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Chocolate Bark

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Kaitlin

Bark is one of my favorite holiday treats to make. Why? Because it is so darn simple. And people LOVE it. It is basically melted chocolate with some other deliciousness thrown in. Candy, pretzels, nuts.. whatever makes you happy. I wanted to make some bark to supplement my cookies this year and found this fantastic recipe from Baked Bree. Bree included some Rice Krispies cereal in between the layers to add a little bit of extra crunch to the bark, brilliant! The red and green M&Ms and candy canes make this the perfect holiday treat. Ingredients (adapted from BakedBree.com) 16 oz package dark chocolate chips 16 oz package white chocolate chips 1 cup Rice Krispies 4 candy canes 1 bag red and green M&Ms Note: this will make one cookie sheet worth of bark. I suggest making 2-3 sheets so you have plenty to share!

Marble Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Cookies

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Kaitlin

This time of year, I love finding recipes that incorporate candy bars. I tend to have an influx of candy in my house so I might as well use it to make awesome baked goods right? I received a couple of Equal Exchange Candy Bars recently and couldn’t stop snacking on them! Equal Exchange is the nation’s leading Fair Trade brand of coffee, chocolate and tea. They recently launched a new line of organic, fairly traded candy bars with flavors including milk chocolate peanut butter, milk chocolate crisp with puffed rice and quinoa, and dark chocolate fruit and nut with raisins and almonds. The milk chocolate crisp lives up to its name, the puffed rice and quinoa added a nice crunch to the milk chocolate. The dark chocolate fruit and nut is the perfect mix of chocolately goodness, nuts, and fruit. The website describes it perfectly as trail mix in candy bar form. My favorite of the three though was the milk chocolate peanut butter bar a perfect and classic combination for a reason! I decided to use the chocolate peanut butter bars in a cookie but wanted to find a cookie that sort of resembled the chocolate bar itself. … Continue reading →

Homemade Chipwiches

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have many childhood memories of me chasing down the ice cream truck to get my absolute favorite ice cream treat: a Chipwich. I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for in a dessert? Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream sandwiched in between. Mmm. So I was, well, horrified, to find out that the Chipwich brand name is no longer in existence as of 2007. At that time, Nestle bought the rights to the name and stopped all production because it competed with their “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.” I mean, come on. The name Chipwich is exponentially more catchy. But hey, whatever floats their boat. Since finding out this information, I can’t get the idea of making my own “Chipwiches” or “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches” out of my head. I was sent an Airbake cooking sheet recently and wanted to test it out. The Airbake Nonstick Insulated sheets are pretty snazzy. They are made of 100% aluminum and are comprised of two sheets surrounding a layer of air. This is said to reduce the temperature of the metal that actually comes in contact with the food which should result in more even baking. Airbake also claims that cookie … Continue reading →

Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Kaitlin

Tim Tam Tarts. Isn’t that oh so fun to say? A Tim Tam is a chocolate cookie from Arnott’s in Australia. You might see them every now and then in America, but don’t be fooled, those are made by Pepperidge Farm and I’m sorry, they just don’t live up to the originals. These happy little biscuits covered in chocolate are absolutely delicious. Their motto is “The Most Irresistible Chocolate Biscuit” but I think it’s more appropriately “Visitors to Australia’s Biggest Australian Obsession”. Seriously. They are the best. So when one of my friends traveled to Australia recently and asked what I’d like, I basically yelled in her face “TIM TAMS!” which can be quite alarming to someone who has zero idea what a Tim Tam is. I clearly made an impression, because she returned with two boxes! Now, Tim Tams are perfectly delicious on their own, maybe with some milk. But I’m a food blogger, so I had to try to turn the cookies into something even better. A Dark Chocolate Tart with Tim Tam Crust, Raspberries, and Rose Water Whipped Cream? YES! (I adapted this recipe from taste.com.au Note: I am currently taking the Melt Buttery Spread Challenge and … Continue reading →

Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Kaitlin

The simplest actions can really make your day. Sometimes all you need to turn a day around is a simple pick me up. This hot chocolate is a really easy way to put a smile on your, or your loved ones, face(s). It’s also a perfect Valentine’s Day drink! I found this cute recipe on Martha Stewart. Ingredients: (this makes 2 cups) 4 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 4 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate 2 marshmallows To make the marshmallows, cut the marshmallows in half. Cover the marshmallows in a sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll the marshmallow halves flat. I know this looks odd. Just you wait. Using a small heart cookie cutter, cut hearts out of each flattened half. Cute, right? To make the hot chocolate, add the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate in a small pot over medium heat. Stir frequently until the chocolate has melted and there is steam rising from the milk. You do not want to boil the milk. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows. Isn’t this sweet? The chocolate is really rich and delicious; I … Continue reading →

Strawberries with Chocolate Cream

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

Valentines Day has come early to I Can Cook That! Ok, not really. I made them for a party recently, but they would be perfect for a Valentines Day dessert, or with your coffee in the morning! I found this recipe on Taste of Home. After reading the reviews, a few people suggested adding some powdered sugar to sweeten up the chocolate cream. I love anything sweet, so I took their suggestion! Ingredients: 1-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, grated, divided 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup powdered sugar 1 cup whipped topping 2 containers of fresh strawberries, halved I used dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s. They come in 1.75 oz little bars so I used two of those 1.75 oz bars. Take the first bar and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and whipped topping. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. Add the mixture to a plastic zip lock bag. Cut off the lower corner and pipe onto the strawberries, with the cut side up. … Continue reading →

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Kaitlin

We recently had a baby shower for one of my co-workers. She’s a big chocolate fan, so I went in search of a super chocolately cupcake that I could make for the shower. Lauren’s Latest had a great recipe that incorporated dark chocolate and cocoa powder, perfect! I used an altered buttercream recipe from my Guinness Cupcakes so that I could have a white icing that I could dye blue. She is having a boy so I went with a duck theme! Cupcake ingredients: 3/4 cup butter 12 oz dark chocolate 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light) 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 cup flour 3 eggs 3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup low fat sour cream 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Buttercream ingredients: 1 stick of butter, softened 3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Milk, as needed to get to desired consistency 4-5 drops blue food dye So I did something that is typically a big no-no in baking. I took Lauren’s recipe and multiplied it by three to make 24 cupcakes. And (thankfully) it turned out a-ok! So feel free to use … Continue reading →

Day-After-Halloween Brownies

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Kaitlin

If you’re like every other American adult the day after Halloween, you have a whole lot of random candy sitting in your house. My guess is you either 1. want to get rid of it ASAP or 2. consume it all in one sitting. Well friends, I have a recipe to satisfy both ends of the spectrum. Two Peas and Their Pod had a wonderful Peanut Butter Snickers Brownies recipe on their site that got me thinking. Any chocolately goodness could be thrown in these brownies to make a yummy dessert! So I used Dark Chocolate Reeces and Peanut Butter M&Ms. Past that, the recipe is the same as Two Peas and Their Pod, so thank you very much for posting this great idea! Feel free to use whatever chocolate you have lying around the house. Just be sure to end up with about 1 1/2 cups of candy to make the recipe consistent. Ingredients 1 cup butter 2 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 large eggs 3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups chopped candy (I used about a dozen Reeces Cups and a bag … Continue reading →

Godiva Coffee – Pumpkin Spice & Caramel Pecan Bark

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Kaitlin

I am in love with fall, it is by far my favorite time of year. It is the only time of year I can give into my love of all things pumpkins and not get funny looks. Sadly, I feel like the autumn season seems to be getting shorter and shorter, so I need to get as much “fall” food and drinks as I can. As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I was lucky enough to receive two different limited edition fall coffees from Godiva: Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark. The coffees are based off of Godiva’s Pumpkin Spice Truffles and their signature Caramel Pecan Bark. The Pumpkin Spice coffee has a wonderful pumpkin pie taste, with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The Caramel Pecan Bark has notes of toasted pecan and caramel. I couldn’t wait to try them! I decided to make two different recipes for each coffee to really test out their flavor. The weather in Philadelphia has continued to be pretty darn humid, so I made a few chilled coffee drinks. I also decided to use some of the coffee grounds to make my own Caramel Pecan Bark. First to make the Caramel Pecan Bark. … Continue reading →

Dark Chocolate ROOT Cake

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Kaitlin

I have wanted to try to incorporate ROOT into my cooking for a while now. ROOT is basically the alcoholic version of root beer. For the history/back-story, check out their website. Here is also a video on the stuff: The spirit contains birch bark, smoked black tea, cinnamon, wintergreen, spearmint, clove, anise, orange, lemon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and pure cane sugar so I thought it would go really well in a chocolate cake. I used this rum cake recipeas a starting point, and substituted in ROOT and dark chocolate, as well as a little instant espresso coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor. Ingredients for the cake: 6 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso coffee 5 ounces (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter 2/3 cup ROOT 4 large eggs, separated 1-1/4 cups sugar 1 cup flour Pinch saltIngredients for the chocolate glaze: 1 cup heavy whipping cream 8 ounces roughly chopped dark chocolate 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder Ingredients for Chantilly cream (optional): 1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon sugar or to taste Small pinch salt To make the cake, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a … Continue reading →