Fast Holiday Candy Recipe: Pecan-Raisin Clusters

Photo by Cynthia L. Nobles

From Denny:  Talk about a simple recipe that is fast to create!  Perfect for holiday entertaining this little gem of a recipe comes from Cynthia L. Nobles and it was featured in our local Louisiana newspaper a couple of months ago.  Of course, I quickly recognized it's worth as a recipe perfect for the holidays, whether it's gift-giving or entertaining the friends and relatives! :) 

Do you have a little leftover morning coffee?  This recipe uses up a few tablespoons of it so no need to throw it out after all.  I mean, really, when you can make a chocolate recipe with some leftover morning coffee who said being frugal couldn't be fun and tasty?...

Santa Music Round Compact Mirror

Beautiful and Easy: Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie

From Denny:  I love searching through the recipe databases of various companies promoting their food products.  You never know what gems you will find to inspire you to try something new or tweak a family favorite.

The recipe database at Spice Islands is a real treasure trove of goodies - and I've only started on the dessert section!  Color me into the Well Impressed Corner. :)

Valentines Day: Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pie

From Denny:  Pies are always an easy idea for holidays as they take less time and fuss than individual portion recipes.

This is a light taste of chocolate and butterscotch.  If you want to intensify those flavors, step up the chocolate chips to 3/4 cup, instead of 1/2 cup.  You could even drizzle the finished chilled pie with extra chocolate syrup to add that decadence factor.

As to intensifying the butterscotch flavor, why not add a few microwave melted caramel candies to the mix?  Or you could add more butterscotch chips instead of taking the time to melt caramels.

Most people prefer a light taste to dishes.  At our house we often like spicy dishes and strongly flavored desserts.  So, if it's supposed to taste like chocolate and caramel, we want it to be obvious.

I really think this cook was showcasing the mascarpone cheese above the other flavors, so a different name would have been a better idea since the chocolate and butterscotch flavors tend to be background in this pie. The choice is yours:  simple and creamy cheese with a light taste of chocolate and butterscotch - or kick it up a notch to just a bit more!

When I think of Valentine's Day it's often for creamy textured dishes as much as the all time favorite of chocolate.  Yes, a great Mac 'n' Cheese dish would definitely qualify. :)  Check out one of my other food blogs for some great recipes on that front:  Comfort Food From Louisiana.

Meanwhile, I like this simple creamy sweet cheese pie with hints of chocolate and butterscotch.

Chefs Recipe 4 Valentines Day: Warm Chocolate Cheesecake

Another version of chocolate cheesecake - Image via flickr

From Denny:  Looking for an easy to make chocolate cheesecake?  Chef Sara Moulton is always coming up with great ideas that are simple to make.

Usually, we serve cheesecake chilled.  Have you ever thought of eating your cheesecake while still warm from the oven?  Sara likes this recipe to enjoy that warm creamy chocolate delight.


Sara bakes these chocolate cheesecakes in small ramekins.  She didn't offer up a photo but check out the awesome one I found of another version of chocolate cheesecake at flickr, decked out in blackberries.

Celebrate Valentines Day With Fiery Chocolate Fondue

From Denny:  Chocolate fondue is the favorite of Valentine's Day menus.  This recipe is extra special with the addition of some Tabasco hot sauce to kick it up a notch - the romance, that is.  :)

It's also a ridiculously easy recipe, with only a few ingredients, sure to be a crowd pleaser at a party - or just for two.

National Chocolate Cake Day Today! 2 Recipes

From Denny:  Like anyone had to inform the chocolate hounds that today is a special day. We all know we sure don't pay much attention to any other holiday - excepting Valentine's Day - 'cause only chocolate holidays rule. :)

What are the goals of National Chocolate Cake Day?  The Obvious:  bake and decorate a wonderful chocolate cake and then enjoy it with a few friends! Now that's what I call a plum assignment.

First off, everyone should have at least one basic good Simple Chocolate Sheet Cake in their bag of magic baking tricks.  This will make you a big hit at family or sports gatherings - read that at tailgating too.

People can cut the small or large size they desire.  Of course, the cake can end up looking like a bit of a messy disaster that way so usually most cooks choose to pre-cut the pieces.  I usually cut mine into long fingers like 1-inch x 3-inches.  The dieters (and the diabetics who are supposed to behave but can't) can slice that in half - and the Hungry Jacks can take two.  Everyone is happy!

Then try the Mexican Chocolate Fudge Pecan Cake where cinnamon is added to a basic chocolate and buttermilk cake.  Chocolate and cinnamon are natural pairings and the result is wonderful.

Chef Recipe: Chocolate Tart with Caramel and Cream

From Denny:  Everyone who enjoys a chocolate tart every time they can, raise their hands.  Yeah, I thought so - sisters of the soul.  I sure order it from the La Madeleine restaurant or other local bakery whenever it shows up in the display case.  It's like a little piece of heaven in one tiny spot - a rich little chocolate pudding, a dollop of cream and some pie crust, simply divine.

This is a New York chef recipe from the famous restaurant Aureole.  Chef Christopher Lee uses Sicilian sea salt to enhance the sweet creamy richness of the indulgent chocolate dessert.

He also includes the unlikely addition of the chocolate malt Ovaltine to the bittersweet baking chocolate.

Easy Triple Layer Mud Pie

Another delectable version of mud pie from Hummingbird Bakery and minniephoto @ flickr

From Denny:  This is an easy recipe for those chocolate lovers who are in a hurry to whip up a dessert and then forget about it for a few hours while it chills in the fridge.

Simple pies like this are also perfect for tailgating to those special sports events.

All you need for this simple dessert is part of a can of sweetened condensed milk, 3 squares of semi-sweet chocolate, a prepared chocolate cookie crumb pie crust, a chocolate instant pudding mix, some two percent milk, 1/2 cup chopped nuts and a small tub of frozen whipped topping of your choice.

What could be easier than that?  Hmmm... buying it already made at the grocery store?  :)  But this pie will taste so much better since you made it!

Cookies: Chocolate Bliss

From Denny:  A melt-in-your-mouth cookie favorite.  A local food writer received it from a friend in Nashville, Tennessee.  "And she told two friends - and she told two friends..." :)  This cookie has been making the rounds with chocolate foodies.

It's an easy recipe, fast enough to whip up for the holidays.  Part of what makes this cookie so delectable is that half of the chocolate chips are melted and added to the batter along with the unmelted ones.  It's like what chef Paul Prudhomme practiced with the concept of layering the same taste in a dish.

A note about melting chocolate:  Remember to use dry utensils.  Even a tiny amount of water can cause the chocolate to stiffen and not melt properly.  We can't have that, now can we? :)

If you want to make clean up faster and easier, think about lining your baking sheet with parchment paper.

Note:  You might want to do one cookie as a test cookie to see how long it takes your oven to get to the puffy stage, usually 9 to 10 minutes in most cases.  But take the time and do the test because your cookie size may differ from the recipe.  It's always worth the effort to do a test when it comes to chocolate.  Everyone has a personal preference of how they want the cookie to taste and the texture.

Want a new cookie recipe for Christmas?  This one may just become your family's new holiday tradition!

Read on for the recipe:

Cookies: Mini-Chocolate Chip Dipped Shortbread Sticks

From Denny:  Do you like to bake shortbread cookies for the holidays?  Here is a new twist - literally - on the idea.  When you cut the dough into rectangles you twist them before baking, then dip in chocolate.  How pretty is that for a holiday gathering?!

Now if the Wolf SubZero site would only supply photos to their recipe section... but hey, check out the humorous chocolate photo found over at flickr.  (All Rights Reserved for this photographer but an embed code available for use on your blog.) Another chocolate foodie on the loose!

Awesome Chocolate Pecan Tart

From Denny:  This easy tart combines two of my favorite flavors - chocolate and pecans.  Louisiana Bergeron pecans are wonderful if you can get them where you live.  If not, just look for the freshest ones, even asking your grocer when a new shipment is due.

Pecans exude such a wonderful aroma when roasting in the oven that is hard to resist.  Make sure you slightly warm the dessert when you serve it for the holidays.  That's how we like it at our house! :)

Flourless Chocolate Cake and Mocha Buttercream Icing

From Denny:  Check out this all time favorite - the flourless chocolate cake.  This time it's paired with another favorite flavor - the all important coffee!  Somehow, I just have to figure out how to grow coffee beans in my back yard.  Can you imagine how sweet that would be to pick your own beans and then roast them?  While we are dreaming we might as well include our own cocoa plants, right?  Hey, "Go BIG or go home!" :)

Happy Holidays and thank you for all your support this year!

Decadent Chocolate Cake

From Denny:  Go shopping online for a kitchen range and end up with a great recipe find from Wolf SubZero.  Of course, without a photo to go with the recipe I went looking over at flickr for a chocolate cake montage and check out this lucious photo, available with embed code with all rights reserved.

This chocolate cake uses high end chocolate, just perfect for the discriminating tastes for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Thank you for your support this year on this blog and all the others too! :)