This and that: chocolate
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Friday, February 8, 2013

Ideas for Valentines

Ideas for Valentines


Valentine's is coming fast ~ Less then a week.
I am off this year, so I am sure that I will make something special for Dinner and maybe for Breakfast
I wrote an article over at the Daily Dish Magazine with meal ideas that could be used.
If you need some ideas head over there.
Last year I made BBQ ribs, boiled smashed potatoes and a Caesar salad


I also made some Valentine Chocolate Caramels and Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries.

 Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries
1 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and bottom of strawberries trimmed so they will stand
1/2 lb cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
chocolate for melting
toffee bits for garnish

Wash, hull, (taking a little more of the strawberry out to leave a hole) and cut the bottoms of the strawberries slightly so that they will stand.  Set aside. Once the strawberries are dry, melt chocolate and dip the bottom half of the strawberry in the chocolate.  Let chocolate harden.   Whip Cream Cheese and powdered sugar together, place in decorator bag. Pipe cream cheese mixture in the hulled part of the strawberry.  Sprinkle toffee bits over the top of the cream cheese.  Serve and enjoy.

I had a Valentine's Party on my Facebook page, a couple of weeks ago and got many great ideas to share that could be made for this occasion.  Or any occasion for that matter. 
I hope you enjoy this wonderful array of goodies to make.
Photo credit goes to the owner of the blog from which the recipe is from ~ see descriptions below

Starting from the top and going across:
Black Bean Brownie Cupcakes from Nom Eat Nom ~ I have always wanted to try baking with black beans and these sound so good.  Maybe these will get me started on my Wheat Free Diet.
Princess Cupcakes from My Foodie Universe ~ These cupcakes are vegan and use beet puree or raspberry puree for the colouring instead of food dye.  Perfect for those that don't want their children to be hyper.
Truffles from Sandi's Allergy Free Recipes ~ Truffles that are gluten free and milk free using coconut milk and dairy free dark chocolate.  I am going to have to try these.
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles from Couponing & Cooking ~ Snickerdoodles with a Valentine twist.. I am going to have to go out and find some Heart Dove chocolate.
Madeline's Paris Apple Cake from Cozycakes Cottages ~ Anything with Paris in must be for Valentines... as isn't Paris the city of Love.
Candy Heart Chocolate Cupcakes from Just Dip It in Chocolate ~ I love anything chocolate and the stained glass appearance of the candy hearts makes them beautiful.
Cheesecake Balls from Real Housemoms ~ Another one of my favorite things cheesecakes and decorating them with valentine sprinkles make them oh so special.
Truffle Tart from The Baking Fairy ~ This tart is describe as a buttery short crisp shortbread filled with a chocolate filling that tastes like a Lindt truffle.  Heavenly.
Chocolate Cake Hearts with Cream Cheese Frosting from Who Needs A Cape ~ No one will be able to resist these cute heart cupcakes.
 Chocolate Covered Strawberries from Sandi's Allergy Free Recipes ~ I don't think Valentine's can be complete without chocolate covered Strawberries and they are even more perfect if you make them yourself.
Old Fashion Fudge from Yesteryears ~ I know that I would be putty in your hands if you gave me a piece of this melt- in - you mouth fudge..
Black Forest Brownies from Bibi's Culinary Journey ~Black Forest in a brownie shaped as a Valentine, now this would be perfect.
Almond Toffee Bites from Sandi's Allergy Free Recipes ~This would be perfect in our house as it is made with Almond Butter instead of Peanut Butter.
Mini Chocolate Cups with Strawberries from I Like to Bake and Cook ~ An easy dessert made of chocolate and strawberries
Red Velvet Cupcakes from Feeding Big ~Red velvet a perfect Valentine's treat
Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread from The Rowdy Baker ~ I am a big shortbread fan and combine it with chocolate... YUM!


So many ideas, so little time.  They are all so perfect, I am going to have a hard time to pick out something for my Valentine as I would like to make them all.
What have you made for Valentine's Dinner? I would love to know.


Ϡ₡✻   Marlys

(¯`
´¯)
`*.¸.*
✻✿*.¸.* Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*



 , Links Foodie Friends Friday, Iron Chef Mom,  In and out of the kitchen 
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cherry Cordial Mocha

 love buying the new flavours of Hershey Kisses and I usually buy a few bags as you never know when they are going to disappear.  Sometime before Christmas I bought a bag or two of Cherry Cordial Hershey Kisses and my plan was to make fudge with at Christmas time... but I ran out of time and there they sat taunting me in the cupboard.
I was thinking of a post to write for on our e- magazine Daily Dish and  remember about the Cherry Cordial Kisses.  A light bulb came on and I thought they would make a great drink.  Perfect for Valentines.

Cherry Cordial Mocha

A perfect blend of coffee and chocolate with a hint of cherry
1 cup brewed coffee
2 cups milk
2 heaping tablespoons condensed milk
2 tbsp cocoa 
9 Cherry Cordial Hershey Kisses

Place all ingredients in pot and heat over medium heat until steaming but not boiling and kisses are melted.  Stir with whisk while heating.  Enjoy!
This recipe makes 2 -3 cups depending on the size of cups.  Garnish with whipped cream and drizzle with cherry syrup if  desired.

Enjoy!

Marlys

This recipe was also posted on the Daily Dish and for more great drink recipes go HERE.


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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Gingerbread Truffles

Like my Candy Cane Fudge Truffles,
my Gingerbread Truffles came from the same way...
I made some Gingerbread Spice cookies and they didn't really turn out...
They tasted wonderfully, but as they wouldn't come off the pan and also were hard..
I couldn't serve them...
So I decided to make the cookies into crumbs,
Add some Cream Cheese and roll them into balls and dip them into white chocolate.




Gingerbread Truffles

3 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs
8 oz cream cheese
white chocolate
ginger candy or sprinkles for garnish

Mix cookie crumbs and cream cheese, I used my kitchen aide to do this.  Roll into balls.  Put in refrigerator to chill.  Once chilled dip into melted white chocolate and garnish if you like with small pieces of ginger candy or sprinkles.

I haven't got the art of dipping into white chocolate ~ The balls wouldn't dip, so I used a knife and spread the white chocolate onto the balls.





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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Candy Cane Fudge Truffles

A while back I made some candy cane fudge, with Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
Although the fudge tasted great it was very soft.
I am not sure what I did to it that it didn't set properly.
I first thought of rolling it into balls and dipping it into chocolate -
but that didn't pan out as well as I wanted it too, as the fudge melted in the warm melted chocolate.
I didn't want to waste the fudge so decided to mix the fudge with some animal crackers and then roll them
and dip them into chocolate.
Success!
I will give you the recipe that I used to make the fudge.. Maybe it will work out for you.



Candy Cane Fudge

This recipes was adapted from Dawn's Divine Delight - Dove Fudge

3 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 can evaporated milk (large)
1/2 bag Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
2- 4 oz Ghirardelli White Chocolate Bars
7 oz Marshmallow Creme - or 1 cup homemade - I use this recipe

Cut chocolate into small pieces and set aside.  Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil on medium heat.  Boil for 4 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees. Remove from heat and add chocolate and marshmallow creme until mixed. The fudge was very pink, so I added some red food colour and swirled it into the fudge.  Place in foil covered 9 x 13.  Place in refrigerator until set.  

This should have set properly.  Mine set but was too soft to cut into bars, so I then had to rethink what I would do it.  I decided to make some chocolates.  I first thought of dipping as I said, but this didn't work.. My next thought was to use molds.  I didn't have any molds but I did have some ice cube trays and thought those could work... They did.  I placed a small amount of melted chocolate in the bottom of the ice cube tray and then placed a small amount of the soft fudge mixture onto top of the melted chocolate and then added more melted chocolate above the fudge.  Then tapping the ice cube tray to let all the chocolate settle.  Place in refrigerator until set.

place small amount of chocolate in bottom
of tray, then small amount of fudge and cover
with more chocolate









Candy Cane Fudge Truffles

3 cups of the above recipe for candy cane fudge
1 cup animal cracker crumbs
melted chocolate.
candy cane crumbs (optional)

Mix candy cane fudge and animal cracker crumbs together.  Roll into balls and place in refrigerator until set.  Once set, melt chocolate and dip balls into chocolate.  Sprinkle candy cane crumbs over chocolate (optional).  Let cool.









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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Homemade turtles

Pecans, chocolate and caramel...
Aren't those the best things ever
I love making homemade chocolates,
you can give them for gifts or just eat them yourself...
and they taste so much better then the store bought ones
Because you did them with love...
I learnt to make
Homemade Turtles
many years ago and bought turtle molds so that they looked like turtles.
My molds are starting to look old and I wasn't even sure you could buy them anymore
So I went on line and found them...
You can buy them from Global Sugar Art

I usually buy my caramel ~ using either Werther's or Kraft
This year I decided to make my own... you can find the recipe here.
And the chocolate that I like using is Ghirardelli or Hershey and often I will combine them.
You can also use chocolate wafers if you want.
I don't have a double boiler, so I melt my chocolate in a dish that is over a pot filled with water

I don't have a recipe for these, so will just show you what I do..

First get everything ready.. Melt your chocolate I just leave it in my pot with hot water
so that it stays melted.
Have your caramels, pecans and molds ready.

melted chocolate, caramels, pecans and mold






a picture of the mold I used.

Drop a teaspoon or so of chocolate at the bottom of the mold.
Place a small amount of caramel on the round part of the pecan and 
place it caramel side down on the chocolate.
*** Make sure you have the flat side of the pecan facing up or you will have a pregnant turtle.



Cover the mold with chocolate.
I use a small brush to move the chocolate around the mold and fill them in.

Chill until firm.
You can place them in the freezer or do what I do, put them outside on my porch to harden.
Once hardened, turn the molds upside down and gently tap to release the turtle.
Occasional a limb or head might fall off...
You can glue them back on by using a small brush and melted chocolate.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Mock Cuban Lunch Chocolate Bars


Do you remember the Cuban Lunch Chocolate Bar?
If you are Canadian you might remember it....
I loved them..
A large bar with thick chocolate that crunches in each bite.. full of peanuts.
It makes my mouth water just thinking about it...

I am not even sure that you can buy them anymore...
But you can make them with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanutbutter chips, 
ripple chips and peanuts..
YES! I said ripple chips...

I have been trying very hard not to make anything with peanuts
so I had though Almond Butter would taste good in them...
I couldn't find any Almond Butter, instead I found the next best thing..
Caramel Almond Spread
and is it good... If you haven't tried it you need too...  



Mock Cuban Lunch Chocolate Bars 
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups butterscotch chips
1 cup caramel almond spread
1 1/2 cups rippled chips - crushed
1 cup macadamia nuts - broken into small pieces

Place chocolate and butterscotch chips and caramel almond spread into a microwave save bowl.  Microwave until chips are melted.  Stir.  Add ripple chips and macadamia nuts and stir until thoroughly mixed.  Drop by spoonfuls into baking cups... you can use either miniature baking cups or regular size.  Place in refrigerator until chilled.  Enjoy.

Once chips and spread are melted, add rippled chips and nuts
stir until thoroughly mixed.
drop into baking cups and chill
Caramel Almond Spread 
Enjoy!

 So easy to make and a great gift idea.  Christmas is coming you may want to think of putting this on your baking list...













Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Palpitation Cupcakes and a Coffee Review


A while back I was lucky enough to be able to receive coffee from Don Tomas Coffee to use and review.  I was so excited when I received it and when I opened the box, the aroma was so wonderful and I envisioned so many things to make with it.  I don't drink much coffee anymore but this coffee tasted so wonderful... It had a great robust taste that left no after taste and even when made strong, which is the way I like it, it was great tasting with no after taste.

Light Roast
Heritage Roast ~ courtesy of Don Tomas Coffee

After reading about the company and how they harvested the coffee beans and also helped the community I was very impressed.  Don Tomas Coffee is a family operated business that produce high quality coffee beans in Nicaragua.  With this they have also invested in building a healthy community. They have built a school, medical center and a place of worship to help their employees.  Another awesome thing about this company is that they have a fundraising program,  your school/organization will keep 25% of all internet proceeds and 30% of all other proceeds.  That sounds good to me and if you are planning on doing some fundraising this may be a good place to start for you.

During my review of this coffee, I served it for company and all that drank enjoyed the robust taste.  I also made a couple of specialty coffees with this coffee and loved them. Here are the recipes for these specialty coffees:  Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Mocha Latte.  Another recipe that I made was my Palpitation cupcakes... The reason I am calling them Palpitation cupcakes is that I used espresso strong coffee to make them.  I used 6 heaping tablespoons of  coffee to 1.5 cups of water to make the coffee.  The cupcakes alone weren't that strong but the frosting gave me palpitation when I tasted it alone. Together they were downright delicious... The review I got for this recipes were" thumbs up".  Everyone liked them and didn't think that the coffee was too strong but just right.

Palpitation Cupcakes with Chocolate Espresso Frosting



Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup eggnog
1/2 cup strong coffee (made mine 6 tbsp ground coffee /1.5 cup water)
1 1/2 cups flour 
1 tsp soda
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla 

Beat butter, sugar and egg together until mixed.  Mix in eggnog and coffee.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Line muffin tin with cupcake holders and fill 3/4. (I was able to make 14 cupcakes).  Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes clean, approximately 20 -25 minutes.  Cool, once cool, apply frosting (recipe below).

Chocolate Espresso Buttercream Frosting
3 tbsp soft butter
1 oz melted chocolate
1/8 cup strong coffee (6  tbsp ground coffee/1.5 cup water)
1/8 cup milk
2-3 cups powdered sugar ( I used just a little less then 3 cups)

Beat butter until soft, add chocolate and continue to beat.  Add 2.5 cups powdered sugar and beat until well mixed.  Add liquids and continue to beat for a couple of minutes.  Adding more powdered sugar until is a stiff consistency.  

You may need to eat these with milk.


This weekend on Foodie Friends Friday
we will be having a Coffee Celebration 
with 
You don't want to miss an opportunity of winning some great coffee...

 
In case you don't win any but still want to try this coffee go to Don Tomas Coffee and use Coupon Code ~ FOODIEFRIENDS for 20% off through January.




This recipe and article was sponsored by Don Tomas Coffee.  I was given a pound of coffee to taste and review.  The opinion of the coffee was mine and what I observed by the friends that I served it to.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Almond Bark Halloween Candy

I am not a Halloween person, but I love the candy and I do like watching the young children dressed up in their costume excited to get candy.
One of my favorite Halloween candies is candy corn... and I eat them until I am just about sick.  I found this recipe on the last Foodie Friends Friday recipe... It has everything that I like in candy ~ chocolate, candy corn and m&m's.  The recipe is from one of my favorite blogger's Cindy from Hun.. What's for Dinner.


Almond Bark Halloween Candy
adapted from Halloween Candy Bark

6 square Vanilla flavored Almond Bark
6 square Chocolate flavored Almond Bark
approx 1 - 1 1/2 cup of m&m's and candy corn (  I used candy corn flavored m&m's, fall m&m's and harvest mix candy corn)

Melt chocolate in separate bowls.  I melted mine in the microwave, check about every 30 seconds.  The vanilla flavored almond bark took about 2 minutes to melt and the chocolate almond bark took about 3 minutes to melt.
Place parchment paper on cookie sheet, pour almond bark on cookie sheet and using a knife swirl the two almond bark together.  I put my almond bark beside each other but you can also slowly pour the chocolate flavored almond bark on the parchment paper and then slowly pour the vanilla flavored almond bark.  Again using knife swirl together.
Pour candies over the chocolate and press softly into chocolate. Put into refrigerator to harden.  Take out in about 45 minutes.  To break candy, grab both ends of the parchment paper and drop onto countertop, or you can break it with your hands.