Cool and Creamy

Today I'm just going to pass along a cool and creamy treat I came across awhile ago, Frozen Hot Chocolate. My hubby loves it, and it's relatively uncomplicated. It's cool, creamy, and satisfying. A nice frosty treat for a warm spring evening. Enjoy!

Frozen Hot Chocolate (original recipe found here)

• 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 1 package Hot Cocoa Mix (about 3 Tablespoons)
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• ⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• ⅓ cups White Chocolate Chips
• 12 ounces, fluid Can Evaporated Milk, Divided
• 4-½ cups Ice
• Whipped Cream, To Taste
• Mini Marshmallows, To Taste

Combine sugar, cocoa mix, and butter in the top of a double boiler that is set over gently boiling water. Stir often until melted and a smooth paste forms. Add semi-sweet & white chocolate chips; stir. When chips begin to melt, slowly stir in 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Combine the chocolate base mixture, the remaining evaporated milk and ice in a blender (you can do this in batches) and cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into frosty glasses. Top each with whipped cream. Sprinkle with additional chopped chocolate chips & mini marshmallows, if desired.

My house smells like Buttermilk Banana Bread...

As you may know, ever since we moved to Colorado, I've had an epic battle raging with the altitude. Nothing that should come out really does. Recipes that have never given me a moment's trouble, suddenly refuse to rise. Cookies spread, cakes fall, breads remain dreadfully dense. You get the idea. One thing I've had particular trouble with is finding a good banana bread recipe. I love myself a great piece of banana bread, so I've been really bummed by this.

But guess what? I've finally won a round! I found a banana bread recipe that is to die for. And it doesn't fall and get all gooey and weird...yesssss! Score one for me! We won't talk about what Altitude's current score is...


This banana bread is lighter in both color and texture than most. I love the golden crust it develops, as well as the delicate interior. It's fluffy and delightful. Mmmm.

Buttermilk Banana Bread, from Two Peas and Their Pod

Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium sized bananas)
4 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1. Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 X 5 1/4-inch) or whatever combination of pans you’d like. I used a mini loaf pan and a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 loaf pan. You can also make banana muffins with this recipe, if you wish. Set pans aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla until the batter is well mixed.

3. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Divide batter into greased and floured pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Let bread cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the bread with a knife and carefully remove from pan. Finish cooling on rack. Slice and serve once cooled.

Uh, yum!

So I'm gonna keep this short. I may have found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's so beyond good. It has a deep toffee flavor, because of the extra brown sugar in the recipe, and it has a very delicate salty background, due to the sea salt instead of table salt. I love it. They did come out a little flat, most likely due to the altitude, but they were still deliciously chewy. Love them. Try them out sometime!



*Recipe taken from Savory Sweet Life blog*



Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour

3/4 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. *When using sea salt, you will get small crunchy flecks of salt when you bite into the cookie. If you do not like this taste, go with 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips *I realized grocery stores sell bags of chocolate chips in 12 oz bags but this recipe really needs every last chip. Otherwise you’ll get cookies with only a few chips in each one and this recipe requires lots of chocolate to bulk the cookie up. You’ll need about 1 1/2 bags.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes on medium-high speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!