Merry Christmas! Enjoy a cup of cocoa, a good book and time with family and friends!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Happy Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas Eve!
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday with family and drinking lots of cocoa and eating many cookies!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Salted Caramel Peanut Bark
Good morning! I hope that you had a great weekend. Are you ready for Christmas? Do you have all of your gifts purchased, and all of your baking finished?
I baked up a storm this weekend and I made this delicious and easy Salted Caramel Peanut Bark. If you are looking for an easy recipe for last minute gifts or for your Christmas celebration look no further.
Salted Caramel Peanut Bark
Recipe from Good Housekeeping Magazine
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine 3 Tablespoons corn syrup, 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoons of salt. Add 2 cups of peanuts and stir to coat. Spread evenly in a single layer on parchment paper lined pan and bake for 15 minutes or until brown and caramelized. With two forks separate the nuts and then cool completely. Stir into 12 ounces of melted dark chocolate until well coated and then spread evenly onto waxed paper. Refrigerate until set.
I hope you try this! Enjoy your day!
Linking to:
Stone Gable
Savvy Southern Style
Katherines Corner
French Country Cottage
Linking to:
Stone Gable
Savvy Southern Style
Katherines Corner
French Country Cottage
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Raspberry Hot Chocolate
Hello! I hope you are having a good weekend. Are you decorating for Christmas? Do you have your tree up?
Is it warm? Do you feel a chill in the air? Or is it downright cold? Today it is a little chilly here and of course I am experimenting with some hot chocolate recipes. I made some raspberry hot chocolate and thought you might want to try it!
Raspberry Hot Chocolate
Adapted from Food Network
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped or 6 oz 60% Ghiradelli bittersweet chips
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, I use Droste
- 3 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended Chambord)
- Snowmen, candy cane marshmallows for garnish, optional
Directions
Combine everything except the liqueur in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.
Continue to cook, whisking frequently until smooth and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in liqueur, top with marshmallows and serve immediately.
This hot chocolate is delicious, it is creamy, sweet, chocolaty and there is a hint of raspberry, it is like eating a candy bar. I know that I do say that all of the time but lets face it, I would not write about something that I do not like!
I hope you try it, and if you have a favorite chocolate recipe do let me know and I will come and check it out!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Gingerbread Cocoa
Hello! I know that the holidays are a crazy time for many, myself included. Between the cooking, cleaning, baking, family, friends, parties and all that the holidays entail it is always nice to sit and take a minute to relax. I like to do that with a cup of cocoa!
But then again if you have followed this blog or my other one, Pine Cones and Acorns, for any length of time than you already know that.
Although I love good old fashioned cocoa I do like to experiment a little with new recipes. This week, I found a copy of Southern Living 2011 and inside was this delicious recipe for Gingerbread Cocoa.
Gingerbread Cocoa
Recipe from Southern Living
Makes 16 cups
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. apple pie spice
11/2 tsp. ginger
1 gallon of milk
Whisk together first four ingredients in a 6 quart pan. Gradually add milk and whisk until combined. Cook mixture over medium heat for 20 minutes or until bubbles appear around the edges of the pan.
You can either serve immediately, or transfer to s slow cooker and leave on low to have a wonderful beverage all day long.
I enjoyed this cocoa, it is rich and creamy and the gingerbread flavor is a wonderful addition to the cocoa. The other thing that I like is that the recipe is for a crowd, it make 16 cups! I think it would be perfect for Christmas morning or a skating party or even a cookie exchange. I already have this added to my family Christmas menu.
I hope you try this recipe and if you have a great cocoa recipe than let me know.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Moist Chocolate Cake and Fudge Buttercream Frosting
Today is my birthday and I thought I would try something totally new for my cake. This is an unbelievable chocolate cake and chocolate fudge frosting from Jennifer Hill at the Foodness Blog.
Moist Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
1¾ cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
½ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch pans, line bottom with parchment paper circles and set aside. I USED THREE 6 INCH PANS. THIS WILL MAKE TWO SMALL 3 LAYER CAKES.
In a bowl of stand mixer, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla beaut until smooth, about 2 to three minutes.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with rubber spatula, the batter will be very runny.
Pour into pans and bake on middle rack for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs attaches.
Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, run butter knife around the pan. Invert pans onto rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
1 stick of softened butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 cup of milk
1/8 cup of whipping cream
Mix all dry ingredients together, then add butter and slowly add cream and milk to achieve desired consistency. Mix for 3 minutes with electric mixer to get the frosting creamy and fluffy.
This cake is FABULOUS! It is moist, a cross between fudge and brownies and the best cake I have ever made. I love it! The frosting is creamy, chocolaty and a great addition to the cake!
I wish you were here to share it with me!
Go over and check out Jennifer's blog, it is beautiful and filled with wonderful recipes, both savory and sweet.
Linking to:
Linking to:
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life
Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites
Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations
Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)