I love watching how other people prepare things, the ingredients they use, and let’s face it, I’m easily charmed by cute commentary!

These chocolate chip cookies have been proclaimed as the best by their maker. Decide for yourself!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick regular Crisco (or 1 cup Crisco)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs (large or jumbo)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups all-purpose flour

~ Mix the Crisco and white sugar together with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes till creamed together.

~ Add the salt, baking soda, eggs and brown sugar. Mix again on medium for 1 minute or until incorporated.

~ Add the flour and mix with the mixer until both cups are incorporated.

~ Stir in an entire bag of semi-sweet chips by hand.

~ Roll into balls larger than golf ball size, but smaller than a small lemon, about six should fit on one cookie sheet at a time. Leave room because they get big.

~ Bake at 345 for 14-14.5 minutes.

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This series of videos by professional party caterer Lauren Taylor show the step by step process of making chocolate truffles at home. They’re really very easy to do, and the variations — from coatings to fillings — are practically endless.

In the second part, she talks about the importance of choosing the right chocolate for truffle making. I do agree that you get what you pay for, and typically, more expensive chocolate will be better (not always, but it’s a safer bet than buying a bag of Hershey’s, in my not so humble opinion!).

Though the videos are a big long-winded and really could have been condensed down to one, they’re pretty useful for anyone who prefers to see something done in steps before attempting it themselves.

~ Part three: Ingredients for Chocolate Truffles
~ Part four: Melting Ingredients for Chocolate Truffles
~ Part five: Shave Chocolate for Truffles
~ Part six: Melting Chocolate for Truffles
~ Part seven: Melt Chocolate Ganache in a Double Boiler
~ Part eight: Cooling the Chocolate Truffle Ingredients
~ Part nine: Rolling Chocolate for Truffles
~ Part ten: Serving tips

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First, why had it never crossed my mind to add chocolate to snickerdoodles? (This must be remedied immediately.) Second, not only is chocolate added to the sugar-cookie-y snickerdoodles, but she also adds cayenne for the Mexican hot chocolate kick, and then manages to make the whole thing vegan by using almond milk and no eggs!

After doing a little more digging I’ve come to find that this is an original recipe from Isa, and only available in her cookbook, “Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar,” which is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. And even though our diet isn’t vegan (or even vegetarian) I’ve added this cookbook to my wishlist! (Also: cupcakes!)

[image: amazon]

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This video is from a news station in Wisconsin that featured a segment with pastry chef Lindsay Brooks. Her recipe is a silky chocolate mousse with chipotle caramel sauce, and as soon as I find some chipotle powder I’m making this for my husband!

Lindsay managed to come up with a chocolate mousse that is both sugar- and egg-free, but her version does contain dark rum and espresso.

Silky Chocolate Mousse

1 3/4 cups whipping cream
12 ounces dark chocolate pieces
3 ounces espresso
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon gelatin

~ Melt chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, cool.

~ Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup whipping cream. Allow gelatin to bloom for 10 minutes. Microwave cream mixture until warm and gelatin dissolved. Stir into cooled chocolate.

~ Beat remaining whipping cream to medium peaks. Carefully fold in the cream into chocolate mixture. Do not over work the mousse.

~ Spoon into bowls or martini glasses and chill for at least 1 hour.

Chipotle Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder

~ Bring sugar and water to a boil and allow to cook until sugar turns amber color. Remove from heat and stir in cream and chipotle powder. Serve at room temperature.

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Chocolatier Max Brenner joined Paula for the episode of Paula’s Best Dishes, and though pecan pie is usually too rich for me this is one I might have a hard time pushing away from! Paula adds about four ounces of chopped chocolate and a couple tablespoons of bourbon as well.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
from Paula Deen

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
2 cups pecan halves
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover bottom of pie crust with pecans.

~ In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar, bourbon and the chopped chocolate. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into the pie shell over the pecans and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet.

~ Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

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Southern Chocolate Cupcakes

6 oz semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup butter
8 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~ Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave and mix until combined; set to the side to cool.

~ Separate egg yolks from egg whites, and divide the whites into two separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks until thickened and add half the sugar.

~ Alternate adding milk and dry ingredients, mixing until combined. Add cooled chocolate and butter mixture.

~ Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

~ In a separate bowl, beat 4 egg whites and the remaining half of the sugar until light and fluffy and stiff peaks form.

~ Gently fold in egg whites into the chocolate cake batter.

~ Fill prepared cupcake liners approximately 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from tins and let cool on a wire rack.

~ Frost with your favorite frosting.

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In the Youtube information for the video, her son says:

“Her chocolate fudge recipe was a family favorite so we made this video of her preparing it in her kitchen. In addition, Jeanne was an avid photographer and owned some of the early VHS video equipment including one of the first portable “camcorders.” She thoroughly enjoyed making this video and we’re happy to share it with anyone interested. Even 12 years after her passing, we all miss her greatly! Although she never lived to see “YouTube” videos, we’re sure she would have loved to have seen the use of this technology in action.”

The recipe Jeanne used was from a copy of Better Homes and Gardens. She says that as a teenager she and her friends would try to make fudge but could never get it to turn out quite right, until she found the magazine clipping years later.

The recipe uses 2 cups of granulated sugar, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, and a pinch of salt.

She then mixes everything together in a two-quart saucepan and a wooden spoon over medium heat until boiling.

Part two picks up after the fudge has had a chance to warm up a bit on the stove to 234 degrees, and part three finishes the series off with completed fudge!

She adds two tablespoons of butter to the fudge after moving the pan off the stove. She stresses not moving the pan at all, and not mixing or disturbing the fudge until after it’s cooled considerably, about an hour. She then adds a teaspoon of vanilla extract and begins beating the fudge in the pan until it loses its shine.

Can you imagine having a video like this with a loved one who’s passed? I wish I had recorded my grandpa when he’d make his fudge — maybe then I’d be able to get it just right like he did!

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This video and recipe for Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte are from Hippie Chick Bakery. They recommend using organic, unrefined ingredients if you can find them.

Brownie Shell

3/4 C flour
1/4 C cocoa powder
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp baking powder
3/4 C soy milk
2 1/2 TBSP apple sauce

~ Preheat oven 325. lightly grease 9″ spring form or cake pan, or just line bottom with parchment for ease.

~ Mix flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda & powder then add soymilk & applesauce. Combine.

~ Pour in pan and bake for 40 min. Don’t worry if edges seem dry, they will moisten when covered with ganache.

Peanut Butter Filling

5 Tb vegan margarine, softened
1 1/2 C confectioners sugar
1 C smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-5 Tb soymilk

~ Cream together butter & peanut butter. Add vanilla. Add sugar in 1/2 C increments adding soymilk a little at a time until desired consistency.

~ Spread peanut butter filling on cooled cake and spread to edges. If a thicker consistency is desired, flatten to desired shape on wax paper then transfer to cake.

Ganache

3/4 C soymilk [minus a couple tablespoons if using a 10 oz bag of chips]
1/4 C vegan margarine
1 10-12 oz bag chocolate chips

~ Microwave soymilk & margarine for two minutes. Pour in chips, stir until completely blended. Pour over top of peanut butter on cake and spread. Let cool or refrigerate and serve.

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This video from HolidayKitchen demonstrates how to make a Chocolate Pecan Pie, which is a twist on the traditional version that I can really get behind!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
3 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups pecan halves

Combine eggs, sugar and corn syrup and mix for one minute. Add melted chocolate and beat for one more minute. Add pecan halves and stir until just combined. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

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The video is clever and very cute! It features a delicious-looking selection of truffles and covered chocolates, as well as nuts and candies as they go from little slabs of chocolate to hand-dipped and sprinkled confections.

My Chocolate is a London workshop where you can cut, dip and decorate your own chocolate treats, and they’ll even bring the chocolate to you. Someone needs to get on this stat and bring it to the US!

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