Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Scones: Bacon Lovers Day

Photo: Bacon Today

There are several Bacon Days on the holiday food calendar. Today is Bacon Lovers Day! Here's a tasty way to celebrate. 

This recipe for Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Scones is adapted from the Bacon Today website. If you're into bacon, you'll want to check out their site for Bacon Recipes, Bacon Shop, Bacon News, and more.

MAPLE BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

3 cups flour (plus extra for work area)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, or dark--or a mix of all)
1/2 cup bacon bits (you can also use candied bacon bits)
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
*to make sour milk, simply combine 1 Tbsp white vinegar for every cup of milk, then let sit for 15 minutes

Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Combine flour, sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda, and baking power in medium bowl. Add soft butter and cut with pastry blade or by crossing 2 knives. When mixture resembles fine crumbs, add in chocolate chips and bacon bits. Combine until chips and bits are coated in flour mixture.
Add sour milk and maple syrup. Mix well.
Turn mixture onto  floured working surface. Knead dough, adding enough extra flour to make slightly stiff dough. Shape into rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough into squares, then cut each square into triangles.
Place triangles on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

CHOCOLATE WALNUT POTATO CAKE: National Potato Day! Retro Ad with Recipe

Today is National Potato Day! You might be asking yourself, "What do potatoes have to do with chocolate?" Well, check out this Retro Advertisement with a recipe for Choco-Walnut Potato Cake. 

Chocolate Potato Cakes are always good. Mashed potatoes make the cake moist. This ad is from Diamond Walnuts, and Diamond Walnuts is still around! Of course, you'll want to have lots of butter and milk (or cream cheese) in your mashed potatoes--no savory mashed potatoes, please! 

Check out another recipe for a Chocolate Mashed Potato Bundt Cake HERE.

CHOCO-WALNUT POTATO CAKE

Ingredients 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sweet butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup mashed potatoes
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Melt dark chocolate in microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth (or melt in top of double boiler)
Warm mashed potatoes in microwave until room temperature (or cool freshly mashed potatoes).
Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer in large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add room temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture before adding next.
Mix in mashed potatoes and melted chocolate.
Pour in flour mixture alternately with milk, mixing until just incorporated.
Fold in walnuts, disperse evenly.
Pour batter into buttered and floured pans, smoothing surface if needed.
Bake in preheated oven until knife or toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack.

Frost with cream cheese icing! Garnish with whole walnuts.

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate-Coconut Crust: ICE CREAM PIE DAY

Today is National Ice Cream Pie Day, and the following no-bake recipe is great to make today since it's a real scorcher out there! I love this retro 1953 Baker's Ad with recipe. "It's a dream with cherry vanilla ice cream!" Today I make this ice cream pie with Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia -- love the extra chocolate chunks! This ice cream pie is also good with Chunky Monkey.. bananas, coconut and chocolate.. what could be bad?

MOCHA RUM CAKE: National Rum Cake!

Today is National Rum Day! Celebrate with your favorite Rum Drink or have a piece of classic Bacardi Rum Cake (recipe on Retro Ad to the right). But, since this is a Chocolate Blog, you can also make this easy and terrific Mocha Rum Cake. Arrgh, Matey!

Mocha Rum Cake!

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3⁄4 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1⁄2 cups unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1⁄3 cup dark rum
2 cups strong brewed full-bodied coffee
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1⁄2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Sweetened whipped cream
Cocoa powder, for dusting 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 300°F
Butter 12-cup bundt pan. Dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.
In bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In large metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.
Remove chocolate from heat and stir in rum, coffee, and granulated sugar.
With electric mixer, beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides, and beat in eggs and vanilla until batter is combined well.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake cake in middle of oven until tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Let cake cool completely in pan on rack, then turn out onto rack.
Dust cake with confectioners' sugar and serve with whipped cream.