Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Chocolates

After returning from a week of work in Pittsburgh, I found a tiny little box on my front porch filled with three sweet bites of Ghirardelli’s new Luxe Milk Chocolates. And since I had quite a rough time while I was gone – two broken fingernails; a burn on my arm from loading and unloading close to 200 cardboard boxes; straining half of my lower back muscles; falling off a sidewalk, thus cutting & bruising my knee and scraping my toes – I was in desperate need of some pampering.

Unfortunately, I can’t get a spa appointment quick enough, so instead of fulfilling my adult responsibilities like cleaning the house or doing the laundry, I had my hair cut and then spent the night on the couch watching DVR’d shows and eating these yummy chocolates. 🙂 And boy were they delicious. Especially the one dotted with toasted almonds. Oh man… Ghirardelli and Foodbuzz, please feel free to ship another (large) box filled with these!

Check out Ghirardelli’s profile on Foodbuzz for more information on their new line of rich and creamy chocolates! Then run to the store immediately and stock up!

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

These are seriously, seriously good cookies. I took them to work on Friday as a treat for the ‘going-away’ spread we were having for one of our customer service reps and they were gone within 20 minutes. See what I mean? Just pair them with a good, hot cup of java and you’re good to go.

You can prepare the dough up to two days in advance, then cut ’em up and pop ’em in the oven whenever you’re ready – so easy it’s not funny. 🙂

A big ‘thank you’ to Donna of Life’s Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First for this week’s pick – they were amazing!! The recipe is on Donna’s blog (make these TODAY!) and the other TWD bakers hang out here – check ’em out!

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (pg. 125)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Swirled Krispy Treats

The 100+ degree heat is starting to subside, restaurants aren’t as busy at lunchtime, this morning’s traffic to work (in front of the junior college) was horrendous and it’s almost Fall. What does that mean? It means school’s in session once again! Since I have no kiddos, this doesn’t mean much for me just yet, but as I was making these treats on Saturday, I realized that they would be the perfect 4pm snack. They take just over an hour to complete (start to finish) and are ready-to-go faster than you can say “Back to School”! 🙂

Swirled Krispy Treats

4 c Rice Krispies®
4 c Cocoa Krispies®
3/4 c light corn syrup
2/3 c fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp Splenda for Baking
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c dark chocolate chips, melted

Spray a good amount of cooking spray into a large mixing bowl and a 9×13″ baking dish. Place cereal in the bowl and set it aside. In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine corn syrup, condensed milk, sugars, butter and sea salt. Allow mixture to come to a boil, while stirring continuously, until it turns a light golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat, stir in vanilla, and immediately pour over cereal. Stir to completely mix, and then evenly spread in prepared baking dish. Set aside to let cool, about 45 minutes. Invert and release from the dish. Drizzle with melted chocolate and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!

 

Honey Pumpkin Granola Cookies

Remember that Chocolate Chip Almond Granola from Sunday?? Sure ya do. Can you believe that I managed not to eat the entire batch? I’m so proud of myself. 🙂 I had an entire carton left over with just enough to make these little goodies. However, I’m not sure what I was more excited about – the cookies or the chance to try my New Zealand Kamahi honey. The cookies were yummy, yes, but the honey? Amazing.

Kamahi honey is a “bold honey with a smooth vanilla flavour and a complex herbal finish.” It comes from New Zealand’s North & South Islands and is best in savory dishes, but will work when you need a distinct honey flavor in baked goods. It’s definitely one I’ll be using very often in the near future!

Honey Pumpkin Granola Cookies
Adapted from: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c Kamahi honey
1/4 c Pumpkin Butter
1 large egg
1-3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, heaping
1-1/4 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 c Chocolate Chip Almond Granola

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, honey, and pumpkin butter until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture all at once and stir until combined. Then stir in the granola. Drop the batter 2 inches apart by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets (12 on each sheet). Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Do not over bake.

The cookies should be nice and chewy when cool. Remove to a rack to cool on the sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to the rack. These cookies will keep layered between wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 weeks.

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Chocolate Chip Almond Granola

I’ve had an obsession with chocolate chip granola for the last month. Every morning for breakfast, with the exception of a few days, I’ve added in 1/4 cup into my yogurt. It was never really something I liked until I found a few flavors at Market Street made by Feed. So it was obviously fate when I ran out of the stuff this past Friday morning – now it’s on to making my own batches of granola!

To the SMS’ers: you’ve probably noticed that I changed the title and left out the cherries and other fruits. I’ve gotta have my chocolate! 🙂

Major thanks to Wendy of Pink Stripes who has this wonderful recipe on her blog – check it out and the other SMS bakers here!

Chocolate Chip Almond Granola (pg. 34)
Source: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

You Want Pies With That? – Personality Pie

What do you say when someone asks you to describe yourself? It’s hard isn’t it? You’ll take all kinds of suggestions from others, but when you have to toot your own horn… it’s overwhelming. At least for me, it is. So, when Branny decided that this month’s YWPWT? theme would be about our beautiful personalities, I was stumped.

My first thought was that I’m sweet. Well, geez, that could be any pie in the world, right (obviously excluding those savory ones)? I also think I’m nice, honest and a good friend. Great! How do you make a pie fitting those attributes?? You can’t. I thought about it for almost a month. I did, however, find something that fit the bill of ‘quick & easy’ (which is always a good thing). I figured if I couldn’t make something that screamed ‘nice’, it could scream ‘chocolate’. 🙂

Chocolate Overload Pie
Adapted from: CakeSpy

1 pre-baked Pie Shell
1 pkg (5.9 oz) instant fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding
2 c melted Dorie’s Dark Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream
Whipped cream (for topping)

Beat pudding mix and ice cream with a whisk until fully combined (about 2 minutes). Spoon mixture into pie shell and with an offset spatula, smooth the top so that the mixture is evenly distributed. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until set. If desired, top with a dollop of whipped cream before serving.

There ya go… quick & easy. 😉

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Dark Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

Chocolate ganache… how I love thee. It’s rich and decadent and oh-so-good. But, to turn it into ice cream? In late summer, 100+ degree heat?? That’s totally pushing it over the top. And top or not, I’ll definitely take it… any time of the year. 🙂

Katrina of Baking and Boys (love her!) has this week’s smooth recipe on her blog. I’m sure she’s jazzed it up quite a bit… she’s such a whiz at doing that! Check her out and the other TWD bakers here!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream (pg. 430)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Whoa. This is such a fab, fab ice cream… especially when you mix in chunks of chocolate and top it with Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Hot Fudge Sauce. Two thumbs up, I tell ya. There’s a bit of a problem with the caramel seizing up on you when the milk is added, but it eventually smoothes right out. This is definitely one recipe that will be made again (and again and again and again…)

Props to Becky of Project Domestication for this week’s choice! The recipe’s on her blog (plus an amazing amount of gorgeous photography!) and the other TWD bakers will be partying here, so check ’em both out! 🙂

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream (pg. 432)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Sweet Melissa Sundays – Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

This probably ranks as number one on my ‘Messiest Recipes’ list. Not only did I dirty up a ginormous amount of dishes, my hands looked like I had killed a chicken (I would’ve taken a picture, but there was no way I was touching my camera!). Yes, they were incredibly messy to make, but man were they good… like little bites of heaven. I used my absolute favorite dark chocolate peanut butter (featured here) and rolled the truffles in four different coatings: peanuts, pretzels, cocoa powder and graham crackers. The ladies at work were obviously very happy when I brought them in. 🙂

Big thanks to Mara of Love Your Mother Earth for this week’s SMS choice. Check her blog for the recipe and see how the other bakers fared here!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles (pg. 215)
Source: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

 

Tuesdays With Dorie – Chockablock Cookies

Need a solid cookie? One that doesn’t fall apart on you? That won’t melt at the turn of a knob? And doesn’t even drop a sweat on a 325 degree day? Then look no further. The Chockablock Cookie is for you! It’s packed with all kinds of yummy things: oatmeal, chocolate & butterscotch chips, chunky walnuts… and if you’re so inclined, coconut & dried fruit.

They didn’t even get their feelings hurt when B saw them and said, “Oooh, sausage balls!” Talk about a tough cookie. 😉

Hop on over to Mary’s site, Popsicles and Sandy Feet for the recipe and don’t forget to check out the other TWD bakers here!

Chockablock Cookies (pg. 86)
Source: Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan