Green & Black’s Dark Choclate Orange Raspberry Tiramisu Makes a Delicious Easter Dessert-Giveaway

March 22, 2013 by 215 Comments
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I am an absolute huge fan of Green & Black’s Organic chocolate. In fact, when I mention my love of organic chocolate to others, Green & Black’s is the brand I’m thinking of. It has a rich, complex flavour that I find absolutely irresistible. Recently, Green & Black’s contacted me and asked me to be a part of the Green & Black’s Organic Easter Recipe Hunt and I couldn’t wait to take my love of this decadent chocolate into the kitchen. The recipes have now been posted on the Green & Black’s Canada Facebook page and one lucky recipe will be recognized as the first place winner!

I pondered different recipes for quite some time and eventually decided on a light and fruity tiramisu. Traditional Tiramisu uses flavours of coffee and rich mascarpone cheese to create quite a heavy, decadent dessert. I decided to lighten it up by using flavours of orange and raspberry blended with the rich complexity of dark chocolate.

dark chocolate orange raspberry tiramisu [Read more...]

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Wordless Wednesday with Linky-Easter Tiramisu

March 19, 2013 by 44 Comments
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dark chocolate orange raspberry tiramisu

I created this tiramisu for a very special Easter recipe contest; keep your eyes out for a post about it and a link to the recipe tomorrow!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, please link it up below; I’d love to check it out! [Read more...]

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A Year of Good Eating-My Favourite Recipes of 2012 #LMDConnector

January 23, 2013 by
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Another year has come to an end and for me, one of the highlights of every year is thinking back on tasty new recipes that I discovered. My boys can be picky eaters, so I spend some time every season looking for new creations that my family will actually eat. And 2012 was full of delicious new recipe discoveries!

Spring Barbequing

ribsIn the spring, I kicked off the recipe experimenting with Dr. Pepper Ribs and the meal became the favourite barbeque recipe of the entire family. The tender baby back ribs are precooked in Dr. Pepper and then slathered in a homemade sauce and barbecued. It’s pure mouth-watering goodness and the perfect way to kick off the start of barbeque season. And despite the tender, mouth-watering flavour, the meal is so much healthier than ribs in a restaurant! [Read more...]

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Bake Up a Sweet and Easy Treat with Pillsbury Chocolate Crescents #LMDConnector

October 9, 2012 by
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I love to bake, but the timing never seems to be quite right for me to bake as much as I would like. In the summer, our century-old house holds heat like an oven making baking virtually impossible. And in the fall, busy school routines take up so much time that I never seem to have an uninterrupted hour to make goodies for my boys. I still get a treat or two whipped up about once a week, but that’s not nearly as often as I would like!

So what’s an overworked mom to do? Pillsbury has the answer with its new Chocolate Crescents! Most Canadians are already big fans of flaky and delicious Pillsbury Crescents and now the home-baked treat that’s ready in minutes is even more irresistible. I was delighted when I got the chance to try the new treats for myself and see what I thought.

pillsbury chocolate crescents [Read more...]

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Share a Photo of Your Favourite Halloween and Win $2000 of Chocolate from Nestle Canada #FavouriteHalloween

October 1, 2012 by
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I believe that any holiday is an excuse to celebrate and Halloween is one of my very favourite occasions for enjoying some family fun. Carving pumpkins, making decorations, choosing the perfect treat for trick-or-treaters…there’s so much potential for fun. That’s why each year we set up an elaborate display of Halloween decorations to help spread a little bit of extra spooky spirit.

We created the decorations when my oldest son was just eight months old. From plywood tombstones with fun names to a large prize wheel for kids to spin to giant bats created with garbage bags and pop bottles to a giant spider that dominated the front yard, the total effect was just fabulous.

Halloween Collage [Read more...]

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Kat’s Chocolate Zucchini Squares with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing-The Best-Ever Recipe For Your Extra Zucchini

September 16, 2012 by
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Every year I plant zucchinis in our backyard garden and every year I seem to end up with more than I can use, but this year has really been something else. I literally have a countertop full of zucchinis.

zucchinis

This is maybe a third of the zucchinis that I have to cook up. I have no idea how I’m going to deal with all of them!

I’m not sure how I’ll use them all, but I do know many are going to be used to make my very favourite zucchini recipe of all time: Chocolate Zucchini Squares. Whether or not you like zucchini, you will LOVE this recipe. And if your kids turn up their noses at vegetables, it’s a great way to sneak a little extra nutrition into their sweets! [Read more...]

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Fondue is More Fun with the Velata Fondue Warmer and Chocolate Pouches

August 14, 2012 by
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velata fondue warmerFondue has to be one of the most fun dessert experiences ever created. Succulent fresh fruit and cubes of cake dipped into dreamy melted chocolate…who could say no to that? And in addition to being absolutely delicious, fondue is a great social experience; a chance for friends and family to gather around a collective serving dish and enjoy laughter and conversation as they indulge.

But fondue can also be time-consuming to prepare and a little dangerous to serve. First the chocolate mixture has to be prepared at just the right temperature to prevent scorching and then the fondue pot is placed over an open flame to keep it warm. It makes the dish great for special occasions but not so great for younger children or for quick desserts. [Read more...]

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Treat Your Family to the Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 8, 2012 by
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I’ve noticed recently that there is an assortment of popular online recipes that all involve chocolate chip cookie dough. There are brownies, truffles, cheesecakes and even dips featuring the irresistible flavour combination. So I thought I would share my very best recipe for good, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies. Moist, chewy and loaded with chips, there’s no need to get fancy when your chocolate chip cookie dough makes such amazing cookies!

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie and these are one of the very best. Chewy and packed with chips; they’re sure to be a family favourite.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 5 dozen

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 package (2 cups) milk chocolate chips

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cream softened butter with both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
  3. In smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until well mixed. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients all at once and stir together until almost completely combined.
  4. Add chocolate chips and mix just until flour is fully incorporated and chips are mixed into dough. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on sheets for a minute and then transfer to wire rack to fully cool.

chocolate chip cookie dough

Not over-mixing the batter is one key to deliciously chewy cookies.

There are two secrets to moist, chewy cookies. First of all, don’t over-mix the batter. The more the cookie dough is stirred around, the more the gluten in the flour develops, creating tough, hard cookies. That’s why my recipe recommends adding the flour all at once and mixing the dough only as much as is necessary to fully incorporate the flour into the dough.

The second secret is to not over-bake the cookies. They should be just very slightly browned on top and firm enough to hold their shape. A bit of practice will help you to determine the look cookies have when they are “just right” and once you do, you’ll be able to tell at a glance when your cookies are perfect!

chocolate chip cookies

A plate of perfectly baked cookies. Notice how they’re just very slightly browned, but still firm enough to hold their shape.

It’s worth mentioning that this cookie dough is perfect for experimenting. The basic recipe can be personalized in all kinds of different ways. Use butterscotch chips or toffee bits instead of chocolate chips, mint or orange extract instead of vanilla…there are all kinds of ways to make this recipe your own! Just keep the basic proportions of butter, sugar, eggs and dry ingredients the same and then have fun getting creative!

But first do yourself a favour and try the recipe as-is. If you like really good chocolate chip cookies, you’ll love these!

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