If not a tradition why not create sweet memories. This is so easy and fun. Adults will enjoy it too.
My first exposure to making hot chocolate from a chocolate candy bar came from viewing an episode of Family Affair, a 1960’s TV series. Mr. French, Uncle Bill’s butler, is snow bound in Vermont with Uncle Bill’s niece and nephew, Buffy and Jody. And the only food they have is a chocolate candy bar. Yep, Mr. French makes hot chocolate with the candy bar and water.
I hope you will enjoy this richer version of hot chocolate.
If not into hot chocolate the tips on whipped cream may be new to you.
What do you do when the family is expecting chocolate chip cookies tonight but the chickens haven’t laid because they’ve decided it’s winter already and you have yet to install your chicken coop light to fool them? Whoa! And you don’t want to disappoint your grandchildren who have mistaken you for a gourmet cook! Chocolate & Walnut Toffee Bars!
On a twenty dollar weekly budget in the late 60’s, substitution became common place. I hate to think back to what I used for butter. I still have my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, thank you Margaret, from the same era. This cookie is inspired by the recipe on page 151, Toffee Bars. The ingredients are similar to those of a chocolate chip cookie recipe … Omit the egg, soda, and white sugar, and voila, you have Chocolate & Walnut Toffee Bars.
You can double the recipe. Our family is into hot from the oven. So, I generally opt for a smaller batch. This recipe makes 16 two inch bars if an 8″ by 8″ baking pan is used.
Many years ago I was having an early Sunday breakfast with my friend Charles. He had purchased the major newspapers of the day for us. While he was reviewing the whereabouts of Jimmy Carter, and the continuing news of Watergate (Deep Throat) I was focusing on Food and Entertainment. Frank Sinatra had married again, and Julia Child and her recipes remained newsworthy. Somewhere in all these newspapers I came across a recipe for Roca Cookies, not Julia’s. Since my father’s favorite candies included Almond Roca I took a second look.
In the 1970’s I began baking these cookies. The recipe has changed over the years but remains very different from any other Roca Cookie recipe I have reviewed. I hope you will try this recipe and enjoy these cookies as much as my sons, Steve and Ian, do.
This delicious yellow cake is a simple version of my Italian Cream Cake. When the coconut and pecans in the original recipe are removed the crumb of the cake changes to a light fine texture. Coconut is a taste and texture not all appreciate. The cream cheese frosting has been changed as well for the same reason. Yep, this was changed up for a special birthday.
This rich cake is a favorite of Aubree’s. Dressing up a sheet cake is difficult because the batter is very rich and meant to be baked in a thin layer. But if it is a special birthday what do you do? I have layered this cake … Not so pretty. Here I used a 12 section quiche pan with 12 false bottoms. And at the end of baking I had twelve blobs of very cooked batter at the bottom of the oven. Small cupcakes did pretty well. So, this is what I suggest for a birthday if this is the favorite cake, a tower of cupcakes. This recipe will make 24 small cupcakes.
Have you ever been stuck at home without chocolate and need a quick fix? Here it is. This can be mixed up in minutes and in less than an hour Double Fudge Chocolate Brownies! No need for a mixer … by hand works!
These Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies are crisp around the edges with just enough shortening to give them a little lift in the middle … making for a chewy center. The almonds add the crunch. Milk chocolate chips as well as raw almonds get lost in this cookie. So, I’ve added salted roasted almonds, and half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips instead. This cookie is my creation. I’ve been a lover of chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered almonds for years. This is my attempt to bring the two together.