they didn't last long.

Chocolate for the Holidays!

2010-02-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

Isn't it just great that we celebrate so many holidays here in the U.S.! And what better way to celebrate than to enjoy one of the best foods on earth, CHOCOLATE!

I got my White Fudge Covered Oreos at Christmastime. Now I'm excited for my Easter seasonal favorite, Cadbury Mini Eggs. Oh, they are just little eggs of goodness. Why do I like these so much? Well, obviously because they are delicious. Easy enough. I went to do my grocery shopping a few days ago and they were nowhere to be found! Luckily, I went to another grocery story yesterday since we were having dinner with some friends, and was more fortunate. Yum! I only ate half the bag with a little help (not much though. I have to take most of the credit). I finally had to hide it so hopefully it will still last for a weekish.

GREEN & BLACK'S ORGANIC

2010-02-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here's a new brand that I recently have tried, and yes, it has some good qualities, most definitely. I'm still a newbie to what this chocolate has to offer, but I'm thinking that I'll be sampling more Green & Black's Organic Chocolate.

So, this company was started in the UK in 1991. The cacao beans that are used for most of their bars are of the Trinitario variety, mostly harvested in Belize and Dominican Republic.

I heard about this chocolate in a book I was reading actually, so I thought I'd better look into it. So, the first cool things about Green & Black's Organic is that they have a fairtrade agreement with the farmers that harvest the cacao crop, so that they are paying a fair market value. That's really admirable.

The second cool thing is that the chocolate is good. I tried a Mint Dark Chocolate Bar (60%). This is the kind of chocolate that you have to savor to appreciate all of the flavors because it definitely has a unique taste. I liked it, however, the mint personally threw me off a little at the end, even though it was pretty light. I think that next time I grab a bar, I will just go with the straight chocolate, no extras added, so I can appreciate the natural flavor a little more.

Anyway, I had some of the bar left and was making cookies, so I decided to break it into big chunks and use it with the dough. Now that was delicious!!!!

Check out their website: http://www.greenandblacks.com/

I found the Green & Blacks bars in WalMart - see look, there goes WalMart again! Honestly, I live in Utah, so that's sometimes as close as you get to the real retailer here. Anyway, it looks like they sell at other similar stores like Target and local grocers, and maybe they have some retail stores here in the U.S. - let me know if you know of one. They make a variety of bars (there was a decent variety at WalMart - about $3 for a sizable bar), baking chocolate, hot chocolate mix, and ice cream (not quite sure where the rest of these items are carried - didn't check that closely yet - still on the hunt).

Give 'em a try and let me know what you think!

LU's Petit Ecolier (Little Schoolboy) Biscuits

2010-02-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

So, when I was in WalMart the other day, I found these european biscuits, translation, chocolate covered cookies of deliciousness (made in France). They brought back some good memories of my friend, Dorothee Cannon, who always had a good supply at church and often helped soothe my cravings.

I just love them! They even have a cute little french schoolboy impression (hence, the name petit ecolier) on the top in the chocolate coating. Who can resist that! They come in milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

These are just a good all-around snack cookie. It's like when you're craving something but you don't know quite what..... these will often do the trick, or at least hold you over in the meanwhile :)

French food in WalMart.... and who said WalMart isn't refined?

Ben's Cookies!

2010-02-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Oh my, oh my, oh my. So, I have some wonderful chocolate secrets to tell that I've discovered in the last little while. First....... Ben's Cookies!

I first heard of Ben's Cookies about 2 years ago when I was shopping at the Gateway Mall in SLC, Utah with my friend Mandee Connell. It was a freezing winter's day, and she suggested we go in for a bite. Little did I know what I was in for. Basically, I found myself gazing at some of the biggest, chewiest, gooeist, chocolatiest cookies known to mankind. I think that day I tried the Orange Chocolate, and it was delish! It was still warm, fresh from the oven, and had a huge melty chocolate chunk in the middle.

Well, that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I've been back several times, and honestly, each time I have been thoroughly satisfied. Some of my other fav's include the White Chocolate Cranberry and the Triple Chocolate Chunk. I could go on and on......

Well, last week, I was in the mood for a Ben's, but I live about an hour away from the shop, so I decided I'd better try to find a good duplicate recipe online. I did find a pretty good one, although you still can't quite compare it with the real deal. Anyway, here it is!

2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2-1 tsp salt (to your preference)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 cubes) - melted over low heat
1/4 cup caster sugar (caster sugar is superfine sugar - almost powder - I didn't have any the other day so I just used the normal granulated)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks!! (chunks preferred - more comments on this later)
1 cup toasted nuts

Directions:

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, salt, soda). Set aside.

Pour melted butter into a large mixing bowl. Add both caster and brown sugar; cream on medium speed. Slowly add in eggs, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

Slowly mix in dry ingredients (1/3 at a time to avoid spillage). Stir in chocolate chunks and nuts.

Chill the dough for at least an hour.

Scoop onto baking sheets - use an ice cream scoop if you'd like - you'll want about that size (6 cookies per sheet).

Bake at 375 F for about 14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Rotate the baking sheet half way through for even browning. Remove cookies immediately from baking sheet to cooling rack when you take out. But don't let them cool for too long! They are best warm! (Even though you can reheat for 15 seconds to rewarm). This recipe makes 18 cookies.

So, the first time I made these (yes, I've already made them twice in the past week), I had a big Hershey's Milk Chocolate Symphony Bar that was just sitting around, so I chopped it up and used that instead of chips. See, one of the things that makes Ben's cookies soooo good is that they use these incredibly huge chocolate melts and/or chocolate chunks in all of their cookies. So especially when the cookies are still warm, you bite in and it's all melty and chocolately goodness. I wanted to try to achieve that result. This turned out pretty well although the chocolate didn't stay gooey long enough.

The second time, I had some Green and Black's brand Mint Dark Chocolate, although only part of a bar. I chopped that up and supplemented with normal chocolate chips, and yum, pretty good. However, I am still in search of the perfect chocolates to use in these cookies that will melt but still hold their shape, if that makes sense. I will keep you updated when I find them!

This is obviously just a basic recipe, but you can do lots of variations! Go to the Ben's website to see some of their flavors, and you'll get the idea. http://www.benscookies.com

So, it was interesting because the other day when I was on my cookie search I realized that, at least from what I could tell, the Ben's SLC Cookie Shop is the only one in the United States! (In fact, it's not even listed on their website). They were actually started in the UK and have about 8 shops there, and a smattering in Saudi Arabia - interesting. Who knew! The story is that a student from Utah getting his MBA at Oxford ran into the shop there, and couldn't get enough of it. He pitched the idea to put a shop in Salt Lake City and also in Orem, Utah. Well, doesn't look like the Orem one happened, but the Salt Lake shop is there. The plan was to grow it over time.... I'm not really sure what the status is on shop growth, but am currently inquiring. Anyway, go try the real deal sometime. You'll be glad you did!

Now I'm in love with two Ben's: my husband, and these cookies! Lucky Me!

More chocolate on the way....

Lindor Truffles: A Little Piece of Heaven

2010-01-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

Why is it that chocolate in every other country besides the US seems to be better? (Sorry, Hershey's, but you are just not at the top of my list.) Anyway, Lindt & Sprungli from Swizterland is one of my fav's for the money! Especially their collection, Lindor Truffles. I bought a big bag of them right before Christmas, and was trying to hold out, to savor just one a day to make them last longer. Well, that has not been happening lately. Because once I have one, I just want to try another flavor, to try to decide which one is my favorite. Such a predicament!

Anyway, what is my favorite? Honestly, really can't say, although I really like the Extra Dark Chocolate. But then there's the Stracciatella that's also quite delish. And then I get to looking at their website (www.lindtusa.com) and I start realizing how can I even decide when I haven't even tried all of them!

If you buy these chocolates separately, as they are often sold as impulse items by cash registers, you will pay around 50 cents a pop. Since I am a little more price savvy than that, I recommend going to WalMart or Sam's Club/Costco, and buying a bigger variety bag (or all of one flavor, if you have your favorite). The one downer is that you really can't find all of the flavors if you go that way, but they are getting better at having a selection.

I'm sure most of you have seen these and hopefully had the opportunity to taste! If not, put it on your list of things to do. You will not have regrets.

Cake Pops and Cheesecake Pops!

2010-01-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so if you have not checked it out yet, you must go to the bakerella.com website! Bakerella has a lot of ways to make your baking cute! I'm honestly usually more about the taste, but presentation does matter.

Anyway, for the holidays this year, I wanted to make something that would be fun for my nieces and nephews to enjoy since I was preparing dessert for the family party. So, I turned to these awesome cake pops and cheesecake pops from her website, and did a little fun creative design of my own as well.

Here's the recipes, as well as a few pictures!

First, Chocolate Cake Pops

1 box chocolate cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake) (you can use other flavors, but why in the world would I do that when chocolate is obviously the best?)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (I actually just made Ben make me some of his cream cheese frosting - much more delicious than store bought!)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but bakerella recommends hand rolling. Just make sure hands are thoroughly washed, okay!)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.) Or...... if you are making pops, get your lollipop sticks. Dip end in melted chocolate and then push into your chocolate ball. Let dry and firm up before dipping the rest. Decorate to your heart's content! Store finished pops in styrofoam board.

I made some santa hats (sorry no pics but they were really cool looking), christmas trees (I used decorating sprinkles and nerds for the ornaments; also did some with mint chips and some just green colored vanilla candy melts), and of course some butterscotch elves (hershey kiss and marshmallow hats, butterscotch ears, and some decorating sprinkles for the eyes and mouth)! My pictures didn't turn very well (bad focus on the camera), but you can still kinda get the picture....

Also, I did some ordinary pops, some dipped in white chocolate, some in milk chocolate, and some in mint. For extra flavor, I dipped them in andes mints, heath toffee, and crushed peppermint. All delicious, although my favorite combo was the chocolate cake ball dipped in white chocolate and covered with heath toffee!

Next.....Cheesecake Pops!

Well, basically find your favorite baked cheesecake recipe and make it! You want one that has some substance to it, not too light and airy, because you have to have some form to it when you make the cheesecake balls. I baked the one from bakerella's website (click here to get recipe), and it was good. I did have to bake it quite a bit longer than the recipe said - probably the altitude change did something to that. Next time, I think I'll try a recipe that is a great fav that my mom makes!

After cheesecake is cooked and cooled, freeze it for a little while so it will be really firm. Then scoop out with spoon, or melon baller to form the balls. I even mixed in a little bit of the graham cracker crust to give it more substance. Finally, roll the ball in crushed graham cracker so that it can retain its form better. (This can make it a little trickier when dipping, because the chocolate won't stick as well all of the time - but with a little care, no problem.)

Then freeze those suckers! You have to have these extremely frozen to work with them otherwise they will easily start falling apart when you dip them. I did a few of these on sticks, but then just chose to do the rest truffle style. They were a huge hit at the party, especially among the adults!

I dipped these in white chocolate, butterscotch, milk chocolate, and some other colored candy melts that were vanilla flavored. For toppings I used heath toffee, andes mints, peppermint, and coconut. They were all delicious!!!!!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-01-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

I got ambitious and decided to make some gingerbread houses for a church activity that I was in charge of for some youth to decorate.

This recipe that I am going to put here made enough dough for seven small gingerbread houses. They were rolled out about 1/4 inch.

The royal icing that I used here worked out really well - except I realized that it worked much better after I had let it sit for a couple of hours. (The first houses decorated were done in such a rush without time for icing to dry, and the roofs started sliding off. We had to do emergency repairs once, or twice :) Oops!)

Gingerbread House (adapted fr Simply Recipes)

6 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) butter, softened
1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 c dark molasses
1 tbsp water

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside

Beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended (electric mixer on medium). Beat in eggs, molasses, and water until well combined.

Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in remaining flour. Knead until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, pref overnight. Let sit at room temp at least 10 minutes before rolling out.

Okay - so I did this with less time allowed. I only chilled in the freezer for just a little while to get it chilled, then I generously floured the surface I was rolling on - biggest thing is that you don't want it to stick, because you have to cut the pieces out and maintain their shape.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Have several flat cookie sheets ready, pref ones that will not warp in the heat.

Divide dough in two. Spread parchment paper or wax paper on large flat surface - dust lightly with flour (or generously if you're me and seriously nervous about sticking dough :) Use rolling pin to roll out dough to even thickness (I did 1/4 inch). Add a little flour to surface of the dough as rolling, and check for sticking as you roll out. If dough starts sticking, dust with more flour.

Rub a little flour over surface of dough. Place on your pattern pieces - as many as will fit. Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern. Also, you can use scissors and cut straight through the wax paper and even cook the dough on the paper. It will peel off easily at the end.

Bake at 350 for 1-15 minutes, (until edges just begin to darken); 6-8 for small pieces. Remove to cool.

Right after you take the cookies out, while they are still slightly warm, you can lay the pattern pieces over again and use a straight chef's knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have spread beyond the pattern. I was in a rush, so I didn't do this. It's not a must, but if you're a perfectionist, you may just want to make time for this.

Royal Icing (aka Edible Glue)

2 large egg whites
2 2/3 c powdered sugar, divided

Whisk together egg whites and 1 1/3 c of the powdered sugar until smooth.

Add remaining 1 1/3 c of powdered sugar to mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high until the icing holds still peaks. If it doesn't form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar.

That's it. However, if you want your icing to actually kind of taste good in my opinion, add a little extract of some sort - almond, lemon, orange. If you like your sugar straight up, then don't worry about it!

I probably used 2-3 times this much icing for the 7 small houses that I did with this recipe.

I usually cover the icing while I'm not working with it - so I mix it in some type of tupperware with a lid. That way it can slightly dry out which actually makes it easier when your using it, but not too dry to work with.

When you're ready, fill a decorating bag with the icing. And put your house together!

First, the walls - icing along the base and the side seams. After you place, put icing again around the base inside and out, and the side seams. Let it sit for a while (depends on the size of your house how long you will want to wait. I was good in about 20 minutes, but it was a small structure). Then, do the roof! Once again, icing along the seams of the walls, and then along the seam of your roof. The roof looks good if you use a pattern that has a slight overhang at the ends. Hold the pieces for a few minutes so they don't slide off. Pipe top seam with some extra icing. Add icicles if you want. They look cool! Usually you should wait at least an hour after this step to do more decorating so that your house sets up really well and will stay under the pressure of added candy (I found out the hard way at first with limited time at our activity).

Decorate with CANDY! Use the icing to glue the candy on.

I really had fun decorating these. There are so many fun things you can do.

Enjoy!

Here's the pattern I used (I modified it a little, however, because the walls did not match up quite evenly for some odd reason). I was also too lazy to do the chimney, cuz seemed like lots of work for little reward on this teeny house. Maybe when I'm more ambitious in the future.....

Merissa Wilson's Gingerbread House!

Leanna Watt's Gingerbread House!

My niece Jaide, helped me decorate this next house......

What a good poser! She used lots of marshmallows for snow, and we used cinnamon toast crunch to make the roof shingles. Also, Uncle Ben made a red snowman in front.

Jaide's sisters enjoyed eating all of the candy while we decorated! That's really how a 4 and 2 year old help decorate a gingerbread house.

Lots of candy!

The super tall marshmallow snowman was contributed by Julie.

These last couple that I have here I made and we donated them to some homeless shelters along with dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. Way to go Tom and Ginny Lakey! My in-laws are so caring and always do cool things like this around the holidays. Also, my husband is awesome, who helped me cut out and bake sugar cookies for 4 hours one evening. I believe the count was around 14 dozen, and we were just doing about 1/6 of the quantity that was prepared for delivery! But enough about cookies. Here's the pictures already!

Tortilla Chip Roof

Smarties house. For some reason, this reminds me of the gingerbread man on Shrek.

Maybe it's the expression of the front of the house. So worried.

Last but not least, the peppermint house.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Roof

That's it for this year. Will I be more ambitious next? We'll see. Maybe one of these?

Cute cottage scene

Ginger"bird" house

Gingerbread Castle

Let's be honest. Most likely not. But they are quite pretty :)

(These last three are from the Festival of Trees 2009 in SLC)

French Chocolate Silk Pie

2010-01-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

My brother used to always make this pie for us when I was growing up at home. I haven't had it for years, but I decided to give it a try when I had a premade piecrust leftover from the Thanksgiving festivities. So a few days after all the pie on Thanksgiving, another pie... but a chocolate french silk pie! I thought that I was all pie'd out, but no, I still had plenty of room to appreciate this one.

Enjoy!

FRENCH SILK PIE (Better Homes and Gardens)

1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter (not margarine)
3 squared (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 ½ tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 9-inch baked pastry shell
Unsweetened whipped cream (optional)
Chocolate curls (optional)
In a small mixer bowl cream sugar and butter about 4 minutes or till fluffy. Stir in cooled chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed of electric mixer after each addition and scraping sides of bowl constantly. Turn into Baked Pastry Shell. Chill several hours or overnight till set. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls, if desired. Cover and chill. Makes 10 servings.
Note: Some brands of margarine produce a non-fluffy, sticky filling when used in this recipe. The results were so unsatisfactory that we recommend using only butter.

Key Lime Pie

2009-12-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Cool refreshing dessert. Instead of one big pie, this time I got the aluminum muffin cups and made mini pies. That way you don't eat as much, right?

Gourmet, May 2003

For crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs from 9 (2 1/4-inch by 4 3/4-inch) crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh or bottled key lime juice

For topping:
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch (4-cup) glass pie plate. Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack. Leave oven on.

Make filling and bake pie: Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until combined well. Add juice and whisk until combined well (mixture will thicken slightly). Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill, covered, at least 8 hours.

Make topping: Just before serving, beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Serve pie topped with cream.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-12-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

So, what do you do with the rest of that HUGE can of pumpkin after you make the cream cheese roll and there's still a ton left? Cookies, of course! I've tried a few recipes and this one is definitely the winner!

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup chocolate chips or raisins

12-1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Whisk together flour, leavening, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in egg, then vanilla, then pumpkin. Add flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using. Drop by tablespoons and bake for 12-14 minutes. Bake until lightly browned at the edges, but not dark. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 3 ½ dozen.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll

2009-12-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most delicious forms of pumpkiny goodness ever! Seriously, I think anything that's wrapped with cream cheese in it is a winner!

Recipe courtesy of: Sundance Inn Bed and Breakfast, New Braunfels, Texas

3 eggs

1 c sugar

2/3 c canned pumpkin

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3/4 c flour

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Beat in remaining cake ingredients. Grease a 10" x 15" jelly roll pan. Line pan with waxed paper, then grease and lightly flour the waxed paper. Pour batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. * Cake cooks fast so watch carefully to avoid burning the edges. While cake is baking, sprinkle powdered sugar heavily over the kitchen towel, using a sieve or sifter. Turn hot cake onto the towel. Remove waxed paper. Trim off burnt or crusty edges. Sprinkle more powdered sugar over the hot cake and quickly roll up with towel inside. Let cake cook completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare filling by beating together all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Unroll cooled cake and spread with the filling mixture. Roll up cake with filling on the inside. Wrap in waxed paper and then foil. Refrigerate or freeze. To serve, slice cake about 1/3 inch thick and sprinkler with powdered sugar. Note: Cake cuts best when still slightly frozen.

The last time I made this cake, I was taking it to a party with a lot of different treats, so I wanted to make the slices smaller. Instead of one baking sheet, I put the batter on two smaller baking sheets, and made two smaller rolls. It worked out really well!

Holiday Treat Overload!

2009-12-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

Wow. So, I have some serious recipes to post on here. I'll admit, I've been indulging lately, but I could hopefully say that I'm still being "responsible", meaning, only seconds, not thirds or fourths :)

So, here's what's on the way:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Key Lime Pie
French Chocolate Silk Pie
Cake Balls/Pops, and Cheesecake Balls
Gingerbread Houses

Don't worry ya'll. Chocolate is still my main passion, but there are still other delectable treats to appreciate in life, and so I wanted to share these recipes as well for a little change up. ENJOY and Happy Holidays!

Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

2009-11-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

I love Andes Mints. They are the minty chocolate mint of mints! Anyway, I love putting them in baking stuff. I remember making brownies a long time ago with my zesty friend, Colleen, and having the brilliant idea to chop up the mints and add them to the batter (this was before they starting selling baking chips), and man, they were gooooooood. Well, I decided to try some cookies this time - also excellent! And my husband topped it off by whipping up some cream cheese frosting (which basically makes anything better).

Andes Mint Cookies

So, this is recipe is a basic cookie with the chips. Nothing fancy, but very tasty. I altered it to a chocolate cookie dough by decreasing the flour by approx 1/3 cup and adding in 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder.

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (10 oz) package Andes Mint baking chips (I never use quite as much as a recipe calls for, because I like to snack on them plain as well)
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350. Blend butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and eggs until all ingredients are well mixed. Add baking chips and mix in. Add in flour until well blended. (Chill dough if needed). Take a spoonful of dough - make a ball and then slightly flatten with a cup on a baking sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

Tip: I pushed a few chips in the top of each cookie before I cooked them so that they would look prettier.

Lemon Meringue Pie

2009-11-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, so not chocolate, but still delicious! We can't have chocolate all the time, right? (Actually, probably could, but there's still things to appreciate beyond chocolate once in a while). Recipe comes from epicurious.com website.

Lemon Meringue Pie (Gourmet, 1995)

For shell
1 recipe Pastry Dough for a single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie
raw rice or pie weights for weighting shell

For filling
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

For meringue
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar

Make shell:
On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 13-inch round, (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate. Trim edge of dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, and crimp edge decoratively. Prick shell in several places with a fork and chill, covered, 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line shell with wax paper and fill with rice or pie weights. Bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove paper and rice carefully and bake shell until golden, about 12 minutes more. Cool shell in pie plate on a rack. Lower oven temperature to 350°F.

Make filling:
In a heavy saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt and gradually whisk in water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks. Cook milk mixture over moderate heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil. Gradually whisk about 1 cup milk mixture into yolks and whisk yolk mixture into milk mixture. Simmer mixture, whisking, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest until butter is melted. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap.

Make meringue:
In another bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks. Pour filling into shell and spread meringue on top, covering filling completely, sealing it to pastry. Draw meringue up into peaks and bake pie in middle of oven until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes.

This recipe turned out excellent, and this is my first attempt at a lemon meringue (have to admit, I was a little nervous). The meringue did weep a little, so I am still looking for a good addition to the meringue to help that not happen again.

Best Cocoa Brownies

2009-11-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

I was in the mood for some brownies the other day, and found this great recipe on epicurious.com (it's a great website for gourmet recipes - some harder, some still really simple). They get my approval - very rich and delicious! For the chocolate lover that appreciates a darker chocolate edge on things. Enjoy.

Best Cocoa Brownies (Epicurious | November 2003)

Alice Medrich, BitterSweet

Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.

Yield: Makes 16 large or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Chocolate note: Any unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder works well here. Natural cocoa produces brownies with more flavor complexity and lots of tart, fruity notes. I think it's more exciting. Dutch-process cocoa results in a darker brownie with a mellower, old-fashioned chocolate pudding flavor, pleasantly reminiscent of childhood.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2009-11-09T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have so many things to post since I got behind over the last couple of weeks! I guess the end of October just caught me by surprise. Anyway, I had these bars a few weeks ago at a social gathering, and have been craving them ever since. I looked all over for a good recipe, and finally settled on the Nestle's Peanut Butter Buddy Bars. And they turned out great.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUDDY BARS

1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

6 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1 ¾ cups (11.5 oz) milk chocolate morsels, divided

Preheat oven to 350. Beat peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat in flour and salt. Stir in 3-4 cup morsels. Spread into ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining morsels. Let stand for 5 minutes or until morsels are shiny; spread evenly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 3 dozen bars

Mint Oreo Truffles, Anyone?

2009-11-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

So, I found this truffle recipe on Bakerella.com that just sounded like it was definitely worth a try. Bakerella is a really fun website with lots of simple and cute baking ideas. You should definitely check it out!

If you are using normal Oreos:

1 package oreo cookies (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
(Reserve 7 cookies for decorating)

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

Chocolate or white chocolate bark

If you are using Double Stuf (Mint) Oreos:

1 pkg. Double Stuf Mint Oreos (1 lb. 1 oz. pkg.)
use 22 cookies with cream centers included
use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
Chocolate or white chocolate bark

Directions for both:

Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Stir in softened cream cheese. Mix well until good consistency. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place covered in freezer for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping.. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate. tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. Add any toppings before chocolate is completely set so they will stick. Refrigerate and enjoy!

I took some of the crushed cookies and some of the chocolate bark shavings and reserved them for sprinkling on top of the truffles.

Well, on the tastiness scale, they rated well with me. However, I do prefer the consistency of a real creamy truffle instead - just personal preference. But they were fun and different and the classic mint Oreo flavor always wins me over. I think next time I will use normal Oreos, since you can usually get them at a better price, and then add a few drops of mint extract and see if that will still do the trick.

Here's my other awesome realization - well my favorite Oreos are the ones dipped in white chocolate that you can only get at Christmastime. I always try to stock up and hide them away when they come out since they are so hard to find in the stores after like a week. Well, now I can just get some almond bark and dip those anytime of year! Mmmmm. My husband will be so happy.

These are a few of my favorite things.......

2009-10-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

I went to lunch today with my husband, Ben, for my birthday. Afterward, he took me over to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (http://www.rmcf.com/) for one of our favorite treats, their oh-so-good caramel apples. Now, if you have not been to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory before, you may not really understand what I'm talking about. Yes, you can get your pretty standard caramel apple there, which is delicious. But just to give you an idea, a few of my favorites are the Key Lime Pie Caramel Apple (caramel, white chocolate, graham cracker, some delicious key lime flavoring), the Snickers Caramel Apple (caramel, milk chocolate, chopped up snickers) and the Toffee Caramel Apple (caramel milk chocolate, toffee), just to name a few.

We also tried some mint truffles there. They were tasty, but a bit pricey at $2/ea. We were expecting our taste buds to explode at that price, but it just didn't happen for us.

Let me tell you though, if you want a good mint truffle, I have found a few that are delicious, and are also a really reasonable price.

Go try to Utah Truffles Mint Bar (dktruffles.com). They are to die for! And I believe I've seen them for around $1.50 at some local grocery stores.

Also good companies - Kara Chocolates (based in Orem, UT), and my other fav-favorite, Alvey's Mint Melts. I have not been able to find these since I attended school up in Logan, UT (USU). They are yummy! I have to know if I can still get them! I will find out and let you all know.

Happy Chocolate-ing, All!

Boston Cream Cupcakes

2009-10-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Lovers of chocolate and cheesecake, may I present the perfect and easy combination of deliciousness in this Boston Cream Cupcake recipe!

This is an alteration of Boston Cream Pie (pictured to the right)- two layers of sponge cake with vanilla custard filling in the middle and topped of with a chocolate glaze.

You can also make mini versions of the pie, cupcake style......

However, this recipe that I'm posting, at least in my opinion, is a step above all the others I have tried, because instead of vanilla custard, it has more of a cheesecake filling. And believe me, if there is one thing that tops the list with chocolate in my book, it's a good baked cheesecake!

This recipe is very easy! It comes from the kitchen of good ole' Betty Crocker.

Cake Cookie Crust

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Sugar Cookie Mix

1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened

1 egg

2 tablespoons sugar

Note: This above recipe is for a cake-like cookie crust on the bottom. I usually don't add all of the egg and butter, because at least in my high altitude, it tends to add too much stickiness to the dough and I end up adding a lot of flour to get the right consistency again. I've found that you can just use the sugar cookie mix without adding the egg and butter if you'd like. The crust will come out flat, but still good. If you have a great sugar cookie recipe that you like, you can substitute it for all of this.

Filling

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 box (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

Topping

1 container (1 lb) Chocolate Frosting

***or use this Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) Butter softened
4 oz (1/2 package) Cream Cheese, softened
8 oz Confectioner's Sugar (or to taste)
1 Tsp Vanilla (or to taste)

Cocoa Powder to taste

With a mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. Mix in vanilla. Mix in cocoa powder.
Gradually add sugar - mix until smooth. ***

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 regular size muffin cups with paper baking cups. Lightly spray baking cups with cooking spray.

2. In large stir cookie mix, butter and egg, until dough forms. Shape dough into 24 (1 1/2 in) balls. Place 1 ball in each baking cup. Moisten bottom of flat-bottomed glass with drop of water, then dip into 2 tablespoons sugar. Press glass on dough balls to flatten, dipping glass in sugar after each dough ball.

Note: I've varied on the size of the cookie bottom. I personally like more cheesecake to cookie ratio. I like the cake-like crust, but I tend to use less dough so it does not take over.

3. In another large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and milk with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in sour cream. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Stir in dry pudding mix until well blended. Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling over dough in each cup.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool 30 minutes; remove from pan.

5. Open container of frosting; remove foil lid. Microwave uncovered on High 30 seconds to soften frosting; stir until smooth. Spoon about 1 tablespoon frosting onto center of each cookie cup. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set. Store covered in refrigerator.

Note: Heating up the frosting before putting on cupcakes and then refrigerating afterward will give it more of a glaze feeling rather than just straight frosting. You can just put the frosting on straight as well. If you are using a homemade frosting, you will probably want to heat for a lesser time, depending on the consistency of the frosting. Canned frosting from the store tends to be a little thicker than homemade.

6. Enjoy! These are always a hit wherever we take them, and especially in my home!

Fast and Easy Oreo Cake Cookies

2009-10-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

These cookies are a favorite at my house! And they are soooo easy to make. You can use any cake mix for the cookies to give it a twist, however my favorite is of course none other than chocolate!

Cookies:

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix (or any other flavor that you like)
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
2 Eggs

Mix together cake mix, butter, and eggs until combined. If really dry, add a little vegetable oil, and/or water to make sure it is all moistened. (I usually have to add a little extra because I'm in a high altitude area). Dough should be moist, but not sticky.

Make 1 inch balls and place onto baking sheet (4 rows of 4 is a good measurement - that should give you plenty of space for that size).

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool, then either enjoy plain or frost and with the cream cheese frosting to make the Oreo Sandwiches!

Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling:

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) Butter softened
4 oz (1/2 package) Cream Cheese, softened
8 oz Confectioner's Sugar (or to taste)
1 Tsp Vanilla (or to taste)

With a mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. Mix in vanilla.
Gradually add sugar - mix until smooth.

I usually don't like cream cheese frosting/filling super sweet like some, and I tend to like to taste the vanilla. Honestly, this stuff's so easy to make, so you can just mess around with the proportions to make it perfect for you!

Note: After I make the Oreos, I usually put the cookies in to refrigerate for about 20 minutes (if I can wait that long). That just helps the filling set better so that it isn't squeezing out all over the place when you take that first terrific bite.

Makes about 32 cookies, or 16 Oreos.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Pizza Factory)

2009-09-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

I was in the mood for a "Never on Sundae" last night, like they serve at the Pizza Factory here in Utah. They start with either a super-gooey and delicious brownie or cookie (still warm), and then pile on ice cream, and top it off with caramel sauce and hot fudge. And is there whip cream, too? I don't even remember, but I'm sure that would also be delicious.

Thanks to Laurie Jacobsen for first introducing me to this. Warning: dessert is not for the faint of appetite. I can usually hold my own when it comes to desserts, but this is very rich. I have to share this with someone or I regret it later.

Anyway, I found a recipe for the cookies. Tried it out last night - turned out good - it was pretty comparable to the original - I still think I'll try tweaking it in the future to get it just right.

Pizza Factory Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c chocolate chips (or whatever suits your chocolately preference)
1/2 (1.5 oz) box french vanilla pudding mix(or vanilla works)

Cream together butter, eggs, and sugars. Mix in vanilla and almond extract.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and vanilla pudding mix
Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large bowl.
Once mixed, stir in chocolate chips.
Drop cookies on baking sheet - I made normal size cookies last night, but I think I would prefer to make them super huge. Also, I'm going to try baking them sometime sheet cookie style.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes (do not overcook).

Makes 18-24 depending on the size.

I served with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt rather than Vanilla Ice Cream last night so that they wouldn't be "quite" as fattening. It was delish!

Submit your Chocolate Recipes!

2009-09-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Submit your favorite chocolate recipes so that we can share them on this blog! You can either join the facebook Chocolate Lover's Club and submit, or email recipes to christina_lakey@yahoo.com.

Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

2009-09-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

You have to give these a try! They are soooooo delicious! I mean, with brownies and cheesecake combined, you really can't go wrong.

Recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

For brownie batter

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped (or just use baking pieces - you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips if you'd like - just add an appropriate amount of sugar for the sweetness)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For cheesecake batter

8 ounces cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make brownie batter:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.

Make cheesecake batter and bake brownies:
Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.
Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Molten Chocolate Volcano Cake

2009-09-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

My friend and I used to reward ourselves with a "Chili's Molten Chocolate Cake" on our birthdays, after a hard test, and whatever other occasion we could justify during our first year of college.

The next year, my friend moved away, but she came to visit for her birthday. I threw her a party, and I decided why not make my own giant version of the cake so that everyone could share. It has now become a trademark cake of mine. Best part - super easy to make!

If you want to make the whole thing from scratch, that is great! I've done portions of it like that before. But I find that there is little difference in quality if you use the right pre-made stuff (and it's faster!).

Need:

Chocolate Cake Mix - follow instructions on box

Hot fudge sauce

Chocolate sauce

Chocolate Magic Shell Topping

Extras - nuts, coconut, strawberry or other fruit topping, sparklers

First - bake a cake! I just use a box mix - get a supermoist and chocolately one - german chocolate, devil's food, or triple fudge are great! You can either bake in a bundt cake pan for one large cake, or I've also discovered a really cool mini bundt cupcake tin if you want to make personal size cakes.

When the cake is done, let it cool down just enough to get out of the pan. You want to serve this baby warm. Or, if you need to make in advance, you can warm up in an oven before the final prep as well.

Poke holes with a fork all over in the cake.

Get some delicious hot fudge (Hershey's or Mrs. Richardson's are good, or make your own). Pour all over the cake until it seeps in. Some will run off. That's ok.

Next, repeat with caramel and/or butterscotch sauce.

Now you are ready for the ice cream! Fill in the bundt hole with icecream and heap up over the top.

Last, get Hershey's Magic Shell Topping and smother icecream with it, until it creates a hard shell all over. Put on additional caramel and fudge if you'd like!

You're done!

If you want to try some variations, you can add other toppings. I've put on different types of nuts, coconut, and even strawberry topping, and they are all delicious and look really cool.

And if you really want a show, don't forget the sparklers!

P.S. If you have mini bundt cupcake tin, you can make personal-sized volcano cakes! They are really fun too!

Chocolate Lovers Welcome!

2009-09-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I was just bored yesterday or what, but I came across some old stuff from my college days when I started the Chocolate Lover's Club at USU. My "chubby" roommates were great to help the cause. Anyway, I am still a great appreciator of chocolate, and so I think it appropriate for me to start this blog and share my passion.

Some people have blogs that talk all about the nutritional value of chocolate, origin, blah, blah, blah. Well all of that is great, but I'm all about application! I want stuff I can taste. This is a place to share great chocolate secrets - recipes, brands, places that we must go!

So chocolate lover's of the world...unite!