My brother’s birthday was this past weekend and to my surprise (he’s extremely healthy), he asked me to make him a celebratory dessert. He requested something with a lot of chocolate, but gave me free range to make anything I wanted. I browsed the Internet and read various recipes, hoping to find one that would catch my attention.
I debated on making molten cupcakes, but realized that I would not be able to serve the dessert hot, since we would be out to dinner. Therefore, I decided on double chocolate chunk cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting and my brother’s favorite sugary treat, Nutella.
When I checked on the cupcakes mid-way through baking, I could not believe how large they’d already become. The cakes turned out absolutely beautiful, with a deep brown hue and cracks serpentining across the surface.
I knew I created a winning dessert after my brother took his first bite into the cupcake—he was in chocolate heaven. He even had to grab a cold glass of milk because of the rich chocolate flavor. My brother requested I put more Nutella in the frosting next time—he really can’t get enough of the hazelnut spread.
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My mom, a high school teacher, has back to school night tonight and wanted to offer the parents some snacks and desserts. Since she worked all day, I decided to help her out by making a few desserts and preparing the snacks.
The other day I was watching Giada at Home and saw her make these espresso caramel bars. Though I’m not a chocolate fan, the dessert looked fantastic. After all, I’ve never made a Giada recipe that was anything but fabulous. In addition to the bars, I also made brown sugar cookies.
The bars were a success—not only did they taste delicious, but they also looked it.
The silky smooth chocolate beautifully complimented the slight crunchiness of the graham cracker crust. The caramel layer in the middle did not go unnoticed, however. Its rich and sweet flavor is simply scrumptious.
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Considering it’s football season, specifically Ohio State Buckeye season, I decided to make buckeye candies (peanut butter balls). My family and I are OSU fanatics, to say the least—both of my parents attended THE Ohio State University, and we are from Columbus, OH. My dad even has a small OSU shrine in his office here in California. Believe it or not, he has an Ohio State room in our home in South Carolina (see photo below). My parents undoubtedly still feel a connection to their alma mater.
We also made the buckeye candies for a lesson my mom planned for her high school students. She decided to make these treats after picking real buckeye nuts in Ohio while visiting my grandma. Sadly, the actual nuts are poisonous and inedible, so she decided to make its much taster cousin.
Since we had tried my brother’s friend, Claire’s, recipe before, we knew it was a winner. The ingredients in this recipe are perfectly proportioned. The smooth and crunchy milk chocolate exterior hugs the ball of creamy peanut butter. Thanks Claire!
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