I came across a very fun project a few weeks ago called Tuesdays With Dorie. A very large group of people basically make the same thing once a week and post their results in their blogs, with all the recipes coming from the (very awesome) cookbook “Baking” by Dorie Greenspan.

I’m not going to be able to participate in all of them every week because I’m going to stick with the ones that have chocolate in them (or that can have chocolate added to them!) so I can post them here, but I can’t post the recipes anyway - you’ll need to go pick up the book yourself!

This week’s project was Rugelach, which I’ve never made before but I’ll definitely be making again:

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One of my most favorite cookies to eat and bake are chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. There’s just so much you can do to them to make everyone happy - even going so far as to split the cookie dough up before adding anything special so everyone gets the additions they want. I’ve got three kids, it works well!

My personal favorite add-ins are chocolate chips, raisins and chopped walnuts. My husband and one of my daughters don’t like the raisins, and my other two daughters don’t like the walnuts. Oddly, everyone likes the chocolate chips. Can’t imagine where they get that. It’s also good with white chocolate chunks and craisins.

Anyway, I usually add chocolate chips to the entire batch, then just separate it into thirds (though not necessarily equal - I don’t need an entire batch just for me!) and add in the raisins and walnuts for me, just raisins in the second, and just walnuts for the rest. The kids like the special treat made “just for them,” and there are never any leftovers that go stale because half the family didn’t like what was in them!

Happy Family Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 c butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
Chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, raisins, white chocolate chips, craisins, etc.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter for 30 seconds until creamy. Add sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and beat until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined and add the flour. Stir in rolled oats, and other additions.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet (press down on each mound slightly if you want a flatter cookie, they won’t fall on their own) and bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Makes about 36 cookies.

I love experimenting with unusual recipes and techniques, and found this one fit the bill! These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are made without flour and are really pretty tasty!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup super chunky peanut butter
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first five ingredients in medium bowl then mix in chocolate chips. Using moistened hands or small ice cream scoop, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on two ungreased baking sheets, spacing two inches apart.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets for five minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

[image: flickr]

Everyone know how to make s’mores - roast a marshmallow, slap it on a graham cracker with a bit of chocolate and smoosh another graham cracker on top.

However, the variations are really pretty endless and can be tailored to fit anyone’s tastes. You can try:

• S’mores bars
• Ditch the graham crackers altogether
• Turn it into a cake
• Add bananas, raspberries, or even cherries
• S’mores cheesecake!
• Minty s’mores
• Use Peeps!
• Make the whole thing from scratch

And check this out - Mexican s’mores!

My friend Christey and her husband Peter have a wonderful weblog full of fantastic food and pictures at Fotocuisine.com. They recently posted a recipe and pictures for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and I immediately emailed her for permission to post both - don’t they look amazing?

Check out the entry about the cookies on their weblog - I tried to write it up but felt I wasn’t doing it justice, so go see for yourself!

[image used with permission from fotocuisine.com]

I love dips, especially when chocolate is involved. This makes makes a nice, firm dip that doubles well as a spread (chocolate peanut butter toast!).

Chocolate Peanut Butter

1 1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c confectioners sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 t instant coffee granules
1 t hot water

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients; stir until smooth. Combine coffee granules and water; stir until coffee dissolves. Stir coffee into peanut butter mixture. Serve with cookies or crackers. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2 cups.

[image: flickr]

One of the greatest pleasures of life is biting into a warm chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven!

The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook offers 45 recipes that cover all the dessert bases: cookies, cakes, candies, brownies, tarts, frozen treats, and more. Chocolate chips saturate these recipes inside and out. Using milk, semisweet, bittersweet, and white chocolate, author Elinor Klivans encourages readers to discover their favorite chocolate chip recipes.

Now you have a chance to win a copy!

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To Enter:

Leave a comment in this blog entry and tell me what your favorite chocolate treat is. That’s it!

The Rules:

~ One entry per household. I do check!

~ Make sure you leave a valid email address with your comment (will not be displayed) so I can contact you in a timely manner if you win.

~ The contest will run until Thursday, July 31 at 11:59pm Pacific. One entry will then be drawn randomly from the eligible submissions on Friday, August 1, and the winner will be notified by email and announced here on the site.

~ This is open to residents of the U.S.

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Also, be sure to check out another chocolate contest over at JLoStalker.com to win a copy of “Hugs for Chocolate Lovers”!

I love playing around with my ice cream maker lately. I only wish we’d gotten one sooner! Last night I made chocolate chip malted ice cream. It tastes just like a malt - delicious!

You can chop the chocolate chips up a little bit finer but I don’t mind them frozen at their regular size.

Chocolate Chip Malted Ice Cream

2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup Egg Beaters)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/3 cup malt powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet, your pick)

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl for about one minute until light and fluffy, add sugar a little bit at a time until disolved and continue whisking another minute. Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add vanilla and malt powder and whisk well, then let sit for about 10 minutes.

Give it one more good stir to get the malt off the bottom and pour into prepared ice cream maker and freeze to manufacturer’s directions. About two minutes before it’s finished add in the chocolate chips.

I saw Alton Brown make the banana ice cream base for this on Good Eats last week and since I had bananas already in the freezer (being saved for banana bread) I decided to give it a shot (the banana bread cane wait for another day!). I like that it doesn’t use eggs but still turns out nice and creamy!

This is a plan ahead recipe - the bananas need to be frozen at least overnight, and the finished ice cream needs to go in the freezer for at least three hours before serving.

I’m not big on bananas necessarily - I like them fresh or in bread, but I don’t care much for processed or banana-flavored stuff. This ice cream is amazing though, and with a little chocolate syrup my kids says it tastes exactly like a banana split!

Banana Ice Cream with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

6 (approximately 2 1/4 pounds) ripe bananas
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, scraped (or use a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, chilled
1/4 cup chopped chocolate chips, chilled

Place bananas in freezer and freeze overnight. Remove bananas from freezer and allow to thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Peel bananas (they’ll be mushy!) and place in food processor along with the lemon juice and process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth.

Chill mixture in refrigerator until it reaches 40 degrees. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions (I find it easier to work with if the ice cream maker is turned on before pouring the ice cream mixture in, otherwise it could seize up on you). During the last two minutes or so of processing add the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.

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It gets really hard in the freezer so let it sit out on the counter for about ten minutes before you attempt to scoop.

With Memorial Day marking the unofficial start of summer in the US, I’m finding that I’m searching out methods and recipes for getting chocolate on the grill!

Today I found something downright sinful: Grilled Chocolate Bananas!

4 bananas
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces miniature marshmallows
Whipped cream or ice cream, optional

Preheat barbecue grill. Using a sharp knife, make a slit along most of the length of the unpeeled banana skin and almost through the bananas.

Push chocolate chips and marshmallows into the slits; push the bananas closed. Wrap each banana tightly in aluminum foil.

Place the banana packets on the grill rack and cook for 10 minutes, turning the packets after 5 minutes. Remove from the grill. Carefully open the banana packets and remove the cooked bananas from the aluminum foil. (You can serve in the aluminum foil.)

If desired, serve with either whipped cream or ice cream. Serve with a teaspoon, to scoop out the cooked banana flesh covered in melted chocolate. Make 4 servings.

[image: sxc]