FOOD: Double Chocolate Pancakes

Hi Made By Girls! This is Jen from Pretty Eats bringing you a fun and decadent way to wake up, Double Chocolate Pancakes.  I love trying to incorporate non-dairy options in my recipes, and experimented with Chocolate Soy Milk with these pancakes…delish!! Now these thick, chocolately treats are really more dessert than breakfast, but once in a while won't hurt. Don't forget my trick to make these cakes even more special, a sprinkle of fresh berries on top! Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pancakes
Ingredients:  makes 10 medium sized pancakes

    •    1/2  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    •    1 cup all-purpose flour
    •    1/2 cup sugar
    •    2 tsp baking soda
    •    1/4 tsp salt
    •    1 1/2 cup chocolate soy milk
    •    1 egg
    •    1 tsp vanilla
    •    High quality maple syrup
    •    Fresh berries of your choice

Directions: 
    •    In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and whisk well. Allow batter to sit for 15 minutes (or refrigerate if longer than 15 min).
    •    On a greased griddle (medium heat), scoop 1/4 cups of the batter onto surface. Flip when bubbles begin to rise to the top.
    •    Stack 'em up, drizzle some syrup, and enjoy with a topping of fresh berries!

-post by jen olson

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FOOD: Chocolate Cherry Creme Tarts

Hi Made By Girl! This is Jen from Pretty Eats with a beautiful and decadent end of summer dessert, Chocolate Cherry Creme Tarts.  If you're still feeling this hot weather, you can also celebrate the beautiful fruit of summer and get your chocolate fix at the same time. The key to making the creme over the top is to use high quality (and yes, full fat!) ingredients.

These sweet treats are bite sized and guaranteed to impress!

Chocolate Cherry Creme Tarts Ingredients: 

Makes 12 mini tarts Chocolate Cherry Filling
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp cherry liqueur (such as Cherry Heering)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup chocolate bar, chopped finely
• Pre-made mini filo tart shells
• Fresh Bing or sweet cherries

Directions: 

In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk milk and cream, gradually adding dry ingredients.
Whisk constantly, heating to boiling, about 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in chocolate and cherry liqueur until smooth.
Remove from heat and chill for an hour in the fridge.
Simply assemble by filling tart shells and topping with a fresh cherry. Enjoy!

 -images and post by jen olson via pretty eats

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FOOD: Brownie Roll-out Cookies

Hello! Jen of Lemon Drop Love here to share a fun, chocolatey Valentine’s Day treat. I like this recipe because the end result is a unique cross between a brownie and a cookie; crunchy on the edges and chewy in the center—perfect with a cold glass of milk! And if there wasn’t already enough chocolate for you, I added a little flare to the recipe—chocolate almond spread topped with sprinkles! These are surprisingly simple to make, plus you'll have so many cookies you can share the love with friends and coworkers.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: (recipe adapted via The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder together in a bowl, and set aside. Beat butter and sugar with electronic mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl. Mix in vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out cookie dough on a floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 8 to 11 minutes, until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
**Addition: once cookies are cooled, use your favorite chocolate spread, Nutella would work—I used Cocoa Almond Spread from Trader Joe's. Then top with your favorite sprinkles.**

- photos by jen

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Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse Pie

How's it going? This is Mat again - I'm actually going to share how to make a dairy-free, gluten-free  mousse pie recipe (adapted from a regular version) I made for Jen.

Ingredients:

18 oz silken tofu

7 oz dark chocolate (70% or higher)

1/2 package sugar-free dark chocolate Jello pudding mix

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C light agave

1 6oz box crunchy dark chocolate cookies*

2 Tbsp margarine

Run the cookies in a food processor until coarsely crumbled. Melt the margarine and pour into a bowl with the cookie crumbs, then mix until the crumbs are well covered and moist. In a 9" pie tin, evenly distribute the crumb mix and press lightly with fingers. Place a piece of wrapping plastic over the tin, then use another tin to press the crumb mix until smooth. Remove the plastic and set aside.

Melt the chocolate - use either a double boiler or break into small pieces in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds then stir until fully melted (don't cook longer or it will burn). Put tofu, chocolate, pudding mix, vanilla, and agave in a food processor or blender and blend until well blended - about 3-4 minutes.

Pour the mousse mix into the pie crust, spreading carefully to the edges. Refrigerate covered for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.  Cut thin slices and plate with strawberries or raspberries. We also sprinkled some edible gold on top, creating a fancier look. Bon Appétit.

-images by Jen Ramos

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Coconut Milk Dark Chocolate Popsicles

The other day I posted a picture on my Instagram of a popsicle that my husband made for me. It got a lot of you asking for the recipe! 

Well, LUCKY you, my HUSBAND is now sharing the recipe here on MadeByGirl - just keep reading below! Please feel free to pin these lovely pics so others can try this delicious popsicle as well! This dessert is perfect for the 4th OF July - it is low calorie & dairy free.  Can't beat that!

How to make:

 Let's begin:

• 2 1/2 cups of coconut milk like Silk (brand) Coconutmilk
• 1 bar of Green & Black's 70% dark chocolate OR 1 bar of G&B 85% plus 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 Tbs flour or gluten free flour
• 1/2 C water
• 2/3 C sweetened dark cocoa powder

Put all ingredients into heavy saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, whisking with constant motion. Drop heat to medium-low and allow ingredients to thicken slightly, about 5-6 minutes, whisking evenly the whole time. Do not allow it to clump on the bottom or it will burn.

Cool for 5 minutes then pour mix into popsicle molds, using a funnel if necessary or by transferring in batches into a measuring cup with a pouring lip. Volume will not increase while freezing, so it can be poured right up to the lip of the mold. Freeze for at least 5 hours before serving. Makes 6-8 standard sized popsicles. 


  -post by jen & mat
- images by jen ramos

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My Gilt Taste Purchase

Hey...this week has already BEGUN & I'm super busy. Today I have a new assistant coming in, it's her first day, so I'll be busy training & getting her acquainted with all things MadeByGirl & Cocoa & Hearts, should be interesting! But, now let me tell you about a site I came across this past weekend.

Some of you may know I'm MAAAAAD for chocolate. Dark chocolate to be exact. I can't stand milk chocolate, it tastes annoyingly sweet & it's not even good for you!  Anyhow, I came across a site called Gilt Taste. It's a division of the popular site GILT, where you find all things fashion. I love fashion, but GILT Taste was impressive. My husband introduced me to the site - showing me these magical chocolate covered figs. I instantly fell in LOVE & wanted to purchase them!  So, I did. Talk about impulsive shopping. 
 
Ok, they weren't the CHEAPEST sweets around, I paid a total of $62 for 16 chocolate covered FIGS.

Have you ever had chocolate covered figs???????? Call me crazy, but it is chocolate & figs, 2 of my favorites! 

My husband COULDN'T believe I bought it... but I will bet he changes his mind when they finally get here & he has a taste. Ha! So, to explain more about GILT Taste, it's a site that sells artisanal food products ranging from meats to sweets, produce & even seafood! 
 
The interesting thing about Gilt TASTE is that the products are not easily found in any kind of grocery store & they're sold for cheaper that retail but they're only available for a limited time on their site! Cool huh?

 

I'd love to know....What's your fave chocolate?? Dark, White or Milk?? & have you ordered from Gilt Taste??

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Food: Cookie Hearts

Hello Friends!!! It is Lori and Michelle from pure2raw. 


Today we have a super easy and super tasty Valentines Day inspired dessert!  It can be made ahead of time too! And another great part about this chocolate dessert is that there is no baking required, so whipping these cookie stacks can be done easily!

 

This dessert is made out of cashews for the cookies and is layered with a creamy banana cocoa mousse. Perfect for those chocolate lovers at heart like us. And any amount of chocolate screams Valentine's Day right? These may look difficult to do but promise they are not. An exquisite looking healthy dessert that anyone can do! Just our kind of recipe! We pulled out our Valentine day heart cookie cutters and decided to use 3 different sizes to make a cookie stack. 

We love desserts with layers. What about you? Recipe: Cashew Banana Cocoa Mousse Triple Cookie Heart Stacks prep-time: about 10 minutes the amount of cookies it makes varies depending on what size cookie cutter you use.  

Cashew Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashew pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (maple syrup or honey would be fine, or even a few pitted dates)

Directions: Place all your ingredients into food processor and pulse till combined. You want the batter to be holding together but without being to wet. 

 

 

Place cashew cookie batter onto a cutting board and roll out. We used a rolling pin. You can use your hands (great for kids) 

 

Once the cookie dough is rolled out grab your cookie cutters and start cutting into the shapes.

 

Set aside the cookies. And the hard part now is trying not to eat them all.

   

Now time to make your banana cocoa mousse for the filling. Banana Cocoa Mousse Ingredients:

• 2 medium bananas
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• splash vanilla

Directions: Place bananas, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and vanilla into a blender and blend till smooth. Pour filling into a bowl and let sit in fridge for 5 minutes to set. This makes it easier to use on cookies for layering. Once you have everything ready time to begin building the stacks. We got three stacks with a few extra cookies. 

 

Place one cookie down on the bottom and top with some mousse. Repeat layers till you get a stack of 3 cookies. With our cookie stacks we did 3 different sizes of hearts so we started with the large cookie heart on bottom followed by the medium size heart and then topped with the smaller heart.

 

We feel with the 3 different sizes really helped give this dessert more personality and depth. But if you only have one size cookie cutter that is totally fine too. The stacks will still look amazing!

 

After building all our stacks we placed them in fridge and let them set for a few minutes. This makes them a little easier to eat. 

 

We hope you all enjoyed our Valentine Day inspired dessert! Making these cookie stacks are a perfect way to show that special someone how much you love them. 

 Enjoy! Lori and Michelle

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DIY Holiday treats...

Kate, from Centsational Girl  posted a 'DIY Christmas cookies for Chocolate lovers'!  DIY is always a great idea for Holiday parties....you can make them & bring them to an event or just bake them for your family! I like the idea of the chocolate covered biscotti as one of the desserts for my wedding!  You can find the DIY recipe along with more amazing pics via her blog. As always,  great job Kate!

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