Tag Archives: chocolate

Chocolate Pecan Tassie Galette

The Giveaway is now closed. I’m reviewing a new cookbook, When Pies Fly, and I’m also having a giveaway for two copies—2 winners will each receive a copy! Continue reading below for details on how to enter the giveaway!

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t make pies often (especially with homemade crust) but I do want to get better at it! Which is why I was happy to review a new cookbook called When Pies Fly: Handmade Pastries from Strudels to Stromboli, Empanadas to Knishes by food writer Cathy Barrow. It’s a book for both novice and experienced pie-makers, with sweet and savory recipes ranging from free-form galettes to pretty tarts, hand pies, and more.

This is a book that can come in handy at the holidays, when more people probably make pies and other special treats than at any other time of the year. After all, what would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie, right? But this book helps you create a fresh take on classic favorites. Discover Chocolate Pecan Tassie Galette…Pear, Sweet Potato, and Pistachio Strudel…savory Thanksgiving-in-a-Bite Pie Poppers…Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings...savory Spinach, Cranberry, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Hand Pies. Continue reading →

Chocolate Sour Milk Cake

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Sour milk cake may not sound that appetizing, but trust me, it’s a great little snack cake made with something you would otherwise toss, so it’s perfect for those of us who like to be thrifty! I had heard of sour milk cake but never tried making it because it’s rare that milk goes sour on me—I usually drink it up before it gets to that point. But I did have some milk go sour on me a few months back when I had bronchitis, I was avoiding dairy items—dairy tends to aggravate bronchitis. So when I discovered the milk had gone sour, it seemed like a great time to try making some sour milk cake! I experimented a few times and came up with this recipe. I think it’s really good! The cake has a light crumb texture and the glaze is rich and fudgy.

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Avocado Chocolate Mousse

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Sometimes I get the greatest recipes when I’m in the lunchroom at work! Like this Avocado Chocolate Mousse. I got the recipe from Robin, who has a blog of her own. She was telling me about a health and nutrition event she went to where they were preparing recipes with healthy ingredients and this Avocado Chocolate Mousse was one of them. I love avocados, but avocado and chocolate? Robin assured me that this mousse tasted like a creamy chocolate truffle and she was right!

This mousse is very rich, but in a healthy way–so you’ll want to use tiny dessert glasses, like they do in some restaurants, to serve this. It will definitely satisfy your chocolate cravings! And it’s dairy-free, unless you decide to top it with a little light whipped cream like I did. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Robin! 🙂

AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Makes 4 small servings

2 large ripe avocados

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup agave nectar or honey (I used honey)

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Optional: light whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with light whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, if desired.

Note: This can be made the day before you serve it.

You don’t really need to add the whipped cream or sprinkles because this mousse tastes great all by itself–but it does make the dessert look a little cuter! Have you made any dessert recipes using avocado as an ingredient?

I’m linking this to Fiesta Friday at the Novice Gardener.

Triple Chocolate Biscotti from Crazy About Chocolate and a Giveaway!

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The giveaway is now closed, but enjoy the recipe! 🙂

I’m sure a lot of you are just as crazy about chocolate as I am! I especially like dark chocolate. And I love all kinds of chocolate treats. So when I heard about the new book Crazy About Chocolate by Krystina Castella, I was definitely interested in reviewing it!

This softcover book has more than 200 sweet and savory chocolate recipes, with lots of full-color photos.There are recipes for cupcakes and many other desserts, candies, and holiday sweets, along with some unique savory items (like Hamburger Sliders with Chocolate Rolls!). It’s a great cookbook for any chocolate-lover!

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S’mores Popcorn from The S’mores Cookbook and a Giveaway!

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When I think of summer treats, I think of S’mores around a campfire. But when I looked through my review copy of The S’mores Cookbook by Susan Whetzel, I realized that you can enjoy the great taste of S’mores all year round in lots of different ways! This hardcover book is filled with lots of wonderful full-color photos of the many recipes you can make. And the publisher, Adams Media, has offered to send a giveaway copy directly to the winning commentor on this post! See the end of the post for details.

So S’mores are not just for summer anymore…you can make a great S’mores dessert whenever you crave it! And actually, S’mores are not just for dessert anymore, because this book also includes breakfast recipes, too! Some treats from this book that I’d like to try out are:

S’mores Stuffed French Toast
S’mores Popovers
Mini Dark Chocolate S’mores Muffins
S’mores Coffee Cake
Dark Chocolate S’mores Pie
S’mores Mousse Cups
S’mores Dip
S’mores Cupcakes
S’mores Chocolate Chunksters

I decided to make the S’mores Popcorn first because it’s been really hot and humid lately, and I wanted to do a no-bake recipe. Plus, this is a great recipe to give as a food gift, packaged in a cellophane bag–and with Christmas just 4 months away, I’m on the lookout for some tasty and easy food gift ideas! 🙂 It’s really kind of addicting, so you’ll want to either have lots of people help you eat it up or share with your friends! The two kinds of chocolate mixed with the caramel corn and marshmallows make a really rich and yummy treat! It’s also a great snack to make in the fall if you’re having a tailgate party or watching the games at home. Store-bought caramel corn works great in this, or you can use homemade if you like.

When I melted the chocolate, I added just a little bit of coconut oil, about 1 teaspoon per cup, to make the chocolate a little smoother for drizzling. If you do this, the chocolate will take a little longer to dry or set, and it may not package as well since the chocolate will be a little gooier, so it’s definitely an optional thing. If you decide to add some oil when melting the chocolate and if you’ve used an extra large sheet pan to spread your popcorn mix on,* you can put your pan of S’mores popcorn in the fridge, after everything is mixed together, for at least a half hour or until chocolate is set.

Here’s the recipe…

S’MORES POPCORN BAGS from The S’mores Cookbook

Yields: 10 gift bags

Feel free to make your own caramel popcorn for this amazing treat, but store-bought works amazingly well and tends to hold up and look nicer in the gift bags. Either way, it’s a win-win situation!–Susan Whetzel

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (Note: I used an extra 1/4 cup later in the recipe)

1/2 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs

8 cups caramel popcorn

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted

2 cups mini marshmallows

10 cellophane gift bags

Ribbon, to tie bags, as needed

Cover the counter with parchment paper (*I lined an extra large sheet pan with parchment paper instead). Drizzle the parchment with melted semisweet chocolate and immediately sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and popcorn, making as even a layer as possible.

Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn; allow to dry. (NOTE: I melted an additional 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips and drizzled this over the popcorn, too, for an extra chocolatey taste). Once chocolate is dry, pour the popcorn from the parchment into a large bowl; add marshmallows.

Divide evenly into cellophane bags, and tie with decorative ribbon.

This makes a great game snack or food gift and it’s so easy to make, so keep it in mind for football season and gift- giving at the holidays!

The Giveaway is Now Closed. Congratulations to commentor #8, Linda G., for winning the book!

Now for the Giveaway….if you’d like to enter to win a copy of The S’mores Cookbook, leave a comment on this blog post between now and Sunday, September 1, at midnight (CST)–the random drawing will be made from the comments on this post only! Winner will be chosen ramdomly via Random.org and announced on Monday, September 2. Winner will be notified via email (if winner does not respond in 3 days, I’ll do another drawing). Giveaway is limited to readers in the Continental U.S. and Canada.

First entry: Leave a comment on this post telling me if you make S’mores often or if you’ve made any S’mores-inspired recipes this summer.

Bonus entry: If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you can leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you are following!

Don’t worry if your comment doesn’t show up right away–because of spam, I need to approve all the comments before they show up! Hope you all have time to enter, and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!