Tag Archives: chocolate

How Exercise Can Help Chocoholics

If you are desperately trying to overcome your addiction to chocolate this blog might come in quite handy. According to British researchers, chocoholics can reduce their cravings by taking a simple 15-minute stroll. The results of this new study are making headlines around the world (which just goes to prove how powerful the lure of chocolate really is). In a recent news conference scientists announced that for the first-time ever research shows a link between exercise and managing food cravings. The study followed 25 self-professed “chocoholics” (defined as people who ate chocolate on a daily basis). Each chocoholic was told … Continue reading →

Beyond the Pumpkin Pie: Sweet Treats for Your Thanksgiving Dessert Table

Anyone who has hosted a few dozen guests on Thanksgiving knows that three or four traditional pumpkin pies is not going to cut it when it comes time for dessert. People have different tastes and not everyone enjoys pumpkin pie, regardless of its history with the holiday. If you are hosting a large group for Thanksgiving dinner it’s appropriate to offer a variety of different dessert options. This is especially critical if you are hosting a number of children. Most kids (my daughter not included) would much rather dine on a decadent chocolate treat than dig into a slice of … Continue reading →

Kicked Up Thanksgiving Pies

Kick up your Thanksgiving dessert table this year with these jazzed up pie recipes. It’s not hard to go beyond traditional pumpkin and apple pies by experimenting with additional ingredients. If you’re a bit apprehensive about breaking with tradition then consider the first recipe for Pumpkin Praline Pie. Your family members will still get their pumpkin fix, but the sweet and crunchy praline topping will provide added texture and flavor that ordinary pumpkin pie lacks. The second dessert option is for the chocoholics in your family. The recipe for Easy Chocolate Pudding Pie is so simple your kids could make … Continue reading →

Simple and Affordable Edible Holiday Gifts

I know. I know. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I can’t help myself. When I noticed that my local market was having a sale on fresh cranberries I instantly thought of all of the homemade gifts I could make with them. I plan to stock up on the tart berries and make a few jars worth of Honey Cranberry Butter to give away as holiday gifts. For me holiday gift giving begins this month. After all, who goes to a person’s house on Thanksgiving without taking a hostess gift? The following recipes are some of my favorite edible gifts. … Continue reading →

Turning Leftover Halloween Candy into Culinary Masterpieces

It was a Halloween for the history books at my parent’s house this year. For the first time since they became homeowners (decades ago), my mom and dad had less than a dozen trick-or-treaters come to their door. The topic dominated our telephone conversation last night. My mom was in utter shock. She couldn’t figure out why the kids were not out in full force this year, but even more disturbing to my mom, was the dilemma of being stuck with five huge bags of Halloween candy. We bounced around a few ideas, including making the following recipes. I have … Continue reading →

Desserts with Cherries and Chocolate

Friday is our playgroup’s big Halloween party. Whereas I already shared the recipe I plan to take, I thought it might be helpful to post a couple more kid (and adult)-friendly recipes that can be made in advance and travel well, in case you are still searching for a dish to pass at your Halloween party. The first recipe for Heavenly Freezer Brownies is ideal for chocoholics. Don’t let the name fool you; the brownies require an oven to bake before hitting the freezer. It’s a unique cooking concept that (in my opinion) enhances the texture of the brownies without … Continue reading →

Sinfully Sweet Halloween Candy Cakes

What’s your favorite Halloween candy? Butterfinger, Kit Kat, Milky Way, Snickers, Hershey Bars, Twix, M&Ms? I happen to love them all, which is why I try not to buy them in bulk to pass out on Halloween. The leftovers would kill my diet. If you plan to purchase enough Halloween candy for the entire neighborhood you might consider taking a note of the following recipes. They are ideal for using up any leftover Halloween chocolate you might have come November 1st. These Halloween Candy cakes are sweet, delicious and breathe new life into calories you’d probably consume anyway. BUTTERFINGER TORTE … Continue reading →

A Dinner Made of Chocolate: Chocolate Chicken and Chocolate Cherry Cookies

This Halloween your kids will likely haul in enough chocolate to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As undesirable as that may sound (to you, not them) there is something to be said for meals featuring the popular sweet treat. The following recipes incorporate chocolate, but one is a bit more nutritious than the other. The Chocolate Chicken Mole recipe uses bittersweet chocolate to complement the cinnamon, peanut butter and chili powder that are also featured in the dish. The flavorful combination is then poured over chicken breasts to yield an incredibly moist and delicious bird. The second recipe for … Continue reading →

Seriously Sweet Homemade Halloween Treats

Don’t invite your dentist to your Halloween party if you plan to serve up the following sweet treats. These saccharine-filled desserts will tame even the sweetest tooth in your clan. If you are a sucker for chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate (along with butterscotch, caramel and marshmallows) then consider adding the following easy to prepare recipes to your Halloween Boo Bash: GERMAN CHOCOLATE BARS Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 package German chocolate cake mix 2 cups chocolate chips 2 cuts butterscotch chips 1 cup flaked coconut 1 cup chopped pecans 1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk. Directions: Preheat oven … Continue reading →

Fall Treats: Combining Chocolate with Pumpkin

You can’t go wrong when chocolate is in the mix. (At least in my family.) Whether you are adding chocolate chips to pumpkin pancakes or perking up an ordinary pumpkin muffin with swirls of chocolate, nothing beats the seasonal combination of sweet and sweeter. However, if you want to take the combo to an entirely new level consider the following recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Pie. I tried my first piece last Thanksgiving. A friend of mine made it, though she didn’t create the recipe (she got it from a friend of a friend). If I knew who to thank for … Continue reading →