Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I have a problem.  I can't seem to find a good homemade chocolate frosting recipe.  The recipes I've tried have either been not chocolately enough, or taste too much like powdered cocoa, or just aren't RIGHT for whatever reason.  While looking for a frosting recipe for my daughter's 2nd birthday party I stumbled across a blog called Glorious Treats and saw her recipe for chocolate cream cheese frosting here.  This is a great, great recipe... it's rich and chocolately, with a little tartness from the cream cheese, and just the right sweetness.  It pipes beautifully (although my cupcakes weren't nearly as pretty as the ones from Glorious Treats - hers are downright perfect!).  I've also made the vanilla cream cheese frosting as well and it's great too!  While I'll keep looking for the perfect plain chocolate frosting recipe, this will definitely be my go-to for chocolate cream cheese frosting!  :)

CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar
Milk, as needed


DIRECTIONS:

1.  Beat butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Add cocoa powder and beat until combined.

2.  Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until combined.  If necessary, add milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.  Beat frosting until light and fluffy, about one minute.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

This weekend we threw a surprise birthday party for my husband's good friend Mike. I said I would bake the birthday cake and asked his wife what Mike's favorite cake was, and she said German Chocolate Cake. Which interestingly enough is my husband Jeremy's favorite cake - they must share the same brain. I used a recipe for German Chocolate Cake that's already posted on my blog but I'm posting the recipe for the chocolate frosting which was adapted from this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I've made frosting from scratch before but never chocolate. This was definitely "rich" as the name implies - it had, and it pains me to say this, almost TOO much of a chocolate flavor. Next time I might cut back the cocoa a bit and replace it with a little more powdered sugar instead. It's a dense frosting with an intense cocoa flavor - it reminded me of a canned chocolate frosting but with a much better flavor, if that makes any sense. If you want a fluffy lightly chocolate flavored frosting this isn't it. If you want a rich chocolate frosting that might remind you of your birthday cakes as a child, this is it. The birthday boy loved the cake though, and said he could feel like arteries clogging as he ate it - ha! I think I did a pretty decent job frosting it too, if I do say so myself. ;)

RICH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk, approximately

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl beat butter and vanilla until light and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, cocoa, alternating with tablespoons of milk, until sugar and cocoa are incorporated. Beat until well combined, adding any additional milk necessary until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Retro, baby! We had another potluck night at work, and this time the theme was "Old Skool Treats". We were supposed to bring in a dish that reminded us of childhood. People brought in a lot of fun stuff: Chex Mix, Rice Krispy Treats, deviled eggs, etc. I made a strawberry pretzel salad adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com. To be honest, I've never had this dish before in my life. But growing up my mom made very little American food, so instead of bringing something that might frighten my co-workers I elected to scour the internet for something that smacked of retro. This recipe sounded perfect - it involves cream cheese, one of my favorite things, and JELL-O! C'mon, what's more retro than JELL-O??? Although the concept of this dish scared me a little I must admit it was really tasty when it was done. The salty pretzel crust with the sweet fluffy cream cheese layer and the strawberries on top is a great combo. I'm not 100% sold on the JELL-O part, but it was fun. I had a lot of co-workers tell me how they grew up on this stuff and how great it was to have it again.

STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip whipped topping

1 (6 oz) package strawberry flavored JELL-O
2 cups boiling water

1 (16 oz) package frozen sliced strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

2. In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip whipped topping. Spread evenly on cooled pretzel crust. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl stir strawberry JELL-O mix and boiling water until well combined. Mix in frozen strawberries. Pour over cream cheese mixture, spreading strawberries evenly across top. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fluff Fondue

I recently started working the night shift at my job. It's a whole different animal when compared to working days - much more quiet, hardly anyone in the building, and the kookiest patients call us. One thing I miss is planning events with co-workers, we did that a LOT on day shift, so I decided to arrange a potluck at work. We had a dip party, and everyone brought their favorite dip. I made this chocolate marshmallow fluff fondue dip, because I've become aware that I'm seriously lacking in recipes involving marshmallow fluff. ;) This recipe is inspired by the gal who does the A Year of CrockPotting blog. I made some adjustments in the amounts of the ingredients and used half-and-half instead of whipping cream. It turned out really good, pretty sweet though, with just a hint of almond flavor.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FLUFF FONDUE

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine chocolate chips, marshmallow fluff, half-and-half and almond extract in a mini crockpot. Set on low and heat for one hour, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and smooth. Keep warm and serve with assorted fruit, angel/pound cake, etc. with skewers for dipping.

White Chocolate Pretzel Bark

Damn you Paula Deen! How dare you show a fragile pregnant woman a vat of salty/sweet white chocolate bark, hence triggering a craving that forces her to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make your recipe! This is a recipe adapted from Paula Deen's Pretzel Peanut Bark. I adjusted the ingredients slightly and added M&M candies. It's a nice combination of salty, sweet, smooth and crunchy.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL BARK

INGREDIENTS:
2 (11 oz) bags white chocolate chips
4 cups pretzel sticks, broken but not crushed
2 cups salted peanuts
2 (3.14 oz) bags plain milk chocolate M&Ms

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips until smooth, stirring often.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine melted white chocolate, pretzel sticks, peanuts and M&Ms. Stir until well coated. Pour out onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread evenly across pan. Allow to cool completely before breaking into bite sized chunks.

Grilled Caramelized Bananas

Something about summertime makes me want to grill anything that will hold still. This is a very simple dessert idea for grilled bananas - it's best to use bananas that are firm to hold up to the heat. This could easily be done on an outdoor grill or inside using a grill pan. Serve warm with your favorite flavor of ice cream.

GRILLED CARAMELIZED BANANAS

INGREDIENTS:
2 bananas
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Ice cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat a nonstick grill pan on the stovetop over medium heat.

2. Peel bananas and slice lengthwise in half. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar.

3. Place bananas on grill pan at a 45 degree angle. Cook 1-2 minutes, then rotate another 45 degrees to create crosshatch marks. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes. If desired, flip bananas and repeat process on the other side. Serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Delight

So this recipe is probably the most "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee" so far. I really can't stand her, but I'm not ashamed to use some convenient products to whip up something quickly - hey I never said this was a foodie blog! Layers of peanut butter and chocolate, chilled to frozen perfection. ;) Despite using "light" ingredients, this is very rich dessert so start with small servings.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE DELIGHT

INGREDIENTS:
3 individual bags Nabisco 100 Calorie Peanut Butter Cookie Crisps
2 tablespoons I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread, melted
1 8oz package light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup extra chunky peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Splenda sweetener
2 8oz tubs Cool Whip Free
1 package (1.4 oz) Chocolate Fudge Sugar Free/Fat Free instant pudding
3/4 cup skim milk


DIRECTIONS:

1. Line a standard loaf baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place Peanut Butter Cookie Crisps into a resealable bag and crush into coarse pieces. Mix with melted I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and spread evenly on the bottom of lined loaf pan. Place in freezer and allow to set, 10 minutes. In the meantime using a handheld mixer, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and Splenda in a medium mixing bowl until well incorporated. Mix in one container of Cool Whip Free until just combined. Remove loaf pan from freezer and spread 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture evenly over cookie crust. Return loaf pan to freezer to set. Reserve remaining cream cheese mixture in fridge.

2. In a large mixing bowl with a clean handheld mixer, combine instant pudding mix and skim milk until well combined. Mix in HALF of the second tub of Cool Whip Free until just combined. Place in fridge to set, about 10 minutes. Once set, spread chocolate mixture on top of chilled cream cheese mixture in loaf pan. Return loaf pan to freezer to set, 10 minutes. Once set, spread remaining 1/2 of reserved cream cheese mixture on top of chocolate layer and return to freezer to chill 4 hours or overnight.

3. To serve, remove loaf pan from freezer, invert onto a plate and remove foil, then reinvert onto serving platter so cookie crust is on the bottom. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices and top with remaining tub of Cool Whip Free. If desired garnish plate with crushed peanut butter cookie crisps, chopped peanuts, or chocolate shavings/melted chocolate.

Mini Dipped Apple Bites

This was something I made for a party appetizer, inspired by those delicious looking dipped apples you see at Rocky Mounty Chocolate Factory and such. They were pretty simple to make and everyone really liked them. I imagine it would be a fun project to do with kids too.

MINI DIPPED APPLE BITES

INGREDIENTS:

4 large Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 bag caramel candies, melted
Assorted items for dipping - melted milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, nuts, sprinkles, cookie bits, etc.


DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop Granny Smith apples into bite-sized pieces. Toss with lemon juice until thoroughly coated. Skewer with toothpicks and dip bottom portion in melted caramel. Chill in the fridge on parchment paper lined cookie sheets until caramel hardens, about 30 minutes.

2. Once chilled, drizzle apple bites with any combination of melted chocolates and/or peanut butter and dip in nuts, sprinkles and cookie bits as desired. Chill again in the fridge on parchment paper lined cookie sheets until toppings are firm, about 30 minutes, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.