Tag Archives: chocolate

Oat’n Toffee Grahams

I cannot decide if this sinful concoction should be tagged as candy or as a cookie.  Whatever the tag it is one bar that you are going to want to prepare when the chocolate bug bites!  It’s easy.  The hardest part is lining the baking sheet with parchment paper which has a mind of its own sometimes.  So you start with graham crackers to line your baking sheet.  I think I have said this before that manufactures are reducing  the size of the product or the container.  Have you noticed that your favorite cookie or cracker is somewhat smaller now?  What about a gallon of ice cream?  It is no longer a gallon.  I noticed when shopping for evaporated milk that the number of ounces in the can has been reduced.   In some cases it could wreck a recipe, but not it this case.  Anyway these bars are so good that you just have to try them.  It makes a bunch and they are quite rich, but freeze them for up to three months.  Then you’ll have a little chocolate hanging around in case of an emergency!  You know what I mean.

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Chocolate Toffee Bark

Here is another one of those recipes that I must have been buried under a rock for part of my lifetime.  It has been out there forever, but I’ve never had it.  Last weekend we got together for one of our family luncheons and Ken my sister-in-law brings in lots of goodies.  This being one of them and I just had to nibble before lunch and oh my!!!  This stuff is fabulous!  Then I was blown away when she told me the base was saltine crackers.  Unbelievable!  I knew right then and there that I would have to make it and I am not a candy lover, but this is really good.

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Martha’s Basic Vanilla Cookie Dough 30 ways

This is a quick way to make your house smell like the holidays in the blink of an eye. Well, almost. You do have to do a little work up front, but then you can float the rest of the way. I saved this recipe last December from Martha Stewart Living. It is one versatile cookie dough. The dough can be flavored vanilla, spice, chocolate, and citrus. The dough can then morph into thumbprint, spritz, slice and bake, or rolled cookies. To add even more variations there’s a ton of mix- ins. In other words one cookie done at least 30 ways!

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Chili with Chipotle and Chocolate

I finally gave in and made this chili with chocolate.  It has popped up for years in so many magazines, but I have been skeptical about trying it.  I love the Americanized Mexican food and our local waiter has been forever pushing the Mole sauce and I just keep saying no.  In my mind it is just a weird combination.    Chile peppers and chocolate have been used together in Latin American and Mexican food for centuries.  After having this chili I can see why and it is not even as labor intensive as the original mole.  Chocolate gives this dish depth and creaminess that is very hard to describe.  You will just have to try it yourself.  Don’t wait as long as I have because it’s really good.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

I have turned up my nose at this cake for years.  Who in their right mind would bake a perfectly good chocolate cake with mayonnaise?  Mayonnaise goes on a great hamburger,  in Southern pimento cheese  or in your best chicken salad, but a cake no way!   After making Mayonnaise Rolls for my students I had a lot of mayo left over and decided after being bombarded with the advertisment for this cake that I would actually try it.  Tell me that ads don’t have power over the mind because that’s the only reason I tried the recipe.  Who can resist the way the cake looks in the ad just so mouthwatering and  moist!  So here is the lowdown on the mayonnaise cake.

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Pecan Turtle Bars

I tasted these little bars of goodness at a tennis match.  If you don’t know anything about ALTA tennis you might not know that the food served is sometimes more important than the score of the match.  I don’t remember if I won or lost the day I was introduced by my friend Betty to Pecan Turtle Bars, but their gooey texture, buttery shortbread layer, and chocolate top won me over for sure.  That next week my blogger friend Grace who wows me with her cooking as well as cracks me up with her humor had these bars posted.  It was fate!  I was destined to make them.

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Triple Chocolate Ice Cream

Nothing says summer like a big scoop of ice cream and what makes it even better is when you can make it right at home.  This ice cream is so rich, creamy, and oh so chocolatey.  The chocolate is intense, but not bitter.  The texture is as smooth as satin. Trust me it is so good you will never buy chocolate ice cream again.    Just think the best ice cream you have ever had!

This is the recipe from KitchenAid’s ice cream attachment.  If you are interested this is my second attachment.  Some how the one that came as a gift with my mixer sprouted legs and walked away four years ago.  After searching for years I just bought myself another one for Mother’s Day and could not wait to try out a new ice cream recipe.

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Pecan Praline Cake

I really do not know why I made this cake.  After being stuck in the house for four days I guess it was just a case of cabin fever.  Trust me on this one if you are watching your weight as I am make sure that you have more than two people to eat this cake.  Oh My Gosh!  It is so good!  It’s not one of those elegant dessert cakes that you might serve to get the oohs and aahs as you put it on the table, but I can bet you money that everyone that has just a taste of this cake is going to thank you. 

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Meringue Cookies

In my recipe file are  recipes that I used in my food’s classes in high school and college as well as some that I have asked for from students. I found this recipe in that file.  I have never made it.  I did make it  out of necessity last week.  I hate looking through all the recipes that are out there on the internet.  There is something about the sheer numbers of recipes that just won’t let my brain function properly.  I have this same problem when I am shopping.  I don’t do well at sales where you have to go through rack after rack of clothes.  Big warehouse shopping is not my thing either.  The fewer choices I have the better I am at making a choice.  Just try googling meringue cookies and see what you get!  It is a massive number of  recipes, so after hours of trying to choose what I thought was the best one I gave up! And I’m glad I did because this one is good! Meringue can be tricky to make.  For the novice cook inexperience can lead to frustration.  After my students had such a hard time making their meringue a week ago I set out to try to make it easier to understand.  I also wrote a guest post for Dinner and Dreams  entitled “How to Make Meringue for Puddings and Pies“.  Check it out for the low down on meringue.  Continue reading

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Truffle Brownies

My book club is having a three-day extravaganza at the lake.  I’m excited to spend three days with some very good friends, great food, sitting by the lake.  You get the idea relaxing by the water with people you love.  What fun!  Our book this month was one of my favorites Water for Elephants.  Oh My Gosh!  It was a fantastic read. At first I didn’t like it.  Then after the first one hundred pages I could not put it down.  I highly recommend it.  I love the author’s style of writing which makes for an easy read.   Anyway you will love this book!

There are nine of us going to the lake and we all have stuff to bring.  I am responsible for cookies.  I have made two that I am taking and will share one with you now.  The other will come later.  These are Truffle Brownies from Bon Appetit this month.  They are absolutely fabulous is all I am going to allow myself to say.  Easy!  Ok, enough.  You will love these.  Trust me.  Just one more thing the chocolate ganache is over the top!

Gotta run so here is the recipe.  I followed it to a T.  Enjoy because we sure have.   

Happy Cooking,

The Teacher Cooks

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Filed under Bar Cookies, Desserts