Chocolate mousse always reminds me of the holiday season. Though I didn’t get it as a child, my first experience with it as an adult was just before Christmas and it’s an association that’s stuck!

This recipe comes from Edhat.com, and is the perfect adult treat for a get-together or an evening at home. Top with a little whipped cream and some chocolate shavings for a fancier presentation.
Bourbon Chocolate Mousse
Half-cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
4 large egg whites at room temperature
Pinch of table salt
~ Chill 4 ramekins.
~ Boil …read more

This week’s chocolate zen is a brownie that looks beyond amazing.
It’s from flickr user hfb and is a “chocolate brownie topped with chocolate mousse and a black currant gelee.”

Williams-Sonoma has a ton of delicious-looking treats currently on sale!
If you don’t have a W-S close by you can easily order online as well. We’ve got one in the next city over (that I know of), but this is not a weekend I feel like venturing out. Not to mention I’d probably get so distracted by everything else in there that I’d forget what I went in for.
Just look at the Chocolate Peppermint Gâteau, Five-Layer Mousse Cake, and Recchiuti Chocolate Apple Slices. I still have a week until the diet starts, right?
[heads-up from cybele; image: williams-sonoma.com]

What could be better than coffee served in a chocolate mug? The mug above apparently held some Bailey’s coffee mousse, and the spoon and little bean are both chocolate as well.
This yummy-looking picture is from flickr user diongillard.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Mousse
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
5 tablespoons boiling water
4 eggs, separated
Grind chocolate chips in a blender, using short pulses. Add boiling water and blend to melt the chocolate. Add egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture gently. Pour the mousse into serving glasses and chill in refrigerator until set. Makes about 7 servings