Triple Chocolate Peanut Clusters: Peanut Cluster Day

Happy Peanut Cluster Day! Seems like we just had another Chocolate Covered Nut Day, but I don't mind celebrating again--this time with Peanuts. This recipe is so easy, and you make it in a Slow Cooker! This recipe is from from the Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook (2006). Of course, you can substitute any higher quality chocolate in this recipe! I love that there are three types of chocolate!

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) jar dry-roasted peanuts
1 (16-ounce) jar unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
18 (2-ounce) chocolate bark coating squares, cut in half
2 cups (12-ounce package) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 (4-ounce) package German chocolate baking squares, broken into pieces
1 (9.75-ounce) can salted whole cashews
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients in a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW 2 hours or until melted.
Stir chocolate mixture.
Add cashews and vanilla, stirring well to coat cashews.
Drop nut mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls onto wax paper.
Let stand until firm.
Store in airtight container.

Chocolate Cereals: National Cereal Day!

Today is National Cereal Day! There weren't that many (if any) chocolate cereals when I was a kid, and I doubt my parents (my Dad was a pediatrician) would have allowed them at the breakfast table. But over the years since then, there have been many chocolate cereals. I'm not going to say that Chocolate Cereal is healthy, but since you'll probably add some milk, you'll be getting your calcium. It beats grabbing a candy bar for breakfast, but probably not by much. Nevertheless, since today is National Cereal Day, I thought I'd list some of the Chocolate Cereals that have hit the supermarket shelves over the years. None of these were in the cereal snack packs I had as a kid. Have any favorites? Leave a comment.

So for National Cereal Day, here are some Retro Chocolate Cereals! Be sure and scroll down for a Vintage Recipe for Cocoa Peanut Logs using Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies!

Also, check out my recipe for Chocolate Granola. There are also some healthy chocolate granolas on the market. Or you can make Chocolate Oatmeal with Chocolate Chips.

And a retro recipe for Cocoa Peanut Logs from the back of the cereal box!

One Bowl Oreo Brownies: National Oreo Day!

Oreo Ad: 1960

Happy Birthday, Oreo! Today is Oreo Day! The Oreo is America's Favorite Cookie! This cookie debuted on March 6, 1912 by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco, now owned  by Kraft). The original Oreo was packaged as a Trio: the Mother Goose, the Veronese, and the Oreo Biscuit. Oreo was the most popular, and soon was a stand-alone, well as far as cookies go, because you always need milk with Oreos!

In 1921, Nabisco dropped 'Biscuit' from the name and called it 'Oreo Sandwich'. In 1948 it was called the 'Oreo Creme Sandwich' and today it's marketed as the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.  Over the years there have been many variations -- Mini Oreos, Double Delight,  Triple stuffed, Lemon-Cream, Chocolate Covered Mint Oreos, Halloween Oreos, Green Tea Oreos--even Oreo O's Cereal made by Post. For a much more complete and terrific history of Oreos go to Months of Edible Celebrations 2008 post. For those who are interested in cookie history, the Hydrox chocolate sandwich cookie predated Oreos by four years. Read more here.

So how do you eat your Oreos? Do you dunk them? Do you open them and lick the filling and then eat the cookies? 

I've posted scads of Oreo-based tasty treats here on DyingforChocolate. But here's an easy recipe for One Bowl Oreo Brownies. you'll love these!

ONE BOWL OREO BROWNIES

Ingredients 
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1- 1/2 cups flour
1 cup DARK cocoa powder
1 cup chocolate chips
25 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F
Line 9 x13 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add in salt and cocoa powder and mix on medium until combined, 30 seconds to minute.
Turn mixer to low and add in flour until incorporated.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread half of batter into pan.
Top with Oreos and spread remaining batter on top.
Bake 35-40 minutes until center is almost set.

Absinthe Day: Chocolate Absinthe Bundt Cake

Today is National Absinthe Day. Absinthe is a strong herbal liqueur distilled with a large number of herbs like anise, licorice, hyssop, veronica, fennel, lemon balm, angelica and wormwood (the flavor of anise and/or licorice, at least in contemporary forms of the liquor, tends to predominate).  

Wormwood, the one that's gained the most notoriety, is Artemisia absinthum, an herb that grows wild in Europe and has been cultivated in the United States as well. Much of the liquor's legendary effect is due to its extremely high alcohol content, ranging from 50% to 75% (usually around 60%), plus the contribution of the various herbs. It has been assumed by  that the so-called "active ingredient"in absinthe is wormwood, although that is apparently not really the case.

The drink was referred to in France as "La Fée Verte" or The Green Fairy which is a reference to its green color (depending on the brand). The color usually came from the chlorophyll content of the herbs used in the distillation process; however, some disreputable manufacturers added toxic chemicals to produce both the green color and the louche (or clouding) effect that in reputable brands was caused by the precipitation of the essential oils of the herbs. It is quite probable that the bad reputation absinthe developed was due to these low-grade and perhaps quite poisonous version of the real thing.

Absinthe was very popular in fin-de-siècle Paris, with Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Verlaine, Alfred Jarry and Oscar Wilde among its most famous imbibers. And, of course, there was Edgar Allan Poe.

Two good websites about Absinthe: La Fee Verte  & The Wormwood Society.

For this year's holiday, I thought I'd post an easy Chocolate Absinthe Bundt cake recipe. You have to like Absinthe to really enjoy this cake. Always use a name brand absinthe -- Absinthe is an acquired taste. What I like about this recipe is that the absinthe flavor is enhanced by the anise and fennel seed (you can actually use 1/8 tsp each for more flavor). Original recipe from Epicurious.

CHOCOLATE ABSINTHE BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup absinthe
2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened Dark cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground anise or fennel seed
1 cup hot water
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Beat butter at medium speed with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add absinthe; beat until blended.
Combine flour and next 5 ingredients; add to sugar mixture alternately with hot water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition; stir in flavorings.
Pour batter into greased and floured 9-inch bundt cakepan.
Bake at 300° for 60 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.