Posts Tagged 'Chocolate'

Chocolate-Glazed Cherry-Pecan Pie

Published December 16, 2011 Baking , Chocolate , Desserts , Pies Leave a Comment
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Chocolate-Glazed Cherry-Pecan Pie

My final final of the semester is finally done. It was exciting—the power went out at the testing center about three quarters of the way through the exam. I was really glad I was taking a pencil and paper test and not a computerized exam like most of the people in the room.

So, I am on break for about 2 weeks. I still have to work during this time, but I don’t have to do homework when I get home from work, so I have that going for me. I’m hoping to get caught up on some recipe posts over break (also: organize the basement, organize my desk, hem a bunch of pants, catch up on some TV shows, finish the Hunger Games books, and sleep).

This pie is part of the posting catch-up—we had this pie at Thanksgiving and my mom has been asking me for the recipe for a few weeks. It is really tasty, kind of like a chocolate-covered cherry in pecan pie form—that totally makes sense, right? Continue reading ‘Chocolate-Glazed Cherry-Pecan Pie’

Goat Cheese Brownies with Honey and Almonds

Published October 16, 2011 Baking , Chocolate , Desserts 1 Comment
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Goat Cheese Brownies with Honey and Almonds

I am so excited for Christmas cookie season to arrive. I’ve been buying up holiday baking magazines and picking out recipes to try. Before I can drive into the baking, I must clean out the freezer so there is a place to store the cookie bounty until it is time to put together cookie trays and gift boxes. I’m working on it this weekend, but there is a lot of stuff in our freezer to use up.

In my magazine browsing, I found a recipe that I needed to try immediately—Goat Cheese Brownies. They are very similar to a cheesecake swirl brownie, but the cheesecake part is a bit tangier. They are absolutely delicious.

The original recipe includes a Honey and Cream Cheese Frosting, but I knew we would be happy with unfrosted brownies, so I skipped that part. I’ve included those instructions below, should you want to give the frosting a try.
Continue reading ‘Goat Cheese Brownies with Honey and Almonds’

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Published August 8, 2011 Baking , Cakes , Chocolate , Desserts 1 Comment
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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Kim, brought some lemon zucchini bread to work to share. It was delicious. She offered the recipe and I accepted (duh!). While I am glad to have the recipe, I was immediately drawn to the Chocolate Zucchini Cake that is on the same piece of paper as the lemon bread. I’ll get to that bread eventually, but this cake is crazy good. It has a bit of cinnamon in it, so it has a Texas Sheet Cake taste to it. It also has a bag of chocolate chips on the top of the cake, so that is awesome. Continue reading ‘Chocolate Zucchini Cake’

Chocolate Covered Fruit Slices*

Published April 19, 2011 Candy , Desserts Leave a Comment
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Chocolate Covered Fruit Slices

As recipes go, there isn’t much to this one, but it is so, so good. A couple of weeks ago, my co-worker Jackie brought some Easter candy to work. There were jelly beans and gumdrop fruit slices and those little Hershey’s candy bars. I like to put a fruit slice on top of the tiny candy bar and eat it all at once. I thought the whole process would be easier if the fruit slice was dipped in chocolate, so I didn’t have to mess with unwrapping the candy bar (it is such a chore). So that’s what I did. I also sprinkled just a bit of sea salt on top to achieve that wonderful salty-sweet mix and for general classiness (everything is more sophisticated with sea salt).

If you sprinkle with salt, these are best served shortly after the chocolate sets up. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the chocolate is starting to pit and change color a bit from the salt. Those fruit slices were about 24 hours old when I took the photo. After a weekend, the chocolate starts to dry and get a little crumbly, but the candy still tastes great.

*No actual fruit was harmed in creating this dish. Continue reading ‘Chocolate Covered Fruit Slices*’

Seven Magic Dollies

Published March 17, 2011 Baking , Cookies , Desserts 3 Comments
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Seven Magic Dollies

I remember my mom making these bar cookies when I was a kid. I have always loved them. They seemed so special when I was young. They weren’t just some Chips Ahoy or Oreo. They were sophisticated. Nothing says sophistication like sweetened condensed milk.

I believe my mom called these cookies “Seven Layer Bars,” but I also remember them as “Magic Cookie Bars.” It wasn’t until I saw the movie Dick that I heard them referred to as “Hello Dollies.” “Seven Magic Dollies” seemed like good mash-up of the names, so that is what I am calling them. Continue reading ‘Seven Magic Dollies’

Toll House Pie

Published March 1, 2011 Baking , Chocolate , Desserts , Pies 1 Comment
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Toll House Pie

There hasn’t been much cooking going on around here lately. When we haven’t been sick, we’ve been busy; when we haven’t been busy, we’ve been sick. So, when there was time and desire to cook, I thought I should make something worthy of the occasion. Something like Toll House Pie.

Toll House Pie is kind of like a chocolate chip cookie in a pie crust. It is delicious and it is really easy to make. I think it is best when it is a little warm and served with some vanilla ice cream. Continue reading ‘Toll House Pie’

Chocolate Chip Cookies—The Cook’s Illustrated Version

Published February 1, 2011 Baking , Chocolate , Cookies , Desserts 2 Comments
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Cook's Illustrated Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve hoarded dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes (see Annie & Mike’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookie Brittle, and Union Station’s $350 Chocolate Chip Cookies for a few examples). Cook’s Illustrated has never steered me wrong before, so I thought I would give their Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies a try.

I’ll admit, I thought I might have found the clunker in the Cook’s Illustrated collection. The dough seemed greasy as I placed it on the cookie sheets, and the cookies really spread out. They didn’t look like they were going to be “my kind” of chocolate chip cookies. But, oh my, these cookies really earn the “perfect” in their title. They are so good. I was a fool to doubt their wonderfulness. The recipe calls for dark brown sugar for a full flavor, but I had light brown sugar on hand and I really can’t imagine these cookies tasting much better. Continue reading ‘Chocolate Chip Cookies—The Cook’s Illustrated Version’

Cherry Chocolate Candy

Published January 18, 2011 Candy , Chocolate , Desserts Leave a Comment
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Cherry Chocolate Candy

My grandma made this candy when I was a kid. In fact, I use the recipe she saved from the label of her Sather’s Cherry Drops (I don’t think Sather’s is in the Cherry Drop business anymore—they seem to lean heavily toward gummi candies at this point—but you can usually find cherry chips in the baking aisle of the grocery store). As I child, I did not fully appreciate the wonderfulness of this candy. Like many children, my sophisticated palate favored things like Nerds, or Candy Cigarettes, or Charleston Chew (random fact: I once lost three teeth eating a frozen Charleston Chew).

As an adult, I love this candy. I usually make it around Christmas, but the rest of the year I favor Cherry Mash for my cherry-chocolate fix. It has the perfect balance of cherry and chocolate and is, in my humble opinion, superior to the similar Twin Bing, where the cherry flavor is lost to the chocolate-peanut mixture. I have also tried the Big Cherry, which features a whole cherry inside the chocolate-peanut mixture. It was ok, but my heart belongs to Cherry Mash.

I have tried to put finely diced cherries into this candy, but I don’t think they add much to the flavor or texture. If you want to go this route, I recommend candied cherries over maraschino. Even well drained, the maraschino cherries still had too much liquid in them and the cherry layer did not firm properly when I used them. Continue reading ‘Cherry Chocolate Candy’

Spumoni Slices

Published December 12, 2010 Baking , Cookies , Desserts 2 Comments
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Spumoni Slices

Twelve cookies in twelve days. It seems like a good time to wrap up the holiday baking. There’s that whole “12 Days of Christmas” thing that makes it an appropriate time to cease production, but there is also the fact that there is no more room in my freezer for any more cookies. By the way, everything I’ve baked since December 1st freezes well, though I can only speculate on the freezing ability of the Union Station Cookies, because those never made it to the freezer (what can I say—we like chocolate chips cookies).

These Spumoni Slices are a new recipe for me this year. Looking through my mom’s cookbooks over Thanksgiving, I saw a recipe for a Neapolitan Cookies, which featured stripes of pink, white, and chocolate dough. They looked good, but if I am going to have a three-flavored ice cream, I much prefer Spumoni to Neapolitan. I thought I might prefer this flavor combination in the cookie form, too. Continue reading ‘Spumoni Slices’

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Published December 11, 2010 Baking , Cookies , Desserts Leave a Comment
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Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

It’s two treats in one! And some of the best treats, too—brownies and macaroons. Black-Bottom Coconut Bars are kind of like a cookie version of a Mounds bar. In fact, the next time I make these I might add a layer of sliced almonds between the brownie and coconut layers for an Almond Joy effect. Continue reading ‘Black-Bottom Coconut Bars’

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