Tag: chocolate

Hershey Office Workers Face Jab or Job Choice

Office workers at The Hershey Company say that while they must be vaccinated or face job loss, employees working in food production and Chocolate World, the company’s retail outlet stores, do not have a vaccination requirement. The Pennsylvania snack company has continued food production operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Its retail stores are now fully…


Choco Peppermint Smoothie

Chocolate and peppermint – my favorite combination! This power smoothie is vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, keto and actually healthy. Made with superfood ingredients, this will tantalize your taste buds and give you energy. If you are like me and don’t drink coffee, I heavily rely on chocolate to give me the boost I need during the…


Daily Cup of Cocoa Helps Prevent Flu

When the wintry flu season strikes do you crave a comforting cup of hot cocoa? It could be your body’s innate wisdom at work.  Nature works in mysterious ways.  Just when cold, dry weather chills us to the bone and flu season is in full bloom, we crave a comforting cup of hot cocoa.  As it…


The Thickest Hot Cocoa

I’ve perfected hot cocoa. I’ve created the cup that I always wanted, but nobody else could give me. All of my life, the cocoa has been too thin and runny—too much like liquid, and I didn’t want liquid. I wanted a dense chocolate cloud in which to lose my sense of direction. To my great…


No Need to Share! With This Recipe, Everyone Gets Their Own (Mini) Chocolate Cake

Flourless chocolate cakes are rich, fudgy, and intensely chocolaty. Instead of using flour or leaveners for structure, like most other cakes do, these special cakes rely on a combination of eggs and cornstarch. As the cakes bake, the eggs puff up in the oven, giving them lift. The cornstarch creates a kind of glue to…


The Secret to Perfectly Cracked Crinkle Cookies

These deep, dark, chocolaty cookies are also known as “earthquakes” because of all the cracks that break through their snow-white surfaces during baking. The key to creating these crinkly cracks is rolling the formed dough first in granulated sugar and then in confectioners’ sugar. The granulated sugar helps create that crackly, crusty exterior and keeps…


Calzoncelli (Chocolate and Almond Christmas Cookies From Basilicata)

Along with cavallucci, calzoncelli are another fixture of our Christmas at home. They originate in Melfi, a southern town in Basilicata, my grandfather’s hometown. A bag of calzoncelli, no matter the size, never lasted longer than a couple days at home. Calzoncelli are small parcels with a paper-thin, brittle shell and a moist chocolate and…


Pots de Creme: The Little Black Dress of Desserts

Pots de creme are my go-to dessert. I call them the little black dress of sweets: Not only are they timelessly appealing (who can say no to a terrine of silky rich chocolate?), but they can be kept simple and understated for easy eating or dressed up with a splash of celebratory sparkle. In addition…


Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Aside from roasting marshmallows over a campfire, one of the best ways to enjoy them is dropped into a steaming mug of hot chocolate. This version combines both chocolate and cocoa powder for a richer, deeper flavor. Using mint and vanilla extract to flavor the drink makes this recipe kid-friendly; however, you can always add…


Chocolate Fruit Dip

Recently, we had a birthday party for one of our daughters. Many family birthdays have been celebrated while abiding by a gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free diet. Thankfully we never feel deprived. I’ve developed many recipes to accommodate our dietary needs while still indulging in a celebratory treat. Our little lady requested a chocolate fruit dip…