Tasty Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite comfort food. But if you're like me, I'm tired of making the same-old-same-old. Quarantine 2020 is providing many opportunities for experimental baking. Since my sons are all around, I have plenty of willing taste testers.

During this time, I recommend having some fun in the kitchen with your honey.  Pour each of you a glass of wine. Wear matching aprons. Feel free to get a little silly... remember when you first were living together?

I found this unique recipe and didn't tell son #2 about the cream cheese, (he hates the stuff). The addition of cream cheese gives these chocolate chip cookies a rich, dense, cake-like texture. 

Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 ounces butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips

Preparation:

·         Heat oven to 350°. Grease a cookie sheet, or spray with nonstick cooking spray, or line with silicone liner.

·         In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.

·         Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet(s), leaving about 1 inch between cookies. These cookies spread very little. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are set and lightly browned around the edges.

·         Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate and Sex

Chocolate is said to cause sexual arousal in women. Studies have shown that women who consume chocolate on a regular basis have increase arousal and sexual desire.

* Eat chocolate with the highest amount of cocoa... which is dark chocolate.

* Eat chocolate right before your period...at least once a day for a week. This will increase serotonin in the brain and reduce anxiety.

* Eat chocolate just before sex. Use it in sex play to boost your sex drive and make some fun in the bedroom.

Chocolate can be consumed not only as a candy, but also in forms of deserts, syrup, and drinks.

Enjoy!!!

Tasty Tuesday - Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

Fat Tuesday?
You can keep that fancy paczki.
Give me something chocolate with ice cream.

I'll share!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE BROWNIE SQUARES

1 (21.5 or 23.6 oz.) pkg. fudge brownie mix 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk 1 egg 1 tsp. almond extract 1 lg. can cherry pie filling Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix as package directs. Spread into lightly greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in small mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk then egg and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Pour evenly over brownie layer, bake 25 minutes longer or until set. Cool. Chill. Stir remaining 1/2 teaspoon almond extract into cherry filling and pour over brownies

Sexy Board Game for Couples

Who doesn't love chocolate?

 

Chocolate plus a game to play?

Not since hydrogen and oxygen merged to form water have two more essential elements united. So put aside your anniversary edition of the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" DVD and oompah-loompah this game, which is a delicious interpretation of Monopoly. Added bonus of playing Strip Chocolate-opoly at a B&B: Someone else washes the sheets. Who wins? He or she who devours the most chocolate, of course.

BUY THE GAME NOW

Monday Mojo

Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, the same feel-good chemical responsible for the ecstatic high people experience through sexual attraction and love.

I think I'll bathe in it.

 

Tasty Tuesday - Couble Chocolate Cookie Bars

We all have days when we need a little pick-me-up.  Chocolate is a great indulgence for an emotional lift.  This is a delightful treat.... try it on your next blue day.

2c finely crushed Oreos (approx 24 cookies)                   
1/4 c margarine or butter, melted
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (12oz)
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1tsp vanilla
1 c chooped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350'.  Combine crumbs and margarine; press firmly on bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.  In medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt 1 cup chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  Pour evenly over prepared crust; top with nuts and remaining chips.  Bake 20 minutes or until set.  Cool.  Chill if desired.  Cut into bars.  Store tightly covered at room temperature.  Makes 24-36 bars.

Tasty Tuesday - Chocolate Diamonds

A chocolate diamond is a brown diamond, one of many types of colored diamonds. Most chocolate diamonds come from diamond mines in Australia. The natural occurring brown color is thought to be created by the earth's pressure on the diamonds deep in the earth. Chocolate diamonds, perhaps due to their new name, seem to be gaining in popularity however. A brilliant marketing scheme to help sell an abundance of low color diamonds was to rename them to "chocolate diamonds." People who never gave brown diamonds the time of day, now are looking at these diamonds. They want to be able to say that they own a chocolate diamond. It's different. It's a conversation starter and more than anything else, it's still a diamond! There are also different hues of fancy colored diamonds.

For instance, the hue of a brown diamond is designated into the categories: Chocolate – light brown diamonds with no other discernable color Champaign – sparkling warm golden brown
Cognac – deep reddish/orange
Cinnamon – light pinkish brown
Honey – deep yellow orange
Clove diamonds – deep olive brown

Chocolate diamonds look great with gold and also colors like blue and green. These really make it stand out.
Chocolate pearl diamonds – this is a very elegant mix of dark brown and white that reminds many of the chocolate diamond’s namesake. Chocolate diamonds & turquoise – a very daring, but stunning mix with different textures to enhance the overall effect. Chocolate diamonds & white diamonds – this is a very common mix, but still very brilliant. Chocolate diamonds & other colored gems – again very common, but so much variety, any piece of jewelry is practically its own unique piece.

Tempting Tuesday - Grilled Chocolate Sandwich

INGREDIENTS:
* 1/4 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
* 3 ounce(s) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
* 1 1/2 tablespoon(s) butter, softened
* 8 slice(s) thin whole-wheat or white sandwich bread
* 3 tablespoon(s) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
* 2 tablespoon(s) chopped toasted hazelnuts, (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat evaporated milk just until boiling. Add chocolate, let stand for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly.

2. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Divide the chocolate mixture on the unbuttered side of 4 slices, leaving a little border. Press chocolate chips and nuts, if using, into the chocolate. Cover with the remaining slices of bread, buttered-side up, and press lightly.

3. Cook the sandwiches in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn over, press with a spatula, and cook until nicely browned and the chocolate is barely melted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve warm.

Humpday Help - Chocolate

When a girlfriend lets you know you have chocolate on your mouth, you've been blessed with two pleasures - her company and some really good chocolate!

Irish Cream Brownies

4 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. Irish Cream
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Irish Cream Frosting (recipe follows)

Oven 350F

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8 inch square baking pan. Melt chocolate and butter in medium heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, with wire whisk. Whisk in Irish Cream. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; stir into chocolate mixture until just blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until center is set. Remove pan to wire rack; cool completely. Prepare Irish Cream Frosting; spread over cooled brownies. Chill at least 1 hour or until frosting is set. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Yield: 16 brownies

Irish Cream Frosting:

1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
2 tbsp. Irish Cream
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter in small bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in Irish Cream. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.

* For fun, I tried a variation. I used a box of Betty Crocker Brownie Mix and substituted the 1/4 cup of water with a 1.4 cup of Irish Cream. Baked the brownies according to the directions on the box. Once cooled, I cut the brownies into squares, placed on a plate, topped with ice cream and drizzled with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.

Humpday Help - How 'bout somethin' sweet?

Ack! It's Humpday again! It's like a birthday... always sneaking up on me.
To me, some of the best things in life are chocolate, a great conversation, tea, and hugs. When a girlfriend lets you know you have chocolate on your mouth, you've been blessed with two pleasures - her company and some really good chocolate! Did you know that having tea with friends is also a great excuse to bake chocolate chip cookies?

So here's a little somethin' somethin' for my friends.


Indulge in the luxuries and whimsies of life and revel in the carefree delights of friendship.

Check out this Diva Basket

The Montrose Blueberry Festival is in full swing! The museum in town is having a used book sale that has been labeled as the State's Largest due to the 30,000 books up for sale. They are nice books too!

Anyways, I made up a "Diva Basket" for the museum to raffle off. Other than a signed copy of Painted Soul and bookmark, the winner will receive a brass heart-shaped candle holder, a pink tapper candle, pink nail polish, a rose scented sachet, "romance" scented lotion, a pink notebook, and a pink feather boa.

I had fun putting it together for the folks at the museum. They loved it when I dropped it off. The raffle will run Friday - Sunday. So if you are in Michigan this weekend stop in Montrose for the Blueberry Festival for a ton of fun, food, and a chance to win this basket!

For more information about this festival www.montroseblueberryfestival.net

I'll be working the pancake breakfast Saturday morning. See you there!

Lost Mind - Please Return to Owner

So I couldn't remember where on my desk top I placed the link to my Blogspot. So it took me days to find it. So I couldn't remember my password. So it took me another day to clean my desk to find the piece of paper I wrote it upon. So here I am. Where's my chocolate?

I think dark chocolate is the most wonderful food in the universe. However, I have noticed how my beloved sweet is getting the recognition it's deserved after all these years. Sure, now it's good for you! Have a little square daily with a glass of red wine and it'll cure what ails ya! Works for me.

But have you noticed how the chocolate now comes in different "flavors" and a variety of names? Some dark chocolate is carob, some is more bitter than others. Hey, just give it to me... I'll do all the taste-testing needed. It's good for me, right?

I look down and see a litter of small purple wrappers that seemed to have missed the garbage basket. Oops, my secret is out. I look into a lovely little box located on the top shelf of my desk. Many of those horded kisses are missing. So, I travel down to my eldest son's room and there sitting on his desk in a neat arrangement is five purple foiled dark chocolate kisses. It's official, the kids have found my stash.

Now to find a new hiding place, but within reach of my keyboard for those intense writing moments when a burst of chocolate is needed. Hmm..... I'll have to swear the guinea pig living in my office to silence. He'll do anything for celery these days.

I think I'll nibble on a delicious dark square while I sit and think about this situation. Yummy... this is good for me.