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

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

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

This week’s chocolate link round-up includes a few non-traditional ways to serve chocolate. From a delicious chocolate dipping sauce to a chocolate chip cheese ball and even chocolate fudge that’s not even made with chocolate, it was a lot of fun bookmarking these!

~ Pumpkin Spice Truffles (above) from Evil Mad Scientist
~ Chocolate Chip Cheeseball at Mommy’s Kitchen
~ Famous Fudge from This Week For Dinner
~ Chocolate Caramel Dip at Life’s Ambrosia
~ Chocolate-Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Bites from A Bird in the Kitchen
~ Faux Chocolate Fudge at Diet, Dessert and Dogs
~ Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mousse Pie from Bella Eats
~ White Chocolate …read more

I’ve been on a baking kick for the last week or so. I really look forward to the time of year when we’ve got the windows thrown open with a cool breeze blowing through — that way I don’t feel like it’s a chore to be in the kitchen with a warm oven! Below are a few chocolaty links I’ve gathered from some of my favorite blogs over the last week!

~ Chocolate Swirl Banana Cake from My Adventures in Food
~ Hot Chocolate Loaf Cake at Culinary Concoctions
~ Snicker’s Bar Pie from The Recipe Girl
~ Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti at Bite Size …read more

I’ve been so giddy this week — our summer heat has finally broken and I’ve fired up the oven several times already to make some warm, yummy comfort food for my family, which includes cookies and brownies, of course!

During the summer I try to stick with treats that don’t require baking because the oven is just one more thing to heat up the house, but when fall hits the combination of baking chocolate and a warm kitchen can’t be beat.
~ Upside-down Pear Chocolate Cake at Project Foodie
~ Self-Saucing Chocolate Coffee Puddings with Vanilla Custard Cream from Mowielicious
~ Pumpkin and …read more

Today, September 23rd, is National White Chocolate Day. Though not a holiday in the sense that it’s not observed or, well, even recognized as a real holiday, it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with it!

White chocolate, which is actually a recent “invention” by Nestle created to use up excess cocoa butter, is a good addition to many baked goods, though it was first introduced as a confection. It hit the U.S. in 1948 when Nestle unveiled its Alpine White Chocolate bar, which contained white chocolate and almonds. (Am I the only one who can’t get this jingle out …read more

This week’s link roundup finds a lot of my usual blog reads getting into gear for autumn.
Lots of brownies, cookies and cupcakes means a lot of oven time and a sweet-smelling house! And make sure you check out the chocolate recipes involving avocado, blueberries and the vegan cookies and cake.
~ Chocolate Orange Cheesecake Brownies at Culinary Travels of a Culinary Goddess
~ Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Novel Eats
~ Blueberry Nutella Tiramisu at Let’s Get Stupid Together
~ Olive Oil Pancakes with Chocolate Chips from Croce and Delizia
~ Homemade Granola Bars with Chocolate Chips at For the Love of Cooking
~ No …read more

With the end of summer upon us and the official start of fall just over a week away, a lot of recipes and dishes showing up in food blogs are reflecting the change of season. Being that it’s my favorite time of year, and one I especially look forward to when the summer heat is bearing down relentlessly, I always get a kick out of seeing what others are doing to recognize and even celebrate the cooler days ahead.

~ End of Summer S’more Cupcakes at My Recession Kitchen
~ Mini Chocolate-Orange Poundcakes from Peanut Butter and Julie
~ Nutella Peanut Butter Pillows …read more

There are some holidays that you just can’t incorporate chocolate into easily. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween — those are easy. But holidays like Labor Day or Memorial Day don’t usually have big displays of candy set up for them at the grocery store, which isn’t such a bad thing, it just means you get to be creative and come up with your own way to celebrate if you need that chocolate fix after a big barbecue!

My ideal way to celebrate a holiday on the brink of or middle of summer is to not turn on the oven, but since that’s …read more