Chocolate by itself isn’t always easy to dress-up for holidays, but by combining white chocolate chips with dried fruit you can get a yummy, creative treat for a festive red, white and blue cookie!

Patriotic Red, White and Blue Cookies
adapted from allrecipes.com

2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cups dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

~ Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

~ In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine oats, flour, salt, and baking soda; stir into butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

~ Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

[image: flickr]

Adele Hagan, a food stylist, has put together a cool series of videos with her tips and tricks for food styling.

In the video above, she shows how she makes chocolate bark, or chocolate slabs, that can be used for desserts or just served on their own.

She starts out by melting chocolate over a double boiler on the stove before pouring the chocolate over some plastic wrap on a sheet pan. I’ve never poured melted anything on plastic wrap but apparently it holds up pretty well against the heat!

She then sprinkles some chopped nuts and dried cranberries over top before drizzling melted white chocolate over it all. It looks really pretty and would go great as a gift for friends or as a fancy dessert.

She uses up the leftover melted chocolate by dipping washed and dried strawberries in it and drizzles the berries with more melted white chocolate.

She finishes up the segment by cutting up the chocolate bark with some round cookie cutters and sandwiching some chocolate mousse between the rounds. For such a quick process it really ends up being a beautiful dessert!

During another excursion to Sam’s Club last week I came across a box of M&M’s new Limited Edition Coconut candies. I’ve heard about these but haven’t seen them anywhere else, so I somewhat grudgingly put the box in my cart (grudgingly because there’s always the chance they’ll be nasty, and then I’m stuck with a whole box of them!).

Thankfully, they’re pretty tasty! The pack is only 1.5 oz, and contained about 23 candies. The candies themselves are about the size of a peanut butter M&M (slightly bigger than a plain but smaller than a peanut), and come in dark brown, green and white.

Maybe they put Miss Green on the package to make up for the fact that there are very few greens inside? (I’m kidding - fewer greens makes sense and is actually pretty visually appealing against the white and brown.) Some of the candies are printed with cute little umbrellas, suns, palm trees and flowers with the M.

Now, I liked these to the point that if I had a pack I’d snack on it, but I don’t know that I’d seek them out again like I do the peanut butter or peanut varieties.

The coconut, I think, is right on and is balanced perfectly with the chocolate, which is the standard M&M’s milk chocolate. There is a lingering aftertaste that, while not unpleasant, sticks around for a bit. Thankfully, these have the standard hard candy shell and not the weird soft shells that the Premium M&M’s have.

The kids really liked them, though, so even if they’re not a candy I’m gaga over, the kids will finish the box for me!

These supposedly won’t be available in stores until August, but like I said, I picked this box up at Sam’s Club last week for about $8.

Today is Almond Butter Crunch Day, and you can celebrate by either picking up a canister of Almond Roca (which will always remind me of my mom!), or make your own!

The “plain” butter crunch day is in January, and though I’m not sure why almond butter crunch gets its own special day five months later, I’m not going to complain.

Buttercrunch toffee is a delicious, indulgent treat that is a bit softer than regular toffee and is an American invention. Not only do you get toffee, but you get chocolate and nuts with it as well. Just watch your fillings!

Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch

1/2 lb. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 lg. bag chocolate chips

Place chopped almonds, butter and sugar into a large pan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the almonds turn brown and the mixture forms a hard ball in cold water. Immediately pour onto a large, flat cookie sheet or baking pan. Let cool slightly.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow them to melt; using an offset spatula smear the melted chocolate around. Chop the rest of the nuts fine and sprinkle over warm chocolate. Press in lightly. Let cool thoroughly. Break into irregular pieces.

[images and recipe: flickr]

I’m really itching to make something new and fun this weekend. I’ve got a whole new list full of possibilities — which ones look good to you?

~ Double Chocolate Muffins at Oh So Tasty!

~ Chocolate and Bacon Pancakes from Peace Love & Chocolate

~ Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies at My Baking Addiction

~ Chocolate Violet Fudge from Not Quite Nigella

~ Peanut Butter Marshmallow Crispy Brownies at The Cooking Photographer

~ After-Preschool Brownies from Sweet Amandine

~ Dutch Cocoa Cookies at The Sensitive Pantry

~ Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream from Comfy Belly

~ Chocolate And Raspberry Strudel at Gel’s Kitchen

~ Spaghetti and Meatballs For Dessert from Ciao Chow Linda

~ Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Bars at dlyn

~ Chocolate Cookie Cake from Evil Shenanigans

~ Red Currant & Chocolate Tart at Palachinka

~ Very Chocolaty Peanut Butter Ganache Tart from Sweet Tooth

~ Whopper Cake with Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting at Herbivoracious

~ Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats

~ Ice Cream Bonbons at Zupas

~ Chocolate “Truffle” Cookies from Carrie’s Kitchen Creations

~ Salt Caramel Molten Chocolate Cake at 2 Stews

~ Chocolate Truffle Wrapped Maraschino Cherries from Thibeault’s Table

~ Homemade ‘Nutella’ at Chocolate Chip Trips

~ Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies from Dishing up Delights

~ Make You Cry Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Pie at Real Mom Kitchen

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been searching for my grandpa’s homemade chocolate fudge recipe, and word got to one of my aunts, who said she had a copy of it.

The fudge was delicious but I’m still not convinced that it was the same one Grandpa made. For one, I don’t remember him adding in the frozen marshmallows at the end to make it a rocky road fudge, and secondly there’s something missing form the taste, not to mention they’re a little gooier than Grandpa’s were. I wish I could sit and watch him make it again like I did when I was a kid, but oh well. Here’s the recipe my aunt sent me:

Grandpa’s Rocky Road Fudge

4 c sugar
1 can evaporated milk (1 2/3 c.)
2 1/2 c miniature marshmallows
2 1/2 8 oz Hershey chocolate bars (20 oz) these are now sold in 7 oz bars, so you need three
1/2 pkg (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 sticks (1 cup) butter (no substitutes)
1 1/2 c miniature marshmallows, frozen
1 lb chopped walnuts
2 tsp vanilla

Break chocolate bars into pieces in a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips and sliced cubes of butter. Set a side.

In a large, heavy saucepan combine sugar, evaporated milk, and marshmallows. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the mixture comes to a soft boil, cook for seven minutes and immediately pour over chocolate mixture. Stir until candy loses some of its shine; mix in nuts, frozen marshmallows, and vanilla. Pour into a 9×13″ and 8×8″ pans and chill for 1 1/2 hours before serving.
Can be stored for a time in the freezer. Makes about 5 lbs. of candy.

I lined both of my pans with parchment paper first, and then coated the inside of the parchment with butter, which worked well in keeping the fudge from sticking. After adding the milk, butter and sugar mixture to the chocolate in the bowl, stirring can take upwards of 20 minutes or more, so have help standing by! Despite what the recipe says, I think Grandpa may have added more chocolate than what’s called for. I might have to try that next time!

Just in time for summer, Klondike has announced that six of their stickless bar varieties will be getting a thicker chocolate shell.

To celebrate, they’re launching the “What Would You Do For A Klondike Bar NOW?” campaign with interactive online “Micro Bytes” to demonstrate just how far ice cream fans will be willing to go for the improved treats - or to just provide some entertainment during snack time!

The Khaki Pants Pete Online Video Game is modeled on the concept of 8-bit video games from the ’80s where characters face a series of “eyebrow-raising” challenges. Chapter 1 launched this past week on Klondike’s new Web site, KlondikeBar.com, as well as on Klondike’s Facebook Fan Page. Additional chapters of the game will launch every other week this summer.

You can also use Klondike’s Facebook “Roast-A-Friend” Application, a light-hearted and comedic Facebook app that will allow users to put their friends on the hot seat to find out how thick their “shell” really is.

So, what would you do for a Klondike bar?

[images used with permission from klondike]

We may not be anywhere near Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make and enjoy a decadent pecan pie, complete with chocolate!

This video from HolidayKitchen demonstrates how to make a Chocolate Pecan Pie, which is a twist on the traditional version that I can really get behind!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
3 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups pecan halves

Combine eggs, sugar and corn syrup and mix for one minute. Add melted chocolate and beat for one more minute. Add pecan halves and stir until just combined. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Doubletree Hotels are offering the “sweet treat” of a complimentary, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie to anyone who visits any of its 200+ locations on Canada Day, July 1, and Independence Day, July 4th.

Walk into any Doubletree hotel between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1 at Canadian Doubletree hotels and Saturday, July 4 at U.S. Doubletree locations to receive a delicious, warm chocolate chip cookie to commemorate each country’s holiday. You don’t need to be a guest and you don’t need to purchase anything. Sweet!

“Our `Free Cookies on the First and Fourth’ promotion is a fun way to celebrate patriotism and satisfy chocolate cravings across Canada and the United States, without even needing to be a guest,” said Mary Beth Parks, vice president of marketing for Doubletree Hotels. “We’re expecting to give out thousands of cookies to our guests and our communities this Canada Day and Independence Day – certainly more likely than any bakery or cookie company will sell on these special days!”

As always, the offer is good while supplies last and is limited to one cookie per person.

[image: flickr]

My family and I love pecan sandies cookies. The kids pretty much like any cookie, and I like that they’re not too sweet and sugary, but still pretty tasty.

Once in a while I like to add a little more sweetness, though, and this recipe works really well with some added mini chocolate chips, or a drizzle of melted chocolate on top after they’re done baking. This also works well with chopped almonds instead of the pecans, and taste even better when the vanilla extract is replaced with almond extract.

Chocolate Pecan Sandies
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, 1 cup white sugar and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the pecans. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll each ball in remaining white sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

[image: flickr]