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Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’

Disappointment

05 Jan

…have you ever gotten really excited about something – let’s say a piece of candy or some such – and once you had it in your possession and bit/cut into it,  all your expectations of said item were dashed to bits?

Do you ever wonder why you’d forget that you didn’t really like something?

I’m talking about a Cadburry egg. I don’t like them, never have, probably never will…yet, I found myself purchasing one today, so excited to cut into it (because I’m a freak and can’t just bite into something so messy)…only once I did, I realized that I really don’t like them at all…they’re so sickeningly sweet and thick.

Don’t tell me senility is setting in already??

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C is For Cookie! and Chocolate! and Christmas!

24 Dec

I’ve received a lot of requests for the recipe for the chocolate mint cookies I posted about (at least I think I posted about them…I’m pretty sure I did…hmm…) earlier when my cousins came over…so, I thought I’d post the recipe for you all to enjoy. Maybe you’re off on break with your kiddos and want something easy and fun to do, or maybe you just want a secret stash of chocolate minty goodness for yourself  :)

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Chocolate Mint Cookies

 Chocolate Mint Cookies

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix (dark chocolate or milk chocolate work great!)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 C water or milk (water works just fine, but milk might make the cookies a little more rich)
  • 1/2 stick of butter, melted
  • Andes Mints (whole) or Andes Mint Chips (one bag should be good)

 Preheat oven to 375°.

Blend all ingredients well; batter will be stiff. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet. If you can form dough into a 1” diameter ball, great, if not, that’s ok! The dough will be a little sticky, so it’s hard to roll in your hands.

Bake for 10-12 minutes; remove from oven. Allow cookies to set for a couple seconds.

If you’re using the whole mints, just place the (unwrapped) candy on the cookie and allow to melt. If you’re using the chips, press the back of a teaspoon into the top of the cookie, like a thumbprint cookie. Fill the “thumbprint” with one teaspoon of the mint chips and allow to melt (add more or less as desired).

Use a toothpick to swirl the melted chocolates and mint so you get a lovely blend of mint green and chocolate on the cookie.

Place cookies in the refrigerator until the melted chocolate is set.

 These package so nicely – they’re perfect for last minute gifts or cookies for Santa!! :)

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Cookie Extravaganza…sort of…

16 Dec

My husband and I have the rest of the week off of work, to relax a bit, but mostly to finish up our Christmas shopping and what not before next week (NEXT WEEK people…NEXT WEEK IS CHRISTMAS!!! Who authorized that?!) We don’t really have any formal plans for our time away from the office, except for today and Friday. Today my cousins Emily (21) and Alyssa (19) came over to make cookies for Christmas Eve (more on that event later); Friday is our designated shopping day, followed by a hockey game that evening.

To start the morning off, I decided I’d take a break from cleaning up the kitchen and play with my new camera. Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is??? I never really give him a list for Christmas – we always buy each other things throughout the year, so there isn’t much left for Christmas…and it doesn’t help that my birthday is a week after Christmas! As always, he finds some way to surprise me every year, and this year was no different. He got me a new camera for Christmas!! How do I know, you ask? It came in the mail yesterday…and we don’t do a very good job of keeping secrets around here! Anyway, I played with it at bit this morning…by the way, the Penguin ornament is the only ornament on our tree this year…I like to say I’m going for a minimalistic approach, but really I’m just being lazy. :)

Shiny star atop our scarcely decorated tree.

Shiny star atop our scarcely decorated tree.

Pittsburgh Penguin ornament my parents gave my husband.

Pittsburgh Penguin ornament my parents gave my husband.

As soon as they arrived and we did the usual visiting and chit-chatting, we got started on the cookies. As ambitious as we felt, we didn’t really make it too far! We started with the peanut butter kiss cookies (peanut butter cookies with a Hershey Kiss in the center). Those went together super fast, and we were pretty chuffed about the progress we were making.

Hershey Hugs

Hershey Hugs

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

We thought we were pretty clever by using the white chocolate Hershey Hugs :) It doesn’t take much for us to feel clever.

Emily wanted to make some sort of Andes Mint cookies…she wasn’t sure what the recipe was, so we kind of made one up using what we had on hand. Let me tell you, these things are AMAZING. Even my husband likes them, and he’s not a huge fan of sweets. They taste like a Thin Mint, only…better. Yeah, I said it…wanna fight about it? I wish I would have captured video of Emily trying to roll the cookie dough into little balls using her spoons…it was quite entertaining. But, you’ll have to settle for tantalizing pictures of the cookies instead :)

Melting the Andes Mints...

Melting the Andes Mints...

Minty Melty Goodness

Minty Melty Goodness

At this point, the ideas were flowing; we were certain that we could keep up our momentum and have several dozen cookies to show for our efforts. We took a break for lunch and decided while we were out to stop at the store to get more supplies (I failed to take a picture of what we had when we started…everything is still displayed on the counter, so maybe tomorrow I’ll get one…this will show you just how overboard we went then you can laugh at our thinking we needed more supplies!)

After a nice lunch at the South Side Soda Shop (it was feature on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, you know) and a trip dodging the Amish at the store, we returned home…much more lethargic and sleepy than before. In fact, on the drive to and from the diner, I noticed my two cookie elves dozing off in the back of the car! We contemplated starting another batch of cookies, or working on the chocolate covered pretzels, but my elves were increasingly weary. Their eyes drooped, and their spirits snoozed. After packing them up with some cookies to share with their men-elves, I sent them on their way before it got too dark.

I decided to make another batch of the chocolate mint cookies…so tasty – uh, I mean – so easy…yeah, that’s it. Easy. And Tasty. Mmm….minty….melty….mmmm….*drools*

My day is coming to a close as the Chicago Blackhawks start the 3rd period leading St. Louis 3-0. Yes, I like the Blackhawks…my husband likes the Pens…we are a house divided. :) I think his Penguin needs a friend on that tree, don’t you?

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Tasty Little Cakes – Yum!

15 Feb

Cake Balls. Sure, they sound iffy, but let me tell you, these little monsters are GREAT! And easy! Here, let me show you how…

You’ll need one boxed cake mix (vanilla, white, yellow, chocolate, red velvet…whatever your little heart desires!), one container of store bought frosting (cream cheese, vanilla, cherry, etc), and melting chocolate (I used the chocolate almond bark). You might also want some type of food handling gloves if you have an aversion to getting messy!

First, start out with a regular boxed cake mix. I know, I know…just trust me! Bake the cake as directed, and – this is the most important part – let it cool COMPLETELY.

Boxed yellow cake, baked as directed.

Boxed yellow cake, baked as directed.

Next you’re going to crumble the cake into a large bowl. This seems counter productive, seeing as you just baked it, but again…trust me! This is why it’s so important to let it cool completely!

Crumble cake in large bowl.

Crumble cake in large bowl.

Now you’re going to empty the contents of the frosting into the bowl of crumbled cake. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

Add the frosting into the bowl with crumbled cake.

Add the frosting into the bowl with crumbled cake.

…Oh, you’re done? Ok! Now get those gloves on if you want. You’re going to mix the frosting into the cake. It will be messy, I won’t lie. Mix it very well – but it doesn’t have to be perfect…

Mix the frosting into the cake...itll be messy!

Mix the frosting into the cake...it'll be messy!

Alrighty…now that you’re covered in sticky cake up to your elbows, you’re going to roll the cake into small balls. Think bite-sized, but they can be as big or small as you’d like, really. Resist the urge to eat the cake. Seriously.

Little balls of cakey goodness...

Little balls of cakey goodness...

Get your chocolate, and melt as directed on package. Like I said, I just used the milk chocolate almond bark and melted a few blocks at a time. I also added 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to thin it a bit. Once the chocolate is melted and thinned to your liking, gently drop one of the cake balls into the chocolate and coat thoroughly. It might take a time or two to get your method down…that’s ok!

Melt the chocolate and dunk the cake balls.

Melt the chocolate and dunk the cake balls.

Line them up on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or aluminum foil and allow the chocolate to set up. A clever trick I’ve learned after the fact is to use a toothpick to score the bottom of the cake balls so you don’t have the flat disc that forms.

Allow the chocolate to set.

Allow the chocolate to set.

You can decorate them as you please, or leave them as they are. I drizzled some more chocolate on top once the base layer had hardened for some of them, and on others I just used white decorator’s icing on the tops…all dressed up and no place to go…except in my mouth!

All dressed up and no place to go!

All dressed up and no place to go!

I know you’re wondering…how do they taste? Are they as good as they look?

How are they?

How are they?

Hmm…maybe another bite…

...just one more bite...

...just one more bite...

Going, going, gone!

Going, going, gone!

Yum!

Original recipe found at www.bakerella.com

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An Afternoon of Homemade Gifts – Finally Added Photos!

22 Dec

So, as many of you may know the Midwest was hit with a nasty ice storm Thursday evening and a lot of folks have been without electricity since then. We are fortunate enough in Syracuse to only have lost power today for a total of an hour or two including all the times it went out since about 3:00 this morning. I had decided that I would take the time to make a few (ha – a few – right…I can never just make a few of anything!) gifts for the people I work with. I usually do a food item of sorts, last year it was chocolate covered pretzels which went over well. This year I did the pretzels but a bit differently…I also whipped these cute little hot cocoa stir sticks up…It was a long day, so I documented the process for your (my) entertainment.

You’ll need:
  • Marshmallows – either miniature or full sized, it is up to you!
  • melting chocolate – I use the almond bark in vanilla and chocolate
  • skewers of some type – since these are to be used in a hot beverage, I chose to use coffee stir sicks
  • candy canes – you can use traditional peppermint or jazz it up a bit with the fruit flavored ones (I was looking for a variety pack but all the store had was Starburst Strawberry)
  • rolling pin
  • sturdy ziplock bags
  • parchment paper
  • microwave safe glass bowls
First, unwrap your candy canes and place three or four in the ziplock bag; seal it and place it on a hard surface – you’re going to crush the candy canes with the rolling pin (crush them, roll them, beat them to bits!) Chances are the bag will tear a bit, but that’s ok.
Rolling pin, Ziploc bag, and candy canes...

Rolling pin, Ziploc bag, and candy canes... (before)

...crushed candy canes (after)

...crushed candy canes (after)

Using the skewers of choice, slide the marshmallows onto the sticks. I’ve found that if your marshmallows are a little harder (that is, if you’ve had them for a while and haven’t figured out what to do with them…or if you open the bag and let the air harden them a bit – kind of like Peeps!) they go on easier. Depending on the size of your marshmallows will depend on how many you add – I used any where between 6-8 depending on how smushed the marshmallows became. Once you have them on the skewer, you can manipulate them to get them situated – you’ll want them touching end to end, with no spaces between them.
Marshmallows arranged on the stir sticks or skewers.

Marshmallows arranged on the stir sticks or skewers.

After you’ve got all your marshmallows on skewers, it is time to melt the chocolate. Using your microwave safe glass bowls, heat 2-3 blocks of bark keeping a close eye on it – IT BURNS VERY QUICKLY! Stir on occasion to make sure it is melting evenly…
Once your bark is melted, take one skewer at a time, and coat it with the melted bark. I like to use a spoon to make sure it is coated evenly…
Mmm...melted almond bark!

Mmm...melted almond bark!

Place coated skewers on parchment-lined cookie sheets; before the bark starts to harden, you want to sprinkle with the crushed candy canes.  Once I have the sheet filled, I like to put the tray in the fridge to set a little quicker.
The marshmallow skewers are placed on parchment paper, then sprinkled with the candy.

The marshmallow skewers are placed on parchment paper, then sprinkled with the candy.

Ready for the fridge!

Ready for the fridge! (sorry the picture is a bit blurry...I think my batteries were almost dead!)

I also made some milk chocolate ones...

I also made some milk chocolate ones...

Package however you’d like – I placed two to a baggie, closed with a twisty-tie and ribbon (sorry I forgot to take a photo of that!) I also attached a little tag to it explaining what they are and how to use them – it was just clip art of a mug of cocoa, and to enjoy them in some hot cocoa (it was more creative with that, but that was a while ago, and I’ve slept since then!)
Miscellaneous notes:
  • Use any kind of decorations you’d like – peppermint candy canes, fruit flavored candy canes, or stir in flavoring extracts to the melted bark – peppermint or another flavor. Just remember these are to be used in a hot beverage so it shouldn’t be something totally off the wall!
  • These would look super cute paired with a mug and some seasonal hot beverages – cocoa, coffee, even teas would be yummy!
  • The same technique can be used for chocolate covered pretzels – this year I made them out of the rods; I broke them in half, coated the broken end with the bark, and then I drizzled with melted cherry flavored morsels (who knew there was such a thing?!) Those turned out great (I’ll try to remember to take pictures of those before I give them away)! (sadly I forgot to take photos of the pretzels – sorry!)
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