There's a famous NYC restaurant called "Serendipity 3", featured in the movie, "Serendipity" (go figure) and the place is known for it's extravagant desserts.  I've never been there myself, but I'd heard about there $1,000 dessert made with real gold shavings...which I believe was part of a recent 30 Rock episode.  That said, this recipe is one of Serendipity's most ordered...probably because it's a heck of a lot cheaper than most other items on the menu.  AND it's easily replicated in the home kitchen.  I figured it would be a good one for warmer weather.  All the richness of hot chocolate, but in smoothie form.


Serendipity's Frozen Hot Chocolate

(makes 1 huge serving)

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates
2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups ice
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings


Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw. . . .or both!


 

     Yet another recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.  This one combines the texture of biscotti with the chocolatey goodness of brownies.  These are probably a bit healthier than straight-up brownies and they're GREAT with coffee.  When I made these the last time, I used almond extract and didn't drizzle them with white and dark chocolate.  They were still very good.  I purposely don't bake mine as long, either, since I like my biscotti a bit softer.  Ok, now go make these!

Brownie Biscotti

(makes 2 dozen)

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Dough will be stiff, so mix in the last bit by hand. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape into 9x2x1 inch loaves. Place onto baking sheet 4 inches apart. Brush with mixture of water and yolk.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaves diagonally into 1 inch slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet, placing them on their sides. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until dry. Melt some dark or white chocolate and drizzle over biscotti, if preferred.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.



 

    Today I'm posting lots of recipes since I want to get the ball rolling for this blog.  I'm a lover of dark chocolate, and ever since I've been to "Baked" bakery in Charleston, I've been trying to find a recipe that closely resembles their Chocolate Cloud cookies.  This one comes pretty close.  The recipe comes from a great blog called Cookiemadness.net.  Get your glass of milk ready for these, and you can die happy and intoxicated by chocolate.

Death by Chocolate Cookies
(makes about 2 dozen cookies)


1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour 
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate (62%)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 packed tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
2/3 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt chocolate with butter. Cool slightly (about 3 minutes).  (You can melt in the microwave, but it's easier to burn the chocolate this way, so I recommend the stove method.)

Beat eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl using high speed of an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Beat the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir it gently into the batter. Make sure the batter is cool, then add the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

Scoop up rounded tablespoons of dough and set dough balls on parchment paper spacing about 2 ½ inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.


 

     So I had almost a whole container of ricotta cheese leftover from a recipe and I knew if I didn't use it, it was going to expire and be thrown away.  And who wants to waste perfectly good ricotta?  Not this girl.  I did a little searching and found a recipe for muffins that use almost a whole container of ricotta.  Sounds strange, but trust me...these are wonderful and fairly healthy.  I baked some regular shaped muffins and some heart muffins for Valentine's Day.  Definitely a hit with family & friends!

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins
(makes about 12-16 muffins)

2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 to 8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup ricotta
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted  (you can also substitute 4 T. canola oil)


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 12 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick spray. 

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl.

Place the ricotta in a second medium-sized bowl, and add the eggs one at a time, beating well with a medium-sized whisk after each addition. Add the milk and vanilla, and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Pour the ricotta mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened.  Add chocolate chips.  Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. For smaller muffins, fill the cups about 4/5 of the way. For larger muffins, fill them even with the top of the pan. If you have extra batter, spray one or two additional muffin cups with nonstick spray and put in as much batter as you have.

Bake in the middle of the oven for to 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.