Triple Chocolate Toffee Fudge

A treat for adults!

There are actually more than three kinds of chocolate in this fudge, but "Multiple Chocolate Toffee Fudge" didn't quite have the same panache. This obscenely decadent indulgence - which was a tremendous hit at a friend's recent potluck gathering - features milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate (technically not "chocolate," but ...), mini chocolate chips, chocolate frosting ... sigh. Rich and luscious, one or two pieces will definitely suffice; so it's great for a party, where everyone tastes a bit of this and a bit of that.

The recipe for this fudge is probably the easiest one I have, shared with me years ago by a friend. In its most basic form, there are only two ingredients: chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. No need for candy thermometers, no intimidating temperatures or stages to gauge. Melt together two ingredients, then let them set. Make it more festive as you see fit with add-ins and decorations: crushed cookies or pretzels, sprinkles, dried fruit, nuts, whatever.

Keep the ingredients on hand at all times, and you're ready for last-minute invitations, guests, or gift-giving ... or for spontaneous cravings!


Triple Chocolate Toffee Fudge

1 16-ounce can chocolate fudge frosting
1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate toffee chips
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Line an 8"x8" baking pan with foil, letting the edges extend over the pan, then grease the foil.

In a small saucepan, melt together the frosting and the milk chocolate chips over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth; pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and toffee chips, pressing lightly. Refrigerate until set.

Melt the white chocolate chips, then use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate over the fudge. Let set.

Using the extended edges of the foil, pull the fudge from the pan. Pull sides of the foil down and trim edges from the fudge to get clean lines. Cut into 1" pieces, and place into decorative paper cups for serving.

Chocolate Chip Pancake Cookies

Jeremy came home from visiting his dad one Sunday, and told me he'd had a vision of brilliance while there: they'd started playing with pancake batter, scrambling it, baking it ... let's just say they were experimenting.

But Jeremy wanted to refine this creative burst, so he asked me to buy some pancake mix and to help him with a baking project.

Okay ...?

Well, I'm always up for an adventure in the kitchen! So Jeremy wrote down the required ingredients and an estimate of measurements, and we mixed and stirred and tasted and tinkered until we came up with a lovely cookie batter. We dropped the batter onto a baking sheet, baked the cookies, and ... voilà! Lovely, tender, light, delicious chocolate chip cookies with a hint of maple syrup-drenched pancake aura infused into them!

An easy shortcut for a quick fix when you've got a craving ... :)


Chocolate Chip Pancake Cookies

3 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, combine Biscuick, milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together maple syrup and egg; add to dry ingredients and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop batter by the tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are puffed and lightly golden at the edges, and the house smells a bit like pancakes. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Makes 30 cookies.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

My friend Haran wrote to me awhile ago, telling me that his girlfriend, Nikki, was putting together a cookbook to raise money for NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Illness - and he went on to explain what it is.

Well, little did he know that I've been involved with the group because a number of my very dearest loved ones over the years have been diagnosed with mental illnesses (from depression to anxiety to bipolar disorder, and more), and NAMI is a resource so valuable that my usually verbose self can't adequately describe it. I even served briefly as a support group moderator, though unfortunately my schedule has become too chaotic to maintain that level of activity right now.

NAMI has groups for those who've been diagnosed, as well as for their family and friends. It offers support, understanding, compassion, friendship, and an entity so elusive sometimes, when mired in a crisis with a loved one or distraught over a recent frightening diagnosis ... it offers hope.

So I was thrilled to be asked for contributions to the cookbook, as well as honored and grateful to be able to give back even a bit of what NAMI has given to me.

The cookbook has just been published, and it's fabulous! Not only is it fun to recognize names of friends who also sent in recipes, but it's great to flip through and find an extraordinary number of tempting goodies that are all calling to me at once. I want to make this appetizer, that soup, this other entree, and - of course! - desserts.

How to choose? What to choose? Well, for once - an exceptional rarity, given my famous indecisiveness! - this was easy. I needed a dessert recipe to serve for an evening of watching football. It needed to be quick, easy, and a sure-fire hit. And if I could make something from a friend's recipe, even better.

And so, I chose Nikki's Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting because ... well ... what could be better? "Banana," "cake," "peanut butter," and "frosting" - some of my very favorite words in the English language! I did toss in a few chocolate chips, just 'cause. Do you really need a reason to justify chocolate chips?

If you'd like a copy of Whatever It Takes: NAMI Metro Cookbook, please let me know; I'll put you in touch with Nikki for ordering. The book costs an amazingly reasonable $10 plus $3 shipping if you don't live in Ann Arbor. (If you live here, Nikki has very graciously offered to deliver the book personally.) Your contribution will help the branch which serves Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties - suburbs of Detroit, for those not 'round here.

But far more importantly, your contribution will help individuals who are my family, my friends, my neighbors, my community ... people who have illnesses that can be debilitating and disabling, but people who also have extraordinary abilities and unbelievable courage. Yes, sometimes a mental illness can impact a life severely; other times, you might never know someone has been diagnosed.

NAMI offers support, and it also seeks to fight the misconceptions - fears, confusion, ignorance, and stigma - that people diagnosed with mental illness can often face. One of my own personal pet peeves in that regard, for example, is hearing the word "schizophrenic" when speaking of a person with schizophrenia - never, ever let someone's diagnosis be what defines a human being. And never set limits, presuming that a mental illness will prevent someone from living a full and fabulous life.

But I'll get off my little soapbox now, and go eat cake. Really good, moist cake with extra frosting - I couldn't resist!

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
(slightly adapted from Nikki Fitlow's recipe)

Cake:

• 2 medium bananas
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Frosting:

• 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• dusting of cocoa powder, if desired

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"x8" baking pan.

In a small bowl, mash together the bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar; beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add egg and beat on "high" for 2 minutes until very light and fluffy.

Add half of flour mixture, and beat on "low" until combined. Add bananas, and beat until combined. Add rest of flour mixture; beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, until a tester comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Let cool completely.

Combine Cool Whip and peanut butter; spread over cake. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

Makes 9-12 servings, depending on serving size.

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Muffins

On National Chocolate Chip Day, the obvious choice would have been to make chocolate chip cookies.  Not that there's anything wrong with them!  But ....

I debated whether to celebrate with something exotic, say some spicy chocolate-chili concoction ... nah.  I wanted the rich simplicity of the chocolate chips to shine through.

And so I baked a variation on the cookies, and also added an extra sweet touch with crumbled coconut macaroons (a fabulous marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group, which handles public relations and marketing for several food producers, including Manischewitz).  As they say, it's the little things.  The topping takes these muffins beyond everyday breakfast food and they become a special treat.

If you'd like to celebrate today's festivities with other options, here are some more suggestions that showcase the glory of chocolate chips:

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chip Cookies

Butterscotch Pretzel Brownies

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hillary Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ricotta Cheese Pudding

Ginger Shortbread Cookies


Chocolate Chip Macaroon Muffins

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
6 Manischewitz coconut macaroons, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Stir in egg and yogurt.  Stir in half-and-half and salt, then mix in flour and the baking powder.  Stir in chips, then divide batter among the lined muffin cups.  Sprinkle the crumbled macaroons over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chip Cookies

I respect the spirit of the law at Passover, although I don't feel bound by the letter of the law.

I'll be going to a cherished friend's house for a Seder on the first night of the 8-day holiday, and bringing Chocolate Caramel Matzah made with my own handmade matzah.  I'll be going to another priceless friend's house for the second night's Seder, and respecting her Orthodox parents by masquerading as a normal person who doesn't take pictures of everything she eats (since photography is forbidden).

My traditions include eating far too many Manischewitz almond macaroons from a can, one of my favorite guilty pleasures; they're only available this time of year, so I have to get my quota in!  And I don't eat bread, a leavened product that is not permissible during Passover, but that's primarily because I don't eat much bread anyway - that part of the proceedings is easy for me.

But I don't rid my home of all the forbidden foods (pasta, cakes, cookies, flour, lentils, corn, and many more).  I use my regular ol' dishes and cookware, rather than having extra sets just for Passover that haven't been touched by the verboten items and thus are acceptable.  I don't prepare baked goods with matzah cake meal, which tends to make them heavy and dense; I generally just don't bake at all at this time.

Many of my friends, however, are observant and keep kosher; they have been busy cleaning their homes and preparing for the holiday by removing all forbidden items.  Using up the chametz [HAH-mets] - leavened products and other items that, according to Jewish law, Jews may not possess during Passover - is a time-honored tradition.  Just as Catholics indulge before Lent by using up butter, sugar, eggs, and other goodies before a time of abstinence in preparation for Easter, Jews must get rid of the chametz.

And so, rather than just offering a recipe for bread pudding or French toast - not that there's anything wrong with them! - I thought I'd suggest a bit of novelty today.  I found myself with leftover Krispy Kreme doughnuts after making hedonistic sandwiches while participating in Project PB&J.  So I baked cookies that will help your household to finish off flour, baking soda, and even doughnuts if you have them.  (And if you don't happen to have any on hand, it might be worth buying a few just for this recipe!)

These are rich and decadent in addition to serving a higher purpose in helping to rid the household of soon-to-be-forbidden foods.  Who said you can't have fun while obeying the law?

Chocolate Chip Krispy Kreme Cookies

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening, at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups crumbled Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts (4 doughnuts)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and vanilla.  Stir in the egg, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and the crumbled doughnuts.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop batter by generous tablespoonsful onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes until cookies are slightly firm, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 48 cookies.


Here are a few other recipes to help you, if you're still searching for ways to use up chametz:

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Asparagus Bread Pudding

Strawberry Jam Muffins

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Muffins

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Peanut Butter Pancakes with Nutella Sauce


Peanut Butter No-Bake Treats

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

Isn't he adorable? I love gingerbread, I love chocolate chip cookies, and I love scones ... it only made sense to combine them, then, for my entry into the Hodgson Mill "Have a Grain Holiday" recipe contest!

My challenge was to "create an original, sweet or savory holiday treat using Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat flour and/or Hodgson Mill 'Best for Bread' bread flour (products provided). All entries will be judged by Hodgson Mill based on overall appeal, originality and appropriateness to the Hodgson Mill brand – we’re looking for a treat that’s delicious AND nutritious!"

In order to make my treats nutritious, I used primarily whole wheat flour. I also added a bit of wheat germ and flax seed, as well as using yogurt rather than butter. The delicious part comes from the nutty flavor of the whole grains, and also from spices, candied ginger, dark chocolate, and just the tiny touch of sweetness in the optional decoration.

These scones were ridiculously easy to make - stir together the ingredients, roll out the dough, cut them, bake them, then let them cool before decorating. The house smells amazing while these festive treats bake! And scones, of course, are a perfect accompaniment to cocoa, coffee, tea, mulled cider ... anything warm and cozy for a cold winter day.

There's enough junk food surrounding us during the holidays. Enjoy something that tastes good and is also good for you!

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

1-1/2 cups Hodgson Mill 100% stone ground whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup Hodgson Mill white flour - unbleached
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon Hodgson Mill whole grain flax seed
2 tablespoons Hodgson Mill wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon minced candied ginger
1/3 cup ginger ale
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vanilla all-natural yogurt
1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon skim milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, cinnamon, ginger, turbinado sugar, flax seed, wheat germ, baking powder and candied ginger. In a large measuring cup, combine egg, oil and yogurt; pour over dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Sprinkle a bit of white flour onto the countertop and knead dough just until smooth. Roll out to 1" in height, and use a 5" gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut scones. Re-roll and cut until dough is used up.

Place the scones onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until just lightly golden and set when their bellies are lightly pushed. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and milk; stir until smooth. Place into a small baggie, snip a tiny corner off, and use the icing to decorate the scones. Let the icing set, then serve.

Makes 6 scones.

Cookie Week: Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adore orange marmalade! The sweet-tart combination, the texture, the gorgeous color ... I love all of it.

I have two favorite ways to eat marmalade:

1) With peanut butter in a PB&J, which my friend Susie recently served to me in charming finger sandwiches at afternoon tea without even knowing how much I love this combination!

2) In these cookies, where the flavors of the orange and the chocolate chips marry to form a perfect union.

With only a few basic ingredients, these cookies can be mixed, baked, and ready to give or serve with virtually no notice. But they're so delicious and fragrant, with their amazing citrus aroma, that they seem very sophisticated even though they're so simple.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
6 tablespoons orange marmalade
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and egg; stir in marmalade, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips.

Drop batter by measuring tablespoons onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden on the edges. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Makes 48 cookies.

Don't forget these oldies but goodies - they're fabulous!

Ginger Shortbread Cookies

Holiday M&M Cookies

Hillary Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

In 1992, Hillary Rodham Clinton caused quite the stir by making the following statement:

"I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life."

Well, I was one of those cookie-baking stay-at-home moms who took significant offense to her seeming dismissal of our work as less than important and a waste of her time. But over the years, my annoyance has been tempered ... somewhat. In fact, it's dissipated to the point that I am here to acknowledge Hillary's birthday today by baking a batch of cookies from her own family recipe.

After this incident, Family Circle magazine leapt into the cookie-baking fray by sponsoring a recipe contest between the spouses of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates each election year. Each woman - 'cause they're always women - provides a recipe for cookies, and readers theoretically bake a batch of each to compare them before voting ... yeah. Even with regard to cookies, you know folks are still voting along party lines!

Hillary rose to the challenge that she'd instigated by offering a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which competed with Barbara Bush's family favorite of plain ol' chocolate chip cookies. Margot Perot, Ross' wife, had been invited to compete too, but did not toss her spatula into the kitchen.

These cookies, I have to say, are really very good - they deserved their win! They rise nicely instead of spreading, they're tender, and they've got a really good flavor, which surprised me. I followed the recipe exactly, rather than using butter or cinnamon or nuts which I would normally have added to compensate for the Crisco.

I have to say that while I've never voted for her, I would definitely vote for Hillary's cookies if given the chance.

Hillary Rodham Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.

2. Combine flour, salt and baking soda on waxed paper.

3. Beat together shortening, sugars and vanilla in large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture and rolled oats. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop batter by well-rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden.

Ricotta Cheese Pudding

I haven't made my Chocolate Cannoli Cake in ages. It's a lovely dessert with an orange-scented ricotta cheese mixture swirled into the batter; remarkably, it's both rich and light at the same time.

The other night, I wanted the flavors of the cake but didn't want to bother baking. I'd also just made a blueberry cake that morning, and hardly needed a second seductress in the house calling to me sweetly!

So instead, I simply took the ricotta filling that is swirled into the cake batter (minus the raw egg, of course, since no cooking would be involved) and made it into a pudding instead.

This is light, refreshing, and absolutely ridiculously easy to make. If it's too hot out to cook or you need an elegant finish to a summer meal, this is the dessert you've been waiting for.

It's also perfect if you just want a slightly sweet, cool dessert at the end of the day. This pudding can be anything you need it to be ....


Italian Ricotta Cheese Pudding

1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
very finely grated zest of 1 large orange
juice of 1/4 orange
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
5 cinnamon graham cookie sticks, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to develop, then spoon into decorative serving glasses. Sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top of the puddings.

Serves 4-6.