Recipe of the week: Dark Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I've been making these cookies for several years now and they are always a hit.  I adapted the recipe from a Martha Stewart recipe....she used unsalted butter, then added salt, which I always think is silly.  She also used corn syrup for the chocolate ganache which I think is unacceptable, you don't need to use corn syrup ever to make something delicious.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

INGREDIENTS:
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) butter, divided
½ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups unbleached flour
2 ounces semisweet chocolate (about 1/4 cup)


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together 1 stick of the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high.  Using a small cookie scoop or heaping teaspoons, roll the dough into balls, and place 1-inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and make an indentation into the middle of each cookie. Return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Combine chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter Set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted and smooth.) Allow to cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1994/1995)

Recipe of the week: Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha

I'm a fan of most things sweet and salty.  Dark chocolate covered pretzels, dark chocolate with sea salt, salted caramel hot chocolate, fleur de sel caramel, kettle corn...you get the picture.  I'm sure it goes back to going to the drive in when I was a kid and having popcorn and Milk-duds.  My tastes are a little more sophisticated now, I mostly eat dark chocolate, the darker the better.

I don't go out for coffee very often but when I do I like the salted caramel mocha from Starbucks, I don't however like the calories or how much sugar is in it (47 grams in a tall!), even if you only do 1 pump of each flavor it's still a lot of sugar.  I've made this several times, without the coffee, you've salted caramel hot cocoa, which my girls love.  This is for one serving, when I'm making more I just double or triple everything.  Start out with a little bit of sugar and salt and adjust to your taste, you might like it saltier or sweeter.  Sometimes instead of adding more sugar I'll use some stevia once I've poured in the coffee.  You don't have to use sugar, you could use maple syrup or agave.  You can also use your choice of milk, I've made it with 2% and I've made it with almond milk, both were delicious.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

Salted Caramel Mocha

1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-4 tsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
dash of salt
coffee

Brew your coffee as you normally would.  In a sauce pan melt butter, add vanilla, stir with a whisk and add sugar.  Once combined add milk and dash of salt.  Add cocoa and whisk until completely combined, taste and adjust salt and sugar.  Pour into mug, add coffee and enjoy!

Recipe of the week: S'more Cupcakes

I love s'mores, they are hands down one of my favorite desserts.  I've looked and looked for a recipe and couldn't find one that I liked, so I had to improvise.  Last year I had dinner at a restaurant in Los Angeles called The Six, they had a very rich version of a s'more and I wanted something along those lines, not your typical milk chocolate thing, so this is what I came up with.  

The taste is every thing you remember from the campfire, only without the campfire and a tiny bit more sophisticated.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

S'more cupcakes

Graham cracker crust (base)

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used Trader Joe's honey graham crackers)

Cupcakes

You can use any chocolate cupcake recipe or boxed mix you like this is my favorite recipe.  I didn't have any  unsweetened chocolate, and I try to use what I have so I used 3 oz (approx 1/2 cup) dark chocolate chips and added 2 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder.  Since you have the graham cracker crust you have to fill them a little less, you can probably make a few more, I think I made an extra three, just fill the empty spaces with water so they still bake even.  Bake as directed or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the top:

I wanted to use what I had, which was large marshmallows, more chocolate and the left over graham cracker crust.  So instead of letting them cool, I cut the marshmallows in half, the first time I tried it I used 2 and 1/2 marshmallows which was too many because they slid off in the oven....second time around I used 1 1/2.  Put them back in the oven, set to broil and watch them closely.  I think mine took all of 4 minutes until they were golden brown.  While they're in the oven melt another 1/4 cup of dark chocolate (about 45 seconds in the mircrowave).  Once they're out, drizzle with about 1 tsp of the melted chocolate and top with a little bit of the leftover graham cracker crumbs.  Let cool for at least 30 minutes.  Voila, s'more cupcakes.  Enjoy!  I took them to a Fourth of July party and they were a hit!!!

This was attempt #1 with more marshmallows, I said I needed to work on the presentation....both were equally yummy so as always, play with your food, and let me know what you think!

Recipe of the week: Healthier "Chunky Monkey"

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted a recipe.  It's been way too hot to cook, so I've been making lots of salads.  I think I've turned the oven on a few times to make sweet potato fries and once for cookies this summer.   It's September and it's still in the high 80's to low 90's here.

On another note, I've been tweaking my diet a bit.  Trying to eat less gluten, dairy, sugar etc.  Last night a friend and I were talking about ice cream and my favorite is Ben and Jerry's....pretty much any flavor will work, some I'm more fond of than others, one of those in Chunky Monkey.  I had some bananas that I'd frozen for smoothies, but no one has used them, so I thought I'd make ice cream out of them.  This is what I came up with. (This is dairy and gluten free so it's Paleo friendly and Vegan)  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

4 large frozen bananas
6 Tbsp unsweetened coconut milk (I got mine at Trader Joe's)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts chopped (I left some whole)
1-2 oz dark chocolate (I used 72%)
pinch of salt

The only thing you need for this is a food processor.  You may have to do small batches depending on the size of your food processor.   Put the frozen bananas in, add the coconut milk one tablespoon at a time, add the vanilla.  (You could also use bananas that aren't frozen and then freeze the mixture later).  Once you have a creamy mixture spoon into a freezer proof bowl.  Add the walnuts, salt and dark chocolate, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until the texture resembles ice cream.  Enjoy!

Recipe of the week: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I don't eat a lot of sugar these days, but once in a while I want something sweet.  I like cupcakes but I think that boxed cake and canned frosting is gross.  Once you've had cake and frosting from scratch you won't ever want the boxed/canned stuff again.  My philosophy is that if you're eating healthy 80% of the time, then a little chocolate and sugar won't hurt from time to time.  I hope you enjoy this.  A Votre Sante!

For the cupcakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the flour and the baking soda in a bowl and set aside.  In a double boiler melt the chocolate over low heat.  In a large bowl, or stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, add one egg at a time, mixing well.  Add melted chocolate and vanilla.  Add half the dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk, repeat, until the batter is smooth but not overmixed.  Spoon batter into 12 cupcake liners.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for at least 20 minutes before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

6 Tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp milk

Cream butter, add sugar, cocoa and vanilla to the butter.  Add milk to the butter mixture. Slowly add milk one tablespoon at a time until you have the desired consistency.  Enjoy!

Recipe of the week: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Last summer I had several people give me zucchinis out of their garden, I love zucchini bread and thought what if I added chocolate? Because we all know everything is better with chocolate.  This is what I came up with  .My favorite way to eat this is with a little cream cheese    Let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix well. In separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into loaf pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

Recipe of the week: Banana Bread

I've been making this recipe for years but I think I perfected it when I was baking for the coffee bar at church (which sadly I'm not doing anymore). I almost always double it but this is for a single loaf. For the flour I use 1 cup of whole wheat and 1/2 cup of unbleached, but you can use all unbleached or all whole wheat. I never use all purpose in anything. I also always use non-aluminum baking powder. We like walnuts but you can try pecans. I've even added dark chocolate chips, the kids loved it, kinda like Chunky Monkey ice-cream in bread. Let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!

Banana Bread

1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center and add bananas, oil and egg. Mix until combined, add nuts. Spray loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and fold in batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

Recipe of the week: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I made this a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty good. I got the original recipe from The Flat Belly Diet website. (Which in my opinion is a great resource). As usual I've done some tweaking, I added the cocoa powder and the walnuts and flaxseed and reduced the amount of chocolate chips. I think bittersweet chocolate is better than semisweet, it has a higher cocoa percentage and is less sweet, so it makes it seem more decadent. (I use Ghirardelli 60%)  Let me know what you think. A Vorte Sante!


Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1 & 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c cocoa powder
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/3 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 c shredded zucchini
2 c bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c flaxseed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 11" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cocoa and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Whisk in the zucchini and 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips, walnuts and flaxseed. Stir into the flour mixture just until blended. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups chips over the cake. Spread with a small spatula as they melt to form an icing, placing back into the warm oven, if needed, for about 1 minute. Makes about 12 servings. Enjoy.

Recipe of the week: Scones

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd post a recipe for something chocolate. These scones are very easy to make and very yummy. If you don't like chocolate you can use cranberries or blueberries or you can even make them plain. I've tried this recipe several different ways and they've all been good. Let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!

Scones


2 cups unbleached flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar plus 2/3 Tbsp
1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup half and half
3 Tbsp unsalted melted butter

Preheat oven to 425.

In a large bowl mix together: flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Toss with fork. Mix in 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Pour in half and half and mix with fork. The dough will be fairly sticky. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 times, drop onto cookie sheet - brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 2/3 Tbsp sugar. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes (until the tops are golden brown). Makes about 12.

Melt the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and drizzle over the top. Enjoy!