Once Upon A Chocolate Life

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

4th of July Idea: Super Easy Brownies

Are you looking for an easy, "kicked" up brownie? Perusing Pinterest recently I came across this recipe from Pinch of Yum. It is SO Easy that even if you do not have the time or think you cannot bake you can handle this! These brownies would be a great addition to your 4th of July picnic, trip to watch the fireworks or around the campfire.

I love brownie batter! Brownies right out of the oven and brownies of any kind, especially at Summer picnics, but I do not like to have to make things from scratch all the time. This recipe is my answer.

A Ghirdelli box brownie mix or your favorite box brownies with chocolate chips in the mix, and about 14 Oreos! You simply make the boxed mix using the instructions on the back of the box and add crushed Oreos, then pour into a prepared baking pan. Easy peasy!

The Oreo's melt into the batter for the most part, the chocolate chips stay soft and the whole thing is DELICIOUS! Lindsay at Pinch of Yum makes these a little gooey in the middle, she cooks these about 25 minutes, I cooked mine about 30 minutes, and they were yummy.

Bake up a batch of these for your picnic! Enjoy your brownies and enjoy your day.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

I hope you have a wonderful day!
Happy Father's Day!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

I love cereal treats, especially Rice Krispie treats, and if they have chocolate and peanut butter than that just makes them all the better. Last week I made a batch and I took them to friends so that I would not eat them all. Then I had a craving for more, so I went to Pinterest for some inspiration and it did not disappoint. This recipe is a little different from the last, but no less tasty, as I had yet another bag of Reese's rabbits in my freezer I used them in place of the peanut butter cups.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats
adapted from Picky Palate

Ingredients

5 Cups Rice Krispie cereal

1 cup Special K Cereal

1 large bag mini marshmallows

1/4 Cup butter

1 Cup creamy peanut butter

1 bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, quartered

1/2 cup milk chocolate melted
1/2 cup dark chocolate melted

Directions

Place Rice Krispies and Special K cereal into a large mixing bowl, set aside. Place marshmallows and butter into a large bowl and microwave until puffed up, about 3 minutes. Pour marshmallows into cereal, mix to combine then pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish and press into pan. Melt peanut butter until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Add chopped peanut butter cups, stir gently then pour over the cereal treats. Drizzle melted chocolate over top and swirl to make a nice pattern. Refrigerate to set, cut into squares and serve.

These are so yummy! I think they may be my new favorite cereal treat! If you try them please let me know that you think. And if you have a favorite cereal treat recipe I would love to hear about it!

Have a great day! I hope you can do better than me and only eat just one and not a half a pan!

Linking to:

I Should Be Mopping the Floors

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Magnum Cafe Paris

Do you like ice cream? Chocolate? Magnum Ice Cream bars? Will you be in Paris in the next month? If so than you can experience the first European concept bar located in Paris for the month of June.

ALL IMAGES FROM MAGNUM

The idea behind the Magnum Cafe is to introduce this yummy ice cream bar to Paris, and at this cafe you can even customize your ice cream.

Images from Magnum

You pick a bar, chocolate or vanilla, it is then dipped into chocolate and then you add your toppings, nuts, crushed macaroons and many others.

"An ephemeral place entirely dedicated to Pleasure and Greed". This is how Magnum describes its coffee place concept which was already inaugurated in Mexico City, Jakarta, Singapore and Tel Aviv. As testing spaces which would lead to emerge after the world tour, the place will offer tastings and customizations of ice creams in a warm chocolate color place. The ice cream brand has chosen the lively area that is the Marais to install its first 1614 sq. ft. European coffee, from May 30 to June 24, 2012."

What do you think? Would you go to visit the Magnum Cafe while in Paris or try something else and safe the Magnum for your snack while at home, after all you can buy them in your grocers freezer.

Images from Magnum

If you would like to visit the cafe here is the address:

Magnum Café
23, rue du Roi de Sicile, Paris 4
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays, 12am-8pm/ Thursdays, Friday, Saturdays, 12am-10pm

If you visit the Cafe, I would love to know what you thought, please come back and let me know!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats

If you have followed this blog for a bit than you know I LOVE peanut butter and anytime I can use it or peanut butter cups in a recipe I do. The inspiration for this recipe came from a photo that I saw on Pinterest, the recipe is from Food Snots it's delicious!

I am a huge fan of homey, easy desserts, especially if they are cereal treats with marshmallows or corn syrup, so these treats were right up my alley.

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats

Adapted from Food Snots

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

1 bag of Reeses mini peanut butter cups or Reeses Rabbitts from Easter

5 Tbs butter or margarin

3 Tbs light karo syrup

1 (10 ounce) package plus 2 heaping cups of mulit colored miniature marshmallows

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine cereal and diced Reeses. Set aside. Spray a 8 x 8 in. pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large pot melt butter over low heat. Add karo syrup and marshmallows and stir continuously until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and add cereal mixture into the pot and fold together just until cereal is evenly coated. Press mixture into the 8 x 8 in. pan. Set aside.

In a small microwave safe bowl, add peanut butter. Microwave for 30 second to a minute to melt. Set aside to let cool slightly. In a separate small microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate at 30 second intervals, stir between intervals, until smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly. You can either drizzle the peanut butter and the chocolate over the treats or pour over the top and swirl around.

What do you think? Is this somethng you will try?

Enjoy and have a great day!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope today that you celebrate the love of your mom, your step-mom, your mother in law or the mother figures in your life.

Have a wonderful day!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

I love chocolate and I LOVE cheesecake! As I was browsing through an old pile of tear sheets I came across a recipe from the original and incomparable Martha Stewart. I do so enjoy a great recipe from Martha, and let me tell you this one is FABULOUS! I have made many, many cheesecakes but this has to be my favorite.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 package (9 ounces) chocolate Oreo cookies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
2 ounces of milk chocolate melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Assemble a 9-inch spring form pan with the raised side of the bottom facing down.
In a blender, pulse cookies until finely ground. Add butter, and pulse to moisten. Transfer to prepared pan, and press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.
In a large bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, and salt; blend until smooth with electric mixer. Add eggs, then sour cream, and finally chocolate; blend filling until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. This is where I separated part of the filling and added the melted milk chocolate to 1/2 of the filling.
Pour filling onto crust, and bake just until set, 1 hour. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).
Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan (this helps prevent cracking, too); leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
Unmold cheesecake. Spread ganache in center of cheesecake (IF USING) let set before serving.

NOTES: I made a 1/2 recipe. And used a 5 inch cheesecake pan. I also decided instead of making Ganache for the top after it was finished, I took part of the filling about 1/4 and added a melted milk chocolate to it. So my directions are as above, if you want to have a layer of ganache on top than follow the link to Martha Stewart's website.