One of my favorite celebrity chefs on the Food Network is Giada De Laurentiis. Aside from the yummy-looking Italian dishes she creates, she also has an affinity for chocolate that many people can relate to! She uses this, well, obsession for all things cocoa to come up with some fun and tasty desserts as well!

Using Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, and chocolate chips Giada has created an easy chocolaty pizza dessert that’s sure to hit the spot after any meal. This would be a lot of fun to have the kids help out with and after the pizza has cooled …read more

These are soo good, especially if you like a good chocolate and orange combo! I used Oreo’s for the chocolate wafer cookies (cream scraped out).
Giada’s Orange and Chocolate Cheesecakes
1/3 cup finely crushed chocolate wafers
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
1 orange, zested
1 egg
Butter, for greasing
Special equipment: mini muffin tin
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the crushed chocolate wafers and the melted butter. Place a tightly packed teaspoon of the wafer mixture into each mini-muffin cup and press down firmly.
In a food processor combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 1/4 cup …read more

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen Giada De Laurentiis make this on Everyday Italian. Hazelnuts aren’t the easiest thing in the world to find but any natural/health food store with a bulk nut section should have them.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 store bought frozen pie crust, defrosted
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, …read more