MARSHMALLOW FUDGE CAKE: Vintage Ad with Recipe "Just in time for Thanksgiving"

I love Vintage Ads with recipes. This Vintage advertisement is from Good Housekeeping November 1926. The recipe for Campfire Fudge Cake is still perfect 100+ years later for Thanksgiving 2025. 

I've always loved the Campfire Brand! So here are three recipes for your holiday! Marshmallow Fudge Cake, Campfire Apple Mallows, and Sweet Potatoes Southern. Of course the Marshmallow Fudge Cake is the one I'm making! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

PECAN PIE BROWNIES: Thanksgiving

Thinking about Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving? How about Pecan Pie Brownies instead? This recipe from Betty Crocker for Pecan Pie Brownies is easy and delicious. The recipe calls for a brownie mix, but you can always make your own from scratch brownie recipe and adde the topping (recipe below). Want to make totally home-made Pecan Brownies? Scroll down for a link to an amazing recipe from The Food Network below.

PECAN PIE BROWNIES

Brownies
1 box Brownie mix; Water, vegetable oil, and egg called for on brownie mix

Pecan Topping 
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Line 9-inch square pan with foil, allowing some to hang over edges of pan. Grease bottom and sides of pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread in pan.
Bake 28 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. 

In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1 egg until well blended. Increase heat to medium; cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pecans.
Spoon pecan topping evenly over baked brownie.

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling along edges. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours. 

Using foil to lift, remove brownies from pan, and peel foil away. 

Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. If desired, garnish each brownie with a pecan half.

****

And amazing Brownies from Scratch..  I made a batch of these, and I have to say they are outstanding.. 

PECAN PIE BROWNIES FROM SCRATCH (recipe from The Food Network)

 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/pecan-pie-brownies-9380797

Happy Birthday, Mickey! Cookies & Cream Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

Happy Birthday, Mickey (and Minnie!)  Mickey Mouse's birthday is celebrated on November 18 because he made his first appearance in the Walt Disney classic 'Steamboat Willie' on November 18, 1928. FYI, Minnie was in this cartoon, too, running along the banks of the river, so it's officially Mickey & Minnie Mouse Day. 

From the National Day Archives (a great resource):

From a whistling boat captain in black and white to the full color Sorcerer’s Apprentice in Fantasia, Mickey has captivated the world with his charm and his antics. Mickey Mouse Day celebrates this classic cartoon character’s birthday.

Mickey Mouse took to the screen on November 18, 1928 with slapstick, plot twists, and a full lineup of comedy gold. Walt Disney left Universal Studios with a cartoon rabbit named Oswald, who became a mouse named Mortimer, who eventually became the Mickey we know and love.

Who could have guessed a rodent would become the most well-known character in the world? Mickey may be more globally recognizable than Santa. The first Mickey Mouse Club appeared in 1929, and now kids attend these clubs across the nation. 

Mickey inhabits a world with Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, his nemesis, Pete, and many other memorable characters. It’s a world we can go back to time and time again for a good laugh.

So to celebrate National Mickey Mouse Day, here's a great recipe for Mickey Mouse Cupcakes from The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook. This Cookbook will bring a bit of the Walt Disney magic into your own kitchen. The cookbook features 100 Disney-inspired recipes ranging from the classic Dole Whip and Mickey Pretzels to new favorites like blue milk from Star Wars land and Jack Jack’s Cookie Num Nums from Pixar Pier. 

The cookbook is organized by park — from Disneyland to Epcot, Hollywood Studios to Disney’s Animal Kingdom — and showcases recipes for some of the amazing foods you can find from Main Street USA to Galaxy’s Edge. With The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook, you can explore every delicious nook and cranny the parks have to offer, all without leaving the comfort of your own home. 

And, since this is a Chocolate blog, here's one of my favorites from the cookbook:

Cookies & Cream Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

Main Street, U.S.A., Disneyland

Candy Palace on Main Street, U.S.A., was renovated in 2012 and given a very sweet interior. Many of the features are meant to look edible, such as the chandelier that seems to be dripping ice cream, and the exit sign shaped as a wrapped candy. And among its actually edible creations are delectable, supersweet Cookies and Cream Mickey Cupcakes. Topped with the iconic mouse ears, these popular treats are easy to whip up and sure to please.

 

YIELDS 24 CUPCAKES

For Cupcakes

3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3⁄4 cup cocoa powder

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

To make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Using the flat beater attachment, cream together well. Add eggs and vanilla. While mixer is running, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt; continue mixing until well combined. Add milk slowly.

‌Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling cups just above halfway.

Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour, before frosting.

For Frosting

1⁄2 cup salted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
48 mini chocolate sandwich cookies, whole

 

To make Frosting: 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Using the flat beater attachment, whip until light and fluffy. Add crushed cookies and mix until combined.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Swirl a generous amount of frosting on each cupcake, creating a pointed mound. Stand a mini sandwich cookie upright on either side of pointed mount to create Mickey Mouse ears.

MIX IT UP

Frosting swirls are adorable, but if you prefer less frosting on your cupcakes, you can just use a knife to spread a thinner layer of frosting on top of the cupcakes—enough to push in the mouse ears.

***

Excerpted from The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook by Ashley Craft. Copyright @2020 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Photography by Harper Point Photography. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.

Helga’s Super Easy Triple Chocolate Trifle + Caramel Topping: Guest Post by Daryl Wood Gerber

Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of the Literary Dining Mysteries, Aroma Wellness Mysteries, Fairy Garden Mysteries and Cookbook Nook Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense novels, including the well-received Accidental Murder, The Son’s Secret, Girl on the Run, and the popular Aspen Adams trilogy. Daryl has published a standalone Christmas romance, Hope for the Holidays, and her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies. You can learn more on her website: https://darylwoodgerber.com

***

Daryl Wood Gerber:

Hi, everyone.  Below is a recipe I included in Murder on the Page, the 1^st Literary Dining Mystery.  It came out in October 2024. It’s simple. Delicious. And you’ll want to have others around when you make it, or you might want to eat the whole darned thing. Kid you not! 
 
In the story, Allie, a caterer, and her friend Tegan, a clerk at Feast for the Eyes bookshop, put on a party featuring the novel Pride and Prejudice. Why they put on the party is for you to find out when you read the book. Allie and Tegan invite attendees to dress for the party in the costumes of the era, and the guests will enjoy foods from the era. The shop will post quotes from the book around Feast for the Eyes. In the book, Allie makes a strawberry trifle as one of her dishes. Oh, yum.
 
For fun, Helga, the chef and housekeeper at the inn owned by Tegan’s mother, decides a chocolate trifle would be a nice addition to a meal for the guests at the inn. This trifle would NOT have been served during the Regency Era. It includes candy bars. 
 
Let it be noted, this trifle looks pretty loosey-goosey when you serve it up. Will you care? I think not.
 
Enjoy. 
 
Helga’s Super Easy Triple Chocolate Trifle + Caramel Topping
(Yield: 8 portions)
 
Ingredients

1 brownie mix, prepared and cooled, cubed (*may be gluten-free)
1 4-ounce chocolate instant pudding, prepared
½ cup caramel topping, store-bought or homemade *see recipe below
2 Snickers candy bars, chopped
2 Heath or Skor bars, chopped
1 16-ounce frozen whipped topping, thawed
 
Directions

In a large glass trifle dish or a glass bowl, layer 1/3—1/2 of the cubed brownie, then half of the pudding, then half of the caramel topping, then 1 of the chopped Snickers bars, and 1 of the chopped Heath bars. Top with half of the whipped topping.
 
Repeat the layers in the same order, reserving a few bits of the Snickers and Heath or Skor bars for decoration on top of the final layer of whipped topping.
 
Refrigerate at least 6 hours.

***

Homemade Caramel Topping
(Yield: 2–3cups)

 
Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Directions

In a heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
 
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, margarine, and vanilla.
 
Return the pan to the stove and cook, over medium, stirring frequently until the mixtures comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.  
 
Store unused caramel topping in a  jar in the refrigerator. Heat before reusing. May be heated in the microwave on medium low level. Do not boil. 
 

TURKEY CAKE PANS: THE PERFECT TURKEY CAKE FOR THANKSGIVING

I've made a lot of Birthday and Holiday cakes in odd shapes, mostly without the use of wonderfully 'shaped' cake pans. Yes, Jonas, you may remember the Crab you wanted for your birthday one year, although I'm not sure why you wanted a crab. Wish I could find the photo. Lots of cutting up and piecing together with icing, but also lots of fun.

Thought it might  be fun to post a few more specialty cake pans. Most of these are readily available at local shops and on Amazon and eBay.

So with Thanksgiving coming up this week, I thought I'd post some Turkey Cake Pans! If you don't want to use a Turkey Cake Pan, you can always make your own cake and cut it and shape it and frost it to resemble a turkey! See the links below to some fabulous photos of "Turkey Cakes" with directions and recipes. Who says you can't have cake for dessert at your Thanksgiving meal?

TURKEY CAKE PANS

NordicWare Platinum Collection 3D Turkey Cake Pan

Check out Baking Bites finished Turkey Cake using the Nordicware 3-D Turkey Cake Pan 

CK Products Turkey Pantastic Plastic Cake Pan

Chicago Metallic Silicone Turkey Cakelet Pan with stencils
You can also make muffins in this pan and use them for place settings!

Wilton Thanksgiving Turkey Cake Pan 
(1979/Retired-but available on Amazon and eBay)

Want to make your own Turkey Cake? Chocolate, of course! Scroll down to see the Coolest Homemade Thanksgiving Cake Ideas on Coolest-Birthday-Cakes.com

Disney Family Fun has a great recipe for Turkey Cake and how to make it. The Body of the Cake is yellow cake with the 'drumsticks' a spice cake. I would do the drumsticks in chocolate cake for the dark meat, but then I'm all about chocolate.  Here's a link to this Turkey Cake Recipe.

CHOCOLATE PECAN BOURBON BUNDT CAKE: National Bundt Day

Today is National Bundt Cake Day. With Thanksgiving coming up, I think you should consider this Chocolate Bourbon Bundt Cake, a variation  on Pecan Pie, for Thanksgiving! If you have any left over, this cake is great to toast the morning after Thanksgiving. This recipe is slightly adapted from an older Betty Crocker recipe. As always, use the very best ingredients for the very best tasting cake. The recipe calls for a chocolate bourbon glaze, but I think that's just too much. I like my bundt cakes plain. Nevertheless, I included the Glaze recipe below, in case you want to add it!

CHOCOLATE PECAN BOURBON BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients 

Cake 
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Bourbon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (or 75-90% cacao) chopped, melted, and cooled
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan
In large bowl, beat all ingredients except pecans with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in pecans. Pour into pan.
Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

And, if you want to add the Chocolate Bourbon glaze, here's the recipe:

Chocolate Glaze 

Ingredients

1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup powdered sugar
5 to 6 teaspoons boiling water
Chopped pecans 

Directions
In 2-quart saucepan, melt 1 ounce chocolate and 1 teaspoon butter over low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in powdered sugar and water until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle cooled cake with Chocolate Glaze. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

How easy is that? Yum!!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Pudding: Bread Pudding Day!

Yesterday was Bread Pudding Day, and I forgot to post this recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Pudding. It's perfect for Thanksgiving or any time! As an extra bonus this recipe is dairy and egg free, so you'll feel you've indulged, but you won't have...at least not all that much. Recipe is from Chloe Coscarelli and appeared in the NYT in 2010. I have posted other Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipes, all of which include a thick sauce. This recipe is much lighter.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients 
1 cup coconut milk
1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin (plain-no spices)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
10 cups cubed day-old bread of your choice (about 10 to 12 slices of sandwich bread, depending on the thickness of slices)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Guittard and Ghirardelli are nondairy)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 14 4-ounce ramekins (single-serving ceramic dishes) or a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish.
In blender, process coconut milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, and spices until smooth.
In large bowl, toss bread cubes with pumpkin mixture and chocolate chips until each bread cube is coated.

If using ramekins:
Evenly sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into the bottom of each greased ramekin. Fill each ramekin to the top with the mixture and lightly press it down with the back of a spoon.

If using 9-by-13 baking dish:
Fill baking dish with mixture and lightly press down with back of spoon. Evenly sprinkle about 2 tablespoons brown sugar over the top of the bread pudding. The brown sugar will help the pudding to caramelize on the edges.
(Steps 1 through 3 can be done up to three days in advance; store covered in the refrigerator.)
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned.

If using ramekins:
Let pudding cool a few minutes, then carve around edges with knife to loosen and unmold.
Garnish with powdered sugar if desired and serve warm.

If using  9-by-13 baking dish:
Let pudding cool a few minutes before serving. Cut into portions, then garnish with powdered sugar if desired and serve warm.

The pudding can be baked right before serving or earlier that day and then reheated for 8 to 10 more minutes right before serving.

BLACK BOTTOM PUMPKIN PIE: Thanksgiving

Everybody dance The Black Bottom! See video clip below. I love Black Bottom Pie, but this pie is even more perfect for this time of year with the addition of pumpkin: Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie! And, if you don't make it today, bookmark it for Thanksgiving! It's a great twist on a great pie! Who doesn't love a layer of melted chocolate over a buttery crust topped by pumpkin? This recipe is from Epicurious.. and it's easy. I use a ready-made crust from Trader Joe's, but you can make your own -- either a regular buttery crust or a graham cracker crust.

BLACK BOTTOM PUMPKIN PIE

INGREDIENTS

BLACK-BOTTOM FILLING 
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
 8 oz good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped

PUMPKIN FILLING 
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
 pinch ground ginger
1 can (15 oz) or 2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin-pie filling)
2 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1/8 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

BLACK-BOTTOM FILLING 
In saucepan over high heat, bring cream and ginger to boil. Immediately remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.
Put chocolate in a mixing bowl. Bring cream and ginger to a boil again, and strain cream into bowl of chocolate (discard ginger). Stir mixture until smooth.

PUMPKIN FILLING 
In mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, and spices. Whisk in pumpkin and then eggs, one at a time. Stir in evaporated milk and vanilla.

TO ASSEMBLE: 
Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out crust, place in 9-inch metal pie pan, and pour in black-bottom filling.
Freeze for 10 minutes to firm up, then fill remainder of pie shell with pumpkin mixture.
Bake on preheated cookie sheet until crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes.
Cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Have a piece great pie and dance The Black Bottom!

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE STRAWBERRY SUNDAE: National Sundae Day!

Today is National Sundae Day. I love this 1950s Dairy Queen Ad for a Strawberry Sundae, but let's make it 2025! Add Brownies: Bake your own or buy some. Use real ice cream and fresh strawberries and make this delicious Chocolate Brownie Strawberry Sundae.

Chocolate Brownie Strawberry Sundae

Chop up some Brownies
Soften up some Vanilla Ice Cream
Slice a bunch of fresh Strawberries
Hot Fudge Sauce

Layer all ingredients in sundae bowls or cups or tall clear glasses, like a trifle. Pour hot fudge sauce over the whole thing!

WARTIME CHOCOLATE CAKE: 3 Recipes for Veterans Day!

Tomorrow is Veterans Day (aka Remembrance Day, Armistice Day). My father was a decorated Veteran of WWII, so today I'm posting three recipes for Chocolate Cake from that era. Times were hard during the War, on the battlefield, and on the Homefront. These recipes are for Wartime Chocolate Cake. I think it was slightly easier to get sugar and cocoa in the U.S. than other countries, although I've seen several versions of War Time Chocolate Cake in various British and American war time cookbooks. Milk and eggs were rationed, too, so the first recipe is quite spongy.

During the Second World War, you couldn't just walk into a store and buy as much sugar or butter as you wanted. You were only allowed to buy a small amount (even if you could afford more) because these items were rationed. The government introduced rationing because certain items were in short supply.

Some things were scarce because they were needed to supply the military - gas, oil, metal, meat and other foods. Some things were scarce because they normally were imported from countries with whom we were at war or because they had to be brought in by ship from foreign places. Sugar and coffee were very scarce. Coca-Cola even stopped production during the war because sugar in great quantities was not available.

Everyone was given a ration book that contained ration stamps for different items. Grocers and other business people would post what your ration stamps could buy that week, but it was up to the individual to decide how to spend the stamps and possibly save up the items for a cake like this.

All three recipes are egg-less.

Support our Veterans!

WARTIME CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold water

Directions:
In large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt.
Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened.
Pour into 8 x 8-inch pan.
Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

And from Eating for Victory, a great Reproduction Cookbook of WWII pamphlets.

 

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bundt Cake: Greek Yogurt Day!

Today is Greek Yogurt Day. I use Greek Yogurt in baking because it gives a bit of a tangy flavor to cakes, muffins, and breads. I often substitute Greek Yogurt for sour cream in recipes. You'll love this Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bundt Cake.

And, some background on Greek Yogurt. It is not necessarily from Greece. Greek yogurt refers to a yogurt making process. It differs from regular yogurt in that the whey is strained off in the process. Consequently it contains less sugar, fewer carbs, and a lot more protein. Real old fashioned Greek yogurt is made with goat's milk, while much American Greek-style yogurt is made from cow's milk. You can try either in the following recipe. As always, choose a good quality Greek yogurt, as you would a good cocoa.

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for bundt pan
1 cup water
1/3 cup DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1  3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional: Confectioners Sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan.
Put butter, water, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until butter has just melted and mixture is combined. Set aside.
Whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda in large mixing bowl. Add half butter mixture and whisk to combine. Add remaining butter mixture, and whisk until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in Greek yogurt and vanilla.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes.
Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely.
Optional: Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

CAPPUCCINO TRUFFLES: National Cappuccino Day!

Today is National Cappuccino Day. I'm sure you've already had a cappuccino to celebrate, but here's another way to celebrate the day -- Cappuccino Truffles. This easy recipe is from Taste of Home. These truffles are absolutely delicious.

CAPPUCCINO TRUFFLES

Ingredients 
1 Tbsp boiling water
2 tsp instant coffee granules
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp butter, softened
3 Tbsp sugar

Directions 
In small bowl, combine water, coffee and 1 tsp cinnamon; set aside.
In small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate and butter until smooth. Stir in coffee mixture. Press plastic wrap onto surface. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
In small bowl, combine sugar and remaining cinnamon. Shape chocolate into 1-inch balls; roll in cinnamon-sugar.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

TOASTED ALMOND TRUFFLES: Retro Ad with Recipe for National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day!

Today is National Chocolate with Almonds Day, and what better way to celebrate than making Toasted Almond Truffles. I love this Retro 1985 Carnation/Nestle Recipe Advertisement. It's so easy. Of course, you can substitute your own best chocolate in this 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 (or your favorite chocolate)
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.

WINE AND DONUT PAIRINGS: National Doughnut Day

Today is National Donut Day, and, yes, you'd be right if you said you celebrated National Doughnut Day on the first Friday last June. There are actually two Donut (Doughnut) days. 

Today's holiday is a second more or less official Donut Day depending on your sources. According to food holiday historian John Bryan Hopkins, who cataloged several fringe holidays for his site Foodimentary beginning in 2006, mentions of the November Doughnut Day could be found as early as the 1930s in copies of Ladies' Home Journal. Hopkins speculated that the November 5 date is close enough to Veterans Day on November 11 that a retail outlet likely introduced the date to acknowledge their service.

But donuts are good any day, and to celebrate today's holiday I have a guest post from Julissa Arangure-Garcia on pairing donuts with sweet and savory wines!  This post originally appeared on the Shari's Berries blog and shared from Julissa with a new introduction. I love this!!!

JULISSA ARANGURE-GARCIA:

Let’s be honest, wine was made to be paired with desserts. From wine and chocolate pairings to baking with wine (pinot noir chocolate cake anyone?), wine and desserts are a dynamic duo. Get creative at your next party or event and try pairing the sweet notes of a glass of wine with some sugary delicious donut flavors.

Shari’s Berries has the ultimate wine and donut pairings to help you create mouth-watering combinations. The guide also includes an overview of what flavor notes you’ll taste and what personality the combo is best for. Take a look and find which donut and wine pairing was made for you!

Wine and Donut Pairing Guide

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE aka Toll House Bundt Cake: Retro Ad with Recipe

Have you been making lots of Chocolate Chip Cookies this year. Why not mix it up? Make this Toll House Bundt Cake! This Retro Advertisement and Recipe from the 80s is terrific! This Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (Tollhouse Bundt Cake) is great for toasting for breakfast, with your morning coffee break, in your lunch box, with afternoon tea, and for dinner's dessert. I love this recipe!

TOLL HOUSE BUNDT CAKE

Cake

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vinegar and enough milk to measure 1 cup (to make sour milk)
1 cup soft butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
In small bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. Place vinegar in 1 cup measuring cup; fill with milk; set aside. In large mixing bowl combine butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract; beat till light and fluffy. Add eggs on low speed. Add flour mixture alternately with milk. Fold in chocolate chips.

NUT TOPPING: 
1/4 lb. soft butter
2 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cups nuts, chopped

Directions
Spoon batter into pan and put on topping. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set before baking. Bake at 375 F. for 50 minutes.

HOMEMADE ALMOND JOY: National Candy Day!

Today is National Candy Day, and two of my favorite candy bars are Almond Joy and Mounds, manufactured by Hershey's. Almond Joy has a coconut-based center topped with two toasted almonds and covered in a layer of milk chocolate. Almond Joy is the sister product of Mounds, which is the same confection but without the almond and coated with dark chocolate. I'm actually partial to Mounds Bars, but thought I'd post a recipe for Homemade Almond Joy -- with one concession, I use dark chocolate! If you're a purist, make it a dark chocolate Mounds bar and leave off the Almonds.

According to Wikipedia, Peter Paul Halajian, a candy retailer in Connecticut in the 1919, along with other Armenian investors, including Dutch candy manufacturer Jett Schaefer, formed the Schaefer Candy Manufacturing Company in 1919. The company first sold various brands of candies, but following sugar and coconut shortages in World War II, they dropped most brands and concentrated their efforts on the Mounds bar. The Almond Joy Bar was introduced in 1946 as a replacement for the Dream Bar (created in 1936) that contained diced almonds with the coconut. In 1978, Peter Paul merged with the Cadbury company. Hershey’s then purchased the United States portion of the combined company in 1988.

During the 1970s, the Peter Paul company used the jingle, "Sometimes you feel like a nut / Sometimes you don't / Almond Joy's got nuts / Mounds don't," to advertise Almond Joy and Mounds together. In a play on words, the "feel like a nut" portion of the jingle was typically played over a clip of someone acting like a "nut", engaged in some funny-looking activity. See the Retro Commercial from 1978 below.

And here's a variation on a good thing. Did you ever try any of these? In the 2000s, Hershey began producing variations of the product, including a limited edition Piña Colada and Double Chocolate Almond Joy in 2004, a limited edition White Chocolate Key Lime and Milk Chocolate Passion Fruit Almond Joy in 2005, and a limited edition Toasted Coconut Almond Joy in 2006. Although Peter Paul as a company no longer exists, the name still appears on the wrapper as part of the bars' brand names.

Homemade Almond Joy 

Ingredients
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
14 ounces sweetened flaked or shredded coconut
24 ounces dark chocolate, chopped  (milk chocolate if you're a traditionalist)
3/4 cup whole almonds (that you'll toast-see recipe)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F
Spread raw almonds on baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
In big mixing bowl, blend milk, butter and vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Add coconut a little at a time and mix until combined. The mixture will be thick. Place mixture in refrigerator for 30 minutes. (Use can use your Kitchen Aid flat beater, but the texture will be better if you use a hand mixer)
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove coconut mixture from refrigerator. With hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into small log - 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Press coconut mixture tightly together. Place logs on lined baking sheet and continue until all coconut mixture is finished.
Press an almond on top of each coconut log.
Place baking sheet in freezer to chill while you melt chocolate.
In medium microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate in microwave 2-4 minutes at 30 SECOND intervals until chocolate is melted (or melt in top of double boiler or pan over saucepan of simmering water).
Remove coconut logs from freezer.
Dip in Chocolate: See next step

How to Dip in Chocolate: Two Ways

1. Place one coconut almond log on fork. Use spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over almond. This helps almond stick to coconut log during dipping. Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate. Scrape bottom of fork along the side of bowl and place on lined baking sheet. You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate. If chocolate gets thick, return to microwave or heat for a tiny bit more.
Let dipped candy harden for 45 minutes. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

2. Using Two Fork method (or a special dipping tool-I find this handy), dunk coconut logs in chocolate, bring up and tap on lip of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and repeat.

"Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut! Sometimes You Don't"
Enjoy this 1978 Almond Joy Mounds Commercial! How Retro!

National Sandwich Day: BLT with Chocolate Mayonnaise

Today is National Sandwich Day. A sandwich is defined as a food item made of two or more slices of leavened bread with one or more layers of filling, typically meat or cheese, with the addition sometimes of vegetables or salad. Sometimes mustard, mayonnaise, or butter is used.

I've posted many recipes for Chocolate Panini and Chocolate Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and the like, but I love this recipe that appeared in 2009 in the Recchiuti Chocolate newsletter. Michael Recchiuti has a dynamite recipe for Brioche and Chocolate Mayo BLT. I love bacon and chocolate, and this is a most subtle pairing. There's a Recipe for brioche on the website that looks fairly easy, but if you can't wait, go out and buy a nice artisan brioche to use in this special BLT.

At the Cheese & Chocolate Taste Project, Recchiuti assembled his BLTs with his homemade brioche, applewood smoked bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, fresh butter lettuce, a thick slice of heirloom tomato and this great Chocolat-y mayonnaise.

CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE

Ingredients
6 extra-large egg yolks
1/4 pound unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I love Recchiuti chocolate!)
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions
Place yolks in a stainless steel mixing bowl.
Combine unsweetened chocolate and olive oil in double boiler and heat mixture to 115°F.
Begin beating egg yolks on medium speed for 1 minute, then increase speed to high and whip until doubled in volume.

Reduce speed to medium and add chocolate mixture to the yolks carefully, in fine stream. The yolks will start to emulsify and thicken. If mixture becomes too thick you may add a small amount of oil to loosen the mixture. Season to taste.

Note: This mayonnaise is meant for immediate use and will not keep well in the refrigerator.

Celebrate the day with this fabulous BLT!

PAN DE MUERTO DE CHOCOLATE: Day of the Dead!

Here's a great recipe for Day of the Dead. This recipe for Pan de Muerto de Chocolate comes from the Hershey's Kitchens. It's a great twist on the traditional Day of the Dead sweet yeast bread, as it adds Cocoa for a rich flavor and a bright orange glaze for an extra shiny boost and flavor. This recipe makes two loaves!

PAN DE MUERTO DE CHOCOLATE

Ingredients 

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk 
1/2 cup water 
1 tsp anise extract 
5 cups all-purpose flour plus flour for dusting work surface, divided 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
2 packages active dry yeast 
1 tsp salt 
4 eggs 
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (or a cocoa of your choice)

Directions

Line two cookie sheets or baking pans with parchment paper; set aside. 

Combine butter, milk and water in small saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very warm (do NOT boil) and butter is melted. Remove from heat; stir in anise extract. 

Stir together 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, yeast and salt. Gradually add butter mixture, beating until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Stir together remaining 4-1/2 cups flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well until soft dough begins to form.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 10 minutes (dough will be smooth and elastic). Form dough into large ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl; flip the dough so that all sides are greased. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 2 hours). 

Heat oven to 350 F. Heat oven to 350°F. Punch dough down. Cut away about 1/4 of the dough; set aside. Divide remaining dough in half; shape into two round loaves. Place one loaf on each prepared baking sheet. Divide reserved dough into 14 equal balls. Roll 12 balls into stips ("bones") and place 6 across top of each loaf. Place remaining balls in center top of each loaf. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool slightly. Make ORANGE GLAZE; brush over tops. Cool completely. Just before serving, dust tops with powdered sugar, if desired. 

ORANGE GLAZE 

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange peel 
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 

Directions

Combine sugar, orange peel and orange juice in small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just comes to a boil and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.