Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2cup wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix well. In separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add applesauce, oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into loaf pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

Can be made into muffins. Cut cooking time to 25 min or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Creme Anglaise

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp white sugar

Directions:

1. Fill a large bowl with ice. Place another bowl, big enough to hold the final product, on the ice.
   
2. In a small, heavy saucepan, heat cream and vanilla until bubbles form at edges.
3. While cream is heating, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Slowly pour 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly. Gradually add egg yolk mixture back to remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
4. Pour into the cold bowl to stop the cooking process.
5. Serve warm or cold. To reheat, place in double boiler pan and heat slowly.
   

Molten Lava Cake

Moelleux au Chocolat… A French classic that literally melts in your mouth!!! This dessert is usually made in individual ramekins, but see the serving ideas below for other possibilities.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients (7 people):

8 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (or use your favorite 70% dark chocolate bar)
8 oz. Butter (diced, room temperature)
4 Eggs
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Flour
Butter for Ramekins

How to Make It:

Preheat oven to 350°F
1. Melt chocolate on low flame in a bain-marie (double boiler). When melted, take of flame, and…
2. Stir in diced butter, until it melts.
3. In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.
4. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
5. Butter 7 individual ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter. We used 7 oz ramekins and filled them about 1/2 full
6. Cook for about 15 minutes.
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve.
Voilà!

Tips:

You can definitely prepare your chocolate lave cake recipe ahead of time, and then bake 15 minutes before serving. I always do it this way!

In terms of buttering the ramekins: butter the bottoms first, and then butter the sides, wiping from the bottom up to the top. It helps the chocolate to rise even more.

In terms of baking time… well, it depends on how runny you want it! I like it with a super-liquid-oozing center -- so do my guests! For this, you want the top to be cooked through, but the center to be liquid. You can check with a toothpick after 15 minutes of baking.
If you don't like liquid-center chocolate desserts, just cook for a little longer, and you will have an incredibly moist chocolate cake. So, either way, you can't go wrong!

Serving Ideas:

You can, if you want, serve your chocolate lava cake recipe with a Crème Anglaise (English Cream) or a Coulis aux Framboises (Raspberry Sauce). We served ours with chocolate sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar. And honestly, everyone FALLS IN LOVE with this dessert!!! How could they not?!!!

Faux Chocolate Lava Cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup water

2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
chocolate chips

Combine butter and sugar and cream until light.
Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and water.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Add to butter mixture and mix well.


Line muffin tin with cupcake cups.
Fill cupcakes 1/4 of the way with batter.
Make a well in the center and add 10-15 chocolate chips.
Cover with batter 3/4 of the way up the cup.

Bake at 350 degrees 18-20 minutes.
Cool slightly and serve warm.
These do not have a liquid center, but do have a rich gooey center.
If they cool, just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds to reheat the chocolate.

Makes 15-18 cupcakes.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

From the recipe book: Sweet Eats by Rose Dunnington

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1-2 tsp peppermint extract (depending on how minty you prefer it)*
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips*

Cream butter and brown sugar in until fluffy.
Add egg and peppermint and beat until combined.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture.
Mix well.
Scape sides of bowl and then add chocolate chips.
Place spoonfuls of dough on greased cookies sheets a couple of inches apart.
Bake on 375 for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake, as cookies will become too crispy.
Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 24 small cookies.

*For a faux Thin Mint taste, use 2 tsp extract and 1 cup chocolate chips.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

From BlogChef

Ingredients:
2 1/2lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” cubes)

Marinade-
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Batter-
2 large eggs
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch white pepper
oil (for frying)

Sauce-
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt
3 slices of lemon (peeled)
2 tablespoons oil
yellow food coloring (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Step 2: To make the batter – beat 2 large eggs with ¼ cup of cornstarch, a pinch of white pepper and baking powder. Coat the chicken with the batter.

Step 3: Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels and set aside. You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer.

Step 4: Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt (if using food coloring you can add it now). Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.

Step 5: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Best served with rice and broccoli.

Five Pounds of Fabulous Fudge

From Shelly Hattan (courtesy of Gail Stamler, Shelly's mom)
1/2 c butter
1 can evaporated milk
4 1/2 c sugar (granulated)
10 oz. bag of marshmallows
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz sweet baking chocolate
1 Tbs. vanilla
2 c chopped nuts

Combine butter, milk, and sugar in pan. Stir till sugar dissolves.

Cook to boil, cover. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add marshmallows, stir till melted.

Add all the chocolate, one at a time stirring until melted. Add vanilla and nuts. Pour into buttered pan. Cut when firm.

Pina Colada Muffins

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rum extract, optional
1/2 to 3/4 cup crushed pineapple, well drained (I used 1/2 cup dehydrated pineapple and added it at the end)

mix together well


2 & 2/3 cup flour (whole wheat and/or oat work nicely)
1/3 cup milk powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

combine and add slowly to wet ingredients

1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 cup angel shred coconut

Spoon into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake 18 minutes on 375 degrees.

Yogurt Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups plain low-fat yogurt or non-fat Norwegian skyr
• 4 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. (Food & Wine suggests spraying the cups with vegetable oil. I skipped this step, and once the muffins cooled, I didn’t have a problem removing the muffins from the liners.)

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk all of the ingredients together. Break up any large clumps of brown sugar with a fork.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, butter, applesauce, and vanilla. Gradually add the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Fill each cup halfway, as the contents will rise a bit during baking. Sprinkle the granulated sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg over the muffins. Bake for 18 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pear Pecan Wheat Muffins

2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar (or 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup honey)
1/4 cup milk powder (no water)
2 cups pureed pears (or 1 cup pureed and 1 cup cubed)
2 Tbsp canola oil

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix gently

Slowly add dry ingredients:
1 & 1/4 cup white flour
2 cups wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 cups oats
1 cup pecans
1 cup choc chips

Mix until combined.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins.
Bake 18-20 min.
Cool slightly before serving.
Makes 24 regular size muffins.