Love and Chocolate

 

Love and chocolate!  A dynamic duo that fits all types of love and all types of chocolate.  And while I may not be able to make any promises about your love prospects (I'm sure they're fabulous, by the way!), I can promise you all the scrumptious chocolate eats that your heart and palette can hold.

So if you’re looking to make your Valentine’s Day a little sweeter, then I’ve got seven ways to make that happen in this roundup of my favorite chocolate recipes I've shared here over the years.

Choose one (or more) to express your love to those who are special to you and enjoy all the delicious goodness and good vibes that result. From morning to night, and all in between, these sweet treats are the perfect indulgence.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Hazelnut Bark

Chocolate Croissants

Chocolate Chip and Sea Salt Cookies

Chocolate Sorbet

Raspberry-Topped Chocolate Cake

Here’s to love, chocolate, and Happy Eating!

Lemon-Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches

It's been quiet on the blog for a little while now, so I couldn't wait to get back to it after returning from my recent vacation in Cancun.  It was everything a beach getaway should be: relaxing, indulgent, restorative, and all around good for the spirit, soul and body. 

Back home now, I've been more eager than usual to share some Summer-worthy goodness with you. I mean, when you're flooded with inspiration from every side, it's all but self-torture to keep calm and do nothing. :)  So, to my kitchen I went--and I'm so thrilled to be back and sharing this fancy little ice cream sandwich recipe that I happened upon.

Like the best ice cream sandwiches, it starts with homemade cookies.  But not just any cookies.  These cookies are brightly accented with lemon, and coupled with kicks of cinnamon and ginger, for the perfect citrus-spice mix.  The ease of bringing them together and assembling is the cream on top (or shall I say in the middle)--and they deserve a whirl in your ice cream repertoire during Summer--and beyond.

Happy Eating!

Lemon-Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons juice
2 large eggs
2 pints ice cream, softened

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 10-x-15 in. rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment; butter parchment.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  In another bowl, whisk together butter, molasses, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and eggs.  Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until smooth.  Spread batter evenly in prepared sheet.  

Bake until cake is dry to the touch and edges begin to pull away from sheet, 12 to 14 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Loosen edges with a knife; flip out of sheet.  Remove parchment; flip top-side up onto a wire rack.  Let cool completely.

Transfer cake to a work surface; cut in half crosswise.  Place one half top-side down on a  piece of plastic wrap.  Beat ice cream until malleable, then spread over cake in a 1-inch-thick layer (go all the way to the edges).  Top with second half of cake, top-side up.  Wrap in plastic and freeze at least 8 hours and up to 1 week.  Use a serrated knife to trim edges and cut into 1 1/4-by-3-inch pieces.  Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic and freeze for up to 1 week.  Enjoy! 

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Living 
  

Hazelnut and Cranberry Biscotti

The holiday season and baking go hand-in-hand.  I started baking (and catering) quite a bit during this time of year several years ago, and it has never gone out of style.  It's a wonderful time of year, indeed, for creating and sharing delicious, festive bites like Biscotti.  

Biscotti means "twice-baked" in Italian and the technique of baking them twice yields the crunchy, delectable cookie we all know and love.  Toasted hazelnuts, dried cranberries and orange zest combine to form a truly scrumptious cookie that's perfect for breakfast (dunking in coffee and tea, preferred -:)), snacking, or as a light dessert course.  

However you decide to indulge, you're sure to enjoy this sweet creation and loads of...Happy Eating! 

Hazelnut and Cranberry Biscotti
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  If still in the skin, remove the skin, chop and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale yellow.  Add the sugar and continue beating to combine.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well on low speed after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla on low speed until blended.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix on low speed.  Mix or stir in the hazelnuts, cranberries, and orange zest until evenly distributed.  The batter should be very soft.

Turn the batter out onto a generously floured work surface and divide in half.  With well-floured hands, transfer one-half onto a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick.  Place on one side of the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining batter, leaving at least 4 inches between the logs.  (They'll spread as they bake.)

Bake the logs until the edges are golden, about 25-30 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the logs cool for 10 minutes.  Using a serrated knife, cut the logs, still on the pan, on the diagonal into slices 1/2 wide.  Carefully turn the slices on their sides and return them to the oven.  (If you run out of room, use an additional baking sheet.)

Bake until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes longer.  Let cool completely on the pans on wire racks.  Store in an airtight container.
Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma 

Savory Thyme-Parmesan Cookies

Over the weekend I dropped into one of my favorite stores for everything girly, girl, Anthropologie.  As these things usually happen, I saw (and couldn't resist) adorable little 'extras' like this that I love to bring into my kitchen.  One of my favorites, however, was a clever cookie stamp, replete with a fun recipe and message that resonates through all of my cooking: Made With Love.  And I was sold (again!).  

Rather than the sweet cookie variety (that we all love), the recipe serves up a savory, crispy cookie-cracker of sorts that's perfect for serving as an appetizer or paired with either fruit, cheese, fondue, or along with a great sip.  To add a bit more savory flair, I tossed in some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and within the hour I had homemade crackers for the noshing.

Happy Eating!

Savory Thyme-Parmesan Cookies 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter, semi-cold
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Method:
Combine flour, butter, salt and cheese in a bowl.  Mix quickly with your hands, adding drops of ice water as you go to bring the dough together and make it smooth.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, cut out the cookies (and stamp them if using a cookie stamp).  Bake the cookies for 25 minutes in the pre-heated oven and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Yvette Van Boven, Copyright 2013
   
  

The Perfect Mix: Chocolate Chip and Sea Salt Cookies

The mix of sweet and salty flavors is about as close to perfection as you can get.  And it has become one of my favorite flavor profiles for everything from brownies to caramels, ice cream, cookies and more.

In fact, I decided to elevate this classic recipe for chocolate chip cookies by adding my favorite sea salt, Fleur de Sel, which adds a perfectly salty under note that lingers on your tongue--in a very good way.  Each time I've baked a batch over the last year, I've made them this way--and there's no turning back.  Scrumptiously sweet and salty, chocolate chips and sea salt, have become the new standard.  And it's the perfect mix!

Enjoy and tell me what are some of your favorite flavor combinations in the comments section below.

Happy Eating!

Chocolate Chip and Sea Salt Cookies

Ingredients: 
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (or other sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.   

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow, using an electric mixer.  Add the granulated and brown sugars and continue beating until the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your fingers.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended.  (Remember to scrape down the the sides of the mixing bowl, as needed.)

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until blended.  Add the chocolate chips, mixing or stirring until just blended.

Using a small ice cream scooper, or a rounded tablespoon, scoop and drop the dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.  When done, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with more fleur de sel.  Let the cookies cool briefly on the baking pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.  Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma
       

 

 

Link Love: A Southern Living Summer

While visiting my mom for Mother's Day weekend, I indulged in my usual habit of leafing through her decor and lifestyle magazines.  At some point along the way, I landed on a Southern Living issue that seemed to transport me right into the middle of Summer -- a scrumptious, mouth-watering, refreshing Summer to be exact.  

It's true that we eat with our eyes first. (At least that's true for me.)  And page after page presented recipes that spawned an inner excitement followed by the exclamation, "Oooh, I'm going to make that!"  It's the raw inspiration that keeps me excited about the joys of cooking and eating.

To make sure I could follow through on my new found excitement, I asked my mom if I could "borrow" her magazine and bring it home with me. :)  She graciously obliged and as the days of Summer unfold, I look forward to making many of the vibrant dishes that will make this one of the tastiest seasons yet.

While I have my mom's August 2012 hard copy edition on hand, I wanted to share the love with these links to some of my favorite recipes from that issue via SouthernLiving.com.

Here's to a Summer of Happy Eating...Southern Living Style!

Sip:
Iced Hibiscus Sweet Tea 

Nibble:
Chipotle Shrimp Cocktail 

Grilled Watermelon with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto 

Salad:
Three Sisters Salad

Main Dish:
Chicken Enchiladas 

Beef-and-Watermelon Stir-Fry

Sweets:
Icebox Butter Cookies

Mexican Chocolate Ice-cream Pie

Photo Credit