This is a fun little afternoon project that I remember doing as a kid but totally forgot about until I came across it again recently in a back issue of Family Fun magazine.

These would be a great project to do a day or so before Thanksgiving and then use them to prop up some cute, handmade place cards for your guests. See the final product here.
Chocolate Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats
from Family Fun magazine
24 chocolate-striped shortbread cookies
12-ounce package of chocolate chips
24 marshmallows
tube of yellow decorators’ frosting
~ Set the chocolate-striped cookies stripes down on a wax-paper-covered tray, spacing them apart.
~ Melt the chocolate …read more

I tried a chocolate banana bread recipe last month, and since I had overripe bananas on my counter again this week I decided to see if I could dig up another recipe to try.

This one is from Daydreamer Desserts, and while the recipes are somewhat similar, this new one included the addition of sour cream. I have to admit that I couldn’t really taste the sour cream when the bread was finished, but it did help make for a light and fluffy batter when I was mixing it up!
Though this recipe was good, I did end up having to keep …read more

We know that research is being done on how chocolate can help in the recovery from a heart attack, how chocolate milk can help sore muscles heal, how it could prevent malaria, protect against dementia, keep your bones healthy, and help with headaches, and now we can add one more to this ever-growing list: wrinkles!

Research published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology is showing that the same antioxidants that are good for your heart are also good for your skin, and that a daily dose of dark chocolate could very well keep you looking younger. Sounds like my kind of …read more

I’m all for eating chocolate, of course, but it can also be fun to decorate with it (temporarily!) for the upcoming holidays!

This gigantic chocolate turkey from Bissinger’s is touted as a “centerpiece” decoration for your Thanksgiving table. The semi-solid piece is made from milk chocolate with some nice darker chocolate accents, and stands at nine inches tall by 8.5 inches wide. It’s also gluten-free!
Though the real turkey and sides are the stars of the meal, I have to admit I’d be eyeballing the chocolate version if it were on my table!
Bissinger’s also has a lot of other Thanksgiving-related chocolate and …read more

Even though the kids are practically swimming in Halloween candy this weekend, I can’t help but feel the urge to pull out my cookbooks or browse through my bookmarks to make a sweet chocolaty treat. It’s not like I have a bag full of candybars and sugar, right?

~ Mexican Hot Chocolate from Zested
~ Double Chocolate Toffee Ice Cream at Mangio da Sola
~ Homemade Chocolate Chip Cannoli from My Kitchen Addiction
~ Filipino Hot Chocolate at Burnt Lumpia
~ Soft Pretzel Samoas from Big Red Kitchen
~ Chocolate Chip Date Cake at C’est La Vegan
~ Chocolate Covered Roasted Garlic from Cupcake Project
~ Pear Chocolate …read more

El Día de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is an ancient holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans that honors those who have died.

The holiday is usually celebrated over two days, November 1st and 2nd, and it’s believed that over these two days it’s easier for the souls of the dead to communicate with those still living. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull, and celebrants use sugar and chocolate skulls to give as gifts to both the living and the dead, usually inscribed with the name of a deceased loved one on the …read more

It’s a chocoholic’s favorite day — or at least a really good excuse to indulge in some really good chocolate!

I’ve actually found conflicting dates for National Chocolate Day — some say it’s today, October 28th, others claim it’s December 24th, and there are even random dates in September and July thrown into the mix. However, there seems to be more info for the October date, but I see nothing wrong with celebrating several times throughout the year anyway.
If you’re in a make-your-own chocolate kind of mood (which I always am at this time of year), you could celebrate by …read more

These chocolate Halloween mice are perfect for a Halloween party or as a fun activity to do with the kids. Make sure you let the mix sit in the fridge to firm up, otherwise you’ll have a bigger mess on your hands than any little mice should be able to make!

Chocolate Halloween Mice
from RecipeZaar
4 (1 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate baking squares or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate wafer, finely crushed (Oreos with the middle scraped off)
1/3 cup additional chocolate wafer, finely crumbled (for dark mice)
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar (for white mice)
24 silver dragees (small silver, edible balls, …read more

There are few things better than chocolate and baked goods, from working with the cocoa, to the smell while it’s baking, and of course eating it! It’s the meeting of two kinds of comfort food, and for this week’s link round up that’s what I looked out for!

~ Black Forest Buns at My Diverse Kitchen
~ Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing from The Food Librarian
~ Deep Dark Chocolate Cake at Dine and Dish
~ Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Bombe from Palachinka
~ Nanaimo Bars at The Eclectic Cook
~ Pumpkin Fudge from Real Mom Kitchen
~ Moist Chocolate Cake at Kitchen Simplicity
~ Pumpkin Spice …read more

A recent proposal by Steven Maranz from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York could mean some very sweet health news worldwide: Studies are currently being conducted to see how chocolate can help to prevent malaria!

Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases, affecting upwards of 350–500 million people per year, mostly in Sub-Sarahan Africa. Five species of the parasite affect humans, and the illness is typically spread by infective mosquito bites.
The parasite feeds on blood fat, and the theory is that chocolate can help to fight the parasite because chocolate sticks to cholesterol which would ultimately weaken the …read more