Chocolate Festival 2018

I had been on the fence about whether or not to run the 10k this year, but in the end I decided that it would be beneficial for me to run it as a tempo run, since I haven't had much speedwork lately.  I knew that it would absolutely not be a smart idea for me to all-out race it, and thankfully I was able to keep my competitive side in check and keep myself to tempo effort rather than race effort.  I ended up coming in 2nd place female. 

Pre-race chat with my former running buddy Jim and the female winner of the day.

and we're off!

My finish.  Coby and the girls got there just in time to snap this pic!

After a quick post-race shower, we headed back downtown for the Chocolate Festival.  It was fun to do it with the kids.  I think our favorite was the chocolate-covered bacon.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and once we had spent all our chocolate tickets, we headed out to the barn for a picnic lunch and time spent with Pony.  

Ready to eat some chocolate!

Pony was loving all the attention!

It was too nice out not to take some photos!

Gray Kitty photobombed us, and Pony was not very cooperative about joining us...because she just wanted to devour grass.  

Cinnamon Biscuits

3 degrees out this morning.  I was craving eggs and fried potatoes for breakfast, but I didn't have any potatoes, and wasn't quite up to venturing out in the frigid air to buy some.  So I had to come up with an alternative.  I have been craving chocolate croissants for awhile now, but they seem like way too much work for first thing in the morning.  I've never made biscuits before.  They seemed relatively quick and easy, so I decided to go with that.  Cinnamon has been making its way into a lot of things lately...so of course it made its way into this morning's biscuits as well.

(after mixing in this amount of cinnamon, I added about this same amount, again)

Cinnamon Biscuits

preheat oven to 425

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c white flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

cinnamon (to taste)

1/3 c butter

1 c almond milk

Mix together the dry ingredients, cut in the butter, mix in the milk.  Flour a work surface, knead the dough for a minute or two, adding more flour if it is too sticky.  Pat it down to 1/2 inch thick,and cut out the biscuits.  Place them on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Not to completely let go of my chocolate croissant/chocolate cravings, I had to add chocolate to some of the biscuits.  I used Dove Dark Chocolate squares. 

pre-bake

post-bake

So much deliciousness.

I wish I had put chocolate on all of them...

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

1 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c whole wheat flour

2.5 c white flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add vanilla and egg, mix well.  Add baking powder and whole wheat flour, mix well.  Add the cinnamon and the rest of the flour a little bit at a time.  Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick.  (No chilling necessary) Cut out the cookies and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Dip some of the cookies in dark chocolate, if desired.

Chocolate-Covered Espresso Bean Cookies

1/2 stick butter

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1+ c white flour

1/3 c chocolate covered espresso beans

Beat butter, oil, and sugars together in a stand mixer.  Add the egg, salt, soda, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the whole wheat flour, then the white flour.  Crush the espresso beans, then mix them in. 

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

Awhile ago, I came across a recipe on Some The Wiser for Basil Brownies that sounded delicious.  I was going to make them, but then I ended up making Cinnamon Brownies instead. Today, I finally got around to making some Basil Brownies!  In the process, I compared 3 different brownie recipes : 2 of mine, and 1 from Some the Wiser.  Then, I created my own. (The new creation is in red pen).  Pumpkin was a necessary ingredient, because I just opened the first can of pumpkin this season...it's time to start putting pumpkin in everything!

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

3.5 oz 85% cocoa chocolate bar

13 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/3 c pumpkin

pinch of sea salt

scant tsp vanilla

2 eggs

scant 1 1/2 c white sugar

1 1/4 c white flour

3/4 c fresh basil 

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Break the chocolate bar into pieces, put into a microwave-safe bowl with the butter, and microwave 2-3 minutes until mostly melted.  Stir until melted completely.  Add the cocoa powder, pumpkin, salt, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the eggs.  Mix in the sugar, then the flour.  Put the basil in a food processor and chop finely, then add to the batter.   Add the chocolate chips.  Grease a 9x9 pan, then pour in the batter.  Bake for 30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.  

Cinnamon Brownies

Cinnamon Brownies with Coffee Ice Cream

Cinnamon Brownies

(preheat oven to 350)

1/4 c butter, melted

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c white sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/2 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c cashews, crushed

pour the batter into a 9x9 pan

bake for 20-25 minutes

Chocolate Coffee Cake

It doesn't make any sense to me when foods are named according to ingredients they don't contain.  Like coffee cake.  I suppose you are supposed to eat it with coffee, but if it doesn't have coffee in it, it shouldn't be called coffee cake.  It's so misleading.

I've been craving chocolate cake lately.  I was going to make a Chocolate - Guinness Cake, but then I decided to use coffee instead of Guinness. So I made a small pot of coffee, used 1 cup of it in the cake, and used the remaining scant 1/2 cup to make the icing.

Chocolate - Coffee Cake

2 1/8 c flour

2 c white sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 c veg oil

1 tbsp vanilla

1 c coffee

3 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients in a mixer on low speed, and whisk together the wet ingredients in a 2c glass measuring cup.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.  Grease and flour two 8.5 inch round cake pans.  Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 40 minutes at 350.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks.  When they are cool, cover the top of one with glaze, sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips, add the second cake, and then add the rest of the glaze on top.  

Chocolate -Coffee - Cream Cheese Glaze

1/2 c coffee

2 oz cream cheese

1 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp brown sugar

confectioners sugar

Rye-Pumpkin Truffles

And by Rye, I mean Rye Whiskey.  

So last Friday night I was killing time and had the bright idea to put some Smooth Ambler Old Scout Rye Whiskey in some truffles.  I hadn't made any truffles in awhile, and I had been craving them.  I figured all the alcohol would cook out and I would be left with some delicious whiskey-tasting truffles.  

I combined 1/2 cup of the whiskey with a giant spoonful of pumpkin and 3.5 oz of 60% dark chocolate.  I cooked it for awhile in a small saucepan, poured the mixture into a glass measuring cup, and stuck it in the 

fridge to cool.  I didn't get around to taking it out of the fridge until this evening.  

The ganache was super soft, but I formed it into rough balls, laid them on wax paper, and stuck them in the freezer to harden.  I got a little taste from the ganache clinging to the sides of the cup, and it was super delicious.  

While the ganache was hardening in the freezer, I melted 3.5 oz of 72% dark chocolate.  Then I dropped the ganache balls in one at a time, turned them til coated, and dropped them on a new sheet of wax paper.  I had to make the coated truffles in batches because the ganache got soft pretty quick and it would melt into the cup of coating chocolate if it wasn't hard enough.  I ended up needing to melt a second 3.5 oz of the 72% to coat all of the truffles.  (although that left me with quite a bit of leftover coating at the end)

Once the first batch of truffles was hardened, I had a taste-test.  At first, it was super delicious.  Chocolate and whiskey, yum.  But then...I was slammed with a big, overpowering alcohol-ness.  Apparently, the alcohol DID NOT cook out of the ganache.  Apparently, it was condensed instead.  Wow that was strong.  These truffles are not for children.  Unfortunately, the taste of alcohol is so potent, the truffles aren't actually as epic-ly delicious as I had hoped.  They don't taste like whiskey, they taste like alcohol.  I guess I should have cooked the ganache longer...

Loaded S'more Dip

I had all the ingredients for s'mores...but no fire to roast marshmallows over.  I don't really like marshmallows, and so the thought of eating a s'more made in the microwave was ridiculously unappealing.  I thought about trying to toast the marshmallows in my toaster oven, but that sounded potentially very messy.  So the ingredients just sat for awhile.  

Then I came across this recipe for S'more Crack Dip

Problem Solved. 

Loaded S'more Dip

5 oz large marshmallows

5.8 oz dark chocolate 

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp heavy cream

1 tsp cinnamon

1 large spoonful of crunchy peanut butter

As usual, all amounts are approximate due to my inability to measure things.

The chocolate is exact...it was 4 bars of Hershey's Special Dark, 1.45 oz each.

Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir til melty and delicious.

Dip graham cracker pieces into the molten goodness and eat up.  

Try not to burn yourself...

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Mint Icing

The Cupcakes

2 1/8 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 c Guinness

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

Put cupcake wrappers into the cupcake pan, pour the batter into each cup about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

The Icing

Big handful of mint leaves

c 1/2 c plain yogurt

confectioners sugar

c 1/4 c heavy cream

Put the mint in a food process and chop well.  Add the yogurt, mix it up.  Add confectioner's sugar to taste.  If your icing is too thin, add heavy cream and whisk until it thickens.

The inspiration behind using mint for the icing today:

This plant is taking over my windowsill.  And I thought I'd have trouble keeping it alive...I do wish it would put more effort into growing big leaves and less effort into growing long stems...I found a stem that was about 3 ft long the other day.  I keep breaking off the really long ones but it doesn't seem to deter the plant from continuing to reach out.

Chocolate Guinness Cake with Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Icing

For the last...too many years to count, I was able to honestly say that I did not have a sweet tooth.  I'm starting to think that I can no longer say that.  I used to be addicted to salty snacks, like Triscuits. (I think I was eating 2+ boxes a week for awhile) But then one day I discovered that the excessive salt in my diet was causing painful leg cramps when I ran.  So I weaned myself off of salty snacks.  Actually, I think I quit cold-turkey.  Ever since, I have used less and less salt in my food.  Now, I think the only time I use salt while cooking is when I salt the pasta water.

For awhile after quitting the salty snacks, I just didn't snack.  But recently, I have started craving snacks again.  And this time I'm craving cookies and cake.  It's such a weird feeling, after all the years where I could look at a cookie or piece of cake and be genuinely disinterested.  I still don't have a huge love of sugar, and won't eat things that are too sweet.  But I love to have some cookies or a piece of not overly-sweetened cake in the evening.  The Chocolate Cake I made a few weeks ago was probably one of my all-time favorite desserts that I have made.  Last night, as I ate my last 2 delectable Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies, I realized that I would have to make another batch of cookies today.  But then today came, and I decided I wanted to make another chocolate cake.  The fact that there is no milk in my fridge wasn't a problem...I wanted to use Guinness this time. I also had some little 50mL bottles of Bailey's that someone gave me, so I threw one of those in too.

The Cake

2 1/8 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 c Guinness

50mL Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur 

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

grease and flour 2 8.5 inch round cake pans

bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so

let cool in pans for a little while, then transfer to wire racks

when the cakes are cool, spread icing on top of one cake, place the other cake on top, and then cover with remaining icing

The Icing

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 c pumpkin

1+ c confectioner's sugar

I used a fork to mix the icing.  It came out with cream cheese lumps, which are rather unsightly, but don't bother me.  If you want a smoother icing I suggest you use an electric mixer.

Photo Evidence