marshmallow snowman

Now that I have three kids, I've been crafting for my kids rather than myself. Seeing their awed and surprised faces gives me so much more joy than biting into a chocolate bouchon. Austin's favorite thing to have with breakfast is a mug of hot cocoa topped with a mound of marshmallows. So, how much more fun is stirring one of these marshmallow snowmen instead? These are so fun and easy.

marshmallow snowman
ingredients:

• 1 bag of large marshmallows
• chocolate chips
• powdered sugar
• milk
• food coloring (red, yellow, and blue) 

directions:

1. for the colored icing: mix a tablespoon of powdered sugar in a bowl with 1-2 teaspoons of milk. use one drop of red and one drop of yellow food coloring to make orange icing. repeat this step and use two drops of blue food coloring to make blue icing. 
2. for the chocolate: melt a handful of chocolate chips in a microwavable safe bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. the chocolate should be soft but not melted. stir together until all is smooth. if some pieces are still hard, put it back in the microwave for another minute. you may have to reheat as you're working if it starts to cool and solidify. set aside.
3. using a toothpick and draw on eyes, mouth, buttons, and accessories as you wish. 

s'mores

With a little toddler, I am almost forced to be outside all day long since our little guy won’t sit still indoors for even a minute. I'm constantly planning out our days (a week in advance) so we have different things to do. My job title should be: executive assistant... to our little Austin. Luckily for me another mommy had set up a playdate at one of our favorite parks, Garfield Park, this past weekend.

Sunday, check.

I wanted to make a treat to share with everyone and immediate thought of s’mores. I don’t know what it is with the combination of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers but it is so comforting. And the fact that you eat with your hands, like a sandwich or burger, makes it so simple. Simple and comforting, what more can you ask for?

With this recipe, I used peanuts to add a little saltiness to compliment the sweetness. When you put it all together, it really is amazing. But if you don’t want to use nuts or have a food allergy, you can easily substitute it with toasted coconut or sprinkles.

no-bake pb & chocolate bars

I’m one of those people who eats something delicious and immediately wants to go home and learn how to recreate it. And so I did but not quite immediately. A couple of years ago, while traveling through HKG, I picked up a chocolate/fruit/nut bar from a Starbucks there. It was delicious and hearty. After studying the list of ingredients, I realized it was grain/wheat free and rather healthy. Save. It was mentally stored in my back of brain to make later. 

Now fast-forward two year later, one random morning, I have a craving for something comforting and ideally healthy. Most of the time, these two things don’t come hand in hand. I raided my pantry and gathered a bunch of ingredients on the counter. Oh! There is nothing more comforting than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Spotting the dates and almonds, it brought me back to that yummy breakfast bar I had at the Hong Kong Starbucks. The best part of this recipe is that it is no-bake. 

crunchy toffee

Why did it take me 32 years to finally make toffee for the first time? Beats me. But I'm for sure going to make it every Christmas at the very least. It is one of the easier things I've made lately, even easier than making baby food. In the past, I've made breads and cookies that take hours and hours of labor in the kitchen. Toffee doesn't even require to be turned on. I had so much free time that i even designed some custom labels for these Christmas goodies.

If you like them, you can print off your own here (I changed the last line to read "made with love"). You can use 3M 4200-M or Avery 8293.

chocolate heart sandwich cookies

This is an Oreo in a heart-shaped disguise. It isn't quite like the real thing but it's close enough. I've tried another "Oreo" recipe before and the cookies came out very similar. It is much more dense than the Nabisco's and less sweet, which I don't mind at all. I still have to test them out with milk. You know what I'm talking about. Original Oreo's start to melt away when dunked into milk and it is my favorite chocolate treat as a child. Not an Oreo, but a milk-soaked Oreo. Unfortunately, I hypothesis that due to the denseness of this homemade Oreo, it probably won't achieve the same effect.

crisp chocolate chip espresso cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are everyone's all time favorite. I've never met anyone who doesn't like a chocolate chip cookie. Despite it being a classic there are a ton of different recipes out there. And I am always game for revisiting an old friend. This recipe is crisp and buttery, love it.

molten chocolate lava cake

My husband and I have been obsessed with the two Gordon Ramsay cooking shows, Masterchef and Hell's Kitchen. This past week on the show Masterchef, some of the contestants had to make a molten chocolate lava cake. I then realized that I have never made this dessert which is a combination of a chocolate cake and a souffle. It's actually quite simple, the recipe I used only has 6 ingredients and it took no more than 30 minutes to make. Unfortunately, I slightly overbaked my cakes and the centers did not ooze out like lava but the cake was still delicious. With this I used unsweetened chocolate and the cake is very "dark." I would recommend using semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer a sweeter dessert.

chocolate yogurt mousse

For some reason I've been a little obsessed with chocolate mousse lately. Just a little. But with a 6 week old baby its been pretty much impossible to make my favorite chocolate mousse ever. So, I basically looked at what I had on hand and came up with this recipe. It's not quite chocolate mousse but it's good enough for now. And it's quite healthy.

peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate together? These are so addictive. I admit I rarely make peanut butter cookies because I prefer peanut butter in its pure form, but after making these I would definitely be baking them more often.

thomas keller's chocolate chip cookies

Chef Keller is really amazing. He really is! He can even make a chocolate chip cookie better than what you knew a chocolate cookie can be. If you don't believe me, you'll have to make a batch of these cookies yourself. The key to this cookie is using high quality chocolate and chopping the chocolate into shavings. It gives the cookie a cleaner look, as well as evenly distributes the yummy bursts of chocolate goodness.

bitter double chocolate chip cookies

After a friend posted a craving on fb about these babycakes cookies, I soon had one too. It's like a contagious yawn. I used bitter chocolate chips rather than semisweet, so I would classify these as adult cookies. They are nothing like the old fashioned kinds kids would fight over. But personally, I love the bitter-goodness of these gluten-free lovelies.

bacon pecan chocolate chip cookie

Bacon is NOT just for breakfast anymore!

This post was inspired by my dear friend, Christina. I recently took a mini vacation with my old college roomie to Tampa and she was telling me about her latest sweet-tooth discovery. Her co-worker's wife bakes these amazing savory sweet snacks for the office. Anyways, that got me intrigued and wanted to try them out myself. Although I rarely eat bacon, I mean once in a blue moon rare, I had to try these. Sweet, savory, nutty, chocolatey, crunchy, chewy. Gosh! It's like any pregnant woman's dream come true.

chocolate bouchon

Lately, a few people have been helping me out with things going on in my life. To give thanks, I wanted to give them a little sweet thank you note. These little chocolate bouchons are the perfect way to say thanks. They were easy and quick to make with the william-sonoma silicon mold.

stuffed cookies

This post was inspired by a link shared by my friend, Thu. After reading the article on Serious Eats, I knew I had to try it out myself. At first I had a really hard time with the cookie dough and the oreos since it was so stacked, so I looked through my pantry and found some nilla wafers. They were much easier to work with. Honestly, I preferred the ones stuffed with nilla wafers myself. All in all, it was a successful cookie making venture. For the chocolate chip, I used the recipe on the nestle toll house chocolate chip bag and replaced half the semi-sweet chips with white chocolate chips.

three's a charm

Three years ago, I started this blog. To celebrate my lil' online journal of creations, I've baked it some cupcakes. How else would you celebrate a birthday? This is a chocolate beet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. I know it sounds a bit odd but not that odd. Back in the day, instead of using food coloring, people used beet juice to recreate the red color of red velvet cakes. If I hadn't made this myself, I would never have known there are beets in here. Seriously. The cake was moist and fluffy. 

classic brownie

classic brownies
adapted from the complete America's test kitchen cookbook

chocolate mousse

My brother (from eat drink play) has been cooking his way through the French Laundry Cookbook and having a blast. He's been sharing a few of the dessert recipes from the book with me. With a whole pile, I haven't had much time to getting around to them. Finally last week, while I was in New York, he wanted to know why I keep asking for recipes but not actually doing anything with it. Guilty as charged. So here we are, some French Laundry chocolate mousse! This dessert is absolutely heavenly. It's so light and fluffy, it feels like you're eating chocolate clouds.

chocolate mousse

adapted from the french laundry cookbook

ingredients

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup meringue (recipe follows)

directions

1. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a simmer and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute, then stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature. 
2. Beat the remaining 1/4 cup cream to soft peaks. Fold the reserved meringue, and then the whipped cream, into the chocolate mixture.

meringue ingredients

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar

meringue directions

1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a metal mixer bowl. 
2. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk gently until the whites are warm and the sugar is completely dissolved. 
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and place it on the mixer stand. Use the whisk attachment to beat the whites until soft peaks form.

banana blondies

For some reason I always have some ripe bananas on hand. With that little fact, I must have gone through two dozen or so banana bread recipes. This time I decided to do something different and make some blondies. These are made with wheat flour, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Serve warm!

banana blondies

ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup banana puree
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup walnuts 

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a nine-inch-square baking pan.
2. Cream butter, add sugar and beat in egg. Stir in banana puree. Stir in whole wheat and white flour and baking soda. Add vanilla.
3. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

gluten free double chocolate chip cookies

My friend, Elyse, made these delicious cookies as favors for her beautiful Hawaii wedding. I confess, at the wedding I sneaked a bit into my mouth when I first found my table. I ended up eating my whole favor bag... and my husband's. Of course, I asked Elyse for the recipe and she told me it was from babycakes, vegan bakery based in New York City.

double chocolate chip cookies
adapted from babycakes

ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1-1/4 cups evaporated cane juice 
• 1/3 cup applesauce 
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 
• 3 cups gluten-free baking mix
• 1/4 cup flax meal 
• 1 cup chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, evaporated cane juice, applesauce, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour and flax meal. Using a rubber spatula, carefully add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine until dough is formed. Gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
3. Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1-inch apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to help them spread. Bake on the center rack for 14 minutes, rotating the trays 180 degrees after 7 minutes. The cookies will be crispy on the edges and soft in the center.
4. Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before covering. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

chocolate cut out cookies

chocolate cut out cookies
adapted from smitten kitchen

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup lightly unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 

directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. 
2. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
3. Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.