Nutella-filled "Frenched" Tortillas

 
This post starts with a happy accident. 

I love to make french toast in the mornings for kiddo.  It's easy, no measuring....eggs, a little milk, sprinkle of sugar, dash of vanilla....whisk it all up...bread, pan, BAM!...french toast.

Well, a few weeks ago, I whisked up the eggs, milk, etc. and realized....I was OUT.OF. BREAD.

What's a girl to do?  In Texas, you might run out of bread, but you always have tortillas.  So, "frenched" tortillas were born and they are now a staple in our house.

Let me tell you how to make them.  Prepare....you are about to achieve domestic goddess status in 5 minutes.

OK....I like the start with these "ready-to-cook" tortillas.  But, these may be just a Texas thing. (They're in the refrigerated section at HEB, y'all.)  So, start with flour tortillas. (If they are the ready-to-cook kind, cook them.)

Whisk up 2 eggs, about 1/2 cup milk, a TBSP or so of sugar (or cinnamon-sugar), and a dash of vanilla.  (Eyeball it.)

Heat up a pan and add a pat of butter.....I like salted, but whatever you have.

Dip both sides of the tortilla in the egg mixture; let the excess drip off.  Cook briefly in the pan; flip and cook the other side (but you knew that).

Once cooked, add a spoonful (1-2 TBSP) of Nutella down the middle of each tortilla.  Roll.
 

{Don't you want to dive right in?}

Dust with powdered sugar.  If you're feeling fancy (and you probably are), heat up a bit of Nutella in the microwave.  Drizzle over the tortillas.

SOMEDAY, when kiddo goes off to college, he will come home for *THESE*.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Sexy delicious gluten-free vegan chocolate muffins.

Today is all about muffins. Yes, muffins. And not just any muffins. Chocolate muffins worthy of a story.

Chapter 1.

The morning was cool and bright. It was going to be one of those quintessential Cape Cod autumn days. A day tourists swoon over. Worthy of a post card with The weather is sublime- wish you were here scrawled in black gel cursive between sips of a Hot Chocolate Sparrow latte. The sky was a cake bowl of cobalt blue with that particular pink edge to it that only painters notice, the blush that softened the tree line at the north end of the West Barnstable marsh gentling the heavy greens of the pines and oaks into a bluish, almost violet gray. 

She brushed her teeth with fennel toothpaste and spit into the low slung sink, pausing to breathe. A long inhale to slow her heart. The cottage was pin drop quiet. The boys had climbed the rubber lined steps into the school bus hours ago, peanut butter and honey sandwiches bagged, milk money in their pockets. She had waved from the street and watched them navigate the bus aisle in shadow, avoiding her maternal gaze, not turning to wave back. Too risky, she understood.

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Valentine *Conversation Heart* Chocolate Bark

Time to get your sprinkles on...

I'm gonna be honest; I love conversation hearts, but I don't like to eat them.  I like to LOOK at them.


So, I figured....combine them with chocolate? Yeah, now we're talking.

I love the way conversation hearts are updated from time to time.  This year along with "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me," I saw "LOL" and "You Rock." :)

This is a quick, easy, fun Valentine treat to take to school parties, to the neighbors....or to eat wearing your jammies while watching Young & the Restless. {Not that I did that.}

Valentine Chocolate Bark

2 bags white chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)
2 bags bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate chips (I still like Ghiradelli)
2 cups Rice Krispies
conversation hearts
sprinkles

Place 3/4ths of the white chocolate chips in a glass or metal bowl.  Place over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the remaining white chocolate chips until melted. (If the chocolate is too thick, stir in some Crisco...about 1 TBSP).

Stir in the Rice Krispies.

Spread onto a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. (An offset spatula works great.)

Melt the bittersweet chocolate using the same method. (You shouldn't need the Crisco here.)

Using an offset spatula, gently spread over the white chocolate.

{I don't use the word "sexy" very often on the blog....or ever....but really, melted dark chocolate?  Sexy.}
 

OK.....sprinkle on the conversation hearts and sprinkles.  Let set up until hardened.


Break into pieces.

 

{I served them in a vintage muffin tin. :)} 

PS....this post is dedicated to my friends, Teresa and Kristan.  I think of them every time I reach for the sprinkles. :)

Light(ish) Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

 
Alright, they're not exactly diet food, but if you have a hankerin' for chocolate cheesecake without too much guilt, you're going to LOVE these babies!

These bars are really easy to make, but if your boys are like mine, they'll take one bite and think you are a domestic goddess.  I like that.

Light(ish) Chocolate Cheesecake Squares
{adapted from Everyday Food magazine, Jan 2004}
makes 9 squares

shortening for pan
8 chocolate wafer cookies
8 oz  (1/3 less fat, or reduced fat) cream cheese
1 c. reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 c. dutch-process cocoa (regular is fine, too)
1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
2 TBSP cornstarch
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven 325.  Coat an 8x8" baking pan with shortening.  Line with 2 criss-crossed sheets of parchment, coating the with shortening between sheets.  Coat the top sheet with shortening.

{Here is one sheet coated.  Lay another sheet in opposite direction on top and coat that one as well.}

Process wafers in a food processor until finely ground.

{Chocolate wafers....in my store, they are near the ice cream, not in the cookie section.  You can substitute Oreos.  What you do with the cream filling is your secret.}
 
Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Without rinsing the processor bowl, process the cream cheese and sour cream until blended.  Scrape down the sides and bottom as needed. Add the cocoa, espresso powder, cornstarch, sugar, egg and egg white; blend until smooth and combined.

{This is the Hershey dutch-process cocoa. It's labeled as "Special Dark."}

Pour into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake 35-40 minutes, just until set.

Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.  Refrigerate at least one hour.

Lift out of the pan using the parchment.  Cut into squares. (I love using my bench scraper for cutting bars like this.)

Enjoy!

(Also...there is a new vlog post over at University of Cookie: how to apply luster dust!) :)

Peppermint Bark with a Little Somethin' Somethin'

{I just asked kiddo if a "little somethin' somethin'" was an expression. His response..."maybe for people your age." Someone is getting coal in his stocking.}

Anyhoo....this might not be the prettiest Peppermint Bark in the world.  (My friend Cheryl makes the prettiest peppermint bark.)  I think it's one of the yummiest, though.

It has a secret ingredient.....RICE KRISPIES!


Peppermint Bark with a Little Somethin' Somethin'

1 pkg. Starlight Mints (peppermint candies)
16 oz. bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate, chopped
2 c. Rice Krispies
16 oz. white chocolate, chopped

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Crush the peppermint candies.

{Those little suckers are HARD...I used a hammer.}

Place the crushed peppermints in a fine sieve over a bowl and shake out all of the fine powder, leaving only the chunks.  (You can stir that powder into hot chocolate.)  Set aside.

In a bowl over a pot of simmering water, melt the bittersweet chocolate.  I like this Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate...it's in the baking aisle.

Once melted, gently stir in the rice krispies.

Pour onto the prepared pan and spread with an offset spatula.

Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Pour over the bittersweet chocolate.  Sprinkle on the peppermint chunks.

Refrigerate 30 minutes until set.   Break into pieces.  Take to the neighbors. :)

{PS....if you are shipping cookies with week, but sure to check the vlog post at University of Cookie on packing and shipping cookies.}

What are YOU baking this week?

Witchy Wormy Cookies

My mom made these every October.

And, yes, they are SCARY!!!  Scary because you CANNOT.EAT.JUST.ONE.

First, gather your ingredients...

 

You will need:

 
and and few...
 
...don't forget...
 

Witchy Wormy Cookies

2 pkg buzzards eyes (chocolate chips, 12 oz ea)

1 pkg snails (peanut butter chips, 10-12 oz)

1 can spider eggs (peanuts, 12 oz) 

3 oz. fried worms (Rice/Chow Mein Noodles)

Melt the buzzard eyes and snails over low heat.  Take off the heat and stir in the spider eggs and fried worms; mix thoroughly.

Drop by the spoonful onto wax paper lined cookie sheets.  Freeze until set.  Store in the refrigerator.  (Makes about 40 pieces.)

I'm going to warn you right now...these are MESSY!!!  Do NOT give these to your kids if they are wearing white.  Don't let them eat one while sitting on the "good" furniture, and definitely don't give them one to eat in the car on the way to school.

{What kind of mother lets her child eat a cookie before school anyway? Certainly no one in THIS house. ;)}

 

 

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing

Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes.

Gluten-free cupcakes are hot. Or should I say, HAWT. Tack on vegan status, too, and you've got a trend worthy of the most BoHo WeHo GoGo. So I'm reprising this chocolate cupcake recipe to tempt you into baking this weekend. These little beauties remind me of Devil's Food Cake. Dark, moist and chocolatey. So go grab your inner Domestic Goddess by the hand and stir up some trouble.

But before we get to (what happens to be my favorite) chocolate cupcake recipe from the archives, I want to share something. Maybe it's the waxing moon, that cyclic siren pulling us toward wholeness, to embracing our shadow, urging us to let go, shed the outworn for the sake of authenticity. Or maybe it's the fresh start of a new school year, possessing me with cravings for newly sharpened pencils and thick stacks of paper, clean as a cloud. Fall always wakes me up. It conjures images of new beginnings.

And yes, there will be baby pictures.

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Mexican Hot Fudge Sauce - Vegan and Gluten-Free

Decadent dairy-free hot fudge sauce. Vegan and gluten-free.

Now that there are some super fabulous gluten-free vegan ice creams out there (have you tried the coconut milk and almond milk based ice creams?) and we don't have to settle for less than delicious, I thought I'd reprise this silky chocolate sauce recipe from the archives. Because, you know. You may have missed it. And life is too short to live without fudge sauce.

In my book, anyway.

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Kiddo in the Kitchen: Milk Chocolate Pretzel Tart

Kiddo would live on pretzels if I would let him. I've leaned down to kiss him good-night only to hear a crinkling sound and find the bag under his pillow.

But, I'm a mean mom and make him vary up his menu a little with fruit and protein, veggies, and well, cookies.

For this edition of Kiddo in the Kitchen, kiddo chose from my stack of recipes torn from magazines. I'm not sure where this one came from, but I'm going to guess it was Food & Wine.

(This recipe has a lot of waiting time...chilling the dough, rolling and re-chilling, cooling the crust, cooling the ganache and finally time for the tart to set-up. That said, I don't think it's the best recipe to make with a 4-year-old. Not much instant gratification. :))

Milk Chocolate Pretzel Tart

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 & 1/2 c. thin pretzels, coarsely crushed
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 egg
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 & 1/2 c. heavy cream
3/4 lb. milk chocolate, chopped
Sea Salt (Maldon or Fleur de Sel)
crushed pretzels

Beat the butter with 3/4 c. crushed pretzels and powdered sugar at low speed until creamy. Beat in the flour and egg. Stir in the remaining 1/2 c. pretzels.

Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out the dough between the waxed paper to 12" round. Peel off the top sheet and invert over a 10" tart pan. Press dough into the corners and patch any tears. Trim dough and refrigerate 30 minutes.

{Kiddo wants you to know he did not CHOOSE the heart-shaped pan...it's the only one I have. Whew...crisis averted.}

Line the shell with parchment and fill with pie weights.

{Or dried black-eyed peas in our case.}

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for another 10 minutes. Cover the edges with foil if needed. Let cool completely.

Brush the crust with melted bittersweet chocolate. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes, until it is a room temperature.

Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pretzels.

Kiddo gives it a...drum roll, please...

THE END