Ghirardelli LUXE MILK Chocolate Contest: Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Are you a MILK Chocolate fan? Here's your chance to win a coupon for any One Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Bar or Bag. Just comment below on why you are a Milk Chocolate Fan. Winners will be chosen randomly. Contest closes at 5 p.m. October 5.  You never know, there may be consolation prizes.

In 2009 Ghirardelli created a new line: Ghirardelli LUXE MILK to honor milk chocolate lovers looking for the ultimate chocolate experience. 100% ALL NATURAL ingredients. Ghirardelli controls the entire chocolate-making process, beginning with selecting the best cocoa beans, to its proprietary methods of roasting to intensify chocolate taste, refining for velvety smoothness, and conching extensively to bring out sophisticated, nuanced flavors.
The LUXE MILK Chocolate collection is available in four flavors in 3-ounce bars and as wrapped singles in a bag format. The bars are available in your local grocery store as well as popular retailers such as CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Borders, or online at www.ghirardelli.com. So enter the contest now!

LUXE MILK Almond – Toasted almonds complement and enhance the flavors of the creamy-sweet milk chocolate base.
LUXE MILK Hazelnut – Lavished throughout this bar, all-natural deep-roasted hazelnuts add crunch and a distinctive, sophisticated flavor.
LUXE MILK – This bar delivers the ultimate premium milk chocolate experience – pure, all-natural milk chocolate with a velvety texture that melts smoothly in your mouth.
LUXE MILK Toffee – This all natural, rich and creamy milk chocolate is perfectly matched with buttery, crunchy toffee bits.  (My favorite!)

Just comment on why you like Milk Chocolate in order to win a coupon good for A Ghirardelli Lux Milk Bar or Bag. Entries chosen randomly.

Want to bake something special with Ghirardelli MILK chocolate? You've got to try this Afternoon Ghirardelli Delight Cheesecake Recipe from Ghirardelli Chocolate Championship winner Judy Olson from Braham, MN at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair. This incredible cheesecake includes all kinds of great Ghirardelli chocolate.

Afternoon Ghirardelli Delight: Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups shortbread cookie crumbs (about 22 cookies)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
4.5 oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate, melted
3.5 oz Ghirardelli intense dark evening dream chocolate, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup MILK chocolate crunchy toffee bits, divided
3/4 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Garnish: additional whipping cream; Ghirardelli White Chocolate

Method:
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine cookie crumbs, melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar in small bowl. Press onto bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake 4 minutes.
Combine cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl; beat until creamy.
Add melted chocolate, eggs and vanilla; beat until well mixed.
Stir in 3/4 cup toffee bits.
Spread cream cheese mixture over crust.
Continue baking for 50-55 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan 1 hour.
Remove from pan; place onto serving plate.
Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in small bowl.
Place whipping cream in small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat (2-3 minutes).
Pour over chocolate chips.
Let stand 5 minutes; stir until smooth.
Cool until mixture falls in ribbons off spoon (about 1 hour).
Spread over top of cheesecake; sprinkle outer rim of cheesecake with 1/4 cup toffee bits.
Cover; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish with additional whipping cream and drizzle with melted white Ghirardelli chocolate if desired.

Winners of the Ghirardelli LUXE Chocolate: Janet A, Pattie T, Elena Santangelo, and Gerry S

They'll be in the mail shortly.  This was a random selection process. Be sure and check out the next contest. Thanks for participating!

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies: National Homemade Cookies Day

October 1 is National Homemade Cookies Day. Every day should be homemade cookie day because there's nothing quite like cookies fresh from the oven! Today I thought would be a great day to make Chocolate Cookies. I've posted a few recipes for Chocolate Cookies over the years. Some of my favorites:  Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies, Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Chocolate Cookies in a Jar.

If you've tried those and liked them, you'll LOVE these. The recipe for these Outrageous Chocolate Cookies comes from Martha Stewart. And, they truly are outrageous. The dough isn't like most cookie doughs. It's much more brownie-like. Delicious. Lately I've been using Guittard Chocolate, but you can use whatever you have. Just make sure it's the BEST you have.

Hint: Don't overbake these cookies. They are definitely supposed to be crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It's like eating a little bit of Heaven!

OUTRAGEOUS CHOCOLATE COOKIES

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons sweet butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure Madagascar vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Coffee Day

Today is National Coffee Day. So many ways to celebrate, especially if you add Chocolate. You can always have a Caffe Mocha. Chocolate Coffee Fudge, Chocolate Clouds in your Coffee, or pick up some Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans. Chocolate goes great coffee!

In honor of the day, I thought I'd post a recipe for Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. What I love about Chocolate Chip Cookies are the infinite varieties.

As I've mentioned before, your final product is only as good as your ingredients. Use the very best Chocolate, Espresso Beans, Vanilla, Flour, Butter and other ingredients!  This recipe calls for a baking stone. You can use a pizza stone. If you don't have one, you can make these Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies the traditional way. The stone helps makes them gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside. I've adapted this recipe from  ehow.com.

COFFEE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1 cup Sweet Butter, softened
2 fresh Large eggs (these should be room temperature)
2 cup Brown Sugar
6 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
5 tsp Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract (I use Madecasse)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
3- 1/2 cups King Arthur Flour
4 tsp Ground Espresso Beans (or finely ground coffee beans). Try this recipe with ground chocolate covered Coffee beans. Gives it just a bit more chocolate!
16 oz Dark chocolate (65-85% cacao) broken into pieces  (or dark chocolate chips)
Baking Stone

Method
1. Toss butter in microwave for 20 seconds to SOFTEN not melt the butter. (or leave out in advance, so it's already softened)
2. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mixture should be well blended but firm.
3. Add 2 eggs. Beat. Add Vanilla. Mix well. Set aside.
4. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Add the ground coffee or espresso beans.
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixure, beating in a little at a time. Fold in chocolate pieces (or chips). Possible to add walnuts, if you want them. I didn't put them in the ingredients above, but I always like chopped walnuts in my chocolate chip cookies.
6. Put Cookie Dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up. Put wax paper on top to prevent drying.
7. Pre-heat oven to 350. Put hot stone in Oven.
8. Take hot stone out of oven. Drop cookie balls (use a small scoop or form balls) onto the stone, smashing with fork after dropping. Put back in oven on the stone.
9. Cook for about 8 minutes. Depends on your oven, of course.
10. Transfer with spatula to Wire Rack.
Hint: Check the first one. If the cookies fall apart or aren't cooked all the way, give them another minute.

Rumble Cakes

I'm a big fan of Trader Joe's. I like their mixes and products...and certainly their prices. I always have frozen TJ desserts in my freezer in case I don't have time to make something.

Here's one of my favorite recipes direct from the Trader Joe's website.  You can buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe's or you can mix and match with your own items. The beauty of this recipe is that it's filled with all kinds of things and you can change them out, add or delete! Don't you just love the name? Rumble Cakes!

Let's Rumble!

RUMBLE CAKES

1 stick Sweet Butter
2  Eggs
1 box TJ’s Truffle Brownie Mix
¼ cup TJ’s Dried Tart Montmorency Cherries (I love these)
¼ cup Walnut Halves and Pieces
1 box TJ’s Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Bring the butter to room temperature and combine the eggs with the
butter and whisk/ mix.
Slowly add in the brownie mix.
Once the mixture is uniform, add in the cherries and walnuts; set aside.
Lightly grease a brownie pan and place the chunks of cookie dough sporadically around the bottom of the pan (there may be a few pieces of cookie dough left, do with them what you must).
Pour the brownie mix over the top, evenly coating the cookie dough.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.