Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels

You don't have to be Jewish to make these fabulous Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels. A Dreidel is a four-sided spinning tops with a Hebrew letter on each side. During Chanukah (Hanukah, Hanukkah), children play a game that involves spinning the dreidel and betting on which Hebrew letter will show when the dreidel stops spinning. Children usually play for a pot of 'gelt'--chocolate coins covered in gold colored tin foil.

You won't be spinning these tops unless you want chocolate all over the floor, but making these Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels is a fun activity to do with children.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels. If you want to take it up a notch, make your own marshmallows or buy some high end marshmallows made with natural ingredients such as those from Recchiuti. The last time I made these I used Guittard 70% dark chocolate, but you can use any great organic fair-trade chocolate. For the white chocolate I used Green & Black's White Chocolate that's made with Madagascar vanilla. I also used Paul Newman's Own Organic pretzel sticks. They were a bit long, so I snapped them.

Apologies for the poor caligraphy. Practice makes perfect, and I'm a bit out of practice. :-)

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW DREIDELS

Ingredients
12 chocolate kisses (I used Hershey's Kisses)
8 ounces melted dark semisweet chocolate (I used Guittard 70% cacao)
12 marshmallows (homemade or whatever you have)
12 thin pretzel sticks (I used Newman's Own)
2 ounces melted white chocolate (I used Green & Black)

Directions 
1. Dip bottom of chocolate kiss in melted semisweet chocolate. Press onto marshmallow; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat to make 12 dreidels. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
 2. Cut small slit in bottom of each marshmallow (spray your scissors with PAM); insert 1 thin pretzel stick. Dip dreidels in dark chocolate, and return to baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.
3. Fill plastic bag or pastry bag with melted white chocolate; cut a tiny opening in corner, and pipe Hebrew letters onto 3 sides of each dreidel. I used a pastry bag with a tip, but I should have practiced a bit first so I wouldn't have any drips.
4. Refrigerate at least 5 minutes or up to 8 hours before serving.

Bittersweet Chocolate & Orange Bundt-lette Pound Cakes

Recently my friend Kaye Barley posted at Jungle Red and Meanderings and Muses, about Holiday Traditions. I'll be reposting the entire article on Mystery Fanfare later this month, but I thought since a portion of the post  contained this recipe for Bittersweet & Orange Bundt-lette Pound Cakes, that it was a natural for Dying for Chocolate. Thanks, Kaye, for sharing this Holiday Tradition.

Kaye Barley is a recently retired person having the time of her life spreading her wings and trying new things. She's written her first novel which she hopes to have ready for agent querying in January, she's become an avid amateur photographer - you can see her photos at her blog, Meanderings and Muses,  and she can be found the first Sunday of every month at Jungle Red Writers talking about anything that might cross her mind and strike a chord. When she's not doing those things she's likely got her nose in a book or taking a walk with Harley the Wonder Corgi.

KAYE BARLEY: 
BITTERSWEET & ORANGE BUNDT-LETTE POUND CAKES

One Christmas tradition I love is baking. And I love love love baking with my mini-bundt pans. The first round of baking has begun.

Using one of my favorite cookbooks, Bibb Jordan's "The Pound Cake Cookbook."

It's a teeny little cookbook full of the best pound cake recipes you'll find. Fruit pound cakes, chocolate pound cakes, old-fashioned pound cakes, outrageously inspired pound cakes, a cheese savory pound cake and special miniature pound cakes. yum.

I made several "Bittersweet & Orange Bundt-lette Pound Cakes"

My gift to each of you is Bibb Jordan's scrumptious recipe for these little mini bundts. If my name were Santa, I would deliver some to you, but, well - it's not. So I share this recipe along with a "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Bittersweet & Orange Bundt-lette Pound Cakes
Makes 14 - 16 mini pound cakes

Ingredients:
Pam or Baker's Joy
1-1/2 sticks of butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups of sugar
5 large eggs (room temperature)
3 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of milk (room temperature)
6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (nuggets or chopped - your choice)
1 Tablespoon of finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of orange extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Spray Bundt-lette pans with Pam or Baker's Joy. (this non-stick cooking spray is needed. The traditional method of buttering and flouring the individual molds does not work well).
Cream together the butter and Crisco on high speed until lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and tehn continue beating for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter, blend well, then add 1/2 cup of the milk, blending well again.

Repeat with the remaining flour and milk.
Fold in the chocolate, zest, and extracts.
Fill the Bundt-lette molds with the batter, coming to within 1/2-inch from the top.
If they're over-filled they will over-flow.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes,or until tested done.
Note: The Bundt-lettes may not brown on the top, but when turned out of the pan, they will be a golden color and look like miniature pound cakes.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.

Enjoy!!!!

Cartoon of the Day: Recipes for Happiness

Here's the Cartoon of the Day from one of my favorite cartoonists Hilary Price at Rhymes with Orange. Definitely a Recipe for Happiness!

National Cookie Day: Chocolate PInwheel Cookies

Every day should be Cookie Day, but it's always nice to be reminded with an 'official' Cookie Day Holiday!  Today is National Cookie Day!

There are many types of cookies--Bar Cookies, Drop Cookies, Pressed Cookies, No-Bake Cookies, Molded Cookies, Rolled Cookies, Sandwich Cookies, Fried Cookies, but today I'm posting a recipe for one of my favorite type of Cookies: Refrigerator Cookies aka Icebox Cookies.

Refrigerator Cookies (icebox cookies) include a variety of cookie styles that require chilling. Very often, as in the case of the recipe below, the cookie dough is shaped into a log, so that when chilling is complete in the refrigerator, the dough is easily sliced and baked.

My most favorite Refrigerator Cookies are Pinwheel Cookies. My grandmother lived with us when I was growing up, and she was a terrific baker, so my mother didn't do a lot of baking. But she did make Pinwheel Cookies. I used to help her roll out the dough, and after it was cold, and the two doughs were put togehter, I got to cut them. How fun. So visual, too!

The following recipe for "Chocolate Pin Wheels" is from my copy of Baker's Famous Chocolate Recipes, 1936. I love vintage cookbooks and pamphlets. Note that cookie is spelled "cooky" in the cookbook!