Anniversary Chocolate Pie

A lot can happen in a year. And sometimes that same amount of stuff will happen in six months. That’s where we, (Aaron and I) find ourselves today on our sixth-month wedding anniversary.

I can hardly believe it either. I’ve been married for six months to one pretty spectacular guy. In that same time span Aaron finally got on active duty in the USAF, we moved from Philadelphia to West Texas, I started a job as a librarian, we got a dog, a car, and a Le Creuset Dutch oven. All very significant life accomplishments if I do say myself.

Of course the one thing that has remained constant is our trust in each other. Without Aaron I’d probably still be living in beautiful Philadelphia working minimum wage at a museum and coffee shop simultaneously and be completely miserable. Despite the ups and downs of moving “half cross country,” I know we couldn’t have done any of it without each other and I guess that’s the point of this marriage thing after all.

And even with all the massive life changes, often it’s the little things that count the most. Like when Aaron surprises me with flowers on a Wednesday or hug after a particularly hard day or this chocolate pie.

This is his favorite. Alright, a close tie with carrot cake, but since he got that for his groom’s cake I thought I would try something different.

While not discounting all the help and opportunities we’ve had so far, starting out isn’t easy. We’ve limited our spending and especially our “going out” money so we can pay for that bachelor’s degree of mine, the car, the dog, and the Le Creuset Dutch oven. So instead of going out and dropping $60-100 on an (sixth month) anniversary dinner, I’m surprising him with (small) rib-eye steak, mashed potatoes, peas, homemade bread, and of course: THIS PIE. 

Yes, it’s a Monday, but you’re only in your first month of marriage once. And yes I mean once, America. So might as well enjoy it while you can, embracing the poorness and the Southern specialties. Where good steak is cheaper than chicken and a lot more plentiful.

I made this pie from scratch: meaning homemade filling, fresh whipped cream, and homemade crust. It is honestly the best way to make it and the homemade crust really makes the difference, especially for a special occasion. If you’d rather, you can substitute for the roll-out store bought option which is good in a hurry but a little pricier than the really stuff which costs about $90.

Because this is the Southern baked version versus a Chocolate silk pie, the top gets perfectly caramelized, the inside is smooth, and it doesn’t even need the whipped cream. Either way you cannot get better than this. I wanted an extra chocolately pie without being sickly sweet. I hope you agree-- anniversary or not.

Anniversary Chocolate Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream

(Filling recipe adapted from Food and Wine and crust recipe from The Working Class Foodies Cookbook by Rebecca Lando)

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for working

1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 egg yolk

2-½ tsp. milk

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

For the Filling:

2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup good quality dark chocolate chips, finely chopped into shavings (about 2-3 tbsp. of the whole chips)

4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 tsp. good quality vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

For the Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Garnish:

Dark chocolate chips or bar chopped or made into shavings with a vegetable peeler

Variation:
For a sweeter pie, add 1/4 cup more sugar in the filling and another tablespoon cream.

Directions:

For the crust, whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl or stand mixer. Work in cubed better with your hands or on medium speed with the mixer making coarse crumbs of the flour and butter.

In a small bowl beat the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla together. Mix wet ingredients into the flour mixture until dough just forms.

Take dough out of the bowl, then gently and quickly knead it on a clean, floured surface, forming a ball. Over-kneading will melt the butter.

Wrap dough completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Once ready to use, let dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll pie dough out on your floured surface evenly to make an 11-inch circle. Let rest for a minute, then carefully place in a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges of the dough with a fork to the lip of the plate. Press firmly all around the crust so it doesn’t slid when prebaking. Prick the bottom of the crust lightly with a fork.  Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and let it slightly cool for a minute.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the sugar with the cocoa powder, chocolate butter, eggs, and ¾ cup whipping cream, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Stir until chocolate shavings melt. (This may take a couple minutes so let sit while crust is prebaking.)

Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little loose in the center when jiggled. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. (Pie shown above has only been cooled, for a more set filling, refrigerate at least one hour before serving and texture will vastly improve.)

For the Whipped Cream: Once ready to serve pie, add whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla into a chilled metal bowl. Beat with an electric or stand mixer that have whisk attachments (or by hand with a whisk,) until stiff peaks form in the cream, the whipped cream should be thick enough that when put on a spoon and tipped up side down it shouldn’t drop.

Refrigerate the rest of the pie and only top with whipped cream once ready to serve so the pie doesn’t get soggy.

Enjoy!

P.s. Happy Anniversary, honey.

Vegan Truffled Chocolate Covered Cherries and Mousse

Hey guess what? Valentine's Day is coming up on Friday. Oh you didn’t know? Well then you’ll need something special to make.

Whether you are looking for something special for you and your significant other, for a girls' night in, or a dinner party, they will all be impressed. But it's another thing if you have allergies, are gluten-free, or vegan. No matter your diet, you deserve some decadence too.

So when Enjoy Life Foods sent me a bag of their Dark Chocolate morsels for baking, I knew it was time to make a treat everyone could enjoy. Pun.

The morsels not only contribute to my chocolate coconut cream mousse but also to my chocolate covered cherries. They can be made separately or be put together. Either way you have enough decadence to last you the whole season.

You know I love Enjoy Life's products and since their 69% cocoa chips are gluten-free, vegan, and free of the eight most common allergens, you don’t have to be afraid to have your mousse and eat it too. Oh, and they melt perfectly. 

Likewise, cordial chocolate covered cherries were one of my favorites growing up. But if you don't buy carefully, they can taste quite artificial. So instead, I used fresh Bing cherries that are only in season for a couple weeks in Chile. I know, but forgive me it’s Valentine’s Day. Here, Enjoy Life’s dark chocolate morsels were essential.

I wanted to combine fresh, sweet cherries with decadent dark chocolate so you have a nice crunch with the soft flesh of the cherries. And hey, this is America so might as well stuff the cherry with vegan chocolate coconut cream mousse. This step while totally worth it can be skipped for time’s sake. I do hope you make the chocolate mousse. It is so rich and creamy you won’t believe it is actually vegan…but I promise it is!

Coconut cream is an extra thick version of coconut milk, basically without the water and really cannot be substituted. You can find it at Trader Joe’s (of course,) Whole Food’s, and probably any Asian markets or well stocked grocery will carry it. Just make sure you refrigerate the can overnight so it remains thick and won’t melt as much while you are working with it.

FYI: this mousse is very decadent, so small amounts go a long way. This recipe should be enough for 4 small portions. If you aren’t used to coconut cream, you don’t want to over eat or you might get a tummy ache!

This is perfect for a the modern Valentine’s Day dinner party as you won’t get any complaints from your vegan or gluten-free guests. Get ready to impress some people with this! And you will have a lot of cherries left over….but not for long.

Vegan Chocolate Covered Cherries with Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Makes 4 small cups of mouse and 40 cherries

Ingredients:

For the Mousse

1 cup coconut cream or about ½ of a can, (refrigerate can overnight before use so it hardens)

3 tbsp. vegan sugar

3 tbsp. Cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels

Coconut or other vegan milk in case you need to adjust the consistency

For the Truffled Chocolate Covered Cherries

40 fresh bing cherries, carefully pitted

1 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels

Coconut chips or flaked coconut for garnish

About 1/2 cup chocolate mousse

1 plastic bag

40 toothpicks

Directions:

Use a double broiler or sauce pan and glass bowl for melting.

Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Place glass bowl over top trapping the steam and take off heat immediately.

Add 1/4 cup chocolate morsels into the bowl and continue stirring until all morsel chips are melted and chocolate is smooth. If it isn't melting, cover with lid for a minute and the chips should start to melt around the edges.

Meanwhile add all ingredients including the melted chocolate, for the mousse into a stand mixer or bowl with beaters until completely mixed and air enters mixture making light and creamy. Spoon into individual glasses for serving, reserving about 1/2 cup mousse. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours up to one day.

Separately arrange pitted cherries on a plate and carefully spoon reserved mousse into the plastic bag. Cut the edge of the bag to make a very small slit.

Using the opening of each cherry made by pitting, pipe a very small amount of mousse into each cherry and a little on the opposite side. (This may be a bit messy, so keep a paper towel handy.)

Refrigerate stuffed cherries for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before dipping in chocolate. Before dipping them into the chocolate, carefully place 1 toothpick into the side of each cherry without squeezing mousse out of the cherry.

Meanwhile bring your saucepan with water back to a boil and remove from heat once boiled. Melt the remaining cup of chocolate morsels over your double broiler or bowl and saucepan. Continue stirring until all morsel chips are melted and chocolate is smooth. If it isn't melting, cover with lid for a minute and the chips should start to melt around the edges.

(If you are a slower worker like me, it might be easier only to work with a 1/2 cup of morsels at a time as the chocolate will re-harden very quickly.)

Working very quickly dip each skewered cherry into the melted cherry to cover completely and scrape any drip off the side with a spoon. Place each dipped cherry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

Refrigerate the dipped cherries for at least 30 minutes and don’t remove until ready to serve.

Before serving, carefully remove the toothpicks from each cherry. Once ready to serve, place several cherries on top of the mousse and top with coconut flakes. Serve immediately.

Variation: Use a little bit of the melted chocolate to attach coconut flakes to cover the hole made by the toothpick in the chocolate shell.

Enjoy!

Better Morning Breakfast Bars

One of the best things about graduating from college was the break from early mornings. I hated 8am classes and figured any new job I got wouldn’t require me to come in until at least 9am. Then I got a job at the county library here in Texas. Here I was again getting up at 8am. Honestly it wasn’t so bad as the two months from October to December was the longest period since I was 15 that I wasn’t working or going to school. I actually missed being tired as it was then difficult to go to sleep at night.

The downside to waking up early is not having much time to have a healthy breakfast. For awhile I was drinking banana peanut butter smoothies or milk with protein powder but I wanted something I could grab and go and will keep me full.

That’s where these breakfast bars come in. I first saw them on the fabulous Lindsay’s blog, The Lean Green Bean. (She also has some great ideas for healthy food prep to last all week long.) While I didn’t have all of the ingredients, I did have most of them including some decent substitutes.

I am over the moon over these bars. Granola bars I get in stores never have everything I want in them (a.k.a. taste and health.) So, working with a base of  quinoa, gluten free oats and sweet potato, the gluten free vegan breakfast bars were born. I changed a few things from Lindsay’s original recipe out of necessity but if you’d like to try her’s, here is the link.

These bars remind me a lot of Fall and Thanksgiving, due to the sweet potato, cranberries, and spices. I love sweet potatoes. They are full of vitamin C and are so good for you. Plus, if you simply roast a couple for a dinner and keep a leftover one along with leftover quinoa for these bars. Or you could be like me and use the leftover sweet potato from a restaurant’s veggie side. (How convenient!) There are also several ways to make it your own with add ins like omega-rich walnuts for healthy skin, dried dates, your favorite type of GF flour, and lots more! I don’t like mine super sweet, but if you do, simply add a little bit more agave or mix in some chunky apple sauce. No matter what, these soft, chewy baked bars are perfect for the busy morning.

Once these babies cool, you can simply bag them up for an easy on the go morning meal or snack. With all this good stuff, these bars are low-fat and full of fiber. What’s not to love?

Better Morning Breakfast Bars

(adapted from the Lean Green Bean)

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (about ½ cup dried once prepared)

1 cup gluten-free oats

¼ cup gluten-free flour such as chickpea, all-purpose, or almond (you can use traditional wheat or all-purpose if you aren't GF)

½ cup mashed cooked mashed sweet potato or pure mashed pumpkin

¼ cup peanut or other nut butter ( I used prepared PB2 at only 70 calories)

1 large egg or flax-egg

2 tbsp. agave nectar or honey

2 tbsp. dark coconut sugar or natural brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

1 tbsp. chia seeds

½ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup roasted pumpkins seeds or ½ cup chopped walnuts

Optional: ¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Add-ins: 1/4 cup chopped dried dates or 1/3 cup chunky apple sauce for additional sweetness.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, combine sweet potato, nut butter, honey, coconut sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix until well combined.

Spoon mixture into an oiled 8x13 aluminum foiled lined pan. With a wooden spoon, smooth out top of mixture until even and flat.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Bars are done when a toothpick put into the center comes out clean.

Allow bars to cool and cut into eight bars. Transfer to individual plastic bags and store bars in the refrigerator.

Variation: These bars are also delicious as baked oatmeal. Serve warm and pour vanilla almond milk over top.

Enjoy!

Cheater Cookie Butter Button Brownies

Two weekends ago, Aaron and I decided it would be a good idea to drive nearly four hours each way to Austin on dirt roads to spend five hours there on a dreary day…on a Sunday. Basically it was cold and very few things were open. The trip included a walk though of the Whole Foods Flagship store, the LBJ presidential library, and the best part…Trader Joe’s. You should know by now that I love Trader Jo’s, but they don’t exist here in West Texas. So Austin’s new store is the closest there is. I was very excited to get the pantry items I missed so much.

Brownie mix, Thai chili paste, $5 wine. You know, the essentials. So when I finally have in a bought a jar of the infamous cookie butter, I knew I had to do more than eat it with a spoon....at least in addition to that. That’s where brownies came in.

My high school friend said anything out of a box was cheating. As in cheater cookies or cheater brownies. My response was always, "I'm baking for you, stop complaining."

On that note this is as true of a “ cheater college recipe” as you've ever seen it. And it's amazing.

This is based in a recipe for real brownies with cookie butter so if that is more appealing, than all means, be my guest. But when my husband informs me we were invited to 6pm barbecue at noon, I decided to get creative....and cheat. Cookie butter brownies were born and they were a hit. So if you are short on time and what something that'll impress everyone, these babies are the answer.

Cheater Cookie Butter Button Brownies

Makes 24 bite sized brownies

(Adapted from Baker Girl)

Ingredients:

1 box, Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix (16 oz.)

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (6 oz.)

2 large eggs

½ cup Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter or Biscoff spread

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. unsalted melted butter

extra butter for greasing 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together cookie butter, powdered sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl, until well combined and the consistency of cookie batter.

Roll cookie butter batter into balls about ¾ inch thick, making about 24 balls. Place balls on a parchment  lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes. Transfer to the fridge until ready to bake brownies.

Grease a 8x11x2 baking dish with extra butter, up the sides and all over the bottom.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan, stirring often and brown butter until it smells nutty then immediately take off heat and transfer to a heat safe bowl. Cool slightly before using.

In a large bowl combine butter and eggs until creamy. While mixing stir in brownie mix a little at a time into just combined.

Pour wet brownie mix into the prepared pan in a smooth layer. Carefully press cookie balls into the brownie mix, evenly four in a row and six across so balls are still sticking out of the batter but haven’t touched the bottom of pan.

Bake pan for 20-25 minutes until brownie batter has risen to the level of the balls and is set in the center when tested with toothpick.

Allow brownies to cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Once brownies are cooled cut into bite sized squares around each cookie ball.

Enjoy!