Flourless Double Chocolate Cookies

I am a self-admitted chocoholic (*yep, chocoholic is a real word! Who knew?!?).  I love dark chocolate desserts (see here and here) and honestly, the more chocolate the better!  Recently I developed a new cookie recipe, that might be my favorite cookie recipe to date.  Why?  It's easy to make, requires very few ingredients, can potentially be made to be Gluten Free and definitely hits the spot when I am having a serious chocolate craving.  This recipe can best be described as "cookie meets brownie."  Served with a scoop of ice cream, these cookies will be the perfect dessert to serve at my next dinner party. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 5 Real Egg Whites (*Not egg white substitute)
• 1 1/2 Tbs Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Mini or Regular)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move oven rack to top third position in oven
2. In a large bowl combine sugar, cocoa powder and salt
3. Add Chocolate chips to dry mixture and stir
4. Add egg whites and vanilla extract to bowl
5. With a fork, mix bowl contents until just combined (do not over mix)
6. Scoop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet
7. Bake on top rack for 10-12minutes
8. Remove from oven, allow 5-10minutes to cool, serve and enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Toffee with Smoked Maldon Salt

Today's recipe is a spin on the classic Saltine Toffee Recipe.  This is a dessert that great to have on hand for summer entertaining, because it keeps really well and I recommend serving it straight out of the freezer.  Cold chocolate on a hot summer day? Um, yes please!!  

This recipe also makes for a great hostess gift-- simply wrap up a portion of the recipe in cellophane paper, tie with a pretty ribbon and add a thoughtful gift tag.  Easy, quick and delicious, whats not to love about this perfectly balanced sweet and salty dessert?!?

Ingredients

• 34 Degree Natural Crisps
• 1 Stick of Butter
• 1 cup of Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Bag of Mini Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• Smoked Maldon Sea Salt

*Not sure where to find 34 Degree Crisps in your area?  Try their new Crisp Locator App.  This tool maps out the location of every flavor crisp in your area and maps the proximity to your home.  So fabulous!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit
2. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with a non-stick cooking spray (ex. Pam)
3. Assemble a slightly overlapping layer of 34 Degree Natural Crisps on the bottom of the jelly roll pan and set aside
4. In a small sauce pot, add butter and brown sugar on medium-high heat and stir contents intermittently using a high heat spatula
5. Once the butter/sugar mixture (toffee) has melted together and comes to a rolling bubble, remove from heat and pour over crackers
6. Use a spatula to smooth out toffee mixture evenly over crackers, then place in the oven for 5 minutes
7. Once the toffee is done baking, begin to melt the chocolate in 30 second increments using a microwave safe bowl in the microwave
8. Stir chocolate after every 30 seconds of cooking until completely melted (about a minute and 20 seconds)
9. Pour melted chocolate over toffee crackers and spread evenly
10. Sprinkle top of chocolate with Smoked Maldon Sea Salt and allow to cool for 30 minutes before  moving to the freezer 
11. Once frozen break off rustic pieces (using your hands) and serve

Smoked Salmon Platter

Today's post is relatively short, however I loved this idea so of course I felt the need to share my latest entertaining creation with you all.  Assembling a smoked salmon platter is easy to do and can be used when entertaining almost any time of day.  With the hot summer months just kicking off, this deliciously chilled platter couldn't be more perfect to serve.  Below I have listed the ingredients used to create this spread as well as resources for all of the suggested entertaining accessories.  There is always so much to do when prepping for a party or even a small gathering, why not serve something that only requires assembly and allows your guests to customize their dish according to their own palette preferences. 

Ingredients

• Smoked Salmon
• Lemon
• Red Onion
• Hard Boiled Egg
• Fresh Dill
• Fresh Chives
• Capers
• Caper Berries
• Creme Fraiche 
• 34 Degrees Natural Crisps
• Toast Points

Entertaining Accessories

• Serving Platter
• Small Sugar Tongs
• Spreaders
• Small Bowl
• Appetizer/Salad Plates
• Caspari Cocktail Napkins
• Cocktail Forks

Smoked Salmon happens to be one of my dad's favorite foods, so I surprised my dad with this platter on Father's Day.  He was thrilled! I especially loved the fact that even though I was outside of my element (my own home with all of my entertaining essentials), a spread like this one was easy to put together. Using standard serving pieces and fresh/high quality ingredients, a smoked salmon platter is a great entertaining staple to add to your repertoire.   

Popcorn Made 3 Ways

My husband and I have always enjoyed a good bag of popcorn while watching a movie at home, but I was never a fan of the fact that I couldn't control all of the ingredients going into my popcorn.  A few years back, my husband and I decided to get a Hot Air Popcorn Maker.  At the time, I wasn't sure if we would end up using the popcorn maker often enough to justify the purchase.  I thought that maybe we would have popcorn every once in a while, but that would be the extent of our popcorn adventures.  

While shopping at Williams-Sonoma for cookware one day, I was offered a sample of popcorn by an associate.  It was the most deliciously spicy piece of popcorn!  I had to know how it was made and the associate shared with me that it had come from their Chipotle Spicy Rub (that was typically used for meats).  Brilliant!  I bought the spiced rub and Chipotle Popcorn quickly became our go-to snack of choice.  

Over time my curiosity for new popcorn flavor combinations has continued to grow and I have come up with a variety of flavor combinations.  Today I am sharing  3 of my favorite flavor combinations that are delicious and easy to make.  While there is nothing better than a classic bowl of popcorn, these 3 flavor combinations are certainly tasty alternatives.  

Cinnamon Toast Popcorn

Ingredients

• 1/2c Popcorn kernels
• 4Tbs Butter
• 1 Bag White Chocolate Chips (Mini or Regular)
• 1/4c Powdered Sugar
• 1/4c Caster Sugar
• 1 1/2tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• Pinch of Kosher Salt

Instructions

1. Pop kernels in air popper and set aside in a large bowl
2. In a second bowl, combine both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside
3. In a small sauce pan, melt down butter, add white chocolate chips and stir until mixture is completely melted together
4. Remove from heat, pour white chocolate over popcorn, mix to combine
5. Add sugar mixture to popcorn and mix to combine
6. Spread the popcorn mixture out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil to dry for 30 minutes
7. Serve and enjoy

Parmesan, Parsley and Truffle Oil Popcorn

Ingredients

• 1/2c Popcorn (Freshly Popped)
• 1 Tbs White Truffle Oil
• 1/2c Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3c Chopped Parsley
• 1/2 tsp Maldon Sea Salt

Instructions

1. Pop kernels in an air popper
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with popcorn

Chipotle Popcorn

Ingredients

• 1/2c Popcorn (Freshly Popped)
• 2tsp Chipotle Seasoning
• Olive Oil (Bottle is fine, but spray olive oil works best)
• Pinch of Maldon Smoked Sea Salt (*to taste)

Instructions

1. Pop kernels in an air popper
2. Lightly spray (or drizzle) olive oil over the top of popcorn
3. Sprinkle 1tsp of Chipotle Rub and mix contents
4. Lightly spray top of popcorn again with olive oil
5. Sprinkle second teaspoon of Chipotle Rub and mix contents
6. Garnish with Smoked Maldon Sea Salt to taste

June Kitchen Tools

This month's list of kitchen tools are unexpectedly delightful finds that I have actually used quite a bit this month for an array of recipes.  I love that all three tools are multi-purpose and cost under $30 (double yay!).  So while this month's selection may seem random, I have found these tools to be extremely helpful and very practical when working in the kitchen.   Without further adieu, I give you June's "Motley Crew." 

OXO Non-Stick Pizza Cutter

Over the past few months I have found myself making more pizzas  and bread doughs at home.  I am a huge fan of using my Emile Henry Baking Stone for cooking pizzas and breads, but had become frustrated with the plating/serving process.  I know it's ok to cut on the baking stone, but in an effort to keep my lovely stone looking pristine, I would rather not. In addition, if I were using one of my non-stick cookie sheets instead of the stone then I wouldn't even entertain the idea of cutting on the surface of the sheet. However, my tune has recently changed with my recent discovery of the OXO Non-Stick Pizza Wheel!  This pizza wheel is non-stick, sharp as can be, safe to use on non-stick surfaces, dishwasher safe and at a cost of $13 how could I resist not owning one?!? 

Microplane Box Grater

When I was creating my wedding registry, I tried to be as thoughtful and practical as possible when it came to the items that I selected.  I wanted quality products that would last, but at the same time I didn't want to select items that would create unnecessary clutter.  Prior to registering, I already owned the Microplane Rasp Grater, which was fabulous for zesting citrus and grating nutmeg.  For those of you who may not be familiar with the world of microplanes, they are fabulous tools that come in more than a dozen grating options.  In an effort to stick with my registry mantra of quality with minimal clutter, I opted to register for the Microplane Box Grater and I am so glad that I did!  The box grater offers 4 microplanes in 1!  You can grate onions and blocks of cheese, zest citrus, shave chocolate and even slice potatoes and apples with uniformity!  Recently Microplane came out with a new version of their box grater (here), but you can still find the older model that I have pictured above at a reduced price (here)!  Of course I have to note my favorite bonus feature of the microplane box grater…it's dishwasher safe!!

Lodge 6.5 inch Cast Iron Skillet

This was a late addition to the list, but in light of the fact that I have had so much fun with my Lodge 6.5in Cast Iron Skillet over the past week (see post here and photos on my instagram page), I felt like it was a must for this month's kitchen tool post.  This little skillet cooks food very well, makes for a fabulously rustic presentation, can be used for a variety of dishes (hot dips, breakfast eggs and even a giant cookie!) AND this cast iron skillet is priced quite reasonably…$11!    

Chef's Table

This is really a public service announcement - Netflix has recently released a new documentary series, entitled Chef's Table,  profiling 6 highly decorated chefs from all walks of life.  It took me all of 5 minutes into watching the first segment to become completely hooked!  The cinematography is nothing short of superb and the show has received rave reviews from the likes of Bon Appetit,  Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.  Chef's Table will entertain both the foodie and non-foodie, plus it's a great weekend activity.  I highly recommend checking out this Netflix original series.  

**Apologies for the poor quality photo, taking pictures of television shows has never been a strength of mine.