Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover's Brownies

    Well......the obsession continues!!  The combo of chocolate and peanut butter, especially in the form of "Reeses Peanut Butter Cups", is always a winner around here.  So, when I saw this brownie recipe, containing semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, peanut butter, milk chocolate, Aaaand peanut butter cups........well, the Valentine's Day treat for this year was obvious!!

Holiday Peppermint Fudge

        Remember when you were in grade school and time went by so slowly? Christmas break and summer vacation seemed to go on forever!  Well, not anymore, folks!  Christmas is almost here!!!  I can hardly believe there's only about a week left until the big day!

    The tree is up and the house is decorated, but the real baking has yet to begin.  I've just started with a couple of candy treats.  My well-loved, Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, have already made their way back home with our oldest son, visiting from Seattle.  More are to be made and, hopefully, sent off to another son in Sarasota.

    Now, I've shared with you my family's love of anything containing peanut butter and chocolate, but ........have I mentioned that I also have a bit of "a thing" for the combination of chocolate and mint??  So, you'll understand my desire to share this rich and yummy Holiday Peppermint Fudge!!

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake

    So, have I ever mentioned my slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint??  Well........I have a  slight obsession with anything chocolate and mint.  There, I said it.  I feel better.  Now, let me tell you what I decided to do for my birthday this year.  I decided to bake myself a birthday cake!  But, not just any birthday cake.....a Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cake!!  This delicious dessert has a layer of scrumptious peppermint cheesecake, sandwiched between two layers of dark chocolate cake.  And to top it all off...a generous coating of peppermint  frosting!!  I had seen this recipe on another food blog called Shugary Sweets. (With that name, you know I had to check it out....and Aimee, the writer of that blog, did not disappoint.)  I had every intention of making it over the Christmas holiday, but I just never got to it.  I still had some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses and a couple of the bars in my cupboard, just waiting to be eaten, so...... the choice was clear!  After a couple adjustments, this would become the cake for my special day!

Chocolate-Espresso Snowballs

    So, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but........I love the snow!  I just love to watch it falling outside my window, especially if I'm inside baking Christmas cookies!  Now, if there are kids around, snow usually means.....snowballs.  And, that is why these are the perfect cookies to share with you today......that and the fact that they are delicious!!   Flavored with cocoa and espresso powder, laced with finely chopped pecans, and covered with a dusting of snowy white powdered sugar.....all I can say is YUM!!  Give these a try, and see if they don't become a regular on your Christmas cookie baking list.

Chocolate Macaroon Brownies

    Well, here we are.....the last day of February and the last chocolate dessert recipe (for now).  To end the month I had to give you something intensely chocolatey and decadent.  These brownies are exactly that!  The brownie and frosting are VERY CHOCOLATEY and the filling is RICH and COCONUTTY!!  If you like Mounds bars, you'll love these!

Chocolate Anise Biscotti

    Well, I'm moving right along here in this month of chocolate desserts.  Today is Dessert #6!  One week left to indulge my chocolate cravings.........then, back to that wonderful place called balance and moderation, and I don't think it will come a moment too soon!  (Feelin' a little chubby today)

    But, for now........for one more week.......I'll do my best to bring you delicious chocolate goodies.  And these biscotti fit the bill.  They have just the right amount of crunch and I absolutely love the anise flavor in combination with the chocolate!  (Actually, I love the flavor of anise, period!)  If you're unfamiliar with anise/aniseed, it's a flowering plant that comes from the eastern Mediterranean region and also from southwest Asia.  Its flavor is similar to fennel (LOVE!!!) or liquorice.  If you've never tried it, this is the time!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Frosting

    O.K. friends......the object of this post is not to share a complicated or extravagant recipe with you, but instead, to share a very simple, yet delicious cake that has always been one of my family's favorite birthday cakes.....nothing fancy, just plain chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness!  By now, I'm sure you know how popular that combo is around here!
    I found this recipe on the back of a Hershey's cocoa tin years ago, tweaked the frosting a bit, and have been making it ever since.  Our next to the youngest son, Brady, turned 15 today (I really can't believe it!!).  And, although there are plenty of other cakes I could make for such an occasion, this is the one he wanted.  So.....this is the one he got!  And, I have to say, simple as it was, it was yummy!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffles for Valentine's Day!

    So, it's Valentine's Day....the "day of LOVE" !  What could be better to share with your sweetie than some delicious and decadent chocolate truffles?  Pure chocolate goodness rolled into little balls and dipped in more chocolate!   And these are so easy to make!  You only need three ingredients!  THREE!  (Well, four , if you count the second kind of chocolate.) You just need a little bit of time to let the chocolate set up.....then they're ready to wrap up for a nice little gift for the kids or a friend or, like I mentioned, to share with your "special someone".

Fudge Brownie Marble Sundae Cheesecake

    Hello again to all you chocolate lovers!  Here's February's chocolate dessert #3! 

    Since yesterday was my birthday, I wanted to share some of the celebration with all of you.  I don't usually bake myself a birthday cake, but I thought, since I'd promised chocolate desserts this month, I would make something special that I could share.

    This is really like having two desserts in one......a dense, chocolate brownie layer on the bottom and a chocolate-swirled cheesecake layer on the top.......a fun dessert for a birthday party, I think.  This is a recipe I put together years ago when I had a small cheesecake business in New York.  The brownie crust is a slightly adapted recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Cookies Cookbook and the cheesecake part is just a basic cheesecake filling with some chocolate, melted and swirled through.

Groundhog Cake for Groundhog Day!!

    Happy Groundhog Day everyone!  I guess old Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow so, according to this "expert", we can look forward to an early spring.  Well, that remains to be seen.  For now, let's just celebrate with a nice piece of cake! 
    First of all, let me say that I have absolutely no idea why this cake is called "Groundhog Cake".  I came across the recipe years ago on the Food Network.  The original recipe was a loaf cake, baked in a 9x13" pan.  I decided I wanted to make it a little more special, so I baked it as a layer cake and added some chocolate ganache underneath the espresso frosting.  The cake has a bit of a chewy texture from oatmeal that's baked in the batter.  And the espresso frosting, well....what can I say.  It's the same frosting I use on my Italian Espresso, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Brownies.  FANTASTIC!!!  It tastes like espresso fudge!!
So, friends, here's the first chocolate dessert for February.  ENJOY!!

February......It's such a "SWEET" month !!!

    Wow guys, do you believe it's February already?  Now the days will start to get longer.....YAY!.....and before you know it, we'll start to see signs of spring!  ( I might be pushin' it a little.)  Now, don't get me wrong....I've loved some of the blustery, snowy days we've had recently.  It reminds me of home!  Actually, this is nothin' compared to what we used to get in upstate N.Y.  The lake effect snow from Lake Ontario could really pack a punch!!  But, honestly, I liked that it made everything sort of slow down a bit.  I liked that you saw all your neighbors outside, doing the same thing........shoveling themselves out!  We're talking 5-6' snowbanks folks!!  But it gave everyone an excuse, if they needed one, to stay inside, all cozy and warm, and relax with their family (after the shoveling was done, of course).
   
    O.K., enough of my reminiscing; on to my plans for February.  This is quite a special and celebratory month, at least at my house.  You may not get too excited about the presidents' birthdays, but since I happen to share mine with old Abe Lincoln, the 12th is kind of special to me.  My next to youngest son, Brady, was born on the 17th, so obviously that demands a celebration.  And, let's not forget the 14th...... Valentine's Day..... the day of LOVE!!

    As I thought about this month and all of its "specialness", I thought....how could my posts this month express that "specialness"?  How could they express the celebration and love that's in the air?  Well, how about a month of DESSERTS? And since, as I've mentioned in a previous post, I have a deep and long-standing relationship with chocolate, how about all chocolate desserts?  Makes perfect sense to me!  I mean, what's one of the best ways you can celebrate a birthday.....yours or someone else's?.....eat Chocolate.  And ....Valentine's Day?.....well, it goes without saying......eat Chocolate!  So, that settles it!  In all of February's posts I will share Chocolate Dessert Recipes.  ( I'm getting excited just thinking about it! )  I hope you'll be stopping by to share in the celebration and get in on the goodies.  I'll do my best to mix it up a bit....cake, cookies, candy,etc. 

    Well, I'm gonna run now.  I'll leave you to imagine all the chocolatey goodness that's coming.  As for me......I've got to figure out how to step up the old work-out routine over the next few weeks!  See you soon!  

     

   

   

Double Dark Chocolate and Ginger Biscotti

    Biscotti have become quite popular in coffee shops these days.  They're the perfect little treat to have with your coffee or tea, mid-morning or late afternoon.  Actually, the Italian word for any cookie is "biscotto" with the plural being "biscotti".  Literally the word means "twice cooked/baked".  In the United States, when we think of biscotti, that's what we are thinking about....the cookies that are first baked in a loaf, then sliced and baked again to make them a little crunchy.  But true biscotti, like the ones made in Italy, are made with no fat besides the eggs, which makes them even crunchier.  Italians like to dip them in sweet wine.  I've never been much of a cookie dunker, but a glass of cold milk would be my beverage of choice!

Italian Espresso, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Brownies with Creamy Espresso Frosting

   
    I know, I know, another chocolate recipe .... and so soon.  Well, I might as well be honest.  Chocolate and I go way back ..... I mean, waaaaaay back.  And, as far as I can tell, the relationship isn't goin' south any time soon.  I think it will be making somewhat of a regular appearance on my little blog.  All in favor say "aye".  (can't imagine there would be any "nays".)
    These brownies are really decadent!  They're nice and thick and fudgey and are topped with a creamy espresso frosting.  The crunchy hazelnuts add a nice contrast of texture.  I just wouldn't eat these right before going to bed.  Between the chocolate and the espresso these pack a bit of a caffeine punch.  Maybe better for breakfast, huh? ( I probably shouldn't have said that, but I know a few family members that might like that idea.)

Fudge-Glazed Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

    Today's cake......not an Italian recipe......but sometimes a girl just has to have her chocolate, Italian or not! Throw some peanut butter in there and I'm a happy camper!  A chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter filling, chocolate ganache topping, and salted peanuts......I mean, come on......really.  This is scrumptious!  Did I mention that chocolate and peanut butter is one of my family's favorite combinations?  (As I type I'm actually munching on a chocolate and peanut butter protein bar.) 
    Anyway, I have so many recipes that have peanut butter and chocolate in them, but this is one I had cut out of an issue of the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue forever ago and hadn't tried yet.  As I was frantically searching for something to make that would quiet the chocolate cravings I came across this recipe and thought....Yes, this should do it!  So, here it is! I hope you'll try it. A big  little splurge now and then won't hurt, right?