Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter and Jam Cups

Happy Valentine's Day! While there are mixed opinions on the day, for me it's always been the best excuse to just indulge in chocolate. Of course.

Today's treat is just that. A chocolate peanut butter cup with the addition of tangy sweet raspberry jam to amp up the love. I gave these out to co-workers and of course my Valentine this year, and they were a big hit all around. What's not to love?

I use small candy cups, not just mini muffin baking cups, but smaller than that. I get mine from Sur la table, but I'm sure they can be found in any general baking store or crafting shop, as well as online.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter and Jam Cups

Ingredients

4 Ounces of good quality dark chocolate

2 ounces crunchy peanut butter

2 ounces raspberry jam

makes about 16 - 20 mini cups

Melt the chocolate either using a double boiler or microwave method. Add a small spoonful to the bottom of a baking cup, just enough to cover the bottom. Add a tiny dollop of peanut butter and jam, and flatten with the back of your spoon. Pour a layer of chocolate over the jam and peanut butter, enough to cover and lay flat. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens and enjoy!

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

I've never been a fan of frosting. Especially the overly sweet processed stuff that comes out of a can. I much prefer a cake that stands on it's own.

What I am a fan of is red wine and dark chocolate.

So when I realized I could combine red wine and chocolate and into a rich, moist cake that needs nothing more than a dusting of powdered sugar for effect, I was so in. With ingredients like this, and a recipe this simple, what's not to love? And why don't I make this more often?

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, sliced and room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup red wine

1 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Cream the butter and sugars in an electric mixer, adding eggs one at a time. Add the wine and vanilla. In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients with a whisk and then add slowly to the wet mixture on low speed until just combined. Pour the batter into the pan. It will be a little dense, so spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the center is done. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with strawberries and you've got yourself a Valentine's day dessert!

Les Macarons

Fears. We all have them. Many are exaggerated or irrational.. such as globophobia (the fear of balloons) or katsaridaphobia (fear of - ew - look it up if you have to, I can't even say what it is).

But none of my fears have been more irrational, more ridiculous and more worthy of conquering than my fear of making macarons.

I know. It's terrifying - the thought of making those perfect little pastries. What if they don't rise, what if they aren't light and airy, what if the ends don't crust up and give the wafers their distinct character?! There is so much room for failure.

But today, I tell you, there isn't! It's so much easier than it seems, and you TOO can conquer your fear of making macarons (as far as google tells me, there isn't a word for this condition yet, but do not worry, you are not alone)!

That's right my friends. Today, I liberate you from the emptiness you feel when you think of Paris, the envy you feel when you pass by your local patisserie (or four.. macarons are so trendy right now!) and look inside to see the delightful pastry perfectly executed inside.

Okay, so maybe your suffering doesn't exactly mirror mine..... but who cares! It's time to talk about cookies!

photo credit: urbanspoon.com

I first encountered the macaron in Paris. In a shop window, I distinctly remember walking by with my group of girls, and longingly gazing back at the filled wafer cookie. What was it? Why were there so many colors? How did they all look SO perfect? I will one day return to Paris and reunite with the birthplace of the cookie I have since learned so much about.

I often wondered about the macaron, as I later found out was the name for the elegant wafer filled with ganache, jam or curd. I needed to know more. Why didn't I just go inside?! Only a couple of years later, I began to notice macarons everywhere I went. Small gourmet food shops, pastry shops, literally everywhere. Well not, everywhere. Not to be confused with the American coconut macaroon, these are reserved for high end bakeries - for now. There is something special about the macaron, and an unlimited number of flavors and fillings to experiment with as I've learned.

Over Thanksgiving, I got to talking to Chris' mother, and she mentioned that she was going to make some for the very first time. I shuddered.

MAKE THEM?! FIRST TIME!? BUT........

This was it. No more buts.

"I'll make them with you!" I exclaimed. "I'm just..... intimidated.." I explained sheepishly.

She nodded, and together we cried and hugged. She understood! Okay, that last part didn't happen, but she did understand. And we agreed to make them.

We settled on a classic almond cookie filled with dark chocolate ganache. The flavor was fantastic! While they did not come out as "perfect" as I had seen in stores, they were delicious, and the experience was a breakthrough! We had a starting point, and we discussed our mistakes, learning where we had room to grow. I've since made macarons three times, even as gifts for coworkers (mini almond macarons with strawberry ganache filling). I have even taught another friend how to make them for the first time (vanilla buttercream). Things have really turned around.

Check that out! Happy Holiday's at the office!

For Christmas, I gave Chris' mother a backordered magazine with a spread about macarons. I book marked the page and thanked her for the experience, promising to master the art with her. Sweet, I know. However, I don't think I could have better expressed my gratitude to her for pushing me to conquer this baking hang up.

I'm not printing the recipe we used yet because I'm continuing to master and tweak the art, but my own recipes will follow. Until then, feast your eyes, and go try to make macarons! Lay that deliciously light and crisp foundation, and together we will fill it with ganache! With that, I leave you with today's lesson - in the wise words of former Nike marketing executives: Just do it.

It seems that fall is fully here, and that means no more out door markets in Rittenhouse square for awhile (noooooo).

I perused through my last market of the season a couple of weeks ago and made sure to pick up another box of John & Kira's Chocolates. You may remember I first discovered John and Kira's at the Rittenhouse farmers market earlier this year when I tried their tiny chocolate bumble bees! Their hand crafted chocolates are so delicious and unique, it was hard not to fall in love.

This time I went for a 15 piece assortment of 10 different flavors, and every single one blew me away. I could hardly wait to try what was next, only to find that each one was just as amazing and different as the last. These aren't your average peanut butter filled or odd sugary nougat filled chocolates. The fair trade hand crafted chocolates are each filled with ganaches infused with flavors like Lavender Honey, Bergamot Tea, Coffee Whiskey, and Lemongrass. I know, right.

If I didn't like making food gifts for others around the holidays so much, I'd totally share these with everyone I love. But instead, I'll probably just buy another box for myself!

Check out all the fun for yourself on their website, your mouth will water just reading about the concoctions they've dreamed up even if you don't get anything!

Chocolate Ganache Red Velvet Cake

I am always honored when someone asks me to make food for an event. Food, baked goods, whatever. I think it's so important that others can trust you with creating a food memory for a special occasion.

At work, I have a reputation for making treats. I've brought in cookies, candies, homemade jam gifts for the holidays, breads, cupcakes for my student's service learning bake sale (chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes), and really all sorts of baked goods. I love to bring a little joy to my staff members', and I find the easiest way to do that is almost always with food!

Given my reputation, I was recently asked to throw together a cake for a surprise retirement party we are throwing for a colleague. Pretty exciting. While I only had a couple of hours, so I couldn't get too elaborate, I'm proud to say the cake turned out delicious! We haven't eaten it yet, but I always make a couple of cupcake sized cakes from each batter I make, in order to make sure the flavor and texture are right before serving. This red velvet recipe hits the mark. I tend to use Martha Stewart's basic recipe, but add extra cocoa, as I like my red velvet nice and chocolatey (of course!). The cocoa really doesn't seem to dry out the cake, even though I add double (1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup), and don't really compensate elsewhere.

You can find Martha's recipe here, but I really do recommend my slight alteration. It really deepens the chocolate flavor. :-) Mmmmmm Chocolate. On top, I used a simple ganache (about 1 cup of near boiling cream pour over 8 oz chocolate. Let stand for 10 minutes and mix carefully until smooth and shiny)

Cake decorating is hard. Well, in a time crunch it is. With only a couple of hours, and needing to transport this baby to school with all my other work nonsense, I didn't have much in the way of elaboration here.. so I did some basic white chocolate and dark chocolate piping, accented with some edible sugar pearls. Nothing crazy, but still elegant and appropriate for the staff gathering.

Black and white is an elegant combination in desserts. In the pictures, the pearls around the filled in white chocolate heart really don't jump out, but in person they just exude elegance (make sure you affix these while the chocolate is still melted so they stick). I would say my white balance is a bit off (too heavy on the right hand side), but the asymmetry gives this cake a modern look. I piped the hearts and white chocolate rose bud onto wax paper, and had some difficulty (white chocolate isn't as runny when melted as cocoa chocolate, in my experience). But once a base was established, I melted some dark chocolate for more texture and pipped a whole rose, and some swirl patterns. Once these cooled on the wax paper in the refrigerator, (about 15-20 minutes to be safe) I caaaaaarefully peeled the shapes off the paper and affixed them on the frosted cake. Tadah! Abstract rando cake design!

During the party, I'll try to take some pictures of the cake's inside! Red velvet is always so pretty, I think that's why people love it! It's really not much different from chocolate cake... just.... a beautiful deep red that is elegant and unexpected.

Italian Flag Cookies

Growing up for some time in Staten Island, I grew up surrounded by some really good Italian treats. I mean really good. New York pizza snobs are well know far and wide, but there is no pizza snob like a Staten Island pizza snob. Every where I go, almost no pizza is ever good enough.

Philadelphia is an especially painful pizza city (see below for my plea to Philly pizza makers..) so I'm always looking for something better (suggestions wanted - I've already been disappointed by Lorenzo's).

I just love Pizza. I was in NY recently and of course ran to the first pizza shop I could find, which happened to be Luigi's located in the Upper East Side (1701 1st Ave.) around the corner from my friend's place. Okay, well I didn't actually run, although that probably would have helped with the caloric coma that ensued after. Sooooo good. Here is my advice to the pizza places that continually let me down in my current home city. It may be the city of brotherly love, but I have NO love for the pizza. Please help.

Pizza crust - The crust is usually what makes me the saddest. Crust needs to have a crisp outside that is still soft, warm, and almost chewy to the bite. This greasy "bread" substance you try to pass off as crust makes me want to pop a frozen pizza into the microwave. It'd be way better. And that's a huge insult. Look at this beautiful crust example from Luigi's - there is no oil outside, no greasy residue. Just a deliciously thin crunch surrounding a warm doughy bread.

Cheese - SHOULD NOT TASTE LIKE POWDER! What IS that!? This really isn't hard to get right. It should be stringy, melty, gooey, and delicious! What are you doing wrong? It's not that hard! Mmmmmmmm cheese!

Carefully crafted and selected toppings - If I am offered one more slice of buffalo chicken pizza.... Seriously, is that all you do around here? I was in heaven with this succulent roasted eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella slice. And sauce - tomato sauce shouldn't taste like red sugar. It should taste like tomato.

Yes, I am aware that I am picky. Yes, I am aware that this is AMERICAN pizza, and Italian pizza is a whole different ball game. But I love my pizza, and that is that.

Cookies, pizza, and many other American - Italian goods are often part of my comfort food regime. Surprisingly; however, I never really tried the Italian Flag cookie (also called the Italian Rainbow cookie) until a few years ago at a Thanksgiving dinner with my boyfriend's family and family friends. He raved about them, and told me he looked forward to them year after year, so I tried my first Italian Rainbow cookie, and now I'm not sure how I ever did without. Over the last couple of years I've learned how to make them myself and have (according to Chris) really started to master the craft of the rainbow cookie. They are pretty labor intensive, but so worth it. Not only do they totally look impressive to bring to gatherings or just share with friends, loved ones, and maybe even strangers if you feel generous, but they are absolutely delicious. Also, a whole sheet cuts to serve a ton of cookies, so this is ideal for groups. However, if you're anything like me, you might just keep them for yourself :-)

Italian Rainbow Cookies

You will need some "special" equipment, but it's not that special.

3 - 9x13 cake pans, all the same size preferably (or one that you will reuse)

A power mixer (hand or standing)

Ingredients

8oz tube or can of almond paste

1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

4 eggs, separated

6-10 drops each food coloring (red and green)

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup apricot preserves

8 oz dark chocolate chips

First, cream the almond paste, butter, and sugar with an electric hand or standing mixer. Set aside. Whisk baking soda into flour, and then stir mixture about a half a cup at a time to the almond paste mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form and whites nearly triple in size. Fold egg whites in to batter carefully.

Separate the batter into three bowls, dividing evenly, and add red food coloring to one bowl mixing well, green to another, mixing well, and leave the third alone.

Grease your 9x13 pan (or pans) generously and spread the batter inside. It will seem really thin, and it is ok, just make sure you spread as evenly as possible.

When done, cool each cake on a cooling rack, carefully popping it out of your pan. Spread apricot preserves on your red cake and place the yellow cake on top (carefully!). Repeat the step with raspberry jam on the yellow cake, placing your green cake on top. Let compress with a pan on top of the cakes for a few hours (preferably overnight) in the refrigerator. (Sometimes I skip this step, and it's a little sloppier, but if in a rush you can still turn out a nice product).

Finally, melt your chocolate chips (either by double boiling or carefully in the microwave in short intervals, stirring every 15-30 seconds). Spread chocolate on top of your green layer and let harden. Slice the cake into 1 inch x 2 inch pieces, and you're ready to go. Store in an airtight container. I like them cold and refrigerated, but they've kept in a room temperature container for a few days for me as well. SO GOOD!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Happy April!

I'm very excited for this month.. I have a lot of fun things coming up! First of all, spring break is this month, and I am going to MIAMI!!!! I am excited, I have never been. Time for some sun.. sand.. spa.. relaxation.. ah.... it will be great! Now I just need to pack! What to pack.. what to pack... I have a cute new bathing suit to show off.. and a nice floppy beach hat.. but I need to start working on some night time outfits.

A friend of mine has a giveaway on her blog with a super cute clutch that I would love to have down in Miami.. it goes with everything. Check out her giveaway here! http://summer-year-round.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-cory-renee-clutch.html I love a good clutch. They are so classy, it's hard to look bad carrying a cute little clutch.. and they're just right for carrying your night essentials... lipstick.. cell phone.. keys.. and cards..

Also up this month... Easter! Which means Lent is over, and I can start eating sushi again! I thought giving up shopping was hard last year, but only about 3 weeks in I'm dying without sushi!!

Annnnddddd April has a ton of birthdays of people I love.. including MYSELF!! My birthday is next Wednesday.. I'm about to be 25. I'm feeling a little anxious about it, I always thought by this point I would have a lot more accomplished by now, but I would guess most people feel this way. I just feel like my panic is setting in early. I am meeting up with friends for cocktails at one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia at the moment, so I'm pretty excited about that!

In the spirit of all these birthdays to celebrate, (including one tonight!) I made some delicious cupcakes to take to a party. Mmmm.



They are a simple chocolate cupcake.. stuffed with some fresh homemade strawberry jam after baking.. and then frosted with some chocolate buttercream frosting. A gooey take on the classic treat, which of course only makes the presentation and tastiness factor climb even higher when served alongside!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1 cup powdered' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (1/4 cup to use in the frosting, 1/4 cup to use in the batter)
fresh strawberry jam (It's easy to make, just chop up a container of strawberries, stir in a few tbsp of sugar, and a splash of water, and cook at medium heat over the range top for about 30 minutes until the jam thickens and coats the back of a spoon. It will thicken even more when cooled)

I chose not to use liners for these cupcakes because I thought they looked prettier with smooth edges. If you do this, you need to butter and flour the muffin cups of your pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, blend one stick of butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Then blend in all of the wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, and milk). Slowly add in the flour whisked with the salt and baking powder at slow speed until combined. Divide the batter into all of the muffin cups. Bake for about 18-20 minutes until set and the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

When cooled, cut a small section out of the top of each cupcake with a small circular fondant cutter, or try your best with a knife if you don't have one.



Lift out section with a knife and fill with jam. Then replace the top pushing down firmly, but gently.



Now for the frosting (this obviously can be done earlier). With an electric mixture, beat the other stick of butter and the confectioners sugar together with a couple of table spoons of milk or water until smooth.



Frost your cupcakes and decorate however you choose.. sprinkles, turbinado sugar, caramelized strawberry slices, with chocolate covered strawberries. Whatever you do, it'll be delicious! Enjoy!

ALS Association Hot Chocolate 2011 - The Chocolate and The Sharks

It takes a lot to get me out last minute on a Thursday night during the school year. Especially in the pouring rain. Especially when out means, across the Ben Franklin Bridge, and into Camden, NJ. However, last Thursday I had an extremely good reason!



Any event that is described to me as a "chocolate frenzy," sets the bar of expectation REALLY REALLY REALLY high. I mean REALLY. The Philadelphia ALS Associations' Hot Chocolate, which took place at the Camden Adventure Aquarium Ballroom this year on March 10, 2011, was every chocolate addicts' dream. I mean, I'm already blocking out my calendar for next year's event.

Invited by a coworker after school (who happens to be the sister of one of the co-chairs of the event), I raced home to change and brave myself to go back into the monsoon of a rain storm that had been going on all day. It had been a long week.. and she promised that there would be chocolate and drinks EVERYWHERE. She did not lie.

When I walked in with my admission ticket, I was invited by the soothing background of the Adventure Aquarium's giant shark and sea life tanks. The Aquarium's tanks are beautiful by day, but transform into the "Currents Ballroom" providing a breathtaking backdrop at an evening event. As soon as I dropped my gaze from the sharks to find my friend Julie, I was entranced by the rivers of chocolate fountains and well paired dipping foods (pinnacles of pineapple, streams of strawberries, mountain's of marshmallows, plains of pretzels, caverns of cookies, caves of cakes.. I could go on..)



Julie found me and pulled me out of my stupor, immediately escorting me to the chocolate martini bar. Delicious. Chocolate syrup squirted in the glass, topped with chocolate infused vodka, creme de cacao, and chocolate liqueur. Oh. Em. Gee. Why yes, I'll have one, thank you very much. And some moscato to pair with my chocolate tasting? Oh yes. Of course.

After introducing me to a handful of people, she led me through the back ballroom to explore chocolate sculptures, bar tables of chocolate treats, sandwiches for sustenance (amateurs), a wine bar, what seemed to be upwards of 25 handcrafted chocolate vendors (some from states away!), massage chairs, tables of donated gummi, chocolate, and largely manufactured items (larger companies like Tasty Cake, Zitner's, and Just Born - makers of Peanut Chews - sent never ending cases of their product for distribution), and silent auctions. I have never been around SO much delicious, quality, aesthetically pleasing chocolate at one time. It made Hershey Park look like Six Flags Mediocre Adventure. That's right. A NON-chocolate themed amusement park that just is not as cool Six Flags Great Adventure. It was a ballroom full of relaxation, with side rooms of MORE relaxation. It was a giant candy store for adults. Willie Wonka, what up. I have seen your glory. And I loved it.




Wine! Friends!



Chocolate vendors just giving away stuff in pretty little packages! (This one in particular had AMAZING chocolate peanut butter brownies... that I most certainly took home several of...)



A steel drum band playing in front of a giant cartoon shark! I mean who could NOT love that? Who? No one.



I could literally feel my blood pressure drop while watching these guys and indulging in delicious chocolate tastings.



Beautiful chocolate sculpture egg.



Really neat sea life.

So, the entire thing was amazing, and seemed to be a huge success for the charity. I would wager that they raised a ton of money for ALS, so once I was done being so excited by all the chocolate and general awesomeness of the event, I felt good that my admission ticket (as well as all the silent auction items people bid on, and raffle tickets that were bought) went to a good cause. The speakers were fabulous and reminded us what the event was truly about (helping those with ALS - more commonly known ask Lou Gehrig's Disease), and the co-chairs graciously ensured that everyone had a great experience.



Check them out. Larry and Jill Kaplan have been pulling this event off for several years, while working full time and raising a family. Role models!

On the way out, everyone gets to take home a cute martini glass from the event, stuffed with a very necessary toothbrush. So adorable. But that's not all...



Julie and I made off with this giant tray of fudge to bring into work the next day. We had so many friends on Friday.



Anddddd this is my bag of loot stuffed with delicious confections from the amazing chocolate vendors at the event. Chocolate covered pretzels I snagged for the boyfriend, peanut butter brownies for.. um.. myself.. obviously, gummi candies and tasty cakes, for my students, and all sorts of delicious treats!

What a wonderful Thursday night. What a wonderful night, period. The only question left is... who is coming with me next year?!

Fabulous Farmers' Market Find

Ok chocolate lovers.. especially Philly chocolate lovers... who doesn't love a good farmer's market? Who doesn't love a good chocolate table at the farmers market?

That's right. While wandering through Rittenhouse Square last weekend, I stumbled upon a farmers market, and there was John & Kira's crafted by hand chocolates. What? You've never heard of John or Kira? Hmm.. I hadn't either.. until last Saturday.. and now I can't stop eating their chocolates. (Yes, obviously I bought a box).

So, from what I learned talking at the Farmer's Table, John & Kira's chocoalates are made in North Philadelphia (yes, right here!) by a small team of chocolate experts. They HAND CRAFT each piece, and I may sound crazy, but you can taste the care and love that is put into each piece. The "Bee" chocolates I purchased from the spring "Bee and Lady bug collection" are filled with a runny and with sea salted local honey caramel (for reals). But the folks at John & Kira don't stop there. No. They HAND paint (I can't get over this) each chocolate with colored cocoa butter to look like little bees, (but not in a scary way if the insects terrify you - take it from me, they cause me to run away screaming frequently). STILL, our chocolate enthusiasts are still not done - they buff each piece so that it shines! SHINES! BY HAND! See:



And, they put little bee and lady bug facts underneath the cups in the bee & lady bug collection boxes. HOW CUTE IS THAT? Great locally made chocolate! In cute packaging! Made with love and care! John & KIra - where have you been all my life?



I am so impressed with the company's commitment to quality chocolate and detail. These are things you just don't find anymore. And they are LOCAL! Which is just super cool - because I not only am getting chocolate, but when I do, I feel good about supporting local business initiatives. And you should too! Go America! Go chocolate!

I most certainly will be a repeat customer after my farmers market experience, and am really excited after perusing their website (http://www.johnandkiras.com/) to try all their other flavors and chocolate creations (which I can't vouch for yet, but am sure will be delicious!). I am so excited about this find that I had to share it with others! Thanks for reading! Has anyone else found some great food finds either in Philly or somewhere else recently? Let me know, I'd love to try the things that you're really excited about too!

The Year of the Rabbit

My friend Elaine is one of the coolest people I know. Seriously. I know people say that about their friends, but Elaine is really cool. She is super intelligent, gorgeous, fun, great to talk to, knows lots about "scenes", and is able to get people with lots of different perspectives and personalities to convene for traditional Lunar New Year fare on a Thursday night where we discussed food, culture, and the significance of both. If you don't know Elaine, stop telling people that your friends are cool. You need the authentic experience before you can make false claims.

As I mentioned, Elaine hosted a gathering to celebrate the "Lunar New Year," which I always called "Chinese New Year," but apparently that's not politically correct. See, she's cool, I never would have learned this if it wasn't for the discussion taking place at dinner. She cooked up a ton of dishes that were traditional and delicious. I hope to post one of her recipes here at a later date once I get to debrief with her. :-)

Here she is debriefing us quickly on what everything is before we eat!



The night was casual, we sat around a huge short table (which we were informed was one of her roommates' "kid's table" during family gatherings as a child. Kinda cool. But by this point, you shouldn't be surprised.) eating delicious food and drinking wine.
The cuisine was full of flavor. See all the happy faces, and Elaine hiding how tired she MUST be!



No complaints here either...



For dessert, since I know nothing about real Chinese food whatsoever, I whipped up a batch of Mexican Chocolate Cookies, an idea inspired by the spices of cinnamon, cayenne, and chili powder I've had mixed in Mexican chocolates and drinking chocolates. I had my first mexican chocolate, chili, and cherry bar this last summer. So good. These cookies turned out delicious. Light, fluffy, and spiced, with the chocolate flavor providing undertones of deep, earthy flavor. Perfect for sharing with friends who love to talk about food!

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

for the dough:
1 cup of flour (a little extra for sprinkling if your dough appears too sticky)
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp of cayenne or chile powder (Cayenne is the spicier powder. Use the one that best suits your tastes)
3/4 cup of sugar
A pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 stick of softened butter
1 egg

for rolling the dough in:

1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chile powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix your dry ingredients together. In a large bowl use an electric mixer *or prepare to get an arm workout and cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. It should be a pale yellow color. Add the eggs to your wet ingredient bowl and beat in, then slowly combine in your dry ingredients. I recommend folding in about 1/4 of the dry ingredients at a time.

Mix your rolling sugar, cinnamon and chile powder together in a small bowl or on a small plate. Roll a generous tablespoon into a the sugar and spice mixture and press down to form a small disc. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 10 minutes leaving room for the cookies to spread. Let cool on wire racks before storing, or enjoy warm *that's how I found them to be best.

Chocolate Month is Here!

The Dunkin' Donuts commercials with Chocolate Addicts protesting February as the month of chocolate make me laugh. "3 more days! 3 more days!" I agree. Chocolate certainly deserves a longer month! There is so much you can do with it!! Well, maybe we can protest later, but for now, it's time to get excited for National Chocolate Month and savor every day that it's here!



What better way to kick off chocolate month than to review a chocolate recipe! I haven't had the time to create one myself, but when I got the February edition of Martha Stewart Living, I didn't really need to! There was a spread of tantalizing chocolate treads in glossy print for me to drool over.. and i just couldn't wait to try this one: The BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MOLTEN CAKE.

Moist chocolate cake oozing with dark chocolate filling did not disappoint. If you like chocolate on the bitter side (like I do!) so that you can appreciate the depth of the cocoa flavor, you may want to cut out a tiny bit of the sugar, but not a ton, as the cake is a bit sweet. However, it is also extremely easy to make for your Valentine's night in, for your girlfriends, or um, for yourself. On a Monday night. When you just really need some chocolate cake. Why not?

You fill ramekins greased and dusted with cocoa and bake, just enough so that the center never sets.



When it comes out, just invert your ramekin and dust with powdered sugar if you're so inclined (I was not).




And there you have it. Delicious bittersweet chocolate molten cake. Pretty impressive. Looks like you took hours. But you didn't. Now have your cake and eat it too.

For the full recipe go pay Martha a visit at: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/molten-bittersweet-chocolate-cake




Happy Chocoloate Month!