Tag Archives: chocolate

Chocolate Pecan Tart

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Ruthanne

This pecan tart with a hint of cocoa was inspired by my recent vacation to South Carolina.

I just got back from a trip to my cousin’s wedding in Raleigh and a family vacation in Myrtle Beach.  Besides the pralines (MUST learn to make these), I was tempted by all the varieties of pecan pies in each restaurant we visited (bourbon, chocolate chip, caramel, cheesecake….)

I’m visiting dear friends tomorrow afternoon and since I’ve been obsessing over pecan pies I thought I’d better give in and make one tonight to share with them.  I really think you’ll love this recipe.  The tart pan makes it beautiful and the cocoa makes it so rich and flavorful.  Plus it is really easy.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

  • Refrigerated pie crust (or your own favorite recipe!)
  • 4 T. butter
  • 2 T. cocoa powder
  • 1 c. corn syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
  • 2 T. vanilla
  • 2 c. pecans (one cup chopped, one cup halves)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Lightly grease a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom.  Line the pan with your crust, pressing it into the bottom and sides of pan and pricking the bottom a few times with a fork.
  • Melt butter on the stove in a saucepan.
  • Turn heat off and add the cocoa and corn syrup.
  • Lightly beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
  • Stir egg mixture and one cup of chopped nuts into syrup.
  • Pour into crust and arrange the remaining pecans over the top.
  • Bake on a cookie sheet for 35-40 minutes (until the filling is just set).
  • Serve warm (with ice cream, I think!) or at room temperature.


My thoughts:  This is a quick dessert and it is SO yummy!  I’m laughing a little about how I have to cut a piece out of everything I make (for photography purposes, of course…) and how nothing I bring to share at a dinner ever looks pretty anymore.  My friends look at my chopped up dessert, roll their eyes and say– oh yeah….BLOG photos…  I hope you enjoy making this recipe.  I’ll leave you tonight with a couple of beach photos.  Enjoy!

My favorite pier at sunset….happy moment….

Appreciating the beach. Enjoy your week, friends!

14 Comments

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Seven Layer Cookie Cups

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Ruthanne

Confession:  I’ve never had or made 7 layer bars.  But ever since I created the salted caramel cookie cup recipe, my friend Dawn (and her husband Rex!) have been asking me to try a cookie cup filled with 7 layer bar ingredients.

Now that I’ve tried them, I am in love with 7 layer bars.  The bars are very easy to make and there are tons of recipes online for them.  There are many variations of ingredients, but I made my cups with Dawn’s favorites.  The cups are a little more time consuming than plain bars– but very, very fun!  The cookie cup holds all the yummy ingredients together and adds a dense sweet layer to the typical bar recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 1c. of finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 c. chopped pecans
  • 1c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4c. butterscotch chips
  • 1c. shredded coconut
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

(yep, thats 7 ingredients!)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Using clean hands, knead together graham cracker crumbs and cookie dough until all crumbs are incorporated.
  • Divide dough evenly among 12 (standard size) muffin cups.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes
  • Press centers of baked cookies in, forming a cup. I use a mini tart shaper for this and it makes it SO easy- you can use the end of a wooden spoon too, if you want.  The inside of the cookies might still be a little undercooked at this point — that is ok!
  • Layer the remaining dry ingredients in each cookie cup, saving some coconut aside.
  • Place sweetened condensed milk in a zip top bag, clip a corner and drizzle the condensed milk into each cup over and around all the ingredients.  I went to each cup twice, as the liquid seeped down into all the layers there was room for more on top.
  • Sprinkle top with shredded coconut and place back in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.  Watch for your coconut to brown on top– that is your cue to pull them out!
  • Cool completely in pan.  
  • Use a small knife to run around edge of each cup and pop it out of pan when cooled.

My thoughts:  I love them!  You could experiment with ingredient variations to this if you don’t like nuts or coconut for example. I like them as is.  Since I’d never had a 7 layer bar, I was depending on Dawn and Rex to judge the taste- they give them a thumbs up!  If you want gooey chocolate and coconut then this is YOUR dessert!  Enjoy!


18 Comments

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Peanut Butter Cup Layer Cake

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ruthanne


Chocolate cake filled with layers of fudge and whipped peanut butter- yum!

INGREDIENTS:

  • One chocolate cake mix (with water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
  • 1 c. creamy peanut butter
  • 8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temperature)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 8 oz. Cool Whip topping
  • One tub of ready-made chocolate frosting (I used dark chocolate..mmmm…)

DIRECTIONS:

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • Spray 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans with cooking spray.
    • Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of both pans and spray this with cooking spray.
    • Make cake mix according to package and pour evenly into two pans.
    • Bake according to package.
    • Tip cakes over onto a cake rack to cool completely.
    • Make filling by beating together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar.
    • Gently fold in the container of whipped topping.
    • Make fudge sauce by spooning pre-made frosting into a microwave-safe bowl and heating in microwave for about 30 seconds (until smooth and creamy when stirred).
    • Prepare cakes by leveling the tops using a large serrated knife, then cut each cake into 2 layers using the same serrated knife or a Wire Cake Slicer .
    • Place one layer onto serving plate, top with 1/4 of peanut butter filling
    • Place second layer of cake on top of 1st, spread a layer (about 1/3 of the total amount) of frosting fudge over cake, top with another 1/4 of peanut butter filling.
    • Place 3rd layer of cake on top of 2nd, spread 1/4 of peanut butter filing over layer.
    • Top with final layer, rest of peanut butter filling and then pour remaining frosting fudge over the top, pushing it over the edges.  Sprinkle with mini peanut butter cups and chill before serving.

My thoughts.  Really easy cake and fillings.  The hardest part is simply cutting the cake into layers.  I really like this cake served cold…it doesn’t have to be…that’s just how I like it— chilled peanut butter cup cake- yum.  Enjoy!!

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Chocolate Cookies – New Zealand Style!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Ruthanne


Tiny, crunchy chocolate and coconut cookies with a delicious chocolate glaze- SO good!

I love food blogs- particularly ones that major in fun desserts!  One of my favorite Saturday morning activities is to read through all my favorite blogs and enjoy the photos.  This past weekend Aimee from Clever Muffin posted a recipe that I simply HAD to try.  This doesn’t happen very often, as I prefer creating to copying–but the photos of these little cookies just screamed MAKE ME!!!  So I did.

I love them– truly LOVE these cookies.  They are so light and crunchy and cocoa-y.  I will be adding these to my permanent recipe collection and making them again….soon.

These are called Afghan Biscuits.  One of the things I love about Aimee is that she’s from Australia and she calls cookies “biscuits”, powdered sugar “icing sugar”and her mom her “mum”.  I also love that the world is such a small place that I can get a recipe from a friend in Australia and here I am 3 days later eating New Zealand-ish “biscuits” in my living room.  So. Much. Fun.

Anyway, Aimee has the history of these cookies on her blog.  She says they were invented in the 1940’s, possibly as a means to send cookies to loved ones away at war in WW2.  She says they “post” (so cute!) beautifully.  I know several of you have ones you love far away from you– here’s a great idea for a cookie that keeps well in the mail.   Are you ready for the recipe???  I’m really excited to share it with you!

INGREDIENTS:

Cookies:

  • 14 T. butter -softened (I know, awkward measurement…had to convert 200 grams for you though and the alternatives were 1.76 sticks of butter OR 0.88 cups of butter….so yeah….you choose.)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 2 T. cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 c. flour
  • 1 c. lightly crushed cornflakes
  • 1 c. shredded coconut

Icing:

  • 1 c. powdered sugar
  • 2 T. cocoa powder
  • Water (1-3 T.) to make a good spreading consistency.
  • Almond slivers (to garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Heat oven to 250 degrees.
  • Place 1 c. shredded coconut on a small cookie sheet and place in oven for 10-15 minutes until it is dried and crunchy— not browned– just dry and crunchy.  Remove from oven and cool.
  • When coconut is cool, use your hands to crush it up  into smaller pieces, set aside.
  • Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Use an electric beater to cream sugar and butter together, add vanilla.
  • Add flour, cocoa and coconut, beating until well combined.
  • Add cornflakes and beat on low speed until just combined.
  • Use a small cookie scoop to spoon batter onto parchment paper.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes.
  • Allow cookies to cool before frosting.
  • Make icing by combining  powdered sugar, cocoa and water until you have a smooth glaze that doesn’t run off the edges of the cookies.
  • Top cookie with icing and one almond sliver.


My thoughts:  These are SO good.  SOOOOOOOOOO good.  Many thanks to Clever Muffin for the inspiration!  Go check out her blog– you will love it!  Enjoy!!!!!!  -r

13 Comments

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Black Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Ruthanne


These chocolate cupcakes have a creamy black raspberry filling and are topped with the BEST buttercream frosting I’ve ever tried.  Ever.

When my recipes get pinned on Pinterest and I want to be entertained, I go and read the comments on them.  My favorite are the ones about how incredibly unhealthy my recipes are.  One person figured out how many carbs there were in my Salted Caramel Cookie Cups and was APPALLED.  (If you aren’t counting carbs I really think you’ll like them though!)  We are not dedicated to healthy dining here….not even pretending.

My other favorite comments are from the people who are horrified that I use cake mixes instead of baking things from scratch.  I love cake mixes- LOVE them (EASY baked- right?!?).  We recently had a local bakery that went on Cupcake Wars and (of course!) we had to try some of their cupcakes.  They made a chocolate blackberry cupcake that was beautiful- but dry….all I could think was– this would have been SO much better if it had been a cake mix–and then I had an idea……

A few weeks ago I made a gender reveal cupcake using Betty Crockers new “Fun da-middle” cupcake mix and I wondered if a dab of black raspberry jam in the middle would work (and not leak out).  I decided to experiment and I loved the results.

Frosting…..I also had a recent comment here from someone who “loathes” American buttercream frosting. I’ve never “loathed” ANY frosting, but I wondered about a good buttercream recipe for these cupcakes.  I called my friend Megan over at Happily Ever After Cakes since she sells cupcakes for special events and she gave me her favorite recipe.  She got it from a friend in England and had to convert the measurements.  It is the BEST frosting I have ever had- incredibly smooth and creamy.

Ready to make these?  Here we go:

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

    • Make cupcakes according to package.
    • Distribute white cream filling according to package
    • Place 1/3c. black raspberry jam in a zip top bag.  Clip a corner and pipe about 1 t. over cream filling in each cup.
    • Finish distributing batter over the top, according to package.
    • Bake according to package.
    • Cool completely.
    • Place both sticks of (room temp!!!) butter in a mixing bowl with the powdered sugar, and flavoring.
    • Beat on high until creamy, smooth and thick.
    • Add coloring until desired frosting shade is reached.
    • Clip the corner of a zip top bag and insert a piping tip (or use a piping bag if you want).  Fill bag with frosting and pipe over cupcakes (Megan recommended this video on You Tube for piping techniques).
    • Place a washed and DRY Blackberry on the top of each cupcake and sprinkle with edible glitter. (The glitter didn’t show up well in my pictures but it adds SO much to the finished product– I loved it!)
    • Store in a cool dry place- mine were just as good three days after I made them as they were on day one!   ENJOY!!!

My thoughts:  Every once in awhile I hit a recipe that I like more than any of the others.  This is one of those recipes.  It is easy (but looks complicated) and MOST importantly, it is soooo yummy.  I’m not kidding you about the frosting.  It is AMAZING.  Many thanks to Megan and Happily Ever After Cakes for sharing the recipe with me!!!!   Enjoy!  r-

Ok– I’m adding a note to this post because I just tried the yellow/white filling Fun-da-Middle mix with Raspberry jam, and the yellow/chocolate filling mix too.  I made them for a birthday party and just couldn’t resist adding a couple of pictures here for you– this is my new go-to cupcake recipe, I just love them!

Red Raspberry Cream Cupcake

Happy Birthday Megan!!!!!

(I love this Wilton’s cupcake display — it holds 23 cupcakes, which is perfect for 2 dozen– it leaves one cupcake without a place so you don’t feel guilty eating it up (which is exactly what I just did!)

A note on the new advertising:  I was invited to try WordPress’ new ad program- WordAds this week.  I signed up with reservations as I am more committed to getting recipes into your hands without annoying pop-ups and distracting ads (honestly, I leave sites that have too much of this).  I am trying it for a few months though (baking ingredients are expensive!).  If you are distracted by it or find anything about it offensive (we don’t get to choose the ads)- please let me know.  I’m hoping this works out well for all of us- but if it doesn’t I will opt out.  Thanks!! -r

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Creamy Coconut Cheesecake

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Ruthanne

Chewy layers of coconut covered in dark chocolate cheesecake make this dessert irresistible!

A few months ago I made coconut macaroons– yum. I love coconut. I kept thinking that the macaroons would be good with chocolate. I used Nestle’s new Dark Chocolate Morsels in a Triple chocolate cheesecake a few weeks ago and decided then and there that the dark chocolate cheesecake would be perfect with the coconut macaroons. I didn’t get too creative with this recipe- I just used the coconut macaroon recipe and spread it in the bottom and used the dark chocolate cheesecake recipe over the top—-fingers crossed and YUM! It worked wonderfully!

This recipe is not hard, but it is going to take you some time, so you will want to make it ahead.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Oreos (2 to 2 1/2 cups, finely crushed)
  • 1/4 c. butter (melted)
  • 2 egg whites (beaten until soft peaks form)
  • one (14oz.) bag of sweetened shredded coconut
  • one can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 (8oz.) packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
  • 1/2c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 c. Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels (melted)
  • 1 c. whipping cream
  • 3 t. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

  • Finely crush Oreos and mix with melted butter. Press into bottom of a 9-Inch Round Springform Pan.
  • In a medium bowl combine egg whites, coconut and sweetened condensed milk. Press this macaroon mixture gently over the top of the crust (if you are too vigorous in spreading this it will pull up your Oreo crust).
  • In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating with mixer between each egg.
  • Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
  • Pour over coconut layer.
  • Set springform pan on a cookie sheet and allow batter to settle at room temperature for 30 minutes (this will help prevent cracks). Preheat your oven to 325 degrees at this time.
  • Bake cheesecake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. At one hour, turn oven off, crack open the oven door and allow cheesecake to sit in oven for another 30 minutes.
  • Remove cheesecake from oven and cool at room temp for 30 minutes.
  • Carefully run a sharp knife around the edge of the springform pan to loosen the edges (I found that this cheesecake tended to stick on the edges just a little because of all that gooey coconut- you might want to try a little parchment paper on the sides and bottom to make it easier.)
  • Remove edges of pan and allow cheesecake to set until it is room temperature.
  • Refrigerate overnight before serving.
  • Serve with some whipped cream or sprinkle with coconut….yum!

My thoughts: They have a cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory called Coconut Cream Pie Cheesecake and I LOVE it. Originally I thought I would try to copy it exactly, but the chocolate cheesecake is SO much better than vanilla. I didn’t top this cheesecake with any fancy chocolate or drizzles because it is already SO rich…but you certainly could top this with a ganache- or even a caramel sauce. (Especially if your top cracks a bit and you want to hide that). All of my other cheesecake recipes have toppings on them if you need some topping inspiration 🙂 Enjoy! -r

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Leche de Chocolate (Mexican Chocolate Milk!)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Ruthanne

Cold, creamy and sweet- this is chocolate milk like you’ve never had it before.  Say hello to one of my favorite treats from the beautiful country of Mexico!

For several years I’ve led mission trips from our church down to a tiny town in Sinaloa, Mexico.  We spend 10 days or so doing Bible school with the kids of the town, helping to build a church and training facility and just helping out around the town- painting, cleaning etc.  We have met the most wonderful people and made friendships I will never forget.  The food—authentic Mexican–is literally the best I’ve had in ANY country I’ve visited.  I, of course, had my nose in the kitchen often- asking questions, watching them make tortillas from scratch and pluck feathers from chickens.  I do hope to feature some of the recipes they shared with me here someday, but tonight I was craving chocolate milk, and the best chocolate milk I’ve ever had was in a tiny restaurant in Mazatlan, MX.  It was a hot day of touring and we’d just climbed a HUGE hill up to the lighthouse in Mazatlan.  We stumbled on this restaurant and stayed because it had air conditioning.  For some reason, chocolate milk sounded good– and the rest is history!

My friend Jennifer and I enjoying chocolate milk in Mexico

I knew the ingredients because I asked our waiter, but the proportions were up to me.  I will give you the amounts I use- but feel free to adjust them to your liking. Add more or less of anything to adjust the sweetness or the flavor.  This is how I like it:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 c. milk
  • 1c. ice cubes
  • 1/3 c. Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
  • 1/2 of a (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 1t. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

  • Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Pour into fun glasses (mine were a gift, but I found more like them here: Tall Irish Coffee Glass)
  • Serve cold and frothy!
  • ENJOY!!!!

My thoughts:  My 1st sip of this made me smile and I had to just close my eyes and remember all the wonderful people I met on these trips to Mexico.  Isn’t it fun when a taste brings back happy memories?  I hope that this easy recipe becomes a favorite in your family!  Enjoy! -r

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Frosty S’more Cups

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Ruthanne

Graham Crust topped with soft chocolate, mini marshmallows and creamy whipped pudding- all frozen in a cute individual cup!  YUM!

I’m back with a recipe using my Chicago Metallic Mini Cheesecake Pan  that I just love.  My Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes were my first experiment using this pan and these are my second experiment.  I’m just so impressed by how easy it is to make these using this pan- love it!  These frozen treats are rich and creamy and oh-so-yummy!  I hope you love them as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 18 graham cracker squares (9 sheets or about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/3 c. butter
  • 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
  • 1/4 c. whipping cream
  • 2 c. mini marshmallows
  • 1 1/2 c. cold milk
  • 1 box (4 servings, 3.9 oz)instant chocolate pudding
  • 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)
  • 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (as topping)

DIRECTIONS

  • Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs.
  • Melt butter and add to graham crackers, mixing until well combined to make crust.
  • Prepare pan by placing disks into the bottom of each cup.
  • Evenly divide crust mixture into all 12 cups, saving about 1/4 cup to use as topping later. (I used a Mini Tart Shaper to press crumbs firmly into the bottom of each cup).
  • Place milk chocolate chips and whipping cream into a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
  • Spoon chocolate into a zip top bag, cut a tip off and evenly pipe chocolate into the center of each cup, on top of the crust.

  • Divide Marshmallows among cups.
  • Mix cold milk with pudding on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the Cool Whip container (the rest will be used as topping).
  • Spoon filling into a large zip top bag (and ZIP it or you might have a mess!)  Clip a corner off and pipe pudding into each cup evenly.  Try to pipe it in between the marshmallows so that the whole cup is filled.  I did have a little left over (which was really tasty straight out of the bag!)
  • Use a knife to smooth the tops level with the top of the pan.
  • Freeze for at least a couple of hours.
  • Allow the pan to warm just a bit before popping each dessert cup out.  Poke a finger up through the hole in the bottom of the pan and grab that s’mores cup by its crust.  Remove the disk from the bottom and you are ready to add topping. 
  • For topping, I just piped a little bit of the left over Cool Whip on each dessert using a decorating tip.  Then I sprinkled the remaining crust and mini chocolate chips on top.
  • Serve cold right away– or put them in a sealed container and freeze until you are ready to serve.

My thoughts:  I love these so much.  They are ok at room temperature, but serve them frozen and they are amazing!  The pudding stays so creamy and that chocolate layer in the middle…. it is a miracle I didn’t just sit down and eat them all.  Seriously.  Enjoy!!!  -r

6-5-12: Check out this bloggers version using muffin cups: A Bunch of Bishops –so fun!

197 Comments

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Chocolate Mousse Cake

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Ruthanne

This wonderful cake recipe is courtesy of my Uncle John.  He has made this cake for family gatherings for years now and it is one of my favorites.  I think I’d have tried it sooner if I’d known how EASY it is.  There’s nothing better than a really easy dessert that looks this fancy!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 boxed chocolate cake mix- I like Duncan Hines!  (with oil/eggs/water to make according to directions)
  • 2 packets of Dream Whip (I’d never heard of this– it comes in a box and was near the jello/pudding boxes at the grocery.  There are 4 packets per box, and if you order them in a 6-pack at Amazon they are much cheaper than in the store.)
  • 3/4 c. milk
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 3T. cocoa powder
  • 3T. powdered sugar
  • one container of pre-made chocolate frosting.

DIRECTIONS:

  • Make cake mix according to box and bake in 2 – 8 or 9 inch round pans (I cut parchment paper to fit and place it in the bottom of each pan so that it comes out easier).
  • Cool cakes completely on a wire rack and while they are cooling make your mousse.
  • Put Dream Whip, milk, vanilla, cocoa powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together.
  • Using a mixer, beat until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes)
  • Scoop chocolate frosting into a microwave safe bowl and heat for only about 20-30 seconds in the microwave.  Heat until frosting is melted into a hot fudge consistency.
  • Use a large serrated knife to level your two cakes.
  • Place 1st cake on serving plate, leveled edge up.
  • Pour about 1/4 of melted frosting on top of cake and spread to cover (I put this layer in the fridge for about a minute just to cool the warm frosting down before adding the mousse layer)
  • Spoon all of the mousse on top of the cake and spread it ALMOST to the edges.
  • Top with second cake– put the leveled edge against the mousse…this keeps all the crumbs in the middle and leaves a nice flat surface on the top of your cake. Gently press top layer down to squeeze the mousse all the way to the edges.
  • Pour the rest of the melted frosting over the entire cake and let it drip over the edges.
  • Refrigerate until serving.

My thoughts:  WHO KNEW you could melt frosting and make such a wonderful fudge-like topping?  Learn something new every day.  Uncle John sometimes adds peppermint extract to the mousse– so yummy– and I had the thought while I was making this that a layer of raspberry preserves somewhere in the middle would be amazing.  I think you will just love this mousse.  It is so creamy and flavorful.  

If you live in Africa and cant find Dream Whip PLEASE don’t ask me what to substitute– I have no idea what this stuff is…it’s MAGIC 🙂 and I love it!   

Curiosity got he better of me…. here’s what Dream Whip is: click here  (I still think it’s magic.)

Enjoy this recipe friends!  Thanks for the inspiration Uncle John!!!   -r

28 Comments

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Peppermint Chocolate Drops

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Ruthanne

I love new products in the grocery store. Love them.  Last week, on an end cap there was something intriguing: Jet-puffed Mallow Bits by Kraft.  My store had them in plain and peppermint.  They are exactly like the tiny crunchy marshmallow bits found in hot chocolate packets….but in sprinkle form (and in yummy peppermint!).

I tossed a container in my cart and immediately began to daydream about all the wonderful things I could put them in….these cookies are just the beginning….don’t be surprised if you see these little pieces of crunchy happiness in another post soon.

These little chocolate drops have a rich cocoa flavor.  They are just FULL of mini chocolate chips and gooey peppermint marshmallows….   *love*

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 c. margarine
  • 1 1/4 c. sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2c. cocoa
  • 2-3 c. flour
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 2 c. mini chocolate chips
  • 2 c. Mallow Bits in peppermint

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Cream together margarine and sugar.
  • Use a mixer to beat margarine and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium until fluffy.
  • Beat in eggs, one at a time.
  • Beat in cocoa.
  • Add flour, salt and baking soda and mix by hand (dough will be very thick).
  • Add chocolate chips and mallow bits.
  • Knead dough together until smooth (add more flour if too sticky to knead)
  • Roll teaspoons of dough into balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. (I use a Small Cookie Scoop to make my cookies all the same size)
  • Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
  • Cool on parchment paper.

These are the perfect party cookie and just in time for Valentines day!  Enjoy!

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