Make Your Own Chocolate

I found this article on how to make your own chocolate bars. There's a beginner and an advanced option:

Advanced chocolate bar

Beginner's chocolate bar

Black Forest Mouse Cake

This one deserves a post of its own. Thanks to Sue Ann Gleason at Chocolate for Breakfast for finding this beauty! 

Black Forest Mousse Cake

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies by Chilling the Dough: Article

Try chilling the dough with any chocolate chip recipe!

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies mmmmm

Chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk.

Warm cookies from the oven.

Thin and crispy cookies.

Thick and chewy cookies.

Healthy cookies

Cookie with extra chips.

Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. 

Some people consider this to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world. Others prefer adding unusual ingredients like cream cheese, pecans, nutmeg, peanut butter or marshmallows to their cookie recipes. Here is David Lebovitz's recipe that is rated among the best of the best: 

2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour 

3/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 cup (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup (215 g) packed light brown sugar 

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 large eggs, at room temperature 

2 cups (about 225 g) nuts, toasted and chopped 

14 ounces (400 g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 

Sea salt for sprinkling on top

Beat the butter and sugars together. Sift the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture and stir in the vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate and the nuts. Form the dough into logs, cover and let the dough rest overnight. 

Preheat oven to  350 degrees.Prepare cookie sheets. Slice cookies into 3/4 inch thick pieces and place on sheets. Bake about 10 minutes until golden brown. 

Cool cookies on a rack. before serving

Chocolate in a Main Dish

Here's an interesting recipe originally in Bon Appetit:

Braised Short Ribs with Chocolate and Rosemary

Bon Appétit  | January 2006

by Bruce Aidells and Nancy Oakes

From Epicurious:
Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup diced pancetta (Italian bacon; about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 6 pounds bone-in short ribs
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped drained canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 very large fresh thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf

• 3 tablespoons shaved or grated bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation

Heat heavy large pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and sauté until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown ribs in drippings in pot over medium-high heat until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to plate. Add onions and next 4 ingredients to pot. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add wine. Boil uncovered until liquid is reduced by half, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pancetta. Return ribs to pot, cover partially, and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Uncover and simmer until rib meat is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours longer. Transfer ribs to plate; discard bay leaf. Spoon fat from surface of sauce. Boil sauce until beginning to thicken, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add chocolate, cocoa powder, and rosemary; stir until chocolate melts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return ribs to pot. Simmer to rewarm, about 5 minutes.

Brownie Recipe

From thekitchen.com:

Mascarpone Brownies
(adapted from Food Network Canada)
Brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ganache
6 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter


Preheat oven to 325F and grease or parchment paper a 8x8 pan. Set aside.
In glass mixing bowl melt butter in microwave on full power. Stir in chocolate and mix until combined (a few additional seconds in the microwave may be needed). Note: This may be done over a double boiler, but we've never seen why you should bother with the hassle!
Add sugar to chocolate/butter mixture until combined. Heat for an additional 30 seconds on high, remove and stir until it looks shiny. It will still look a bit grainy.
Add marscapone, vanilla, eggs and mixing until smooth.
Sift flour, salt and cocoa into mixture with a sieve and stir just until combined, making sure to scrape all sides of the bowl. (Mixture will be rather light in texture, instead of dense and heavy like many brownie batters)

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top to ensure even baking. Bake for 40-50 minutes (ours is usually done around 47 minutes) until tester comes out clean. Use the flat end of a potato masher to lightly tamp down the surface of the brownies while they are still warm. Do not squish, merely flatten any parts that might have raised more than others (typically the edges). This will help the ganache coat evenly. Leave in pan and set on wire rack to cool.

While brownies are cooling, make your ganache to pour over the top (which you will want to do while your brownies are still warm). To do so, simply heat butter and cream on medium power (taking care not to boil) in the microwave and add chocolate. Stir until all lumps disappear. Immediately pour over brownies. Let cool completely (we find placing them in the fridge helps up stay out of the pan until they the ganache is set 100%). Once chilled a knife will cut through them cleanly, make sure to clean your blade for each cut for a more polished look.
The mascarpone keeps things moist and dense without the same thin, underdone taste of a normal fudgy brownie. It also allows the chocolate to shine through without feeling a sugar coma after eating one (although we make no promises that you can eat just one).

Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate

There's a definite nip in the air tonight. There's nothing like a mug of hot chocolate to warm you up and sooth you on a cold day.

From Allrecipes.com:

1 serving Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
 3 tablespoons white sugar
 1/4 pinch salt
 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon boiling water
 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons half-and-half or cream

Directions
Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mug of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature. Serve with whipped cream and a cocoa dusting (optional).

S'mores Bars

I was inspired by a recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything. This recipe isn't for the S'mores bars pictured above, but it's a cool recipe. My recipe is different from the original I saw on The Girl's website in that there are a few added ingredients, and the basic recipe is altered quite a bit. I used less sugar, brown instead of white and brown sugar and altered the amount of dry ingredients. I also substituted chocolate chips for the candy bars, used less fluff, added mini marshmallows on top and added nutmeg and almond meal to the batter. See what you think:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
• pinch ground nutmeg 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup marshmallow creme
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl,  combine the flour, almond meal, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients into butter mixture and continue mixing at a low speed until incorporated.
3. Divide dough in half and press one half evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the marshmallow fluff evenly over the dough (it's sticky, so you might want to spray a spatula with cooking spray to do this part) and then sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the fluff. Place remaining dough in a layer on top of the chocolate. This might not be easy, but you can flatten the dough and place it on top of the chips in sections if you have trouble. It doesn't have to be perfect, but try to make it as even as you can.
4. Bake about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and then add mini marshmallows on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes until the marshmallows are starting to melt and become lightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 cookie bars.
5. Optional: Drizzle dark chocolate across the tops once the bars are cooled. 

On a slightly different note, I don't know what these are, but they look insanely yummy:

Layer Cake

This isn't the exact recipe for the image above, but it's similar:

Chocolate cake:

3/4 c. cocoa
1/4 c. oil (olive or coconut. I use expeller-processed to avoid a strong flavor)
1/2 c. water
1  1/2 c. sugar, divided
1  2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
3 eggs
3/4 c. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Crispy, marbled bark:

10-12 oz. semisweet or dark chocolate
3/4 c. puffed cereal (optional, really, just call it a marbled bark topping!)
4 oz. premium white chocolate
White chocolate filling:

6 oz. premium white chocolate (make sure it has cocoa butter in it – I use Ghirardelli)
1/4 c. whole milk or cream
1 c. butter
1  1/2 c. powdered sugar

Ganache:

6 oz. semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 c. butter, cut up
1 Tb. honey

Cake:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line the bottom of an 11 x 17 rimmed baking pan with parchment.
Mix cocoa, oil, water, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together in a small measuring cup or bowl and set aside.
Mix flour, soda, and salt in another bowl and set aside as well.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, in 3 additions and then beat for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla until completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18-23 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the cake springs back when touched in the center.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack large enough to hold it; remove paper and let cool completely.

Bark:
While the cake is baking, make the bark by melting the dark chocolate, low heat on stovetop or 1 to 1 1/2 minutes microwaved, stirring until smooth.
Melt the 4 oz. of white chocolate in a separate container.
Stir the puffed cereal into the dark chocolate and quickly spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet to about 1/4-inch thick (the edges don’t have to reach the pan edges – just evenly spread until it’s 1/4-inch). Immediately drizzle white chocolate over the entire top and then swirl into the dark chocolate with the tip of a butter knife to create a marbled effect. Place pan of bark into the refrigerator to set.

Filling:
While cake is cooling, prepare frosting for filling by melting the white chocolate and cream together (again, your choice of low heat on stovetop or 1 minute in the microwave) until smooth. Let cool about 15 minutes.
Beat butter and sugar together with a mixer just until incorporated and then add the cooled chocolate mixture. Beat on high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Ganache:
Melt chocolate, butter, and honey together using the microwave or setting a bowl into a pan of barely simmering water; stir until smooth (it should be the consistency of heavy cream – if it’s too thin, refrigerate for 5 minutes or so and stir to thicken slightly).

To assemble:
Cut the cooled cake into three even pieces, each about 5  1/2 x 11 inches. Set the first layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the white chocolate filling. Top with second layer (trim edges as needed to make even with bottom layer – I found it’s really hard to get them even the first time cutting) and spread with remaining filling. Top with the last later and trim if needed.
Tear waxed paper into strips and tuck under all the edges of the cake. Stir ganache and then pour over the top of the cake, using a spatula to spread gently over the edges and onto the sides. Ganache will pool on waxed paper a bit – use spatula to lift up and spread onto sides as needed.
Let cool until ganache has just set – about 10 to 15 minutes – and gently remove waxed paper pieces.

Break the bark into small pieces and add to the length of the cake on top. Use some of the remaining bark around the edges of the cake.
Refrigerate until needed (can be made a day ahead). Tip for cutting: remove the bark along cutting lines, cut slices, and then add bark back to the individual slices.

Serves 12 to 16

Recipe from The Oregon Cottage.