four minutes to chocolate pudding!

i know this is a horrible picture, but i assure you the chocolate pudding is not. i was craving chocolate today, jumped on the web and found this recipe for microwave chocolate pudding! it is delicious. it only took four minutes total to something yummy, sweet, smooth and decadent. this is tonight's treat. travis will love me forever. enjoy.

cheater's chocolate cake

cheater's chocolate cake is what i like to call this super moist, easy and delicious treat. cheater's because well, because you are simply taking a boxed cake mix to new heights and it will also blow you diet right out the water! chocolate, well, because you start with a devil's food cake mix and add chocolate pudding and dark chocolate chips! cake, well,  because it is cake! let me tell you this is sooooo good. i mean dang tasty, especially after sitting over night. it needs no adornment , no frosting, glazing, sprinkling, nothing, unless you have a dollop of good vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream. oh how that would be scrumptious.

okay, here is the stupid easy, but stupid good recipe. yes, i know it is full of not good for you kind of stuff, loaded with calories, not to mention fat, and so on, but what is your point?

cheater's chocolate cake

preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt pan

in a bowl mix a devil food's cake mix( duncan hines), one cup semi-sweet chocolate chips(hershey special chips), one box of instant chocolate pudding(store brand, small box), one tbsp of instant coffee crystals(folgers), two eggs(backyard birds), one tsp of good vanilla extract and 1 3/4 cup of water. that is it. mix till mixed. pop into your pan and bake for about 45 minutes. if you do the toothpick test, don't be fooled by the melty chips in the cake, so don't over bake. use your nose to smell and look to see if it has pulled away from the pan.

enjoy!

cappuccino fudge

caroline loves fudge and i usually make a simple recipe using  a popular sweetened condensed milk, which is pretty much fool proof, but the other day i stumbled across annie's eats  and her recipe for cappuccino fudge.  i knew i had to give it a try. i am so glad i did. it is delicious. it is creamy, smooth with big coffee flavor. caroline gave it two thumbs up, well, as she was licking her fingers, they flew up in the air, so i counted them. go whip up a batch today. it makes a great breakfast treat, well, in my house anyway. enjoy.

low carb flourless chocolate cupcake

i am still on my low carb diet and i am craving sweets something terrible. i have seen quite a few recipes for low carb desserts, but mostly crap involving ricotta or cream cheeses. forget that, i need chocolate, dark chocolate. when i hit phase two i will be able to have a tiny bit, but that is another whole week away. i want it know. i hit upon martha stewart's recipe for flourless chocolate cupcakes and attempted to make it low carb. there is no flour in the recipe, hence the word
"flourless" in the title, so that is easy enough. i subbed unsweetened chocolate for the bittersweet and xylitol for the sugar. xylitol, packaged under the name of ideal is a natural sweetner and sugar replacement. the cupcakes where pretty good, not great. you bake with ideal and sugar one to one, but since i started with unsweetened chocolate i should have used more than what the recipe alloted. i also may have baked them a tad too long. they were not soft and moist in the middle, but dense and fudgy. all in all, they are definitely good enough for a redo, like maybe tomorrow. enjoy.

the little squirt of whipped cream help cut the bitterness of the dark chocolate. i ate two.

chocolate chip surprise muffins

chocolate chip surprise muffins, you can find the recipe here. these are delicious!



my hubby immediately snarfed three and packed two for lunch, so they must be all right. the surprise part....


look close, a little pocket of sweet cream cheese! mine did not come out as pretty as karly's, but are still dang tasty. go make a batch today. enjoy.

double tree hotel chocolate chip cookies

i have never heard of, much less eaten, a double tree hotel chain's chocolate chip cookie, but i guess they are suppose to be good. i found this recipe when looking for a "something different". i am not a big chocolate chip cookie fan, but my kids love them and i have a huge bag, i mean sam's club sized, bag of chips to use. i thought these sounded yummy and there is oatmeal in them, so faux healthy. they were good, cake-y not chewy and the kids loved them. i just don't see them becoming a favorite. oh, i did skip the lemon juice(??), added only two cups of chips and omitted the walnuts all together. enjoy.

chocolate on the brain giveaway-winner #5

random.org picked the number five!! congrats "tealady"!

aren't these note cards too cute? "chocolate on the brain", that is me to a "t". i love the stuff. i am a chocolate, dark chocolate, junkie. i am diabetic, but still indulge in some bittersweet pleasure every so often, okay, pretty much every freaking day. i can not lie. i am always on the search for the best super dark, 80% or higher, i can find. lately, i have been nibbling on a huge bag(sam's club size) of dark bittersweet ghirardelli chips. i just let them slowly melt in my mouth, a real treat with a cup of hot coffee. anyway, when i saw these little note cards at tj maxx today i just


knew i needed to buy them, so i could them give away. there are 12 different designs with a chocolate recipe on the back of each. i love stationary. i am always in need of little cards like this to send to my daughter's school, etc...



aren't they sweet? or at least semi-sweet? want them? leave me a comment as to what kind of chocolate you prefer or don't. milk, dark or maybe that faux white chocolate, which makes no sense to me, but that is a whole another post. also, please leave me a way to contact you. i will let the ol'random wizard pick a number and i will send you these note cards plus a few other surprises 'cause that is how i roll. let's play the game till friday midnight and u.s. folks only. international shipping is killer, so sad. have fun. enjoy.

dark chocolate raspberry brownies

boy howdy are these some dark chocolate brownies. the recipe, dark chocolate cherry brownies, i found in the cooking light annual of 2008, as well as online. i knew i wanted to make them immediately, but i didn't have cherry, oh well, improvise. i also didn't have natural processed cocoa, only dutch, oh well, deal with it. also, only big jumbo ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, oh well, not a bad thing. i made them. these brownies are good, a tad sweet, but very good. they are moist, chewy and full of flavor, super dark chocolate flavor. so dark, that the brownies scared my family at first, but once they got rolling they couldn't and haven't stop eating them. one more thing, make sure you used seedless jam, my one real, oh well, boo-boo. enjoy.

cooking light's chocolate mint bars

i love the library. i get to check out all sorts of books, but you know i head straight for the cookbook collection followed with a veggie tales vhs stop over. the other day i brought home cooking light's recipe annuals for 2008 and 2009. in the 2008 collection i found a make over recipe for these chocolate mint bars and just knew i wanted to give them a whirl. i did. my brother roger and his wife miranda came for supper on friday and this was dessert, along with a slab of leftover hummingbird cake. let me say, um, they were different. i wouldn't say they were "knocked out of the ballpark" good or anything, just different. i think they like the five day old cake better. if you like peppermint and fudge this is for you. the bottom is really chocolaty and dense topped with a layer of sweet, sugary peppermint filling smothered in semi-sweet chocolate. it is sorta like a girl scout thin mint cookie, but not. i can see me making them again, but not anytime soon. they are pretty rich and potent. i bet they would travel well though. you can find the recipe here. enjoy.

mocha chocolate chip muffins

i made these muffins the other day for the gang and boy howdy are they a keeper. this is a bon appetite magazine recipe and you can find it here. i pretty much followed the recipe with a few changes. not having buttermilk or pecans, i used milk soured with cider vinegar and skipped the pecans all together. i also used only 1/3 cup chocolate chips because my chips, from trader joe's, were huge. i am thinking next time, i will use buttermilk and throw in some walnuts. i truly think you could use any type of milk, but buttermilk really seems to add to the moistness of baked goods or so i believe, but i am not a trained professional. i also just like walnuts with chocolate much better than pecans. folks, these muffins are not super sweet, but are super good. also, they are moist with a rich, deep, chocolate flavor. i know they are good, not only because they are all gone, but because i snuck a top off one(don't tell the doc).

mocha chocolate chips muffins, better than anything you can make from a box or buy wrapped in cello with otis spunkmonkey stamped on top! go make a batch for the family today. enjoy.

ps-i did use the hershey's special dark cocoa in this recipe.

rocky road peep brownies

this isn't really a recipe much as it is something fun to do. who doesn't love brownies? throw in some marshmallow peeps, handful of chocolate chips and walnuts, voila, you've got rocky road. it is simple. bake your favorite box brownie mix in an 8x8 pan per directions. our favorite is the walmart house brand, no joke. it beats out all the other name brands, and trust me, we've tried them all. once they are done. lay your peeps(ours were bunnies) on top, now sprinkle with as little or as much chocolate chips and walnut pieces you like. smoosh them down into your peeps a little. now pop back into your oven and watch those babies puff. i did notice that the blue ones get kinda green from the heat, so don't freak. once puffy and gooey, remove from the oven. the marshmallow will collapse when cooled. enjoy.

chocolate coconut bundt

first the lemon cornmeal cake, now this. i am popular in my house right now. i was thinking about the ol' pillsbury tunnel of fudge bundt cake mix the other day and suddenly remembered the chocolate coconut version. i just knew i had to duplicate it. the hubs loves the combination of chocolate and coconut, so i thought i would surprise him with this baby. needless to say, he was not only surprised, but is a very happy camper. once again, i can't eat any due to my diabetes, so i am relying on jamie to give his honest opinion of the cake. i quote, "it is fudgie, moist and i like the coconut part the best. will you make a pot of coffee?" well, okay...sure. i think it is a winner folks. he's wanting a second piece hence the coffee. now, making the cake is a breeze. you simply doctor a box of chocolate cake mix with instant chocolate pudding, whip egg whites for the coconut filling and layer in your bundt, well, maybe with a few extra steps in between. i really like the marbled look of the finished cake, too. it's so pretty with the vanilla drizzle. see.

i know this will be a real keeper at my house. how about at yours? enjoy.

beth's chocolate coconut bundt

coconut filling
2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups flaked coconut(one small bag)
2 tbsp. of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of real vanilla

the cake
1 box chocolate cake mix(w/o pudding)
1 package chocolate instant pudding(4 serving size)
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

vanilla glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons of milk( i used ff half and half)
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp. real vanilla
1 tbsp. of butter


preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour your bundt pan. i "pam'd" mine.

beat egg whites until peaks form. gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. fold in coconut, flour and vanilla. set aside.

next combine the cake mix, instant pudding mix, 2 yolks, 2 eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl. beat with mixer for 2 minutes. i actually beat mine by hand. pour a 1/3 of the batter into prepared pan. spoon in coconut mixture, spread around and then top with remaining batter.

bake for 50 to 55 minutes. i covered my cake about 40 minutes in with foil, so it wouldn't get too brown. remove and cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. cool thoroughly, and top with glaze.

to make the glaze, melt the butter and add the remaining ingredients. yum.

mexican hot chocolate

not the prettiest of pics, but sure tasty. i tried a new sugar substitute this past week called sun crystals. it is a combination of pure cane sugar and extract of the stevia plant. you can read more about it here. i really like it. it is amazingly sweet, so you need less than that of the pink, blue or yellow stuff, besides i have given up the pink, blue and yellow stuff. i have mostly been using the sun crystals in my tea and coffee, but went and explored their site. they have lots of recipes listed and this is one. i changed it slightly, just less milk. i really enjoyed this for breakfast, warm, chocolate-y and filling. i would opt out of the cinnamon next go around. i just didn't care for it. i look forward to trying more of what they offer. enjoy.

beth's mexican hot chocolate (adapted from the sun crystal's website)

heat one cup in milk in the microwave till hot, about one and half minutes.

meanwhile have ready in a blender, a tbsp. of cocoa, one tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips(i used the mini's), t tsp. of vanilla, pinch of salt, pinch of cinnamon and two packets of sun crystals(next time i am going to try only one packet). pour in the hot milk and blend about 30 seconds. serve in a mug. you know, some cool whip would be good on top, too. what a treat!

dark chocolate and cranberry "somewhat" healthy oatmeal cookies

i was bored today, so i made cookies. great, just what i need, temptation. i am trying really hard to eat healthy in 2010. it is very difficult for me since not only do i live to eat, but i still want to indulge my family, especially my kids. i have a standard oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that i use, but wanted to switch it up a bit. i just simply swapped dried cranberries for the raisins and threw in a big handful of semi-sweet chips. these are delicious. how do i know? i caved. i two, but only two, with a cup of coffee this evening. they are chewy and sweet, perfect, just how i like my cookie. dang, this is going to be hard. a foodie friend of mine was being kind in suggestind that just maybe they could be passed off as "somewhat" healthy cookie with the dark chocolate(antioxidants), oatmeal(fiber) and the dried cranberries(fiber,as well), but what about the stick of butter and cup of sugar? nice try, but i don't think so. healthy or not, i am passing the recipe on to you. they are really yummy. enjoy.

beth's dark chocolate and cranberry "somewhat" healthy oatmeal cookies

preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit

in a large bowl mix the following:

cream one stick of room temp butter with 3/4 cups sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, add one egg and a tsp. of real vanilla. to this add a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt. stir. now add one cup of all purpose flour and one and half cups of old fashioned oats. stir to combine. now stir in a half cup of dried cranberries and 6 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips. stir well and hard to combine. the mixture may seem dry, but it will come together. roll dough into about one inch balls and place three inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. bake about 10-13 minutes. edges will be slightly brown. cool a few minutes on pan before transferring to serving platter or mouth.

five minutes pots de creme, if that

i saw this pots de creme recipe posted over at this fun website. it is apparently a rachel ray recipe, whom i am not a fan, but it called my name regardless. the recipe itself is ridiculously easy, but i mean come on, isn't that the cutest little cup pictured? i want one, or two, what the heck, give me a set of six. i have no shame. i just knew i had to give this baby a whirl. i mean it is made in the blender in about five minutes. holy cow! what more could you ask for? well, turns out it is dang tasty. frankly, i was surprised just how creamy and chocolaty it was. you should serve in small amounts, but i supersized mine of course, so i didn't get quite as many serving as i should. oh well, i also whipped up a little bit of whipping cream to plop on top. i think it will help to cut some of the richness from the dark chocolate. make sure it refrigerates for several hours to get firm. i will make these little gems again, great for a chocolate fix. enjoy!

p.s.-i used 2% milk, one tablespoon of dark rum and hershey special dark chocolate chips. i would use the full dose of rum next time or switch up to some orange liquer. mmmmmm.......

eggcellent chocolate chip cookies, no yolk

so i whipped the boy up some chocolate chip cookies this morning. i had found a recipe in a cooking light magazine awhile back and decided to give it a try. i also found it on the net, you can view it here. it is quite a bit lower in calories and fat than you typical chocolate chip cookie recipe without skimping too much on the taste. it works. it still has your basic cookie ingredients with a few differences, such as using only the egg white. the dough came together quick and smelled fragrant of vanilla, good vanilla from beanilla. people let me sidetrack for a second. please, if you bake, use real vanilla and not the imitation garbage. i promise you the investment will pay off. there is a huge difference between the two. okay, back to the cookies, they spread very little while baking, so they come out thick and chewy. i am not a real fan of chocolate chip cookies(i like my chocolate unadulterated), but i ate one. it really is good. i am thinking maybe another later with a cup of coffee.

now, if travis can stop tormenting the dog long enough, maybe he too can have one. enjoy.

chocolate zucchini cake, not so purty

first and foremost, always, always use dark or dutch processed cocoa when making this cake. i had to learn this ugly truth the hard way. it not only contributes a deep dark chocolate flavor, it hides the zucchini! yikes. see, i used plain ole hershey's and just look at those little green shreds dangling out the sides. you are not suppose to see them. i was in too much of a hurry to make this and didn't feel like running back to the market. although it didn't affect the taste, it messes up fooling folks. it doesn't work so good.

now, back to the taste. surprisingly the cake is truly delicious. i tell you, my four year old ate this particular piece without a single complaint. amazing. go here to see how a master does it. the repressed pastry chef is a genius. me, not so much. also, this young lady does a bang up job with her version. it was her recipe that i followed, pretty much. i did add a full teaspoon of vanilla extract that i just received from beanilla plus a teaspoon of instant coffee powder. the cake, although not purty, is moist, fudgie with no taste of the squash. i opted not to do a frosting 'cause my family doesn't like it. i know, i know, sinful, huh? i just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top( mostly to hide the zucchini). i would like to make this again and do it real justice, but meanwhile, i think i will just stick to oven roasting my veggies. enjoy.

death by monkey bars

so my girl lisa shares her birthday with my daughter caroline, the 16th of this month. c will be eleven and lisa will be, well, i won't go there. let's just say there is a slight age difference. anyway, they are birthday buddies. i like to give lisa a little something to wish her a great day and to start her next birthday year off right. i know she loves these little babies, so i whipped up a batch to deliver to her today, a little early, but full of love. they are monkey bars from marcel desaulniers-death by chocolate cookies book. lisa is the one who first shared this recipe with me. it is to die for, literally. mr. desaulniers, a local chef and the owner of williamsburg's famous trellis restaurant, former employer/mentor to my buddy chef george, is most noted for his dessert, death by chocolate. i have to admit, i have died a few times over it. it's killer, worth every heart palpitation. if i gotta die by something, chocolate is fine by me.

these monkey bars are crazy lovely. don't be intimidated by the recipe. it looks long and drawn out, but it all comes together quickly, very quickly actually. the cookies are incredibly rich and decadent. they are full of banana flavor accented with toasted walnuts and semi-sweet chips. holy moley! oh, and don't forget the ganache icing. it is downright sinful, dark, oh so dark. a few words of advice, keep these in the fridge and cut when cold. the icing can "melt" pretty quick. i do allow the bars to sit at room temp, maybe five minutes, before serving to awaken the banana flavor. i also serve them cut into fairly small squares with large glasses of ice cold milk. enjoy.

monkey bars from marcel desaulniers

FOR THE MONKEY BAR BATTER:
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter cut into 1 oz pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 pounds medium size ripe bananas( i used four large ripe ones)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE MONKEY BAR ICING:
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp granulated sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Toast the walnuts on baking sheet in preheated oven for 7 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and set aside to cool at room temperature until needed.

In a sifter, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift onto large piece of waxed paper and set aside until needed.

Place the butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until soft. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium for 1 minute and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and beat on high for 1 minute. Add the whole peeled bananas (you can break them in half but it really isn't necessary) and beat for 2 minutes on medium until fairly smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Operate mixer on low while gradually adding the sifted dry ingredients until incorporated about 1 minute. Add the chocolate chips and the toasted walnuts and mix on low to incorporate about 20 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into a 9x13x2-inch nonstick baking pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter in an even layer.

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes until golden brown around the edges and set in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before making icing.

TO MAKE THE MONKEY BAR ICING:
Heat the heavy cream and 4 tbsp sugar in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in a 3 quart bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and stir with a whisk until smooth.

Pour the icing over the cooled Monkey Bars. Use a cake spatula to spread the icing evenly over the entire surface of the bar. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Keep cold in fridge.

bittersweet chocolate sauce

so, i picked up a dagoba chocolate bar at a local candy outlet for a steal. i love dagoba chocolate. it is one of my all time favorites and the darker the better. this particular bar was dark, but not as potent as others, and now i wished i had bought more. i really didn't want to eat it out right, but rather use in a recipe of some sort. i remembered an old cook's illustrated mag i had at home somewhere and its bittersweet chocolate sauce recipe. i dug around till i found it and bingo, we had a winner. i had problem though, i was short on chocolate. luckily, i had a bag of hershey's special dark chocolate chips to fill in the gap. they worked perfectly. i whipped up this luscious, sinful, decadent, dark chocolate sauce in a matter of minutes. holey moley it is good. it is such a silky sauce, not like a hot fudge sauce, thick and gloppy. i served it with some fresh strawberries and cherries. we were all smacking our lips over this one. i am thinking this sauce would be great on cake, especially pound cake. (i might have to throw one in the oven today) anyway, one thing, you will need to reheat once it is refrigerated, it gets like a truffle filling, which really ain't so bad either. enjoy!

cook's illustrated bittersweet chocolate sauce

1-1.25 cups of heavy cream
1/4 light corn syrup
4 tbsp. of butter
pinch salt
8 ounces of good quality chocolate

bring one cup of heavy cream, corn syrup, butter and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. off heat, add chocolate while gently swirling saucepan. cover and let stand five minutes. uncover and whisk gently trying to not create too many bubbles until combined. if necessary, you can consistency by heating adding the additonal cream.

keeps up to three weeks in fridge. to reheat, pop into microwave at 50% power, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes.

chocolate dream pie

folks, if you need something quick and easy for a summer cookout, church social, or just to treat the family, whip up this chocolate dream pie. it is so easy and so tasty. this recipe has been around for a gazillion years right on the back of the ole dream whip box. you remember dream whip, don't ya? it came before cool whip. i can see my mama right now whipping up a batch to top my dad's saccharine sweetened jello. mmmm, mmmm good. my mama also used to make this pie for us kids. i had forgotten all about this simple sweet treat until i spotted a box of dream whip at the market. i just had to make a chocolate one for my youngin's and it was a big hit. no one ran screaming in horror, but all smacked their lips in approval. heck, i already got plans for a coconut one. holey moley. enjoy.

dream pie

2 envelopes of dream whip
2 3/4 cup cold milk(separated)
1 tsp. of good vanilla
2 small boxes your flavor choice of instant pudding
one baked pastry crust or a graham cracker crust( i went with graham cracker myself)

with mixer, beat the two envelopes of dream whip, one cup of milk and the vanilla till stiff peaks form, about five/six minutes. add in the two boxes of pudding and the rest of milk(1 3/4 cup) and continue to beat about two minutes. scrape down the bowl at least once. spoon into crust and chill at least four hours. top with whipped topping if you like.

this would also be good as parfaits! yum.