Peanut butter and chocolate bread pudding

So I'm headed to the foodbuzz festival in a few weeks WOOHOO!!! Foodbuzz has partnered with Natures Pride to help six lucky food bloggers with their travel expenses!!! In order to become a Natures Pride Ambassador you have to come up with a recipe featuring one of their breads!! I was totally up for the challenge and wanted to come up with something other than a sandwich (although I do really love sandwiches).

Bread puddings are not normally something I would get excited about... they seem kind ho-hum to me... until I made this bread pudding muffin hybrid... OMG it's amazing. Melt in your mouth, blast of flavor amazing!!! I made a half batch (6 muffins) and each person who had one was looking for more. Delicious!!! I was a little skeptical of my mad tossing together or randomness... but trust me, in the end, these things are AMAZING!

It's like a peanut butter cup met up with a bottle of rum at a party and this was their love child.

steph chows and natures pride present: peanut butter and chocolate chip bread pudding muffins
(could I make the title any longer?)
Makes 6 muffins: you could easily double triple... whatnot this recipe and make it in a large baking pan instead of muffin tins, or make them in mini muffin tins! You'll just need to play with the time for it.

You will need:
4 slices natures pride 100% whole wheat bread
1 cup low fat butter milk
2 Tbs rum (I used captain morgans spiced rum)
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbs all natural chunky peanut butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips


Toast and let cool then slice into 1/2 inch cubes:
4 slices natures pride whole wheat bread

In a blender, blend together:
1 cup low fat butter milk
2 Tbs rum (I used captain morgans spiced rum)
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbs all natural chunky peanut butter (room temperature)

Pour blended liquid over bread and let sit for 20 minutes, toss to make sure all the bread gets coated and absorbed everything.

Fold in:
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Pack mixture firmly into 6 muffin tins (they will be very full). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

CHOW!!!!!

Vegan chocolate truffles

Ok so I'm on a vegan kick with these last two posts huh? I saw these over at rawmazing and knew I had to give them a go! I had some agave from wholesome sweeteners still kicking around, so this seemed like the perfect thing to try it on! These are so simple and seriously delicious. You can mix them up any which way depending on people's tastes.

I mixed mine up a bit (come on who's really surprised) but went with the basic ratios of the recipe :)

Dried Cherry Chocolate Truffles
found and adapted from rawmazing

mix the following together in a bowl until smooth
1 cup cashew butter
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave

Scoop out small balls of the mixture and flatten into round discs.
Wrap disc around
30 dried cherries or 30 nuts or both

Roll in shredded coconut to coat the truffles

Refrigerate until firm

chow!!!

This is a perfect no bake, super quick option... aka I made it to bring to John's parents when we had to be there in less than 30 minutes (no time to bake up something tasty so this was a perfect option!)

What's your go to super quick recipe when you need to bring something to a party that starts in less than 30 minutes :)

Dark chocolate chunk cherry cashew cookies

A crispy crunchy cocoon encasing a chewy delicious center.

PHEW! That was a mouthful! And man was my mouth full of cookies once these came out of the oven! You see Foodbuzz and Quaker and getting together for a little contest, come up with a recipe involving some of the flavors from the new Quaker True Delight granola bars... and possibly win a fantastic trip to Outstanding in the Field!! So here is my entry, and if you are anything like me... you are going to LOVE this recipe! It's full of good for you things, has no added butter or oil (you'd never know it), and totally satisfies a sweet tooth craving!

Chow!

Dark chocolate chunk cherry cashew cookies
recipe by stephchows
makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3.5 oz Gerber Cherries and Apples baby food (it comes in a 2 pack, you just need 1 container)
1/2 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
3 Tbs splenda baking blend or (6 Tbs granulated sugar)
1 large egg
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup plump, moist, dried sour cherries
4 oz. dark chocolate broken into chunks about the size of the cherries (try using TCHO fruity!)
1/2 cup no salt added cashew pieces

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Set aside

In a large bowl beat baby food and sugars until well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Slowly mix in dry ingredients. With last addition of flour mixture also add in cherries, chocolate and cashews.

Drop tablespoon-fulls of dough onto a silicon baking mat lined cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes. Let cool a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

These are best the day you make them, crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. They loose their crispness when left overnight in a plastic container, still tasty, but best right out of the oven :)

Hope you love these treats!

Chocolate Pizzelles

I had mentioned at some point at John's parents house about owning a pizzelle iron... his dad got VERY excited about this fact, so I had to make him a batch! His dad also really likes dark chocolate, so I adapted the recipe to include some dark chocolate cocoa powder. I made sure to bring some into work as well to share the crisp goodness.

My one coworker described them "like a very thin crisp oreo cookie" ... sounds good to me right!?

Again, like I said in my original recipe pizzelle post, the only special thing you need is a pizzelle iron, otherwise these are as simple as you get!

Pizzelle Cookies
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter (melted)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
zest from one orange (optional)

BEAT eggs, add sugar gradually, add melted butter

MIX flour, cocoa, & baking powder

ADD dry mixture to wet gradually, stir in orange zest (if using)

DROP spoonfuls on a hot pizzelle iron and cook according to iron instructions (mine has a light that goes on and off when they are done) remove and cool on a wire rack, or roll into ice cream cone shape and set aside to cool.

You can take two of these and make nutella sandwiches, or sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream... or just eat them all up plain!

Chow!

TCHO choclate new flavor "Nutty"

Hey guys the people at TCHO sent me another wonderful package of their newest flavor of chocolate! So tasty!! Check out their description...


So far I've had the privilege of trying "chocolatley" "fruity" and now "nutty". I really enjoyed chocolatey and fruity was good but needed some time to grow on me... Nutty is by far the most complex and in my mind best flavor so far!! You can absolutly taste the coffee undertones which meld perfectly with the chocolate taste. TCHO has done it again and I think Nutty has won my heart out of the three so far! Even though it is 70% cacoa a person who isn't a true dark chocolate fan will love it, no bitterness, just pure smooth, bold flavor. A great way to get some antioxidants into your diet. Good job TCHO!

If you want to buy some to try it yourself click here!

Chocolate cookies

So I made these last weekend for Erika's summer party, which was wonderful!! And the food was super tasty! Had I been thinking I would have taken pictures.. sooo many good things. I ate my heart out!! Bread with goat cheese wrapped in eggplant on top... all types of fresh roasted veggie wraps... these eggrolls that were to die for... lasagna... the list goes on!! I brought along some cookies to add a little sweet :)

Chocolate cookies
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup splenda blend (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
1/2 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
sprinkle of powdered sugar and cinnamon once cooled

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl, in a measuring cup measure apple sauce, add eggs and beat, add vanilla. Add wet to dry mixture and stir. Stir in chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let cook on a wire rack then sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Chow!

TCHO choclate new flavors!

The people at TCHO rock! Awhile back a bunch of bloggers helped with feedback on their beta chocolatey flavor... now they have sent us the final formula along with the beta for "fruity"!!! ANNNND I just got an email saying the beta for "nutty" is on it's way!!! Bring on the chocolate!!

there was a ton more then this in the package obviously... but I had to limit myself!!

The package came with ice packs to ensure the chocolate did not melt in transit, I must say when I got the package and saw it was 3 lbs I got all excited there was 3 lbs of chocolate inside... hehe psych out! It was 2 bars of chocolate plus FOUR ice packs. WOH. Now onto the sampling... The people at TCHO have done it again, their final chocolatey formula was delicious. Not bitter at all, super smooth, a little sweet, and reminiscent of milk chocolate with some slight coffee undertones. DELICIOUS!

Now onto the beta for fruity. Having it right after the chocolatey maybe wasn't the best idea... in comparison it seemed a bit smokey and a little bitter... so I went and drank a ton of water to cleanse my palate and sat back down. A much better idea. This time I could really taste the spectrum of the chocolate opening up and develop into fruity undertones. Letting the chocolate melt on your tongue really lets you taste the depth and range of flavors... but man is it hard to not just munch right in! The more I had of the "fruity" the more I seemed to like it. However in a taste to taste comparison I'd say chocolatey wins.

Either way TCHO is doing great things and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! to try beta "nutty" YUM!!!

Chow!

Ravioli and babies

This past weekend John and I had his childhood friend Paul, his wife Kim, and their beautiful daughter Nina over for dinner. Is there nothing cuter then two grown men playing with an adorable little girl??? I think not :)


Nina unfortunatly isn't old enough to take part in the ravioli yet :( but maybe next time Nina! As for the rest of us we enjoyed some made fresh that day ravioli from the Ravioli Shop here in Rochester. I know not homemade by me, shame on me. Dad and I make the best ravioli in the world anyway! This place is pretty good though, they say the dough is very thin (not really compared to how thin dad and I make it) but in comparison to other ravioli shops it is thinner then the average. I didn't take pictures that night but here are some of the sausage and 5 cheese ravioli reheated the next day.. still tasty! As for dessert I made some of the BEST chocolate cupcakes ever!!! Also very tasty, the entire batch was gone by the following morning, yum.

And YES that is the fantastic new bowl I found with Beth the other day that someone was throwing out! Seriously people around this area move and just leave half of their apartment on the curb for garbage pickup it's so sad I mean call Salvation Army and they will happily come pick it up and someone who needs it can have it!

Ok enough ranting about people wasting things... The ravioli shop is located over at 260 N Winton Road. Parking can be a challenge but it's worth it. Also worth it is the assortment of home made breads they carry. The semelina is to die for!!! Read about their bread making here.

On another side note Nina inspired me to learn crochet and I got to give her the blanket and little bird I made for her! Pretty good for a first crochet project I think :)

The BEST chocolate cupcakes EVER

I've found cupcake heaven... it's true. Please ignore any other cupcake recipe I've blogged about because these literally TAKE THE CAKE!! They are so amazingly moist ewey gooey delicious... I can't stop eating them... and... no joke... they are under 80 calories a piece... I think I've gone insane, this recipe is heaven. I am so happy this months cupcake hero is cocoa because it made me go back to try to figure out what was wrong with my chocolate cupcakes. And let me tell you, I don't think I'll ever be making another chocolate cupcake recipe ever again because seriously these are THAT AMAZING!!!

Ok back to the cupcakes. I found a recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes in Health magazine and used that as a base with a few added tweaks (yeah they aren't vegan anymore... wooops!) Due to budgetary restraints I decided to go with the Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark I already had instead of buying the very expensive recommended cocoa... sorry Laurie :( which I'm sure if you substituted would be great... but seriously the Hershey's dark cocoa is delicious. Ok here it goes and enjoy!! Oh and everyone have a fantastic memorial day! Make some of these to celebrate! :)

seriously the best chocolate cupcakes I've EVER eaten

Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12)
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (i used semi-sweet chips)
1 tsp cocoa and 1 tsp powdered sugar to dust cupcake tops

Preheat over to 350 F
Mix apple sauce, splenda, vanilla, beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time, stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into 12 silicon muffin cups (or lightly greased cupcake tins)
Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are firm to touch.
Dust with cocoa/powdered sugar mixture.

Chow! Then have someone hide them so you don't eat them all :)

look how moist!!! and yes that is my 1950's style housewife apron (thanks mom!)... love it!

Amano Chocolate

So my good friend Neva made the comment about how I keep getting chocolate to write about... well Neva I've got some more!!! This time coming from Amano through the wonderful Blake Makes food blog!

Amano was kind enough to ship a whole bunch of Blake Makes fans 3 yes I said THREE bars of their artisan dark chocolate. The three types are all 70% cocoa, here are their descriptions according to them:

Cuyagua Premium Dark Chocolate - Rich chocolate flavor with flavor notes of spice and melon.

Ocumare Grand Cru Dark Chocolate - Rich chocolate flavor with flavor notes of red fruit.

Madagascar Premium Dark Chocolate - Light chocolate flavor with intense flavor notes of citrus and raspberry.

My roomie and I sat down last night for a tasting. We didn't read any of the descriptions before hand and went totally on what we tasted/experienced.

First up Cuyagua:
stephchows: smoky with a buttery texture
steph the roomie: not bitter, smooth, strong aftertaste

Secondly Ocumare:
stephchows: very bold, a little bitter, very intense
steph the roomie: tastes like those little liquor filled chocolate bottles

Last but not least (it was out favorite!!) Madagascar
stephchows: mild, sweet, fruity
steph the roomie: definitely fruity, tastes like cherry

Madagascar was the winner for the two of us... and no it has nothing to do with that movie with talking animals, although it made me think of my sister and her love of talking cartoon animal movies :)

I had promised Blake I would write a short poem for each type of chocolate... I have yet to do so... perhaps another tasting tonight to inspire some poetry... more on that later!

And for those of you in the Rochester area, it's lilac festival time! Here is a pic from my visit there yesterday :)

Lets talk chocolate

So a little while ago I got my hands on some TCHO dark chocolate and proclaimed it amazingly the best. My good friend matthew has decided to challenge that statement by sending me a care package of chocolate!!!! yum now THAT is what I call a good friend!! tasty!!! He sent me two varieties.
The first is a rosewater bar by chocopologie. I'm not sure what matt has to say but I think the rosewater was a bit overpowering in this one. Even though it was 80% cacao it really didn't have a definet chocolate or even bitter taste. Good to the no bitter, ehh to the not powerful chocolate. I mean come on if I'm eating a chocolate bar I want it to taste like chocolate and not just rosewater :) So sorry matt TCHO still beats out this one... Now on to the next!!!


Next was a cherry chocolate bar by Eve kitten. This one had a less potent cherry flavor, it was more light and flavorful and added to the chocolate instead of overpowering it. Plus Eve Kitten surely wins on packaging. I mean look at the cool box it came in!! And the screen printer scandalous lady on the back of the chocolate... fantastic!

I would say Eve is on pretty equal ground with TCHO but is definetly more "fun" due to the packaging and imagery aligned with the brand. If the two were sitting next to each other on the shelf I would pick Eve over TCHO for sure. As for a blind taste test... I think I may still be leaning towards TCHO!? Crazy I know. TCHO is still beta testing though and it seems they are onto a new batch... I wonder if it's as good as the last or if it's too different... hmmmmmm

Now I want to go eat some chocolate.
yum

update: so the eve kitten is a little side project of chocopologie (for those who want to know) also this place is considered one of the top 3 chocolitiers in the world!!! crazy man!!!

TCHO chocolate = best chocolate EVER!

ok all I have to say is wow, WOW, WOW!!!

This chocolate is AMAZING!!! I thought I'd be baking something with it but after cracking open the package tonight it somehow disappeared into oblivion. The first bite of chocolate went down so smooth it had to be followed by another.. and yet another. I then put it to the ultimate test and had my house mate give it a try. (side note: my house mate doesn't like dark chocolate, she's strictly a milk chocolate kinda girl) she took one bite and her eyes opened real wide and she said "WOW, that's the best dark chocolate I've ever had, it's really good, not bitter at all!" We then proceeded to devour the remainder of the package.

Seriously go RIGHT NOW and order some. It's amazing!!!

mmmmmm chocolate coma...