You Can Never Have Too Much Chocolate

What to do with leftover chocolate chips?

How about some chocolate covered strawberries...

or chocolate dipped peanut-butter cookies...

Cardamon and Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

As a very indecisive person, I often find myself overwhelmed by baking possibilities (a few hours on Pinterest only makes the problem worse), leading to dozens of saves issues of cooking magazines, several untouched cookbooks and a hundred bookmarked pages on my laptop. 

I saw this recipe awhile back and was instantly a fan. I mean, the kid in the picture looks so happy, how could it not be good??? I wanted to be this kid. For some reason, the recipe stayed on the back burner, getting lost behind new ideas and occasions. When a friend who likes coffee (almost) as much as I do was getting ready to leave for school, I knew these would be perfect. And they were. 

For those who have never even heard of cardamon, let alone baked with it, do not be afraid. It has a wonderful, spicy scent that fills the whole kitchen. Added into the rich chocolate it offers a surprising kick, especially with the cool coffee ice cream. What pleased me most about the recipe was the consistency of the cookie. Many, many cookies are great on their own but either too hard or to soft or too thin to hold up in an ice cream sandwich.  

We were too excited to put the assembled sandwiches back into the freezer and wait, so we proceeded to eat them with the slightly warm cookies - messy but worth it. If you planned ahead, you could easily make these sandwiches the day/night before and have the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for several days. If they last that long, that is ;) 

Summer Movie Afternoons

With the recent temps rising over 95 degrees and the humidity threatening to turn my hair into a lion's mane, I have been limiting trips outside my front door to a bare minimum. That does include trips to the library to pick up DVD's and a stop at the grocery store for copious amounts of ice cream. One of my favorite things to do is hide out in the cold basement watching movies and getting brain freeze from ice cream or a homemade smoothie.

all images from Google

My most recent movie afternoon was a French theme with Amelie (a classic) and The Flight of the Red Balloon, which was new to me. Based on the 1956 short film, The Red Balloon, this film offered a similarly picturesque view of Paris through the life of a little boy. Although a bit slow in the plot, it is perfect for when you want to travel to Europe without leaving your couch. It also has great music, which adds to the mood. The theme continued later in the evening with How to Steal a Million. This film has Paris, art, Audrey, great clothes, and boomerangs - what more could you ask for? J'aime la France!

Proscuitto Pita-Panini

Lunch is one of the meals that I missed the most while I was away at school. The options at my cafeteria left a lot to be desired: chicken noodle soup, french fries, and the mysterious "double-happiness pasta." This left salad or a slimy ham sandwich as the daily choice.

I prefer to eat a light lunch that gives me that needed burst of energy without making me feel so stuffed that I need to take a nap. This recipe combines two of my personal favorites - pita bread and panini. It takes only a few minutes longer to make than a cold sandwich but so much more satisfying. Trust me.

Prosciutto Pita-Panini

• 1 red pepper
• a few slices prosciutto (available at any Italian or specialty grocer) 
• 1 piece of pita bread (preferably the kind that open into a pocket)
• butter
• cheese! I used a shredded blend called quattro formaggio from Trader Joes which includes parmesan, asiago, fontina and provolone cheeses. Any combination of those would work, or on their own. Use 1 slice (half slices if you are mixing cheeses) or a hearty handful of shredded. 

Turn on panini maker/press or heat skillet pan over medium heat. Butter both sides of pita. Stuff inside of pita with slices of prosciutto, half of the red pepper slices (save the other half for another sandwich or a healthy snack), and cheese. When press or pan is hot enough, carefully place sandwich. Cook until the pita is slightly brown, about 2 min. Transfer to plate and eat while still hot. 

In the photo above I have sliced up a fresh cucumber, but apple slices are also a delicious side, complementing the cheese. 

White-Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

When my friend from work, Hannah, and I get to bake it is serious business. We call our time "baking extravaganzas." They usually involve at least three hours in the kitchen running around working on multiple recipes. It's no wonder that we work up enough of an appetite to eat half of what we bake :)

On our most recent meeting we baked cupcakes and blueberry bars as well as homemade caramel frappacinos. Everything was delicious, but I think that the cupcakes came out as the clear winner of the day.

I know that many people have mixed feeling on coconut, but I for one love it (so long as it's is the real stuff). When I came across this recipe  from Barefoot Contessa, my mouth immediately started watering, they seemed like a perfect summery treat. Since I had some leftover white chocolate and since white chocolate makes every better, I decided to add them into the batter too. You could make them with or without the white chocolate, but I added about half of a bag in the batter right before I poured them into the cupcake tins (the same step as the coconut in the recipe).

This recipe is a bit tricky, beginning bakers be warned. The hardest part was shifting the flour, we both decided we not a fan. It did however, produce very nice cakes that were fluffy but not dry and crumbling. Persevere through it!

Now for the frosting. Oh wow. This is possibly one of the best frosting recipes I have made, I am already dreaming up new recipes to make it for. The vanilla and almond extract make it smell absolutely amazing while it's in the mixer, swirling into a creamy dream. I also approved of how much frosting the recipe yielded since I prefer a 50/50 cupcake to frosting ratio with some extra for taste- tasting.

The end result is a moist cake with creamy frosting and the sunny taste of coconut. Ocean blue cupcake liners are optional but encouraged.

Mini French Toast

First off, I apologize for my disappearance from the blogging world. School took over my life, leaving my with very time little for anything that was not school-related. The good news is my summer "resolution" is to actually post on this blog :)

For Father's Day I wanted to make something fun for breakfast that wasn't too time-consuming. One of the best things about working at a grocery store is always being there for good deals, and I was able to snag a day old loaf of a specialty cinnamon bread. I was originally just going to put it in the toaster and add cream cheese (a delicious option by the way) BUT I decided to be brave.

French toast is the perfect recipe for any sort of day old bread because you want it to be firm enough to absorb the batter without turning into a gooey mass. I liked the way I was able to fit 5-6 pieces of the mini-toast on the skillet at the same time. The size would also be perfect for smaller children.

Traditionally, French toast is served with maple syrup but since I used cinnamon bread, I wanted to balance out the sweetness that was already there. Instead, I choose blueberry syrup which added the perfect amount of tart. The end result was similar to placing a bag of chips in front of my family - bet you can't eat just one!

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

Easter may be a few days away, but the weather here has gone back to cold temperatures of early March. This means that my evening cup of hot chocolate has begun again. Although, to be honest, I have been known to drink hot chocolate regardless of how warm it is outside.

It is a known fact that hot chocolate feels a little sad without fluffy marshmallows melting on top. If you are looking to upgrade from the supermarket bagged variety, try making them yourself at home (recipe here) It takes a bit of practice to get the consistency right, but one you do - pure marshmallow-y bliss. The ones shown here are flavored with peppermint and swirled with red food coloring, but you can also make the equivalent of the plain kind with vanilla extract.

Tips:

•  don't be afraid to use a lot of non-stick spray, otherwise you will get one giant marshmallow mass
• they might not look perfectly square the first time you make them, but they still taste delicious
• feel free to eat them alone as a snack ;)