Finally, something Tina likes! :-D

Meg and Tina

Tina loves sweets.  That girl can sock them away, yet still maintains her girlish figger.  I dunno how she does it - Of course, being 21 helps...A LOT.  In my own, sneaky, mom-ish way although I am not her mom, I'm still a mom to her best friend, so I sort of consider myself one of her "moms" but not the real mom.  There really should be a name for us - moms that saw their daughter's best friend grow up, get married, and become an adult, who cares for them, and loves them, not as much as their daughter mind you, but still with that "momish" sorta love you reserve for only a chosen few.  There are a couple more of Meg's friends I love that way, but I don't wanna play favorites, so I'll keep my mouth shut - I think she knows who :).  I try to get Tina to eat healthier by posting some recipes that look and taste yummy, that are super easy to make.  However, everyone needs something sweet once in a while.

I found this recipe on the Food Network courtesy of Ms Paula Deen - you know, that southern charmer from GA who makes all those wonderfully, sinfully, fattening, bad-for-you-but-oh-so-good desserts.  She shouldn't have a cooking show, she should have a baking show.  That woman is a wonder.  So, this recipe is based on hers, I give her mayjah props - Family declared three thumbs up and they each have only two, and hubby could not have said it better when he muttered "This cake is TOO good" as he cut another slice.
It's chock full of pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, and is more like a blondie.  The coconut really brings out the chewiness in this cake, and my son who assiduously picks every nut he can find out of every piece of cake/brownie he eats scarfed it down without a crumb remaining, since the pecans sort of just blend in.  And please don't say "PEE-cans".  That's something guys use on a long trip.  It's "peh-KAHNs."

Utterly Decadent Blondies (with major props to Miss Paula)
Printable recipe HERE

serves about 12, depending on how many pieces everyone takes :)

2 cups of granulated sugar
3 tbs. molasses
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups pecans, chopped
12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate mini chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, cream the molasses, sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter until light and well combined. Ms. Deen used brown sugar, but I love the subtle flavor that molasses gives.  Don't be afraid to buy a bottle.  It stays good for EVER. 

3.  You can now put the mixer away, and add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.  Batter will be very thick, almost cookie like, but not quite.

4.  Fold in coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips until well combined.  Did I mention the batter will be thick? I think I did. 

5.  Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted through the middle comes out clean. 

Don't overcook this, or you'll have tough blondies.  Better to err on the side of slightly gooey than totally overdone.  

6.  Remove from oven, and while the cake is still hot, sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chips on top, and when they melt, swirl lightly to either cover the cake, or make a pattern.  Cool the cake completely in the pan before cutting it into squares.

 If you are a super chocoholic, you can spread a can of chocolate frosting over the top while still warm, and throw ALL the chips INTO the batter.  That would be really, really, reeeeealllly chocolately bordering on one of the seven deadly sins - gluttony.  If you want to go over the edge and plunge right in, use Grandma T's Chocolate Icing recipe I blogged about earlier.

The other way to serve this that is absolutely sublime is with a scoop of Sweet Cream ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.  Girrrllll....your hips will be screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" but your taste buds will slap them silly and put them in their place.  It's so good it'll make you slap yo' granma away from the table.  Fer real.

The Great Chocolate Tasting Frenzy! (Chocolate part 3)

8 bars.  3 people.  Multiple glasses of water, and handfuls of blueberries.  Yes, it's the post I promised...I bought 8 bars of chocolate, and corralled my kids into tasting them with me.  Some are good, most were bad...my point is I think companies put weird stuff into chocolate because people will buy it if it's "avant-garde" enough, and I wonder how many actually LIKE the products they are selling??

the chocolate

the judges

I am going to note how the company describes their chocolate, and then give you the "real" deal.  Of course, please realize these are subjective results - I am sure there are people out there that LOVE the ones we hated, so please don't take it personally - take it more as constructive criticism.

Also...about the judges - You know from "Chocolate part one" that I LOVE dark chocolate.  I'll chow down on a 70% bar if it's good.  I feel I'm adventurous, willing to try new things, have an open mind, and I always try to be objective.  If I love something, I am enthusiastic about it - my daughter says too much so, but hey, I want to share the good news with the world!  My son Ben, loves all things chocolate.  He's phlegmatic, easy going, mellow.  Nothing really bothers him, unless his sister punches him in the arm with her pitching arm with the knuckle extended.  Then he gets ticked.  He has an adventuresome palate, because he good naturedly puts up with my experiments in the kitchen, and rarely gives me a thumbs down.  He loves just about everything.  My daughter Meg is the more pragmatic of the bunch.  Organized, overly analytical, yet genuinely optimistic.  A dichotomy.  I think her palate is the same.  She loves gummi anythings, has a sweet tooth, but doesn't like to eat unhealthy foods.  She could easily become a vegetarian.  She's a grazer, where Ben is a gobbler.  Meg likes just about anything as well, and is always willing to try a new dish...Oh...and she doesn't "like" dark chocolate (you will notice that will change by the end of this series)

THE RESULTS: *drum roll* 

Green & Black's Maya Gold - They write: “Traditionally, the Maya Indians in southern Belize flavored their cocoa with spices. We recapture this by blending rich, dark chocolate with a refreshing twist of orange that is perfectly balanced by the warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of vanilla.”

What it really should have said: "If you like the smell of flowers, you'll love this chocolate bar.  Don't expect to taste any vanilla or cinnamon - there is a bit of orange and nutmeg for you to savor, but expect a bitter aftertaste."

It would be nice if you could really taste everything that is supposedly in this chocolate bar. We were all put off by the smell – it smelled like flowers. The only thing we could all taste was a bit of nutmeg, orange, and some flowery flavor. No cinnamon, no vanilla. Bitter aftertaste. The flavor wasn’t as bad as we expected – it didn’t taste like it smelled, but we all disliked the aftertaste.

Nirvana Organic Dark Spicy Chocolate Bar - They write: "Ready for some spice? Decadent dark Belgian chocolate (72% cocoa) with chili, almonds, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. This bar is VEGAN."

What it really should have said: "Hey, we know how much you vegans enjoy sacrifice, because you obviously don't eat meat or dairy, so your food life must be boring.  Have some of our chocolate to round out your tasteless diet"

Now...before I get any vegans jumping into my stuff - *I* know you guys don't have a boring diet - Vegetables/legumes/nuts, etc...can be FUN and FLAVORFUL...but this chocolate isn't.  And it appears they are trying to attract the vegans with that declaration - ummm...last time I looked, *all* dark chocolate bars were vegan, unless they had hrm..hard boiled eggs, or cheese in them.  Why make it sound like just yours are?  This bar smelled like chocolate,  kinda tasted like chocolate, but was unanaimously declared rather tasteless by all three judges. There was chocolate flavor, but no cinnamon, no nutmeg (which is usually a predominant spice) no vanilla, no chili.  I think Meg saw a couple flecks of almond in her piece. Sorry, but it wasn't "Nirvana" for us.

Theo Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate - “Milk chocolate with toasted coconut and savory curry spices.”

Ummm...ok...We all began to get worried when I opened the package and the smell of curry hit us like a bug hits a windshield.  SPLAT. I even noticed some yellow curry discoloration on the wrapping paper.  Rut Roh, re in rubble Raggy (as Scooby Doo says)...But...we all took a piece and gamely went on with our testing.  Meg and I spit it out.  Ben said it was "spicy chocolate" - however, we all agreed that the curry powder just overwhelmed the chocolate.  We all love curry (as you can probably tell from my old blog site post) the kids grew up on it, so it's not a taste thing.  I'm sorry to say it was not in my mouth long enough to let you know if there was an aftertaste, etc...You can see coconut flecks, but can't taste it.  Don't let the pretty label fool you.  The contents don't match the packaging. 

Lindt Excellence Chili Bar - “Excellence Chili is an exceptional and entirely new taste experience combining Lindt's finest aromatic dark chocolate with the well balanced spice of premium red chili.”

What it really should have said: "If you like milk chocolate, you'll love this dark chocolate bar, especially if you like it sweet."

This was a very sweet chocolate bar.  It tasted like a cross between milk and dark chocolate - None of us tasted the chili - however, after I finished my piece, I did have a slight burning sensation in my throat - my kids didn't - Meg hates anything spicy, she definitely would have noticed the Chili - I'm not sure if I had a piece with some chili powder in it, and she didn't, not sure.  But it was not picante enough, sorry Lindt.  However, it did taste like chocolate, which is a positive :)

I think that's enough Chocolate for tonight - Tomorrow we'll do Chocolate Part 4 - Up for review are:  Newmans, Salazon, another Theo chocolate, and MacaSure (this one made me laugh - you'll see why tomorrow) allin tuta as they say in the Inca language (that's a hint)