Toasted Almond Truffles: Retro Ad & Recipe

This Retro Carnation/Nestle Advertisement from 1985 is for Toasted Almond Truffles. They're so easy to make. Of course, you can substitute a different chocolate in the recipe. Personally I prefer dark chocolate in these truffles.

TOASTED ALMOND TRUFFLES

Ingredients
1/2 cup undiluted CARNATION Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup sugar
One 11 1/2 oz. pkg. (2 cups) NESTLE Milk Chocolate Morsels
1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted

Directions
Combine evaporated milk and sugar in small heavy-gauge saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Boil 3 minutes; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels and almond extract until morsels melt and mixture is smooth. Chill 45 minutes. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in almonds. Chill until ready to serve. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen truffles.

Cartoon of the Day: Cookie Dough

A very early Rhymes with Orange.  Raise your hand if you eat cookie dough!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

I love chocolate chip cookie dough. And, for me, a great way of eating cookie dough is in a truffle. I love Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. There are many recipes out there and I've posted a few before, but here's an easy favorite--and it doesn't use raw eggs, so no worries!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES

Ingredients
1/3 cup sweet butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (for dipping)
Sea salt

Directions
Line baking sheet with wax paper or parchment.
In bowl mix together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and mix until just combined. Fold in milk chocolate chips.
Make one inch balls with dough and place on baking sheet. Freeze for about 30 minutes.
When dough is firm, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in microwave or top of double boiler.
Dip cookie dough in chocolate with fork, two spoons or dipping tool.
Tap off excess chocolate.
Put back on lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Put back in freezer to harden.
Store in refrigerator.

Social Hit! Retro Chocolate Ice Box Cake

I just love the Baker Ads and recipes from the 30s and 40s, especially the 'story' ads. This one if about "How 'That Little Mrs. Bundy' got to be 'Such Friends' with the Banker's Wife."  This Chocolate Ice Box Cake 'broke the ice' and cemented their friendship.. but why would she want to be friends with someone this 'stiff and snobbish'? Well, Mrs. Bundy sure was a 'social hit!'

CHOCOLATE ICEBOX CAKE 

Ingredients
1 package Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, melted
1-1/2 Tbsp water
1 egg yolk, unbeaten
1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 egg white, stiffly beaten
12 ladyfinger halves

Directions
Blend melted chocolate with water. Add egg yolk and beat until smooth. Mix in sugar.
Whip cream and fold into chocolate.
Fold in beaten egg white.
Line 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pan with wax paper.
Layer wafers with chocolate mixture.
Chill overnight.
Unmold.
Serves 5 (really -5? would that be the parents and 3 children? or Mrs Banker?)

Rustic Cherry Tart

Photo: Chukar Cherries

Today is National Cherry Day! (FYI: There's more than one cherry day!) I love Chukar's Cherry Pie Filling  - both the sweet and the sour - and I use both a lot when I don't have fresh cherries. Here's a recipe from the Chukar Cherries site that is just fabulous! This recipe uses the Sweet Cherry Pie Filling.

RUSTIC CHERRY TART

Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cane sugar
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup very cold water
1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp large sugar crystals (course sugar)
Sweet Cherry Pie Filling

Directions 
Combine dry ingredients and cut-in cold butter using pastry hand blender. Add a few tablespoons of icy water (just enough to bind dough) and refrigerate for several hours, covered.
Divide dough into 12 equal parts.
On floured surface, roll pastry dough into 7-inch diameter circles and spoon cherry filling into center. Gather the edges of the dough toward center and pinch edges.
Brush pastry edges with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar crystals.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until centers are bubbly and crusts are golden.

HINT: Pastry works best when all ingredients and utensils are very cold. Yields twelve 3-inch tarts.

S'mores Fudge: 2 Recipes for Memorial Day

What says Memorial Day more than S'mores! The other day I posted two fab Marshmallow Fluff Fudge recipes from two different Retro Recipe Advertisements. Since it's Memorial Day, and I'm bound to be making S'mores on the Grill, I thought I'd post another option: S'mores Fudge. The first recipe actually has three distinct layers...and it sure tastes like fudge. One caveat: This fudge is sweet, but then we're talking S'mores, aren't we? The second recipe is quicker to make (and eat) and the ingredients are all mixed together.


1. S'MORES FUDGE

Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
4 sheets of graham crackers
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter

Chocolate Fudge Layer
1-1/2 cups milk chocolate, chopped (or milk chocolate chips)
1/2 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

Marshmallow Layer
1 cup 'real' white chocolate chips
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Line 8 by 8 square pan with aluminum foil, with extra foil hanging over (to help lift out later).
Crush graham crackers and mix in melted butter and sugar.
Pour into aluminum foil lined pan and push down with glass cup to make even layer.
Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Melt chocolate in small saucepan over medium low heat.
Remove from heat and add half can of sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.
When smooth, pour immediately over graham cracker crust.
Melt white chocolate in small saucepan over medium low heat and add in marshmallow fluff and rest of sweetened condensed milk. Stir until smooth and consistent. Pour over chocolate layer.
Refrigerate overnight.
Next day, lift fudge out of pan using aluminum foil.
Carefully remove foil and carefully cut into squares.

2. EASY S'MORES FUDGE

Ingredients
1-12 ounce bag milk chocolate chips or 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
5 regular sized graham crackers, broken into small pieces
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup mini-marshmallows

Directions
In small saucepan, melt chocolate. Remove from heat.
Add graham crackers until combined.
Fold in marshmallows.
Pour into greased 8x8 inch baking pan.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Cut into squares

Memorial Day 1943: Chocolate is a Fighting Food-Vintage Ads

I find a lot of Chocolate Advertisements in Life Magazine, and during WWII there were many. I've posted some before, but thought that today, being Memorial Day, I would repost these two from Nestle's."Chocolate is a Fighting Food."

Nestle's produced the D-ration chocolate that was sent to our infantry during WWII. "Chocolate supplies the greatest amount of nourishment in the smallest possible bulk. So wherever America fights, the Army uses chocolate in the form of emergency rations, selected because it contains so much quick energy."

Be sure and take time today to remember those who defended our country. 

Chocolate Barbecue Sauces: 3 Recipes

When I was growing up barbecues at my house were mostly on holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. My Dad would don his Westinghouse apron and hat and fire up the grill. I still have my Dad's apron, but not the chef's hat. Very nostalgic--and retro. Wish he were still with us. I miss him every day. He'd love these barbecue sauces (and this list of Barbecue Crime Fiction.)

If you're planning a Memorial Day barbecue, you'll want to check your stock of dark chocolate. I've posted several chocolate barbecue sauces and chocolate rubs before, but these are two of my favorites.

The first recipe is from The BBQ Report. I use a different Dark Chocolate Sauce from an artisan chocolate company, but you can always use Hershey's. The flavors will be different, but both would be good. Season your meat with some cocoa powder (unsweetened) for double chocolate goodness.

#1 CHOCOLATE BARBECUE SAUCE

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark syrup (or another)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp hot sauce

Directions
In sauce pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil, cooking until tender.
Stir in lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and hot sauce.
Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes and reduce heat.
Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and Hershey’s Syrup.
Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

#2 CHOCOLATE BARBECUE SAUCE

From the Hershey's Website comes this amazing and much more complex Chocolate Barbecue Sauce recipe, utilizing Scharffen Berger 82% dark chocolate (Scharffen Berger is owned by Hershey's). Recipe adapted from Chef Ken Gladysz at the Hotel Hershey.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp sweet butter, soft
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Spanish onion, diced small
2 Roma tomatoes, stem removed, diced small
1 1/2 oz dark brown sugar
4 tsp ancho chili powder
4 oz apple cider vinegar
8 oz barbeque sauce
14 oz vegetable stock
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 oz SCHARFFEN BERGER 82% dark chocolate
2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Directions
Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat.
Add garlic and onion, sauté 5 minutes until golden brown.
Add tomatoes, stir, and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
Add sugar and chili powder, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add vinegar, reduce for 5 minutes, mixture should have a paste consistency.
Add sauce, stock, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer for 30 minutes.
Add SCHARFFEN BERGER chocolate and cilantro; allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove sauce from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
Puree sauce, transfer to a clean container and cool.
For best results, refrigerate for 12 hours before using.

#3 CHOCOLATE CHIPOTLE CHILI BEER BARBECUE SAUCE

This is a quick and easy one pot recipe! Use whatever beer or ale you have, although the chocolate stouts will add a lot of flavor.

Ingredients 
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
6 oz tomato paste
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup Chocolate Ale (Rogue, Boulevard, Young's, Christopher Elbow)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 ounces 75-85% dark chocolate, chopped

Directions 
In saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil.
Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add remaining ingredients to pot.
Simmer until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.

Fralinger's Molasses Paddle Pops: National Taffy Day!

Today is National Taffy Day, and I just want to mention my favorite taffy: Fralinger's Molasses Paddle Pops! 

I grew up in Philadelphia, and every summer we went down the Shore to Atlantic City, Margate, or Ventnor. These are names you'll recognize if you've ever played Monopoly. One of the big attractions for me as a kid was salt water taffy. I loved it, and I remember thinking at the time that my friend Margie had the best and most glamorous job selling salt water taffy at Fralinger's on the Boardwalk. In retrospect, it probably was not an easy job, but all I could think of was access to all that candy!

My favorite candy at Fralinger's was the Molasses Chocolate Covered Paddle Pop. Essentially it is Fralinger's fabulous molasses salt water taffy covered in delicious dark chocolate and shaped into a Paddle Pop! These Paddle Pops now come in other flavors, but Molasses was the original. I hadn't thought of this 'retro' treat in a long time, but I saw these Fralinger's Molasses Paddle Pops at the Fancy Food Show a few years ago. Not going down the Shore this summer? These candy treats are available online. Yum!

One caveat: Hold on to your teeth.. this is like a hard taffy pull... the chocolate is easy.. the taffy is challenging, but it's worth the effort. Of course you can lick it. It is a pop, after all, but then you wouldn't enjoy the chocolate with the molasses. Technique is up to you!

I couldn't find a recipe that replicated Molasses Paddle Pops. Let me know if you have one. Maybe sometimes, you just can't make it at home.

A little history from the Fralinger's website:

While the origins of Salt Water Taffy remain a mystery, one thing is for certain. No one did more to promote this popular confection than Joseph Fralinger.

A former glassblower and fish merchant, Joseph returned from Philadelphia to his Atlantic City roots in the mid 1880s. After taking a job with a bricklayer, he earned enough money to open a small concession on the Atlantic City Boardwalk from which he sold fruit, soda, and the latest summer sensation, "lemonade."

By 1884, Joseph was approached to take over a taffy stand on Applegate Pier. He agreed and began to perfect his own recipe for Salt Water Taffy, introducing his first batch of molasses taffy in 1885. Throughout the years he developed a number of new flavors, eventually offering Atlantic City's largest selection with 25.

As Fralinger's grew to six locations, he decided that Salt Water Taffy should return home with resort visitors. Using experiences from his fish merchant days, he packed one pound oyster boxes with Salt Water Taffy, making it the first "Atlantic City Souvenir." The one-pound box still remains the most popular souvenir over 125 years later. And by 1899 Salt Water Taffy had become a household word across America!

Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies: Memorial Day

"Rosemary is for Remembrance"-- so this recipe for Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies are perfect for Memorial Day? I grow a lot of rosemary in my garden that I use it in baking and grilling. It's a very versatile herb. There are several varieties, and they flower, so it's also quite pretty -- and deer resistant. Rosemary is also very aromatic.

The phrase "Rosemary is for Remembrance" comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia says, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember.” 

Even before Shakespeare's era, many cultures assigned meaning to this herb. It was often used in funerals or in the care of the dead. But also, at one time,  it was the fashion  for brides to wear wreaths of rosemary. Rosemary was also thought to repel evil spirits and cure thievery. 15th and early 16th century statesman and writer, Sir Thomas More, ties rosemary to memory in his writing. He writes fondly of it “running” about his garden without cultivation because: “it is the herb sacred to remembrance, and therefore, to friendship…” And for my mystery friends, an Agatha Christie novel, published as both Remembered Death and Sparkling Cyanide, uses the Shakespeare quotation.

ROSEMARY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients 
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sweet butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Chocolate Chips
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in Chocolate Chips, chopped Rosemary, and pecans.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto un-greased cookie sheets.
Bake 9-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool.

Strawberries & Cream Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust

Today is Strawberries & Cream Day! One way to celebrate would be to stuff strawberries with whipped cream and dip in chocolate. Yum! But here's another way to celebrate the day. Strawberries & Cream Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Crust. This would be perfect for your Memorial Day dessert.

Strawberries & Cream Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust

Ingredients
1 Chocolate Crust
3 cups Strawberry ice cream or Ben & Jerry's Strawberries & Cream ice cream
Whipped Cream
1 cup Sliced fresh strawberries

Chocolate Cookie Crust
Ingredients
30 Chocolate wafers
5 Tbsp sweet butter, melted and cooled slightly
Pinch of salt

Directions for Cookie Crust
Whirl cookies in food processor until finely ground.
Put crumbs in mixing bowl and add butter and salt until crumbs are moistened.
Press mixture across bottom of 8-inch pie plate and up sides. Pack tightly.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 6 minutes.
Cool before filling.

Directions for Pie
Be sure and cool crust before adding ice cream
Spread ice cream evenly over crust.
Smooth top.
Put pie in freezer until solid (or until ready to serve - for up to 3 days)
Before serving, top with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries.

Cartoon of the Day: Brownies

Today is National Baking Day! I love Rhymes with Orange. This is an old cartoon from Hilary Price, but the perfect comic for today! Baking Brownies. Have you had this happen?

Devil's Food Cake vs. Chocolate Cake: Devil's Food Cake Day

People always ask what's the difference between Devil's Food Cake and Chocolate Cake. It's a good question, and there are many different interpretations. Some recipes use cocoa, some melted chocolate, some add coffee or hot liquid, and some increase the baking soda.

According to Wikipedia:

Because of differing recipes and changing ingredient availability over the course of the twentieth century, it is difficult to precisely qualify what distinguishes Devil's food from the more standard chocolate cake. The traditional Devil's food cake is made with shredded beets much the way a carrot cake is made with carrots. The beets add moisture and sweetness to the cake, helping it to be very rich. The red of the beets slightly colors the cake red and due to the richness of the cake it became known as the Devil's food. 

O.k. That's a beet cake or a 'natural' red velvet cake, and I make a good one, but it's not a Devil's Food Cake in my opinion.


Devil's food cake is generally more moist and airy than other chocolate cakes, and often uses cocoa as opposed to chocolate for the flavor as well as coffee. The lack of melted chocolate and the addition of coffee is typically what distinguishes a Devil's food cake from a chocolate cake, though some recipes call for all, resulting in an even richer chocolate flavor. The use of hot, or boiling water as the cake's main liquid, rather than milk, is also a common difference. 

Devil's food cake is sometimes distinguished from other chocolate cakes by the use of additional baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) which raises the pH level and makes the cake a deeper and darker mahogany color. Devil's food cake incorporates butter (or a substitute), egg whites, flour (while some chocolate cakes are flourless) and less egg than other chocolate cakes. Devil's food cake was introduced in the United States in the early 20th century with the recipe in print as early as 1905. 

A similar cake, the red velvet cake, is closely linked to a Devil's food cake, and in some turn of the century cookbooks the two names may have been interchangeable. Most red velvet cakes today use red food coloring, but even without it, the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa. When used in cakes, acid causes reddening of cocoa powder when baked, and before more alkaline "Dutch Processed" cocoa was widely available, the red color would have been more pronounced. This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "Red Velvet" as well as "Devil's Food" and a long list of similar names for chocolate cakes.

I'm partial to Devil's Food Cake.

Here are several mid-century recipes. Sorry about the light print on the first cookbook.

I've posted many Devil's Food Cake recipes in the past, but today I have four mid-century recipes.

The first recipe is for Cocoa Devil's Food Cake from How To Get the Most Out of Your Sunbeam Mixmaster (1950). I posted a "Mix-Easy" Devil's Food Cake for Mother's Day a few years ago, and you might want to look at that one, too. It's pretty much the same as the following recipe. The following page in the Sunbeam Mixmaster cookbook pamphlet is great for today's post since there's a Chocolate Cake recipe next to the Devil's Food Cake recipe.

This same cookbook has a recipe for Black Devil's Food Cake, so now we have Cocoa Devil's Food Cake, Black Devil's Food Cake, and a Red Devil's Food Cake. As you see, the following Black Devil's Food cake is made with cocoa and with the addition of strong hot coffee or boiling water.

The Red Devil's Food Cake is a variation on the Chocolate Fudge Cake on the same page, and to save space, they didn't reprint the entire recipe! It's a very small pamphlet. The baking soda is increased, but otherwise it's the same cake. This recipe is from the Recipes for your Hamilton Beach Mixer-17 Delicious New Cakes (1947). Don't you just love that someone wrote good next to the recipe? It's the same recipe I posted (but from a different pamphlet) on Devil's Food Cake Day for Mother's Day. 

And one more Red Devil's Food Cake from the same mid-century period. This one is from Kate Smith Chooses her 55 Favorite Ann Pillsbury CAKE RECIPES.

Enough Devil's Food Cake recipes? Never! Have a look at Martha Washington's Devil's Food Cake from Capitol Hill Cooks: Recipes from the White House by Linda Bauer. It's a great Buttermilk Devil's Food Cake!

So what's the difference between Devil's Food Cake and Chocolate Cake? You decide.

Cherry Chocolate Cobbler: National Cherry Cobbler Day

Today is National Cherry Cobbler Day and fresh local cherries are just starting to hit the market, but not all that many, so these recipes use bottled (or canned) pie filling.

These two Cherry Chocolate Cobblers use natural cherry pie filling. Check out Chukar Cherries Sour Cherry Fruit Filling. Fabulous. Whole and tangy Montmorency cherries. Red and delicious!

I suggest you try both of the following recipes. They're totally different in taste. Happy National Cherry Cobbler Day... and as I always say, everything tastes better with Chocolate!

CHERRY CHOCOLATE COBBLER

Ingredients
18 ounces Chukar's Sour Cherry Fruit Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Topping
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed Dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sweet butter, softened

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix cherries, sugar and flour. Spread evenly in 11 x 7 baking dish.
Sprinkle chocolate over top.

For topping
Mix together flour, sugars and pinch of salt.
Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle topping over cherry filling.
Bake cobbler until filling bubbles and topping is golden brown.
About 40 to 45 minutes.

****

This second recipe is all over the Internet. I've tweaked it a bit. It's easy and delicious. Again, I use Chukar Cherry Pie Filling, but use what you have!

CHERRY CHOCOLATE COBBLER II aka Cracker Barrel Cherry Chocolate Cobbler

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweet butter
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
About 21 ounces Chukar's cherry pie filling
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Cut with pastry blender until crumbs are size of small peas.
Over hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate. Allow to cool 5 minutes at room temperature.
Add milk and egg to chocolate mixture; mix well. Blend into flour mixture; mix well.
Spread pie filling in the bottom of 2 quart casserole.
Add cherry filling.
Drop chocolate batter randomly over cherries. Sprinkle nuts all over top.
Bake at 350 degrees F 40-45 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Round-Up

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, and if you read this blog, you know that I think you can't have enough recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here's an updated Round-Up of a few (so many more) Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes that have appeared on DyingforChocolate.com!


What's your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe? Post a link in the comments...or consider doing a guest post on DyingforChocolate.com.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE ROUND-UP!

Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: 2 Recipes

Chocolate Chip Cookies Secret Ingredient: Lemon Juice

Toll House Cookies: Vintage Ad & Original Recipe

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Retro Chocolate Chip Cookies Ad & Recipe

Red & Green M&Ms "Chocolate Chip" Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk/Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Oatmeal Day

Chocolate Cricket Chip Cookies

Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies: Baking with Honey Tips

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Zucchini Day

Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar

Toll House Stars and Stripes Cookies

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Marshmallow Fluff (Creme) Fudge: 2 Vintage Ads with Recipes

I can never have enough Fudge recipes. Yes, I have my favorites, but sometimes you just want to experiment. So, you can see why I was thrilled to find these two Vintage Ads & Recipes, both of which use Marshmallow Fluff as a major ingredient. Marshmallow Fluff you ask? You may know this product as Marshmallow Creme. You can make it at home or you can buy a jar. Can't find it at your market? Try Amazon or another online store. I usually have a jar in the pantry. O.K. not the healthiest of ingredients, but it's special and really adds to the flavor in these Fudge recipes!

So here are two Ads and Recipes for Marshmallow Fluff Fudge!

National Nutty Fudge Day: Vanilla Macadamia Nutty Fudge

Today is National Nutty Fudge Day, and I'm sure you'll want to make this great fudge. Over the years I've posted so many Nutty Fudge recipes, but today I thought I'd revisit a favorite: Vanilla Macadamia Nutty Fudge!

This recipe comes from the Nestle Toll House site. I've adapted it using Madagascar vanilla and Guittard White Chocolate. Make sure you're using 'real' white chocolate and not the fake stuff!

A very EASY Nutty Fudge recipe is also available at Chocolate Addiction. Chocolate-Addiction.com's White Chocolate Pecan Fudge recipe.

Vanilla Macadamia Nutty Fudge

Ingredients
Sweet Butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup sweet butter
2 cups White Chocolate chips or 2 cups chopped white chocolate
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow crème
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (must be fresh)*
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
1/4 tsp coconut extract

Directions

LINE 9-inch-square baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Grease foil with butter. Butter sides of 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan.

COMBINE sugar, coconut milk and 1/2 cup butter in prepared saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture boils. Clip candy thermometer to side of pan, making sure bottom of thermometer doesn't touch bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue boiling at moderate, steady rate without stirring, until thermometer registers 238° F, softball stage (about 15 minutes). Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil. Remove from heat.

STIR in white chocolate until melted and smooth. Stir in marshmallow crème, nuts, vanilla and coconut extracts until well combined. Transfer mixture to prepared baking pan; cool for 3 to 4 hours or until firm.

LIFT from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces. Store tightly covered.

***
Want an even easier recipe for White Chocolate Nutty Pecan Fudge? 
Check out www.chocolate-addiction.com's recipe. Simple and fabulous!!! White Chocolate Fudge with Pecans!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake with Crystallized Ginger: Guest post by Molly MacRae

I just love when my mystery and chocolate worlds collide. Today I welcome back Molly MacRae, the author of the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries (NAL/Penguin). Check out www.mollymacrae.com or connect with Molly on Facebook or Pinterest. You can also find Molly blogging on the first Monday of each month at www.amyalessio.com and on the 23rd of each month at www.killercharacters.com.


Molly MacRae:
TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER

Tunnel of fudge cake – when I first heard the name, I fell in love. I’d never seen or tasted one, but I knew it had to be good, and so I let Mel Gresham, the café owner in my Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, put the cake on her menu. Of course, Mel being Mel, she didn’t settle for traditional tunnel of fudge, she insisted on studding the cake with crystallized ginger. We both liked that idea so much we decided to include the recipe in Knot the Usual Suspects, coming out in September. The problem with that plan was two-fold: a) we didn’t have such a recipe, and b) Mel isn’t real, she’s a character in the books, so not a lot of actual help. But that didn’t stop us.


There are quite a few versions of the recipe available. Mel and I ended up using parts of three and then adding our variation – substituting crystallized ginger for the walnuts all three called for. Our results? Everything we’d hoped for. The baking cake smells wonderful, it slices beautifully, it’s delicious and moist, and the structure is stabile – the tunnel remained fudgy and intact over five days of taste tests.

Mel and I are planning another experiment – dividing the batter for one cake between three loaf pans – hoping to answer two questions: 1) will the loaf pans produce structurally sound tunnels, and 2) will making the cake in three loaves, two of which can be given away, be the answer to the moan, “I can’t make that cake and have it sitting there tempting me”? When we find out, we’ll report back.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake with Crystallized Ginger 

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

Ingredients: 

Cake 
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1-3/4 cups butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped, crystalized ginger

Glaze 
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
 4-6 Tbsp milk

Directions 
1. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Gradually add the 2 cups of powdered sugar, blending well. Stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly.
2. Bake at 350ºF for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours. Turn out onto serving plate and cool completely.
3. Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.

Retro Mother's Day Chocolate Ads

I love old magazine chocolate advertisements--Retro and Vintage. Here are several that are specific to Mother's Day. Enjoy the tour through the decades.

5 DIY Chocolate Facial Masks: A great gift for Mother's Day!

Here's a personal and unique Mother's Day Gift! A Chocolate Facial for Mom! Mix up one of these recipes -- the Perfect Mother's Day gift. Be sure to make a second batch for yourself!

We all know Chocolate is good for the heart, blood pressure, and a lot more. When I was growing up, we were told that chocolate was bad for the skin. That it actually caused acne. This is not true. Chocolate is full of antioxidants that actually gives the skin extra protection against free radicals and can nourish the skin. The following masks can increase hydration, support skin's defense against UV damage, decrease roughness, and actually improve blood flow. Give one or all of them a try.

Pros of Chocolate Face Mask: The skin becomes glowing and soft. The skin becomes firm and smooth. Even if the mask goes into your mouth, no problem; it tastes yummy. The final Chocolate Face Mask even has an alternative fudge recipe.

So here are 5 D-I-Y Chocolate Face Mask Recipes! They're all simple to make. Let me know which is your favorite.

1. Chocolate Mask from Household Magic: Daily Tips

Mix together a heaping Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder with heavy cream to form a paste.
Apply to clean, dry skin and leave  paste on for 15 minutes.
Wipe off mask with washcloth.
Rinse face with lukewarm water and pat dry.

2. Chocolate Yogurt Honey Mask from Flavor Fiesta

Ingredients:
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp yogurt
1 tsp honey

Directions:
1. Blend cocoa powder with honey and yogurt. Cocoa powder can be difficult to blend, so be patient with this step. Keep mixing until mixture looks like melted chocolate.
2. Clean your face with lukewarm water. Dab dry and then apply the mask evenly all over your face except the eye and lip areas. Relax for 15-20 minutes and let the mask do it’s magic.
3. Wash off with lukewarm water and dab dry.
Apply moisturizer.

3. Chocolate Brown Sugar Sea Salt Mask from WikiHow

Ingredients
2 bars of dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup of milk
Sea salt
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Directions
Heat dark chocolate in double boiler for about 3 minutes.
Mix sea salt, brown sugar, and 2/3 of a cup milk in a bowl.
Remove melted chocolate from heat.
Mix melted chocolate with salt/milk mixture.
Allow to cool.
Apply to face while cool but not hardened.
Leave on until it hardens.
Wash or chip off with mild cleanser and warm water.
Add moisturizer when done.

4. Chocolate Oatmeal Honey Mask from Skin Care and Remedies

Ingredients
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup organic honey
2 Tbsp of heavy cream (or sour cream)
3 tsp oatmeal powder

Directions
Mix all ingredients until mass in consistent.
Apply to face, gently massaging so oatmeal can start exfoliating the dead skin cell layer.
Leave on for about 15-20 minutes
Rinse off with lukewarm water.

The following recipe is one of my favorites because it's so versatile.. with a tiny bit of tweaking, you can make fudge! How cool is that?

5. Chocolate Avocado, Honey, Oatmeal Face Mask (or Fudge)  

 from Meghan Telpner-Making Love in the Kitchen

Ingredients
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup organic honey
2 Tbsp smashed avocado
3 tsp oatmeal powder (leave this out if making soft fudge, leave in if you want a harder texture)

Directions: Face Mask
Mix all ingredients until mass is consistent.
Apply on face, gently massaging so oatmeal can start exfoliating the dead skin cell layer.
Leave on for 15-20 minutes.
Rinse off with lukewarm water.

Instructions: Fudge
Mix all ingredients (except oatmeal) until mass is consistent.
Spread in small pyrex dish or into individual ramikens.
Allow to set in refrigerator for at least two hours.

Mother's Day Chocolate Cake: Retro Sunbeam Mixmaster Ad & Recipe

I adore Retro Advertisements, and this one is particularly close to my heart. My mother had a Sunbeam Mixmaster. So many cookies, cakes and brownies were made with that Mixmaster. I don't have my mother's Sunbeam Mixmaster, but I have my Mother-in-Law's -- the same model with all the attachments. I use my Kitchenaid Mixer mostly, but I love the functionality of that old Mixmaster War Horse. It still works, and I'll bet my mother-in-law got it in the 40s or 50s.

So, for Mother's Day, here's a Sunbeam Mixmaster Mother's Day Advertisement from Life Magazine, May 1, 1950, complete with Chocolate Cake recipe. What are you making for Mother's Day?

Black Cats in Vintage Baking Advertisements

I love Vintage Advertisements, and I'm always looking for vintage ads at fleamarkets and on the Internet. I also love cats, since I have three. Don't judge! I make sure they're not around when I bake. No chocolate for cats. It's poisonous. Thought I'd share these Black Cat Ads. One is for Yeast and the other for Baking Powder! A Baker's Delight! Enjoy!

Mother's Day: Baker's Vintage Ad & Recipe for Golden Cream Chocolate Cake

As Mother's Day approaches I thought I'd start posting some special Vintage Ads that reference mothers. I love the Vintage Ads and recipes from Baker's Chocolate that "Tell a Story." They appeared in Life Magazine from 1937-1938. Some of them are so amusing, especially this Ad from February 7, 1938 (and again on June 5, 1939) for Paula's Golden Cream Chocolate Cake. What a period piece! I mean really...just read the headline, "Paula Gives Mother-in-Law Her Come-Uppance." And don't you just love the word "Flibbertigibbet." Good thing Paula had a mind and talent of her own. And what a saint she was not lauding her baking skills over her mother-in-law. Such modesty. Oh puh..lease. I feel like writing 'the rest of the story.' At first meeting, Paula's mother-in-law thought Paula couldn't boil water.. She was proved wrong when Paula baked a lovely Golden Cream Chocolate Cake. These 'story ads' say a lot about the times! Of course Paula couldn't have done it without Baker's Chocolate and her own Mother's teachings!

This recipe really is delicious. The cake is a "cross between a Fudge Cake and Boston Cream Pie." A perfect posting (and baking!) for Mother's Day!

Chocolate Tamales for Cinco de Mayo

Chocolate Tamales: a great dish for Cinco De Mayo. This recipe is adapted from Diana's Recipe Book. The tamales are easy to make and delicious.

CHOCOLATE TAMALES

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 pound Mexican DARK chocolate, 65-75% cacao, chopped
1 pound butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 pounds corn flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
24 corn husks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Boil milk and add chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is completely melted. Add butter and sugar. Mix until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Mix corn flour and baking powder together in bowl. Slowly add chocolate mixture and mix by hand for 10 minutes.
Grease 2 (12 cup) muffin pans and line with corn husks. Fill with chocolate tamale mixture and bake for 20 minutes.

How easy is that?

Kahlua Mexican Chocolate Cake for Cinco de Mayo

I love Kahlua. It's such a versatile liqueur. Kahlúa is a Mexican coffee-flavored rum-based liqueur. It's dense and sweet, with the taste of coffee, from which it is made. Kahlúa also contains sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean, so you see why it's often matched with chocolate in drinks, cakes, pies and candy.

I found a great Kahlua promotional cookbook at the flea market a few years ago: The Best of Kahlua: A Guide to Food and Entertaining. (1970). There are some really great recipes in this book, but I think this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Kahlua Cake is perfect for Cinco de Mayo--or any day! It's so easy and delicious!

Buttermilk Mexican Chocolate Chile Bundt Cake

Cinco de Mayo! Add Chocolate to Celebrate! Here's one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes for Cinco de Mayo (or any time!): Buttermilk Mexican Chocolate Chile Bundt Cake. I adapted this from a recipe in Southern Living several years ago. I've added ground chiles and used Taza Mexican Chocolate with Chiles for a little more kick. I usually bake this pound cake in a bundt pan. This is quick and easy and delicious.

Buttermilk Mexican Chocolate Chile Bundt Cake

Ingredients
8 ounces chopped dark (65-75% cacao) organic fair-trade chocolate (I use either Taza Chipotle Chili Chocolate Mexicano or Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano, but you can use any dark chocolate)
1 cup sweet butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
2 tsp Mexican vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ancho chiles
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk 

Directions
Melt chocolate in saucepan over saucepan over simmering water.
Beat butter at medium speed with mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, chocolate syrup, and vanilla until smooth.
Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and let cool for another hour.

Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Tarts

There seem to be two Raspberry Tart Days on the Food Calendar. Today is one of them. So to celebrate in style, make these absolutely delicious and easy Raspberry Truffle Tarts, recipe adapted from Tyler Florence! I love Driscoll's Raspberries. They are consistently good. Check your local markets for raspberries, though. For locally grown, it will depend, of course, where you live. We have raspberries all year round in California.

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TARTS

Chocolate Tart Crust

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (from Oreo cookies or chocolate wafers)
6 tablespoons melted sweet butter
1 recipe Dark Chocolate Truffles (following)
Fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

Directions
Whirl cookies in blender or crush in ziploc back with rolling pin.
Use fork to mix together chocolate wafer crumbs or oreos and butter.
Spray cups of 6-muffin tin with vegetable spray. Line cups with strips of parchment or waxed paper, cut so that they are as wide as the diameter of each cup and long enough to overhang the sides (you'll need this overhang to remove the tarts).
Press crumb crust into bottom and sides of muffin cups, to 1 - 1/2 inches high, using bottom of glass to press into place.
Put 2-3 raspberries in center of each crust and with pastry bag or small plastic bag with corner snipped off, fill tarts with truffle mixture.
Smooth tops and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Top with fresh raspberries for serving.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Mixture

Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good-quality (70+ percent) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp pure Madagascar vanilla extract

Directions
In saucepan, bring cream just to simmer over low heat.
Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and let stand for 10 minutes to melt chocolate.
Add vanilla and stir until smooth.
Set aside to cool for 1 hour at room temperature.
Then beat chocolate at medium speed until it gets thick and light colored.
Follow directions above to fill tarts.

Kentucky Derby Bourbon Truffles

Today is the 141st Kentucky Derby. I know you're going to have a Mint Julep with your Derby Pie. Well, it's also National Truffles Day, so why not make Kentucky Derby Bourbon Truffles?

This is an easy recipe for DERBY TRUFFLES adapted from  Southern Living.

KENTUCKY DERBY BOURBON TRUFFLES

Ingredients
12 ounces dark chocolate (70-85% cacao), chopped
1 -1/2 Tbsp sweet cold butter, cubed
2 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
9 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup good Kentucky Bourbon
1 (5.3-oz.) package pure butter shortbread cookies, crushed (I use Walker's)
2 cups finely chopped roasted, salted pecans
Wax paper

Directions
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in large glass bowl. Cook cream and bourbon in small saucepan over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture is hot but not boiling. (Mixture will steam, and bubbles will form around edge of pan.) Pour cream mixture over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute.
2. Stir chocolate mixture until melted and smooth. (If mixture doesn't melt completely, microwave at HIGH 30 seconds.) Stir in crushed cookies. Cover and chill 3 hours or until firm. (Mixture can be prepared and chilled up to 2 days ahead.)
3. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls (about 2 tsp. per ball). Roll in chopped pecans. Place on wax paper-lined baking sheets. Chill 1 hour.

Happy May Day! Fairy Cakes!

May Day: Queen of the May Chocolate Cake, Maypole Parfaits

I love May Day with its Maypole, Morris Dancing, and all the traditions I grew up with. Chocolate Cake on May Day, alas, was not one of them. Nevertheless, here I am many years later,  and I still love everything about May Day.

Check out my list of May Day Crime Fiction and Morris Dancing Mysteries on Mystery Fanfare.

The Vintage Baker's Chocolate Advertisement above fills that void of chocolate treats with these recipes that I found in Ladies Home Journal for Queen of the May Chocolate Cake and Maypole Parfaits. FYI: I was never the May Queen, although I did dance around the Maypole.

Be sure to scroll down for a history of May Day, Queen of the May, and Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The May Queen"

From Wikipedia:

The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a personification of the holiday, and of Springtime.

Today the May Queen is a girl who must ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a Maypole celebrating youth and the spring time.
Sir James George Frazer found in the figure of the May Queen, a relic of tree worship:
According to popular British folklore, the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over. The veracity of this belief is difficult to establish, but while in truth it might just be an example of anti-pagan propaganda, frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult and human sacrifice are still to be found in popular culture today. The Wicker Man, a cult horror film starring Christopher Lee, is a prominent example of these associations.

The May Queen

 by Alfred Lord Tennyson

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear;
To-morrow 'ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year;
Of all the glad New-year, mother, the maddest merriest day;
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

There's many a black, black eye, they say, but none so bright as mine;
There's Margaret and Mary, there's Kate and Caroline:
But none so fair as little Alice in all the land they say,
So I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall never wake,
If you do not call me loud when the day begins to break:
But I must gather knots of flowers, and buds and garlands gay,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

As I came up the valley whom think ye should I see,
But Robin leaning on the bridge beneath the hazel-tree?
He thought of that sharp look, mother, I gave him yesterday,--
But I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

He thought I was a ghost, mother, for I was all in white,
And I ran by him without speaking, like a flash of light.
They call me cruel-hearted, but I care not what they say,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

They say he's dying all for love, but that can never be:
They say his heart is breaking, mother--what is that to me?
There's many a bolder lad 'ill woo me any summer day,
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

Little Effie shall go with me to-morrow to the green,
And you'll be there, too, mother, to see me made the Queen;
For the shepherd lads on every side 'ill come from far away,
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

The honeysuckle round the porch has wov'n its wavy bowers,
And by the meadow-trenches blow the faint sweet cuckoo-flowers;
And the wild marsh-marigold shines like fire in swamps and hollows gray,
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

The night-winds come and go, mother, upon the meadow-grass,
And the happy stars above them seem to brighten as they pass;
There will not be a drop of rain the whole of the live-long day,
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

All the valley, mother, 'ill be fresh and green and still,
And the cowslip and the crowfoot are over all the hill,
And the rivulet in the flowery dale 'ill merrily glance and play,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.

So you must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear,
To-morrow 'ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year:
To-morrow 'ill be of all the year the maddest merriest day,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to be Queen o' the May.