Tag Archive: chocolate chips

The History of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Homemade chocolate chip cookies almost always bring a smile to one’s face not only because of its pleasant taste but also because of how we grew up eating them.

What many people don't know is that, like the most renowned inventions, these treats were just accidentally created by Ruth Graves Wakefield back in 1933. Wakefield was the proprietor of the Toll House Inn, which was located on the outskirts of Whitman, Massachusetts. It was a famed place then to get some scrumptious home-cooked meals. Ruth's strategy to provide her patrons an additional serving of entrées for them to take home, along with her homemade cookies as dessert, made the inn all the more popular.

One day, Wakefield was preparing one of her favorite recipes, Butter Drop Do cookies. She commonly made the recipe using bakers’ chocolate, but she realized she had run out of it and only had Nestle semi sweet chocolate on hand. She then thought of utilizing it so she mixed it into the batter thinking it would melt and blend well. The chocolate pieces certainly did not mix like the bakers’ chocolate. Instead, it held its shape and softened to a creamy texture, and the rest is chocolate chip history.
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Chex and Chocolate Party Mix

With the 4th of July holiday weekend coming up, it's time for a good party recipe.  Chex mixes are always good for munching.  This version is sweetened and has chocolate chips added. 

As far as I am concerned the coconut, peanuts, and raisins are all optional. The chocolate is required.  Modify the recipe to fit your tastes.
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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day. This is the best time to eat larger portions of food because you will be able to make use of the calories for energy all throughout the day.

You can easily buy muffins on the shelves of your local bakery or grocery. However, nothing beats homemade muffins.

With a few enhancements, such as simply adding fruit toppings like banana, you are on your way to giving yourself a healthy and delicious delight. Banana is one of the most popular fruits to combine with chocolate. It simply gives you a fruity taste with a twist of chocolate goodness!
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Chocolate Chip Day

Do you have it on your calendar?  Sure, today is a Friday the 13th, but never fear, the antidote is right around the corner.  May 15 each year is National Chocolate Chip day!

Of course this brings up the question, “Who invented the Chocolate Chip?”  The answer is a very American story.
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Chocolate Bunny Bread

Chocolate bunnies?  How about a chocolatey loaf of bread shaped like a bunny instead?  OK, how about eating the bread first and then the usual chocolate bunnies for dessert?

Here's a recipe for a chocolate bread, with the added benefit of chocolate chips, shaped into a fun bunny for Easter.  If you want to sweeten it for the kids, decorate with frosting and jelly beans.

Chocolate Bunny Bread

• 3 1/4-3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 packages rapid rise yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk or dark chocolate chips
• Decorations: jelly beans, frosting (optional)
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Chocolate Delight Bars

Here's a recipe for Chocolate Delight Bars.  This bar is in three layers; a nice flour crust on the bottom, then a layer of chocolate from melted chocolate chips, and then a nutty layer on top.

I've heard good comments about this dessert and hope that you do too.

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Chocolate Chip Nut Bars

We're putting together a Chocolate University Online recipe book.  Some of the recipes I post here on the blog are recipes that we've collected for that book.

This one is no exception.  Here are comments from our recipe tester...

"Everyone I’ve served them to likes them, although two people at the potluck commented on how sweet they are — well, what do you expect with 2 cups of brown sugar versus only 1 1/2 cups of flour!!!
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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Bryn let's me make the cheesecakes at our house.  In my opinion there's nothing like a good cheesecake to help celebrate any worthy event. 

For your Thanksgiving chocolate fix this year you might want to try a chocolate chip cheesecake.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
 
• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
• 2 to 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
• 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon flour
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The Fineness of Grind

Why does one brand of chocolate bar feel so velvety smooth in your mouth but the next one feel so rough?

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? (pun intended!)  It all depends on particle size, or the fineness of grind. 

When cocoa beans are shelled and roasted, the nibs are ground up and heated to form fluid chocolate called chocolate liquor, cocoa mass, or unsweetened chocolate.  When chocolate liquor is then blended with other ingredients like sugar and milk powder, the resulting paste is ground up even further.  This process is called “refining.” 
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Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Here's a tasty chocolate applesauce cake with chocolate chip topping...

I can even say with certainty that my kids like this cake:  I caught them eating it for breakfast one morning!   The applesauce makes it very moist and the chocolate, well, it's chocolate!

This recipe can be successfully made with egg replacer as well so it's a good option for those with egg allergies.
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