chocolate Archives - Page 2 of 3

Sea Salt Brownies

August 18, 2015 by Jenna

I am excited about these sea salt brownies for many, many reasons.

First of all, these are brownies. I realize there is no need for reasons beyond that, but I have some extra to share.

Another reason is the sea salt. Sea salt and chocolate just belong together.

Then there is the fact that I basically haven’t baked in months, which is basically forever ago and far too long to go without baking. It felt so great to stir up this chocolatey batter.

Also, this is the inaugural recipe of the JK Hotel and the first thing I’ve baked in the Denver altitude! (side note: JK Hotel = Jenna/Katie residence = come visit!)

Aannnndddd I successfully baked these with my broken right wrist.

So yeah, exciting brownies! Eeeee alsdj aslj gaio qklgboan!!

The base of these sea salt brownies is the same as the one in these bacon nut bourbon brownies. Minus the bacon, nuts, and bourbon, but with sea salt and some dark chocolate chunks sprinkled on top.

There are a few different chocolates going on here: bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate chunks. All of these combine with some butter, flour, sugar, and eggs to make incredible brownies that are chocolatey and fudgey with that perfect hint of salt.

Just ridiculously amazing.

I hope you are as excited about these sea salt brownies as I am!

Sea Salt Brownies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Chocolatey, fudgey, gooey brownies with sea salt for extra deliciousness!

Serves: 9 large brownies

Ingredients

½ cup butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon course sea salt, plus extra for topping
3 ounces high quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used a Lindt dark chocolate bar with a touch of sea salt)

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the brownies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil.
Melt the butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler (a saucepan over a larger saucepan of boiling water) or in the microwave (heat for 30 seconds then stir, continuing this pattern until everything is melted).
Stir in the cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. The sugar should be completely dissolved.
Whisk in the chocolate mixture.
Stir in the flour and sea salt.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the chopped dark chocolate and more sea salt.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake! Brownies can be slightly underdone and gooey.

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Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread

May 23, 2015 by Jenna

Do you ever go to the grocery store and “accidentally” buy too many bananas so that you can either store the extra in the freezer or wait for them to over-ripen on your counter so that you can make banana bread?

No? Yes! No? Just me?

Well. I advise you to try it out. I also advise you to add dark chocolate chips and fresh raspberries to your grocery list, because this raspberry chocolate chip banana bread is so, so good and you’re going to want to make it.

So let’s do it!

First, we’ll gather the ingredients. The stars here are the bananas, raspberries, and dark chocolate chips. Obviously. But we’ll need some other things too – flour, baking soda, brown sugar, milk, and an egg. Also, we’re going to use Greek yogurt instead of butter. Not because we don’t love butter, but just because.

Next, mash up those beautiful, brown bananas. Mash them really, really good. We basically want them to be like liquid. Then stir in the brown sugar, egg, Greek yogurt, and milk until everything is super combined. Throw in the flour and baking soda and give the mixture a couple of stirs. Lumps and pockets of flour are a-ok. I realize that this will be hard for you perfectionists out there, but you can do it. Leave some imperfections. Fold in the chocolate chips and raspberries, being careful not to over stir. Finally, pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and place it in the oven.

In 50 minutes your kitchen will smell far too delicious and you’ll have an exquisite loaf of bread on your counter. This is happiness.

So much happiness that I had to give most of this loaf away. Which was really hard to do. Probably the hardest thing I had to do all week. Except for that 17 mile run yesterday. #strugglefest.

So yeah. What I’m trying to say is this stuff is really good. Basic banana bread and chocolate cacao nib banana bread are good too, but this chocolate chip raspberry banana bread is like really good.

Soooo… uh… make it. And eat it. And drink some coffee. And have a FANTASTIC Memorial Day weekend!!

Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour

This Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread is a snazzy version of regular banana bread. It's simple, a little bit healthy, and so, so very delicious with bursts of chocolate and raspberries.

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 ½ cups + 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 medium very ripe bananas
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk (any sort of milk will work: cow, almond, coconut, soy, etc)
1 pint raspberries
¾ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a small bowl combine the flour (just 1 ½ cups) and baking soda. Set aside.
In another small bowl toss the raspberries with the remaining 1 teaspoon of flour. Set aside.
In a large bowl mash the bananas until they are very, very mashed.
Whisk in the brown sugar, Greek yogurt, egg, and milk until they are thoroughly combined.
Stir in the flour. Lumps are ok.
Fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips, saving some to sprinkle on top.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with the remaining raspberries and chocolate chips.
Baked for 50-55 minutes.

PS- what are you doing for Memorial Day? I am headed up north to the cabin to hang out with my family for the weekend! So excited.

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Almond Joy Energy Bites – A Post on Minneapolis Running

April 15, 2015 by Jenna

Today I did a post over on Minneapolis Running! I wrote all about these amazing and delicious Almond Joy Energy Bites and the benefits of eating healthy fats.

All you need to make these Almond Joy Energy Bites are 6 ingredients (that you already probably have in your pantry!) and a food processor. They are simple to make and packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats. Not to mention, they are so, SO good!

Head over to Minneapolis Running to get the recipe –> Almond Joy Energy Bites Recipe

After checking out the recipe, make sure to poke around Minneapolis Running if you haven’t been there before. It’s a great resource to learn about running. I especially love this article about running with a heart rate monitor and this one about lactate threshold training. The site is also full of great information about running gear, running in Minneapolis, races, recipes, and lots of other interesting things, like City Running Tours for example.

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Cardamom Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 21, 2015 by Jenna

How do we make chocolate chip cookies better? Well, we can’t. It’s just a fact of life. But that’s ok. What we can do is make them different. We’re going to add cardamom and pistachios and we’re going to be very happy about it. Trust me on this.

(Side note: different does not mean better or worse, it just means different and different is still good.)

Cardamom Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yum.

According to my blog index I haven’t made cookies since December 15, but really it was probably at least a week before that. Ok, maybe there was that one time in January… But still, that’s just too many weeks without baking cookies. Eating cookies though, that I have for sure done since December 15 (quantities not to be discussed).

People at General Mills (AKA: the people I give most of my baked goods away to so that I don’t have to eat them all myself) were all like, “Hey Jenna, you haven’t brought in any cookies lately.” And I’m all like “Yeah, I know… weird. Perhaps, soon?” Then I promised I would bring in cookies to the next Twin Cities in Motion marketing committee meeting (which was this past Thursday).

So, cookies just needed to happen. I baked some. And then I ate some. And then I shared some. And then I ate one. And then I shared the rest. But I kept two for myself. And then everyone lived happily ever after.

Now I’m sharing the recipe with you so that you and those around you (assuming you share, not judging if you don’t) can be happy as well.

We take a basic, but delicious, chocolate chip cookie recipe with lots of butter and sugar and flour. Then we sneak a teaspoon of cardamom in with the dry ingredients and stir some pistachios in with the chocolate chips. We are also going to refrigerate the dough over night so that all these wonderful flavors can meld together.

You know what, let’s not even sneak in that cardamom. Let’s conspicuously add it and blatantly stir in those pistachios. No one likes sneaking around anyways.

If you don’t want to wait for the cookies to refrigerate overnight, you should probably work on your patience. But, I understand. When you want a cookie, you want a cookie. I feel you. You can go ahead and bake them right away if you want, I’m sure they will still be delicious. But just know that good things take time and you could be missing out on some even better cookies. #FOMO

We can compromise: bake a couple (example: 3) right away. Eat one straight from the oven. Eat one completely cooled. Give the last one to your significant other/best friend/cat/yourself. Let the rest of the dough sit overnight and bake them ALL the next day. You could even wait an entire 72 hours if you really wanted to.

But let’s be real, in whose fridge does cookie dough even last 72 hours?! A handful of carrots, a spoonful of cookie dough. A bunch of grapes, a bunch of cookie dough. This is why I bring cookies into work!

This recipe makes 3 ½ dozen cookies. 3 dozen if you taste test the dough a lot…

And then I ran 10 miles. And then I found $5.

Oh, and don’t forget to sprinkle on some sea salt after pulling them out of the oven. Game changer.

Cardamom Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

11 mins

Total time

26 mins

These cardamom pistachio chocolate chip cookies have all the deliciousness of regular chocolate chip cookies, but also some added flair from the cardamom and pistachios.

Serves: 3½ dozen

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips and pistachios (feel free to chop up the pistachios a bit).
Transfer dough to a sealed container and refrigerate for 24-72 hours.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons (or cookie scoop) on the cookie sheets, leaving an inch or two between each cookie.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the cookies, then let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

The more you let the dough soften after pulling it out of the fridge, then more they will spread in the oven.

cardamom pistachio chocolate chip cookies

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Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread

September 15, 2014 by Jenna

Let’s kick off this week with some bread. Brown bananas are a little bit ugly, but beautiful at the same time and filled with so much delicious potential! What to make, what to make… I was brainstorming as I watched these bananas slowly turn browner with each passing day. Then I decided: chocolate banana bread. With some cacao nibs. And a little bit of Greek yogurt. Delicious, yes?

Have you ever heard of or tried cacao nibs? They are basically pieces of cacao beans that have been chopped up and roasted. If you were to grind them up with some sugar you’d have chocolate! Cacao nibs themselves aren’t very sweet, but still have a light chocolate flavor to them. They also have a nice crunch, kind of like a roasted coffee bean. As an added bonus cacao nibs are pretty healthy. They are full of antioxidants as well as magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Plus, they can elevate your mood and give you an energy boost! Soooo… let’s eat some. My mom had given me some a while back to try, but I had stuck them in my cupboard and forgot about them. Out of sight, out of mind, you know? Then when I was in Costa Rica I came across some dark chocolate covered cacao nibs, which led me to remember the long-lost cacao nibs in my cupboard, which led me to buy the chocolate covered ones, which led me to want to make something delicious with them, which is now leading me to this bread with my brown bananas. Isn’t that a nice little chain of events? It led to such a delicious place.

This chocolate banana bread isn’t overly sweet. The melted butter and Greek yogurt give it the perfect level of moist-ness (is that a word?) and density. The cacao nibs add a nice crunch. You can have it for breakfast with some jam or, better yet, some almond butter. Or you could have it for a mid-day snack or a post-dinner dessert. Or you could just eat it all day, every day for the rest of your life, but I’ll let you make that decision.

So the next time you have some brown bananas on your counter staring you in the face, you should probably make this bread. You can track down cacao nibs (plain, chocolate covered, or both) in Costa Rica, but also Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s if that’s more convenient for you. If you aren’t interested in cacao nibs, that’s ok! You can replace them with chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or nothing at all.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Banana Bread

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

A delicious chocolate banana bread studded with cacao nibs. Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Author: Jenna Duesterhoeft

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
3 ripe bananas, mashed (~1-1 ½ cups)
¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup cacao nibs (I used a mix of plain and chocolate covered cacao nibs)

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Let is cool slightly.
Whisk in the eggs. Then add the brown sugar, bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
Add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined, being careful not to over mix.
Stir in the cacao nibs.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then take it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

I used a mix of plain and chocolate covered cacao nibs, but feel free to use one or the other.
The cacao nibs can be replaced with a mix of chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

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Fruit And Nut Chocolate Zinfandel Cookies

September 2, 2014 by Jenna

Some of my favorite things: fruit, chocolate, wine, nuts, cookies. I went ahead and combined them and these Fruit & Nut Chocolate Zinfandel Cookies were born.

I know, insane. But sometimes insane is a good thing.

You what else is insane? The fact that it is September already! How, how, how in the world did that happen? Did I accidentally hibernate all summer? Where did it go?

I guess I’ll cope by eating these cookies. Let me tell you, a very delicious coping mechanism.

I love summer, but I do really enjoy fall as well. The crisp air, the changing leaves, all the varieties of apples, boots and sweaters – so great. Also, the start of school. I always loved the first day of school. I’m a huge dork, but I just really enjoyed back-to-school shopping, school supply shopping, and the first day feeling. I should’ve bought new pens or something to bring into work today. Oh well. Next year.

Anyways, these cookies! Let’s talk more about them.

The base is a delicious chocolate drop cookie, but I added in a boost of flavor with some red wine. Why? Because chocolate and wine is always a good idea. And what else goes with chocolate and wine? Fruit and nuts, of course! So I threw those in as well. The nuts add a great texture and additional crunch to the cookies, whereas the dried fruit adds some sweetness.

Cheese also works very well with this combination, but I didn’t want to go completely overboard. I’ll save that for another day.

For the wine I used Redux Zinfandel from California, which I received in one of my Club W shipments. The recipe calls for a ½ cup of wine. ½ cup < 1 bottle, so pour yourself a glass.

Go ahead and have a glass while you bake and maybe another while you taste test. Then invite some girlfriends over to devour the cookies and drink more wine. Maybe you can serve some cheese with it too? Talk about how awesome the summer was and how great the lingering weeks of it will still be. Then start getting excited about fall and having Sunday fundays while pretending to watch football paying really close attention to football games.

That’s just a suggestion. Take it or leave it.

Baking these cookies, though. That is not a suggestion. Use them as a coping mechanism for the end of summer or as a celebration for the beginning of fall. Either way, you need these in your life. You deserve these in your life.

Fruit And Nut Chocolate Zinfandel Cookies

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

27 mins

Chocolate drop cookies with Zinfandel red wine, studded with chopped nuts and dried fruit - so many delicious things combined into one little cookie.

Author: Jenna Duesterhoeft

Serves: 36

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup red wine
1 cup mixed nuts, chopped
1 cup mixed dried fruit, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg, vanilla, and red wine. Beat for another minute.
Add in the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
Fold in the nuts and fruit.
Place scoops of cookie dough onto the prepared pans. Bake for 11-12 minutes, be careful not to overbake. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

You can use any red wine, dried fruit, and nuts that you have on hand. I used Zinfandel, a mix of dried cranberries and cherries, and a mix of almond and pecans.

Happy Tuesday. I hope you all had as amazing and relaxing of a Labor Day weekend as I did. I was actually fairly productive and finally created an index page. Check it out here.

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