25 Chocolate Recipes

Thanksgiving is upon us, my friends!

It's true, October would have been the perfect month for  25 Chocolate Recipes. That being said, I think November is a great month for this round-up too. For a couple of reasons-

#1. Not everyone likes Pecan Pie. Or Pumpkin Pie. I guarantee there's people out there that might want a chocolate dessert for Thanksgiving.

#2. Christmas and holiday baking are right around the corner. There are plenty of cookies, candies, and cakes in this round-up to choose for cookie swaps or last minute party gifts.

#3. I mean, it's chocolate. Come on. It's good 12 months out of the year. It's good for 52 weeks out of the year. It's good for 365 days out of the year. You get the picture.

So, yeah. Shall we jump right in?

*Warning- pictures may induce drooling, cravings, and a one-track chocolate brain. Proceed at your own risk :-)

25 Delicious Cookie Recipes

Time for this month's roundup!

Sure cookies are the hip thing at Christmas, and around Valentine's Day, but if we are going to be really honest, cookies are good all the time. They have been the bane of my existence since I've learned how to bake, the reason those last 3 stubborn pounds hang on.

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Happy Wednesday!

I'm going on my 3rd day of not leaving the house. We are currently buried under 6-7 inches of snow. The roads are snow-covered and icy, and the hubby hasn't even been driving his car. His car has been parked at his office all week, because thankfully, his boss gave him a huge 4-wheel drive truck to tackle the weather with.

Oatmeal Raisin Quick Bread

It's Friday! 

Even though I've been gone from the workforce for quite a while (3 1/2 years people!), for some reason, Fridays still hold all the magical allure that they once did. Fridays were always my favorite days during my younger school days, my college days, and later, my work week. When I was in school, Fridays always felt like there was an undercurrent of excitement going through me and all my classmates. Anticipation of a weekend that held endless possibilities for me and my girlfriends. Whose house would we sleep at? What games would we play? What boys would we talk about? Fridays change a bit in college, the anticipation is more like, "What bar are we going to this weekend??". Still loved Fridays. And the work week? Fridays were the days we were allowed to wear jeans to work and the boss would buy us coffee and bagels for breakfast. Weekend plans would excitedly be made over caffeine and carbs. 

And you know what? Not much has changed. I may not be implored to go to class or to open an account for someone, but I still love Fridays. What's that about? Maybe I just enjoy the happy and excitable atmosphere the day brings about in everyone else. Either way, Friday is just a perfect day to wrap up the week. Maybe I'm just in a jolly mood because- dun, dun, DUN- the hubby has the day off tomorrow! He's worked 10 straight 12-14 hour days, and he's running ragged. I told him if he doesn't sleep in tomorrow, I'll club him over the head and he'll sleep anyhow.

No. No,  I would never do that :)

Now, about this recipe. I made this bread specifically for the hubby and his healthy eating. It's made with whole wheat flour, almond milk, and lots of healthy oats and raisins. I really piled on the spices in this cake, because that's what the hubby luuurves. The result was a deliciously toasty, moist, and seriously addictive quick bread. It's definitely got an oatmeal cookie quality to it. Yummmmm. 

I used quick cooking oats for mine, just because that's what I had on hand. I normally use regular oats, but I could find nary a regular oat on my shelves. I wasn't sure if the quick cooking would cause any changes in the bread, but I sure didn't notice any. That being said, I think you could substitute regular oats for the quick cooking variety. As for the raisins? Don't skimp. They are one of the best things about this bread. It's like a party for your mouth when you get one of those tasty morsels in your bite. I love how baking raisins makes them softer, and it's almost like they burst with flavor in your mouth. 

I pulled my loaf from the oven a little early, which resulted in the bread falling a bit in the middle. Since I used whole wheat flour, I was worried about over baking. Although the bread was done, it probably could have gone a few more minutes. I'm not too worried about the appearance however, taste is king. I'd rather have a slightly sunken bread that's moist and delectable vs. a perfect looking but dry confection. If you are worried if the bread is done or not, one of my favorite ways to decipher doneness is with a thermometer. Yes, I said thermometer. Quick breads should reach 190º, so you can use a handy kitchen thermometer to make your decision for you. Looks like I could have used it in this case! :)

Does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend? Other than the farmer's market tomorrow morning, I don't. The only thing I do know is that there will be lots of hubby-time. Who knows what we will get in to? Maybe a movie. Or head to West Virginia. Or stay home and have a Netflix binge session. The world is our oyster. 

All right, all right. Jessica out. There are bird feeders to be filled, the garden to be watered, and compost to be tumbled! Duty calls :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 large eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1 heaping cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, combine flours through salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine almond milk through vanilla. Beat well. Fold dry ingredients in with a spatula. Take care to not over mix, fold just until the mixture is moist. Fold in raisins. 

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in oven 50-110 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean. Check bread at 30 minutes. If the bread is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil and keep baking. When done, remove from oven. Allow to cool in pan for 45 minutes. Turn bread out and slice. Serve immediately. Cool completely before storing.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Bake or Break.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Simple Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Chocolate Oat Smoothies

Once again, I've saved the best for last!

These smoothies truly feel decadent. Indulgent. Kind of like a Wendy's Frosty. Kind of. But I will tell you, these are much healthier for you than a Wendy's Frosty. Because, you know, there's oatmeal in these.

There's also Nutella... Moving on :)

I loved these smoothies. Loved, loved, loved them. They would make a great dessert if you are watching your calories. Even the hubby enjoyed them. I'm not sure why, but I never think chocolate when I think smoothies. I think fruit. I think yogurt. But chocolate? Not so much. Well. Quite frankly, forget that! I'll be putting chocolate in more smoothies from now on. Many, many more.

So, Smoothie Week is now over. I'm pretty pleased with how delicious they all turned out, not to mention how well the photographs turned out. I'll be back next week with a few non-liquid recipes. Since it's been birthday season around here, I'll have a couple of cake recipes for you. I made a Pecan Pie Cake for my mother-in-law's birthday, I'm beyond excited to share it. It was a decidedly elaborate cake. A perfect share for blogging.

Some exciting news! I was a featured recipe over on The Country Cook's Weekend Potluck. This is my second time, and it still feels just as good as the first time. I must say, starting a blog is hard work, and a reward such as this every once in awhile really makes it all worth it. Sometimes, on those weeks where you get no hits and no one comments on anything, I get that nagging thought that I suck at this and I need to give it up. I follow a number of different blogs, I know this is a typical feeling among bloggers and one that no one is immune to. Sometimes you just need a pat on the back to keep going. And that's exactly what I got. Well played Country Cook, well played.

Between this and our driveway being completed, I'm heading into the weekend on Cloud 9. It's supposed to be a true Spring weekend here, with sunshine and nice weather without the nasty humidity of summer. I'm planning to get a couple of runs in, especially since I've been eating so much cake as of late.

No rest for the wicked :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 2 smoothies):

1/3 cup Nutella
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 frozen bananas, sliced
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2- 1 cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add more almond milk to achieve a thinner consistency. Distribute between 2 glasses. Serve immediately.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Oatmeal Creme Pies

a.k.a Homemade Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies!

These were made via special request. I just love special requests, I hardly ever get them! I'm sure in 20 years when I've had LOTS of requests, it won't be so special, but for now, I lurve it. The hubby came home from work earlier in the week, and asked if I could buy him some Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies. Apparently, someone at his office had been eating one and now the craving monster had struck. I politely asked him if I could make them instead. I got an enthusiastic thumbs up. Score!

So here they are! I'm not even a fan of those Little Debbie's but I could eat a truck load of these! The cookie is soft and chewy, and the cream tastes wonderfully homemade (i.e. not like the cream in Oreo's or Hostess Ding Dong's). They really didn't take any more effort than say, making cupcakes. You make the cookies, then you make the frosting. Easy peasy, right? Right.

These cookies may be fairly easy to make, but there is one thing they are not- and that's low cal. I firmly believe a few calories won't kill me, so I'm ok with this. Just don't go assuming that since these are oatmeal, they're healthy. They are sooooo not.

Lastly- The recipe I used models these cookies after the Giant Oatmeal Creme Pies, so the cookies are large and in charge. I found out after making them that my husband likes the little Oatmeal Creme Pies, which are mainly just small, thinner cookies with less cream filling. These recipe calls for a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, but if you wanted to make the cookies smaller and thinner, use a 1 tbsp cookie scoop. You'll have double the cookies, but someone out there will really love you if you bring them some of these cookies!

Is everyone having a fabulous Thursday? I should hope so, it's almost Friday :)

Ingredients (makes 16-17 sandwiches):

Cookies-
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp molasses
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
3 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

Creme-
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until pale and creamy. Mix in egg, vanilla, and molasses.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour through quick cooking oats. Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix. The dough becomes very thick after a couple of seconds, you may need to turn the mixer off and finish mixing the dough by hand.
4. Using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Cookies spread significantly. I placed 9 cookies per sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Cookies will look underdone, but they should be pulled anyway. Allow to cool 3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting and sandwiching.
5. To prepare frosting, beat butter in a large bowl for 1 minute, or until creamy. Add powdered sugar, and beat for another 2-3 minutes. Mix in heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. If frosting is too thick, add a touch more cream.
6. To assemble cookies, spread about 1.5 tbsp's frosting on the bottom half of a cookie, then sandwich with another cookie. Store cookies on the counter in an airtight container up to 2 days. After 2 days, cookies should be refrigerated to maintain the best quality.

Recipe by Sally's Baking Addiction.

Linked up to: Weekend Potluck