Peanut Butter Pie

I'm a teeny bit obsessed with peanut butter pie at the moment. It started when we grabbed some for dessert at one of our favorite restaurants a couple weeks ago. Since then I have been scouring the interwebs for recipes, below you will find my fave which is a mish mash of a couple recipes I have found and enjoyed!

For Crust:
8 ounces chocolate cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted

For Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat cream cheese, because the heavy whipping cream makes me feel guilty)
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice


First, add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs (I used dark chocolate Fudge Stripe cookies-yum!). Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. I decided I wanted to make 3 smaller dishes of this pie, so I distributed my crust evenly between 3 ramekins about 5 inches in diameter. I still had plenty of filling for all three!

Next, pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. I put my bowl in the refrigerator as I find this helps speed up the process a little bit. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

4) Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared pie pan. Top with a drizzle of melted chocolate on top (or if you are like me put more cookie crumbs or pieces of these cupcakes leftover from Husband's birthday on top), and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies

One of my husband's favorite cookies are Keebler Fudge Stripes. I decided that I'd make him some super special Fudge Striped cookies for Valentine's Day. You start with a simple shortbread cookie recipe and then add some melted chocolate, not nearly as daunting as I thought they might be.

To make your own Fudge Striped Shortbread at home you will need:

For the Cookies:

2 sticks of softened butter
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (you could also use 1/2 cup regular sugar and add in 1 tsp vanilla flavor instead)
2 cups flour (plus extra for rolling out your cookies/dusting your cookie cutters)

For the Fudge Stripes:

1 cup chopped dark chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil

Start by creaming your butter and sugar together in a bowl. Once the butter is light and fluffy and all the sugar us mixed in, add your flour and mix until incorporated. Pour your dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Make your dough into a disk shape, cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees (F). Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/4" thick on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

Select your cookie cutters (I chose the heart shapes above) and cut out your cookie shapes. Some of my heart shaped cutters are quite large, so I used a smaller cookie cutter to cut out another heart in the center. I will admit, one thing I never liked about fudge stripe cookies is that they have a hole in the middle, I want MORE cookie, not less. If you agree with me, then you can leave all of your cookies without the center cutout.

Place your cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, until they just start to brown a little around the edges. Once done, take out and place on a cooling rack until completely cool, mix up your chocolate for dipping while you wait.

I melt my chocolate in the microwave, but you can use a double boiler if you like. Just put your chopped up chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and add your butter or coconut oil. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each. It takes about 1 minute 30 seconds for all of my chocolate to melt (I stir as much as possible each time, if you need another 30 seconds don't feel bad-it happens).

Once you have your cooled cookies, dip the bottoms of each cookie into the chocolate and place them back onto some parchment (I even put mine on a cool baking sheet and then stick them in the refrigerator to help them set up faster). To make the stripes, I put the remaining chocolate into a sandwich bag, snip off a teeny tiny corner of the bag and use it to pipe on the stripes. These don't have to be prefect, because they are delicious either way. If you don';t want to mess with stripes, you can also just dunk the entire cookie in chocolate!

If you want to see some more "in progress" shots of these guys you can check them out on my Instagram. Happy Valentine's Day!

Holiday Treat Roundup

It's no secret that I have a heck of a sweet tooth. What better excuse than the holidays to whip up bunches of sweet treats to share with everyone you know? Below you will find some of my all time favorite recipes for making up cookie plates for the holiday season!.

I replaced half the chocolate chips in these cookies with red and green M&M's for a more festive look.

If chocolate and peanut butter are your style, whip up these quick bars that my sister and I lovingly dubbed "Sugar Shock" bars, due to their super sweet richness!

You can't go wrong with these soft double ginger cookies!

We begged my mom every year to make Mounds Bars for the Christmas cookie tray. Add some colorful sprinkles for an extra fancy touch!

Almost nothing is easier than a batch of these Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles. Put them on the cookie tray or give them as gifts!


What are your favorite holiday treats?

Brown Sugar Molded Chocolate Sharks

I recently saw this post over on the Rise & Shine blog on how to make chocolate molds using brown sugar. I thought it would be fun to try out some chocolate sharks for Shark Week! This is a great way to try out molding your own chocolates because it's really inexpensive (you don't need to buy any molds, only brown sugar!).

To try this at home you will need:

Brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
a container to hold your sugar
3-D objects to make your mold with (I used plastic sharks)
chocolate (if you want something more colorful, you could test out some colored candy melts)
a microwave safe container to melt your chocolate in

Start by packing your brown sugar evenly into a clean container. Then firmly press your 3-D objects into the sugar, about half way up the object, to create your mold.

Next, chop up your chocolate and put it in your microwave safe dish. Microwave the chocolate at 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is melted and smooth (for me this took about 1 minute for a 1/2 cup of chopped chocolate). Once your chocolate is melted, carefully pour it into your mold. I tapped mine on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and make sure the chocolate got down into the "fin" areas of my mold. If you have little helpers, you may want to get small squeeze bottles they can use to get the chocolate into the molds without too much mess.

I was unfortunate in the weather, as it was quite hot the day I did my chocolate molds (room temp was about 90 degrees, ick). As a result, I put my poured chocolates into the freezer to set up and this caused extra brown sugar to stick to the chocolate when I took them out of the mold. If you do this in cooler weather, the chocolate should harden back up on the counter just fine and remove much more cleanly. Either way, this is definitely a fun little craft, I'm thinking about using those alphabet shaped magnets to make some letters for a birthday cake sometime!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I'm sure that when most of you see an avocado at the store, the first thing to pop into your head isn't chocolate pudding. However, I can assure you that this pudding is super rich, chocolatey, and not as bad for you as many other desserts (I'm not going to go so far as to say it's "healthy", it's dessert, go with it).

To make this pudding for yourself you will need:

2 ripe avocados
3-4 Tablespoons cocoa powder (depending on taste)
1/3 cup dark chocolate, chopped up and melted*
1/3 cup honey (you could substitute real maple syrup or agave nectar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
a food processor or blender


*Chocolate may be melted in a double boiler, or in the microwave at short intervals-stir well after each 20 second interval. I melt my chocolate first and set it aside.

Once you have melted your chocolate and have it sitting aside waiting for you, cut your avocados in half and remove the pits. Then scoop out the avocados and blend them up a little bit in your food processor or blender before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Add your remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides until everything is incorporated. Store in refrigerator in an air tight container for up to one week. Makes approx. 4 servings, 1/2 cup each. This is VERY rich, and I was surprised how creamy it was. I will definitely try it again :)

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles

Oh, hello there! Guess who remembered she writes a blog? Yeah, I've been MIA for a few reasons and now I'm back for more crafty fun. First I thought I'd beg your forgiveness by sharing these yummy truffles with you. Am I forgiven? Excellent.

Not only did the holidays get me bogged down, I also changed up my work life by quitting one job to go Full Time at the other! Yay! I'm super happy about it, but I have had to adjust to a new schedule, which now allows me to actually see my husband more than a few minutes each day while we are both awake. Don't worry too much, I have lots of crafty projects I am working on that I will share with you soon. Now, on to the truffles.

These are super easy, to make them all you need is:

1 pound of dark chocolate
1 cup heavy cream (you can substitute full fat coconut milk for the vegans in the house)
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed peppermint sticks (I prefer the soft peppermint sticks, but you could use candy canes as well)

Start by chopping up your chocolate into small pieces, you want them to be as small and as uniform in size as possible so they melt evenly. Once the chocolate is all chopped up, pour it into a heat safe bowl.

Next, heat your cream in a small saucepan on the stove top. Stir continuously to prevent scorching. Your cream should be all ready to go once small bubbles start forming around the edges of the pan, we aren't bringing this to a boil, just getting it nice and hot.

Add your teaspoon of peppermint extract to the chocolate, then pour all of your cream on top. Don't stir yet, just let it all hang out for about 3-5 minutes. Then, go ahead and stir slowly and watch all the chocolate and cream melt together into yummy truffle goodness. If you have some small chunks that don't melt all the way, you can pop this in the microwave for 10 second intervals and stir after each one until your mixture is nice and smooth.

Let this stand for about an hour, then scoop out small balls of chocolate and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. If your truffles need to firm up more before dipping them in crushed peppermint candy, refrigerate them for about 10 minutes. Otherwise, you can start dipping them right away and place them in the refrigerator to set up afterward.
Keep them in an air tight container in the refrigerator and they last a couple weeks (well, if they actually stay in there that long). If you plan to server these at a get together, I generally take them out of the fridge an hour ahead of time and serve them room temperature. SO GOOD!

With Valentine's Day on the way, I have another remix on these you could try: Instead of peppermint extract add a couple Tablespoons of Amaretto and then roll these in sliced almonds! You can also mix up your chocolate flavors: dark, milk, bittersweet, just make sure you have a pound of chocolate (chocolate chips will taste fine if it's all you have, but the stabilizers in them will make your final chocolate mixture a little grainy looking, so go forthe big chocolate blocks if you can).

Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I haven't had a recipe post in awhile. Heck, I have been so busy it has been hard to get ANY posts up in awhile. I do appreciate you all hanging with me, I'll try to squeeze in some more posts soon! I came across this recipe the other day and had to try it! These cookies did not disappoint, and I have to say that if you are not a fan of coconut, I think you could easily substitute something like marshmallows (and even add nuts for a Rocky Road cookie that'd be AWESOME!). To make these cookies you will need:

1-¼ cup All-purpose Flour
¼ cups (Rounded) Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
⅛ teaspoons Salt
6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
½ cups Granulated Sugar
½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1 whole Large Egg
1-½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla
1 cup Shredded Coconut (sweetened was all I had, so I used it and it was yummy, you can also use unsweetened)
1 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and sugars. Scrape down the sides and then add the egg and vanilla; mix to combine. On a low speed, gradually add the flour and cocoa mixture, until incorporated.

Next, add the shredded coconut and oats and mix. Add chocolate chips and mix until just folded in. The dough will be pretty solid. Form into balls about the size of a heaping tablespoon and place on a lined baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper, you could also use a Silpat Baking Mat).

Bake at 350ºF for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 2 minutes more on the sheet, then remove and place on a cooling rack. This recipe makes about 36 cookies, and they disappear fast. Between my husband and I they didn't last a week, I'm both ashamed and proud of this :)

If you should happen to try these with nuts and marshmallows, let me know, I'd love to hear how they turned out!

*This post contains an affiliate ad, by clicking the ad and purchasing this item I will be granted a small commission.

Chocolate Cupcakes

As promised, here are the cupcakes I made for the beloved husband's birthday this year. They were super yum!


To make some for the special people in your life you will need:

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup buttermilk, shaken (if you don't have buttermilk, you can pour 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a liquid cup measure and fill it the rest of the way with milk, let sit 10 minutes)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (if you don't have coffee you can just use 1 cup of boiling water)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners, or grease well and flour (really though, go with liners).

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 23 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. I made some mini cupcakes as well, and they baked for about 18 minutes.

*Note: this makes a very runny batter, don't be alarmed.

Top them with some of my yummy Peppermint Buttercream and you have a great little snack :)

Friday Food Craft: Thin Mints

I'm feeling a little under the weather today (my voice is completely gone) so I have a super easy food craft for you all. Who doesn't like thin mints? These are a super easy "cheater" version with no cookie making required!

To make these yummy little Thin Mints at home you will need:

Ritz crackers
1 (12 oz) bag of chocolate chips (I use dark or a mix of dark and milk chocolate)
1 Tablespoon oil (I use coconut oil, you could use butter or margarine as well)
1 teaspoon peppermint extract


In a microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate chips and oil together in the microwave. I generally use 30 second intervals and stir well after each. It has never taken me more than 1 minute 30 seconds to get my chips all melted.

Next, add in your peppermint extract. Stir well to combine. Then start dipping your Ritz crackers*, tap off excess chocolate and set them onto a parchment lined cookie tray to set up. I stick mine in the refrigerator so they set faster (because I need my Thin Mints now!). Store in a zip top plastic bag at room temp (or in the fridge if you prefer them cold). Enjoy!

*My husband often uses chopsticks or straws when dipping his crackers to avoid messy fingers. Small tongs would also be great.

I love sweet and salty treats, so to me these are even better than the real Thin Mints!

Also, this is my 200th post! Thanks for reading everyone!


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Friday Food Craft: Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge

What would the holidays be without fudge? This is a variation on my Pistachio Fudge recipe, and let me tell you, it is a winner! If you can find soft peppermint sticks (not candy canes, they are far too hard) crumble them up instead of nuts for a great chocolate peppermint fudge (or forego the chocolate and have just peppermint fudge!).

You will need:

A small baking dish (I used a pyrex dish that is roughly 9" x7", and 8"x 8" baking dish would also work, or double the recipe and use a 9" x 13" cake pan)

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/2 c. (heaping) dark chocolate chips
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 pinch salt

This fudge comes together very quickly, so you will want to have a helper to stir while you add all of your ingredients, or make sure you have everything measured out before you begin and close at hand. Also, make you sure you have greased your baking dish ahead of time.

To start, toast your hazelnuts, if desired. You can certainly leave the nuts out, or leave them raw, but I love 'em! Just put your hazelnuts into a dry pan and toast them gently over medium to medium low heat for about ten minutes. You will want to shake the pan every 30 seconds or so to toast them evenly. Let them sit aside until cooled. I generally remove the skins once they are cool, I don't want that in my yummy fudge.

In a large saucepan, heat the evaporated milk, sugar and butter until bubbling, then continue to cook for 4 minutes while stirring continuously.

Remove from heat and add your dark chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, vanilla, salt and hazelnuts. Fill your prepared baking dish, smooth out the top and let cool. You may add extra hazelnuts on top if you wish.

Enjoy!


I usually store my fudge in the refrigerator, but set it out to come to room temperature when serving. It makes a very yummy smooth soft fudge, if you like it firmer, eat it right out of the fridge (or add a bit more chocolate chips)!

Friday Food Craft: Mounds Bars

Hey all, it's food craft time again! Everyone has their favorite treat on the cookie tray around the holidays, and this is mine. It combines the chocolate and coconut flavors of a Mounds candy bar with a super yummy graham cracker crust, and when I was little I would make sure that I got more than my fair share off the cookie tray, Santa never got to have these. Poor old elf.

When I was little I had always assumed that some great magic must be how they tasted so good, but in reality they are incredibly easy to make, and dare I say it, you'll never want to eat a Mounds candy bar ever again after you've had these, they make a Mounds bar look like a slow ride to grandma's house. I'm going to credit the graham cracker crust for this.

To make some tasty Mounds bars for yourself this holiday season you will need:

For the graham cracker crust:
10 whole graham cracker "sheets" (in every box I've ever had this is, annoyingly, one sleeve plus one cracker sheet from a second sleeve)
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

For the coconut filling:
3 cups flaked coconut
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate topping:
3 cups chocolate chips


Start by mixing your coconut and sweetened condensed milk filling together and leaving it in a bowl. This helps all of the coconut absorb the milk and get a nice even texture. Set aside while preparing the crust.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. To make the graham cracker crust, I always use the tried and true method of putting my graham crackers in a large zip sealed plastic bag and thumping it with a rolling pin to make crumbs. There is something very satisfying about pulverizing graham crackers in the name of delicious baked goods, but if you prefer the food processor approach, be my guest. Once you have your graham crackers reduced to crumbs, add in your brown sugar and stir a little to get an even mixture and then add in your melted butter. Try to get the butter to coat all of the graham cracker and sugar bits so it will hold together in the pan. Once mixed to your liking, dump your crust mixture into a 9"x13" pan and gently pat down. You will bake this layer at 325 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Once cooled about 5-10 minutes, add your coconut layer on top and spread evenly over the crust. I generally drop large spoonfuls of the coconut mixture evenly over the crust and then use an offset spatula to smooth them together into each other. The coconut mixture is pretty sticky, so you want to spread gently as to not pull up a bunch of graham cracker crumbs into the coconut and make a big mess.

After your second layer is spread evenly, pop your bars back into the oven for 15 minutes, still at 325 degrees. Your coconut will likely be slightly browned around the edges of the pan, this is a good thing. Those are my favorite bars out of the whole pan! Set bars on a cooling rack and melt your chocolate layer. This can be done in the microwave or on a stove top with the use of a double boiler. I opt for the microwave method most often. Simply put your chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Once your chips are almost all melted, I switch to 10 second intervals. Melting my chocolate chips generally takes a total of 1 minute 30 seconds- 1 minute 50 seconds (sometimes I add a few extra chocolate chips so it takes longer). Stir well to make sure there are no lumps, then spread over the coconut layer of your bars.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. I store these in the refrigerator, but you can also freeze them if you are doing a lot of holiday baking all at once, they freeze for storage beautifully. If you feel like adding some fun decorations, you can add your favorite sprinkles on top of the melted chocolate layer, my mom usually did. The best part: these are great at room temperature or straight out of the fridge!

Enjoy!

Friday Food Craft: Mint Brownies

If you are like me, there is never a bad time for a chocolate fix, and these brownies definitely satisfy a chocolate craving! Perfect with a tall glass of milk, these are rich, chocolatey, minty and delicious. If you don't have the inclination to make brownies from scratch, you could easily substitute your favorite boxed variety, but I guarantee you your effort will be rewarded (as will your patience, you really do need to let these cool before you add your minty topping and final chocolate layer).

You will need:

1 9" x 13" pan. I used a glass baking dish, your baking times may differ if you use metal or coated pans.

For the Brownies:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup nuts (optional)

For the Mint layer:

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
3 drops green food coloring

Chocolate topping:
1 cup chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter

Start by making your brownies. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and gently mix them on lowest speed until well combined. Add in your wet ingredients and mix until combined, try to get rid of any lumps but do not over mix your batter.

Place the batter into your 9" x 13" baking dish (I lightly spray mine with cooking spray just to be safe, but there is enough oil in these that they rarely stick). Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (time may vary depending on type of pan you use and your elevation). Allow your brownies to cool before topping with the next layer.

To make your mint layer, which is really a minty butter cream of sorts, start by placing your butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and beating it by itself until smooth. Add in your powdered sugar, water, mint extract and food coloring and beat together until it reaches a nice smooth consistency. Spread evenly over your brownies and chill in the refrigerator while you make your final chocolate layer.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat your chocolate chips and 6 Tablespoons butter in the microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring between each. It usually takes about 1 minute for me to melt these together and stir them into one smooth mixture. Spread this evenly on top of your mint layer, and place back into the refrigerator to set.

These may be kept covered at room temperature once the chocolate layer has set. I recommend cutting them into smaller squares as they are quite rich.

Friday Food Craft: Magic Chocolate Ice Cream

Make no mistake about it, the title here is not lying. This ice cream is magical. Don't have an ice cream machine? Don't have time to babysit your ice cream and stir it periodically while it is in the freezer? Good! This recipe requires no such thing. I found this recipe in a Cook's Country magazine (they have a tv show on public television as well, and I watch it all the time--they make some yummy stuff!). This is very easy, super delicious, and I believe everyone should try it at least once, if for no other reason than to brag to your friends you have home made ice cream. :)

You will need:

1 tsp. instant espresso powder or instant coffee (I keep instant espresso powder in my cupboard just for baking--I add it to almost everything chocolate flavored. You don't taste the coffee, but it makes chocolate super awesome)
1 tablespoon hot water
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 pinch salt
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (the original calls for 1 1/4, but I had 1 1/2 cups so I used it all up and the ice cream was fantastic)

Start by dissolving your espresso powder in your tablespoon of hot water. I place them both into a larger, microwave proof bowl. Add in your chocolate* and the sweetened condensed milk, microwave on high for 10 second intervals and stir between each until all of the chocolate is melted and smooth.

*My husband thinks the ice cream is a little sweet, you could always use half bittersweet and half dark chocolate if you prefer.

Add in your vanilla and salt, stir to combine and allow to cool back to about room temperature (if you are careful you can get the chocolate to melt with extra stirring and it shouldn't be hot enough to melt your cream by the time it's whipped).

In a large mixing bowl, or with a stand mixer, whip your cream. Once the chocolate mixture is cool enough, add in 1/3 of the whipped cream and stir it together thoroughly. After it is incorporated, take the last 2/3 and gently fold it in. Be gentle and patient with this, you don't want to leave whipped cream streaks, but you want your ice cream to stay light and fluffy.

Pour the mixture into an air tight container and freeze for at least 6 hours, but it is better if you can leave it overnight. Serve. That's it! No machine, no stirring! It's a very creamy rich ice cream, I plan on experimenting to see if it works as well with a different flavor or the addition of chocolate chips, cookie dough, etc.

Also, I will not lie, if you didn't freeze it and just ate it in a chocolate cream pie, I wouldn't be able to hold it against you. Or forget the pie, eat it out of the bowl with a spoon. Go on, I won't look.

Friday Food Craft: Chocolate Eclair Torte

Today's food craft is super duper easy and delicious! It's an ice box cake style dessert. This means you assemble it and then set it in the refrigerator to magically become delicious! I will also state that I generally use vanilla pudding in this recipe, but you may use any kind you like. Also, if you want to make your own homemade pudding, by all means do, I just wanted to share an extra easy recipe with you all this Friday (it has been a hectic week).

You will need:

1 family size (6.5 servings) instant pudding mix
3 cups milk (for making the pudding)
2 sleeves of graham crackers
1 container Cool Whip whipped topping
1 container of chocolate frosting (I only use about 1/2 the container, even when frosting generously)

First, mix your desired flavor of pudding according to the package instructions. Add your container of cool whip to the pudding and mix together well.

Next, place a layer of graham crackers in a baking dish of your choosing (this would also work well if you had some square individual sized containers). On top of your graham cracker layer add about 1/3 of your pudding mixture and spread evenly. Place another layer of graham crackers on top, then pudding, and so on until you have used the pudding up. Make sure to place a layer of graham crackers on the very top as evenly as possible.

Then, gently spread frosting over the top. It helps to use room temperature frosting and space globs of it over the top and spread them to meet each other. This way you don't move your crackers around too much and make a mess. *You can also microwave your frosting and pour over the top, as suggested by Melenie below!

Once you have your frosting covering your top layer of graham crackers, cover your dish with plastic wrap (or if you are lucky enough to have a container with a lid that will not touch and mess up your pretty frosting, place the lid on it and set it in the refrigerator. I recommend you refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but over night is even better.

Then, just slice and serve, it tastes just like chocolate eclairs!

Friday Food Craft: Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Today is my husband's birthday, so it is a special birthday themed food craft today. This is the one and only cake that my dearest love ever wants to eat, it is super moist, full of chocolatey flavor and absolutely delicious. I got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. If you decide to try your hand at the recipe (and I think you really should) keep in mind that the cake batter should come out very thin (or runny).


You will need:

* Butter, for greasing the pans
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup buttermilk, shaken (if you don't have buttermilk, you can add 2 tablespoons of vinegar - i typically add apple cider vinegar - to 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. Don't just use regular milk, you need the acidity to interact with your leavening agents)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.


Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting (also from Barefoot Contessa)

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (this time I actually used a dark chocolate, not a semi-sweet. Use whatever you like best.)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder


Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Friday Food Craft: Chocolate Revel Bars

If you like oatmeal cookies and chocolate you will love these! They are a family favorite and disappear immediately. Enjoy! :)

You will need:

(for the cookie crust)
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar (I use light brown)
2 eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
3 cups oatmeal (regular not quick oats)

Mix together and put 2/3 into a 13" x9" pan and spread out evenly.

For the filling:

1 (12 oz)bag chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (I used almonds, but any nut will be fine)

In a double boiler, melt the butter, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add the vanilla and nuts and mix until incorporated.

Spread the chocolate mixture over your cookie crust, then dot the remaining cookie mixture over the top of your bars. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool and serve!

These freeze very well, and are a Christmas demand by many from my mother.