Chocolate – Page 2 – Long Distance Baking

Sure, fall means pumpkin spice everything, but fall also means FOOTBALL! We’re pretty big football fans here at LDB. Kelly is a USC alum (fight on!) and Steph went to Boise State (go broncos!) so football games are a fall tradition for us. The tailgating…

Why is it that I always seem to make holiday themed treats after the holiday has passed?? In my defense, I actually made this cake for St. Patrick’s Day, I just didn’t post it in time. Clearly since it’s June… but hey, we can look…

If your Pinterest feed is anything like mine, you’ve seen protein and energy bites all over it for months. Kelly made a haystack version of them and my fiancé even got an email from Golf Digest with a recipe for some. As usual, I’m behind the times and just now got around to making some.

I have a horrible sweet tooth, so even though these bites are “healthy”…I need them to taste like they’re not. You also know I have an obsession with all things peanut butter, which is why I decided to go the pb + chocolate route.

The bites can easily be adjusted to what you have on hand. I may have gotten a little carried away with the chia seeds and the coconut and the almonds and the…who am I kidding. More is always better!

I love one or two of these as an afternoon snack. They’re sweet enough I feel like I’m getting a treat (think like a no bake cookie) but the protein helps make sure I stay satisfied until dinner. Not to mention they’re super quick and easy to whip up! These will definitely be staying in the regular recipe rotation.

~Stephanie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bites

1 c oatmeal
1/2 c unsweetened coconut
1/4 c chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 c protein powder
2/3 c peanut butter
1/3 c honey

In large mixing bowl, combine oatmeal, coconut, chopped nuts, chia seeds, cocoa powder and protein powder.
In microwave safe bowl, heat peanut butter and honey for about 15-20 seconds until it starts to melt. Stir together.
Pour melted peanut butter and honey mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir until combined (I found it easiest to mix by hand here).
*note* If mixture is too dry, add a little more honey or peanut butter; if too wet, add a little more oatmeal
Roll into bite size balls and place on parchment lined baking tray. Refrigerate until firm.
Transfer bites to an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Today we have a guest post by Kelly’s friend, Anna! She made this amazing Valentine’s Chocolate Cake for her boyfriend over the weekend and it was a hit! Anna and Kelly were in the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority together at USC. She currently lives in Seattle,…

It’s hard to believe that 2015 is over and what a year it has been! Here are some highlights of the past year for LDB, starting with the one that will make 2016 even more memorable! Life Highlights Post: I’m Engaged!!! Steph gets engaged to…

Peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Whiskey and water. Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez (even though I’m the only one still rooting for them). Celine Dion and Las Vegas. Buster Posey and the Giants. USC and football. Nutella and everything. Steph and Matt. Me and Niall Horan (my One Direction obsession is shining through right now and I’m totally ok with that…). Ok maybe not that last one, unfortunately, but some things are just meant to be.

Chocolate and peppermint is one such pairing. Especially around the holidays.

About two years ago I developed a terrible habit that took a toll on my waistline and my wallet. I would get a tall Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks regularly. As in once a week. As in maybe twice a week. Well if we’re being honest, more like three times a week… with the occasionally fourth on the weekends. Oops!

That isn’t the case anymore. My pants got a little snug and I now pay rent so there goes the excess spending but I still treat myself to one occasionally and love any peppermint/chocolate dessert combo!

These cookies are adapted from the cookie portion of the German Chocolate Cake Cookies. They’re easy to make and great for travel so they’re the perfect cookie for the Food Blogger Cookie Swap! Steph and I participated in the swap last year and throughout the year I’ve been thinking of what kind of cookie to make this year. The chocolate/peppermint combo was just calling my name. I received some amazing cookies this year and can’t wait to participate next year! Hope you enjoy 🙂

-Kelly

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies (I used Andes peppermint)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In mixer, mix together butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs.
In separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture until dough forms. Mix in peppermint candies.
Using a tablespoon, form dough into a ball and place on baking sheet 1 inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and let cool.

For the past few months, my fiancé Matt has been asking me to make “black and white cookies, you know…like at the grocery store!” With a description like that, I know you’ll be surprised to hear I had no idea what he was talking about.…

I’m going to preface by saying that I have never had German Chocolate Cake so I can’t say how much these taste like an actual German Chocolate Cake but I can say they are delicious! And super easy to make too! It’s no secret how…

I consider it a win that I did not eat Halloween candy for breakfast today. Unfortunately, I’m sure my continual snacking on it throughout the day is just as worse. Those mini kit-kats are just so addicting!! Tomorrow I will try to be better…
You see, I suffer from Severe Sweet Tooth and Zero Will Power Syndrome. Sufferers from SSTZWPS always want something sweet and whenever faced with sweets, have a hard time saying no. We can never eat just one cookie, we’ll go back and nibble until they are all gone. It’s a real thing, ask my entire family.

I’m willing to bet a lot of people suffer from this as well and just don’t want to admit it. I was there once too. But as they say, step one is admitting you have a problem.

Step two is make a pie.

Yes, you read that right. You see, this disease means it’s virtually impossible to say no to sweets. So instead of eating Halloween candy every day until it’s all gone, you can just make a Halloween candy bar pie, adapted from my Aunt Teri’s delicious Candy Bar Pizza! This way you can use up all your remaining Halloween candy and share the pie with friends so you aren’t stuck eating it all!
It’s the only known cure. Make dessert, eat a piece, then give away the rest before you eat it all. Trust me it works… sorta! Enjoy!

-Kelly

Ingredients:

Cookie dough, any kind (I used chocolate chip cookie dough sans chocolate chips)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp peanut butter, (heaping tbsp!)
Halloween candy, chopped in small pieces

Directions:

Make desired cookie dough and press into pie pan. Bake according to directions. You can use store bought dough or if you want to make some from scratch, check out these recipes here, here or here.
While the dough is cooking, unwrap and chop Halloween candy you want to use.
Once dough is cooled, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in microwave for 30 second intervals. Stir in between until melted together.
Spread melted chocolate chip/pb combo on top of the cookie pie.
Sprinkle the Halloween candy on top. Let set for a few hours until the chocolate chip/pb combo hardens. Enjoy!

It’s hard to believe that Halloween is tomorrow. I feel like I’m just now getting used to it being 2015 and we only have two months left in the year! I love Halloween! And although I can’t remember the last time I actually dressed up for…