This Week for Dinner is officially FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. Happy 15th birthday, Blog! To celebrate I have a gift for you all: Gram Maynard’s Homemade Hot Fudge Recipe. This recipe was a big part of the beginning of this journey…

When I started the blog 15 years ago, I only had one child, blogs weren’t a thing, and I had an old iMac Nate found at work to use in the kitchen (I truly had no idea why I would use a computer in the kitchen). My good camera was a film camera, so I used a point-and-shoot digital camera for the blog (please do not judge the early photography on the blog, it’s mortifying). The blog began with a list of dinners I made on a regular basis and a few weekly menus to share with my brother, who was still in college. 

Then I noticed a curious thing – people were actually visiting the blog. I decided to design a logo, spruced up my free Blogger blog, and asked friends to share the link with other friends. I promised those who shared a copy of Gram Maynard’s homemade hot fudge recipe. They were asked to not publish the recipe anywhere. It was our little secret. 

Fast forward to today. I have three children (the youngest of which is TEN), I’m a professional food writer and photographer, I am now an excellent recipe writer, I received all kinds of work over the years through the blog, I met all kinds of people and had crazy amazing experiences, I started a podcast, and I am still posting my weekly dinner menu. Most importantly, you are still here sharing your menus and cooking right alongside with me. I’ve experienced ups and downs personally and, through it all, my family still had to eat. I may not have always been cooking because, well, life. But every week the community on this blog kept the food game going. I have been oh so grateful.

So…thank you. And to show my thanks, I am finally publicly sharing Gram’s homemade hot fudge recipe! She was such a giver, it’s what she would have wanted anyway. To be honest, it’s good for you I waited 15 years because it’s written much better than it was back when I was secretly emailing it to friends. 

Funny enough, I cannot find my DSLR camera charger, so today’s photographs are done with the modern version of a point-and-shoot, my iPhone. I will probably come back and reshoot this recipe once that damn battery is charged because, man, there’s nothing like a real camera.

While today is a celebration of 15 years as well as decadent chocolate, I am of course posting my weekly menu! You know the drill…share your menu in the comments below! 

A note on this recipe: Gram had a few “ors” throughout the recipe, where you could kind of choose which ingredients you wanted to use. I have settled on my choice of ingredients and am sharing my version of the recipe. Also, the heating instructions in the recipe are important for texture, so take your time and follow the directions. This truly is my favorite hot fudge sauce ever. Nothing else ever compares. (Thank you, Gram. I miss you every day.)

Gram Maynard's Homemade Hot Fudge

 

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Homemade recipe for hot fudge from Barbara "Gram" Maynard, one of the best humans to walk this planet. We miss you, Gram.

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 5 ounces evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed small or medium pot, melt butter and baking chocolate over medium-low heat.
2. Keeping the heat at medium-low, whisk in the sugar and evaporated milk. Sift the cocoa powder into the pot and whisk thoroughly.
3. Raise heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking almost constantly.
4. Raise heat to medium-high and whisk constantly until mixture is boiling and sugar is completely dissolved, which will take ~ 2-5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Mix in salt and vanilla.
7. Serve over ice cream, bread pudding, fresh strawberries, or whatever you like rich amazing chocolate served on.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator.
Makes around 3 cups.

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MONDAY:

• Naan Pizza

TUESDAY:

• Indian Butter Chicken
• Roasted cauliflower
• Lentils

WEDNESDAY:

• Rigatoni with Italian Sausage in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

THURSDAY:

• Leftovers

FRIDAY:

• Rachel Sandwiches

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Super Bowl Sunday! Menu TBD with our friends and family, but for sure we will have Mexican 7-Layer Dip, Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Chex Mix

Looking forward to seeing your dinner plans for the week! As always, thank you for sharing and for being here!

Before I get to today’s recipe, how have I never used the phrase “Jane’s Addiction” on the blog before?!?! Speaking of Jane’s Addiction, I have a new one. (How’s that for a segue?) Okay, so now that I am not eating wheat and peanuts and almonds and dairy and shellfish and apples and cucumbers and basically have become one of those annoying people with too many dietary needs, I am exploring all kinds of great cookbooks for new inspiration. Nate’s cousin Amanda, who is on a low-FODMAP diet, recommended a book called The Low-FODMAP Diet for Beginners. I have already tried a few recipes and flagged about 20 more to try, and so far every recipe is a winner. Today I’m sharing one of them with you, the peanut-butter energy balls. Except I can’t eat peanuts. So I changed it to cashew butter. And made some other changes to the recipe. So actually I’m sharing a recipe for cashew energy bites and not peanut-butter energy balls. 

These cashew energy bites are not just Jane’s Addiction but Anna’s Addiction and Nate’s Addiction, too. (You’re welcome for the cool band name ideas.) They are super easy to make, pretty darn wholesome, completely plant based, gluten free, and only have 2-3 grams of sugar per bite. Seriously, these little cashew energy bites are the best. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cashew Energy Bites

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Adapted from a recipe for Peanut-Butter Energy Balls in the book "The Low-FODMAP Diet for Beginners" by Mollie Tunitsky

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 20 bites

Ingredients

• 1½ cup rolled oats
• 2 generous tablespoons chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (if you use kosher, use a little less than ¼ tsp)
• ⅔ cup cashew butter
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a blender or food processor, add the oats, chocolate chips, cocoa powder and sea salt. Pulse until the oats and chocolate chips have been broken down. If you like your bites chunkier, pulse less! If you want things finer, pulse more! I go for a coarsely ground mixture.
2. Combine the dry ingredients with the cashew butter, syrup and vanilla in a mixing bowl, stirring to combine thoroughly.
3. Form bites into 1 tablespoon sized balls, place on a cookie sheet, and flatten them out with wet fingers so you have nice thick discs. Refrigerate until firm and store in the refrigerator.

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Recently I had to go super clean with my eating. There were a few weeks where I couldn’t eat any sugar, dairy or wheat. It ended up being easier than I thought it would be (no, really), but it has been nice to slowly add those ingredients back into my diet here and there. But now that I’ve made these positive changes to my diet, I would really like to maintain those changes. As a result, I’ve started looking at some of my favorite recipes and thinking about how I can modify them. One of the first recipes to go through a makeover was my beloved Chewy Chocolate Chip Homemade Granola Bar recipe. First I made the recipe gluten free and reduced the sugar by about 3 grams per bar. Then I took it a step further, which brings us to today’s recipe for homemade chocolate granola bars.

When I was working on reducing the amount of sugar in my original granola bar recipe, I was surprised by how much sugar was coming from the chocolate chips. I wanted to be able to take out the chocolate chips but still get a good chocolate fix. By removing the chocolate chips and adding cocoa powder to the granola bar, we still get that delicious chocolate flavor with even less sugar. I tried it and it totally worked.

This recipe for homemade chocolate granola bars is awesome. My original recipe is a bit more chewy, but the texture on these chocolate bars is fantastic, a little chewy as well as a little crispy, and they don’t fall apart at all. The flavor is wonderful – I think I might even like these better than the original chocolate chip bars, which is really saying something. This recipe is gluten free and each bar contains about 8 grams of sugar, which is 5-6 grams less per bar than my original recipe. Woohoo!

Please note that if you do not need the bars to be gluten free, you can in fact use regular all-purpose flour as a substitute for the oat flour. But if you want to go gluten free, stick with the recipe below using oat flour.

Without further ado I give you Homemade Chocolate Granola Bars!

Homemade Chocolate Granola Bars (Gluten Free)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled old-fashioned oats (make sure label says gluten free)
• 1 cup brown crisped rice cereal
• ½ cup shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons oat flour (make sure label says gluten free)
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• Generous ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
2. Combine oats, crisped rice, coconut, brown sugar, oat flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix well.
3. Combine coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Whisk well. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. (Stir. Stir some more. Keep stirring!)
4. Line a large cooke sheet with parchment paper. Pour granola bar mixture onto the lined cookie sheet. Press mixture out into a large, uniform rectangle, about 9" x 13" (which will be smaller than the pan, you do not push the granola all the way to the edges of the pan). It is easiest to form the rectangle if your hands are wet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate pan and bake for 14-15 more minutes.
6. Cool completely before cutting. Cut into 24 bars, 8 rows x 3 columns.

Notes

The coconut oil can be solid or liquid - whatever it happens to be sitting in your cupboard is fine!
If you do not need these to be gluten free, regular all-purpose flour can be substituted for oat flour with the same measurement.

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Chewy Homemade Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
• Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Granola Bars

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• OXO Wooden Spoon Set
• OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set with Handles
• Aluminum Half Sheet Pan
• Parchment Paper Sheets
• Kitchenaid Measuring Cups and Spoons

Each year for my birthday Nate buys me a cake called the Viking from Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego. I’m pretty sure this cake was the actual ambrosia of the gods on Mt. Olympus. IT IS SO GOOD. Also, I will never make this cake in its entirety. I have the Extraordinary Desserts cookbook (now out of print) and the cake requires SIX(!!!!!) separate recipes in order to make the entire thing. Yeah, not gonna happen. I am perfectly happy waiting for September to roll around each year in order to indulge in the goodness that is the Viking.

That said, for Nate’s birthday I wanted to make something decadent and delicious. I decided to cut down the original Viking recipe and just use three of the elements, rather than all six. The final product was awesome. Nate couldn’t believe how much his birthday cake tasted like the Viking, so we named it the Viking Lite. While the Viking Lite is a bit of a labor of love it is totally worth it…and much less a labor than the original recipe!

The Viking Lite is made up of layers of chocolate sour cream cake and semisweet ganache, then coated in crushed chocolate praline. When I made the cake I only put the praline on the outside of the cake but we decided a layer of the praline inside the cake would have made it even better. I had leftover praline so we would just sprinkle it on each of our slices. Also, I recommend splurging for high-quality chocolate, like Guittard brand (they make baking chocolate and cocoa powder). Good-quality chocolate really will make a difference in your final product.

Chocolate Ganache Praline Cake, a.k.a. The Viking Lite

 

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Based on the original Viking cake created by Karen Krasne of Extraordinary Desserts. Her cookbook is now out of print. I am sharing only the parts I used of the original Viking recipe below, along with my notes and modifications.

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 1 8- or 9-inch cake

Ingredients

• GANACHE:
• 24 ounces (4 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups heavy cream
• CHOCOLATE ALMOND PRALINE:
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, cubed (I used salted so that there was a bit of salt flavor in the praline)
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM CAKE:
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter (I used salted because the recipe doesn't call for salt and I like a bit of salt flavor), room temperature and cut into ¼" cubes, plus ~2 teaspoons at room temperature for greasing the pans
• 3 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. GANACHE:
2. Put the chocolate chips in a medium, heatproof mixing bowl.
3. Bring the cream to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir slowly and gently in a circular motion until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is fully combined. Set ganache aside for later. You will want the ganache to be thickened and at a spreading consistency when it's time to assemble the cake. I put mine in the fridge, covering the bowl with plastic wrap, and checked it every half hour or so, stirring it each time.
4. PRALINE:
5. Generously coat a baking sheet with oil or line with a silicone baking mat (I highly recommend using a Silpat or similar mat if you have one).
6. Toast almonds on another baking sheet in a 350ºF oven for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
7. Bring milk, butter, corn syrup and sugar to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer or instant-read thermometer and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches 310ºF, about 7-8 minutes (I think it took a little longer than that for me). The mixture should be thick and have started to lightly color. Remove the pot from the heat and set the thermometer aside.
8. Add the cocoa powder and mix well with a whisk. (I added the cocoa powder through a fine mesh sieve, shaking it into the pot to avoid large lumps from forming.)
9. Stir in the toasted almonds.
10. Using a rubber spatula, carefully spread the hot mixture onto your oiled or Silpat-lined baking sheet, making sure the mixture is spread into an even layer. Set aside to cool.
11. Once praline is completely cool and hardened, either blast it in a blender or food processor or place in a ziploc bag and hammer with a meat pounder on a wood cutting board, breaking the praline up into small bits.
12. CAKE:
13. Preheat oven to 275º F. Grease bottom and sides of two 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans with butter. Place a parchment round the size of the bottom of the pan in each cake pan, butter the top of the parchment, then lightly flour the pans. Set aside.
14. Place chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl. Bring a pot of water to a simmer, place bowl on top of the pot (do not let bowl touch water surface), and melt chocolate, stirring occasionally.
15. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
16. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar at medium-high speed until the mixture is very thick and light in color, about 7 minutes.
17. Add the cubed butter and then the sour cream, mixing until full incorporated after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
18. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
19. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, just until fully incorporated, being careful not to over mix.
20. Bring water to a boil then add to the batter. Mix on low to medium speed until full combined and smooth. Batter will be much thinner after the addition of the water.
21. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing evenly. Place pans in the center of the oven and bake until cake springs back slightly when pressed in the center and a cake tester comes out clean. Bake time could be up to 60 minutes, but start checking around 40 minutes for doneness.
22. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pans sitting on a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, run a thin knife around the edges and invert pans, carefully knocking the bottom of the pan if cake doesn't fall out immediately. Cakes can rest on the cooling rack until you are ready to place them on the cake platter. Remove parchment from bottom of cakes. If you are not immediately assembling the cake, wrap the cakes individually tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate, but cake can also remain wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days.
23. ASSEMBLY:
24. Place one of the cakes on your serving platter. Place pieces of waxed or parchment paper under the edge of the cake all around. This will prevent icing from getting on your serving platter as you decorate the cake.
25. Coat top of the first layer of cake with a nice thick layer of ganache.
26. Optional (but recommended!): Add a layer of the chocolate almond praline layer on top of the ganache.
27. Add the second cake layer. Spread a ganache layer on top, then frost the sides of the cake with the ganache. Once you have finished icing the sides with ganache, using your hands press the praline pieces on the sides of the cake all the way around to coat the sides of the cake. Carefully remove wax/parchment paper, using a knife to hold the frosting in place as you pull out the paper in spots where it gets stuck.
28. If you did not put a layer of praline inside the cake, reserve the extra praline and sprinkle on each cut slice when serving.

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Guess what? I have another fun Mother’s Day post for you, complete with an easy, delicious recipe and an equally delicious giveaway!

Each year I create a post in conjunction with Fair Trade USA to celebrate Mother’s Day and this year is no exception! As usual they sent me a box of goodies (which we will be giving away to one of you lucky people in just a moment) to inspire a Mother’s Day baking project.

This month has been super busy and as Mother’s Day has approached I haven’t had a lot of time to bake. Normally when Fair Trade sends me a box of goodies they include a baking mix from Immaculate Baking Company. I haven’t ever used the mixes in my posts because I normally create my Fair Trade recipes from scratch. This time, however, I decided to embrace the ease of the cookie mix, adding a fun twist to make it special.

First off, the Immaculate Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix is so, so, so good. Whether or not you add my fudgy thumbprint you’ll be happy with this mix. But the fudgy addition really takes these cookies over the top. Today’s recipe kind of had a longer journey than most of my recipes. First I tried to make cookie cups with a fudgy center but it just didn’t work practically or visually, but they tasted amazing. So then I tried stuffing the cookies, which worked pretty well but not exactly what I envisioned. So then I tried a thumbprint and it worked! The fudgy “button” goes so beautifully with these cookies and you will love them, especially since it’s so easy to throw this dessert together! 

The most wonderful part of this recipe is that using Fair Trade ingredients means you can celebrate strong women and mothers throughout the world by supporting their livelihood. I’ve read so many stories about how Fair Trade helps women in so many countries and I love it when I can incorporate as many fair trade ingredients as possible into my recipes. The infographic above is a great summary of why Fair Trade is so cool! For today’s recipe I used the Immaculate Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix as well as Guittard’s Extra Dark Chocolate Chips, so it’s a Fair Trade double whammy! The recipe is below…but first…

The giveaway! Fair Trade will send one of you lucky people the same gift box I received, which includes product from the following companies:

• Wholesome Sweet
• Kashi
• Chuao Chocolatier
• Guittard
• Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle
• Frontier Co-Op
• Numi Tea
• Immaculate Baking Company
• Spectrum
• SunRidge Farms

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is a leave a comment on this post before Midnight PT on 3/25/17! That’s it! Easy peasy…as easy as today’s recipe, which I will give to you now! The randomly-selected winner of this giveaway was Comment #24 Michele. Congratulations, Michele!

Fudgy Thumbprint Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

A fair trade-friendly recipe that is easy and delicious!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 22 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 Immaculate Baking Company Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (Guittard is my favorite and they are Fair Trade!)
• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF (or 350º for a dark non-stick pan).
2. Follow directions to mix the dough for the cookie mix.
3. Once dough is mixed, put chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high in the microwave for 45 seconds, then stir until all chocolate has melted.
4. Let chocolate mix cool for a few minutes. While the chocolate is cooling, create 1-tablespoon rounded cookie dough balls. With your thumb press a well in the center of each cookie dough ball, then place ½ teaspoon blobs of the chocolate fudgy filling in the center. If the chocolate is sticking to your fingers a lot, just get your fingers a little bit wet with water. Keep in mind, the shape of the chocolate will look how it looks after baking as it did before, so if you want the chocolate nice and smooth, smooth it out before baking!
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool before eating.

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Here’s the deal with this post. The pictures are not that great. And I’m just linking to recipes. HOWEVER. I must write this post because I must share this cake with you. It is too delicious not to share. Let me introduce you to the most divine Chocolate M&M Cake you will ever eat.

The pictures of this Chocolate M&M Cake are no good because I finished making the cake after the sun went down..and then we ate too much of it for me to take photos the next day. It was that good. Lest you think the Maynards are big ol’ piggies, we were hosting a party so we had a whole group of people helping with the consumption of this cake! (Although…I might be able to put down a good portion of this cake myself.)

Here’s what I did to make this cake:

1. I used the cake part of the SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake recipe.
2. I frosted the cake with my M&M frosting recipe.
3. I broke up a bunch of M&Ms in a zip-top bag with a hammer and then stuck those broken M&Ms on the sides of the frosted cake.
4. Angels descended from heaven and sang Hallelujah.

You’re welcome.

Today I have a Mexican brownies recipe for you. And it’s fair trade. And it’s delicious. Are you ready? Let’s go!

I love Mexican chocolate. I was first introduced to this wonderful flavor by my Mexican college roommate Estela. She brought me Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate tablets from home and I hoarded, um, I mean cherished them. (Okay, hoarded. I would not allow anyone to use that chocolate willy nilly!) Fast forward to today and basically if we go anywhere and anything is Mexican chocolate flavored, I order it. The hint of cinnamon and chile peppers paired with chocolate just makes me happy. (And it reminds me of Estela, too, which also makes me happy!)

Fair Trade USA approached me to help celebrate their Fair Moments campaign this month, which is all about showing how our small everyday decisions can have a huge impact, something I really believe. For the post I wanted to share a recipe that used lots of great fair trade ingredients, but for some reason I was having a hard time settling on something. Then, as I was sitting in my kitchen staring at a pile of fair trade goodies with the kids, discussing what we could make, Cate mentioned brownies. Then the cinnamon started chanting, “Abuelita, Abuelita, Abuelita” and I knew Mexican brownies had to happen. (Okay, maybe that last part didn’t happen, but whatever. Close enough.)

Brownies are one of our family’s favorites and probably the most frequently baked item around here, after chocolate chip cookies, of course. Anna and I decided to make the Mexican brownies together and had a great conversation about what fair trade means. We talked about which ingredients in the recipe were fair trade and about how they are ingredients we use all the time. It was really cool neat sharing this with my daughter and I was grateful I could show her how we actively support such a great cause day to day.

The best part was taste testing with Anna and my mom, trying to get the perfect amount of cayenne pepper and cinnamon in the brownies. In case you’re wondering, we succeeded. The brownies came out awesome and everyone in the family loved them (even my mom who was most certainly suspect when I used the words “cayenne” and “brownies” in the same sentence). The cinnamon and cayenne flavors come through but in a subtle way and without too much heat.

Before we get to the post, let’s do a Fair Trade giveaway! One lucky, randomly-selected winner will receive a package from Fair Trade USA with the following goodies:

• Wholesome Vanilla Frosting
• Cascadian Farm Organic Soft Baked Squares
• Marich Chocolates
• Mighty Leaf Tea
• Chuao Chocolates
• Honest Tea
• Larabar Chocolate Cherry Bites
• Frontier Natural Products Co-Op Cinnamon Sticks
• SunSpire Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
• Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
• Arrowhead Mills Organic Coconut Flour
• Immaculate Baking Co.’s Organic Chocolate Chip Mix
• Lundberg Family Farms Organic Jasmine Rice
• High Brew Coffee Cold Brew

To enter this Fair Trade giveaway, please do the following:

• Leave a comment on this post! (Optional: Tell us your favorite fair trade ingredient that you use all the time!)
• Bonus entry: Like Fair Trade USA on Facebook! (Please leave a separate comment indicating you have done so. If you already follow, that counts!)
• Like This Week for Dinner on Facebook! (Please leave a separate comment indicating you have done so. If you already follow, that counts!)
• Follow This Week for Dinner on Pinterest! (Please leave a separate comment indicating you have done so. If you already follow, that counts!)
• All comments must be posted by Midnight PT on October 31, 2016.

And now, the recipe! I basically just used Ruth Reichl’s “A Better Brownie” recipe, which is one of my most favorite brownies. The brownies come out super fudgy and rich with this amazing crusty top that is to die for. Click here for the original non-spicy version. If you want to try the spicy version, here you go!

Mexican Brownies

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

This is one of my favorite brownie recipes, originally written by Ruth Reichl. I've given the recipe a Mexican twist with sugar and spice and everything nice...and Fair Trade!

Author: Ruth Reichl (with Jane Maynard adaptations)

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 5 ounces unsalted high-fat butter (I use regular old salted butter!)
• 5 ounces unsweetened fair trade chocolate
• 2 teaspoons best-quality, fair trade vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons fair trade ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon fair trade cayenne pepper
• 4 farm fresh organic eggs (Jane note: my eggs are not farm fresh, everything turns out fine!)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose white flour (spooned into a cup and leveled with a knife)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Butter a 9x9 or 8x8 square pan and line the pan with parchment paper. Butter the bottom and sides once again.
3. Melt the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
4. Beat the eggs and salt in a stand mixer. Add the sugar and beat on high for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has turned very light and thick. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, beating on low until just mixed.
5. Gently stir in the flour until it just disappears.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, place in the middle of the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350ºF. Bake for 40 minutes; the brownies will be quite fudgy and a toothpick should come out not quite clean. Cool on a rack.
7. Lift the brownies out of the pan by pulling up on the parchment paper. Set on a cutting board and cut into pieces.

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The little plates in this post are from Q Squared NYC, in case you need to buy them because they are the CUTEST.

Summer is over and I think it’s time I get back into posting more regularly again. I’ve missed you! Today I want to share a new discovery in our house: Barefoot & Chocolate Spreads.

A week or two ago I posted about Barefoot & Chocolate’s Almond Coconut Chocolate Spread on social media and had quite the response as well as a few questions about the product. Honestly, I think it deserves a quick blog post. I need more than 140 characters!

I discovered Barefoot & Chocolate through my work with Fair Trade USA and am so glad I did! They make Nutella-like chocolate spreads that are in my opinion better than their more famous counterpart. Here are a few things I’d like to mention that I didn’t specify on my social media posts:

• While Barefoot & Chocolate does make a hazelnut chocolate spread, I am head-over-heels in love with their Almond Coconut Chocolate Spread. The Dark Chocolate Almond with Sea Salt is also mighty fine, as is the Hazelnut. But that Almond Coconut? Irresistible. (Note: You probably should like coconut…if not, go with the other two flavors!)
• Yes, Barefoot & Chocolate contains less sugar than Nutella and you can taste the difference. Barefoot & Chocolate’s spreads are, well, less sugary with a creamier texture. If you want to talk numbers, a 2-tablespoon serving of Nutella has 21 grams of sugar while Barefoot & Chocolate has 13 grams. Obviously there is STILL SUGAR and the fat content is the same as Nutella. It is a treat, after all (don’t be fooled by those Nutella commercials telling us chocolate for breakfast is healthy). But, yes, there is less sugar than Nutella, which I think is a good thing for nutritional and taste reasons.
• Barefoot & Chocolate is Fair Trade certified and many of the ingredients are organic.
• You can buy Barefoot & Chocolate on their website or in 2-packs on Amazon (click on the following flavor names for Amazon links: Almond Coconut Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Almond with Sea Salt, and Hazelnut. You can get mix-and-match-the-flavor 2 packs on Amazon, too.)

PS: Graham crackers + Almond Coconut Chocolate Spread = THE BEST

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, which means two things for me. First, I am planning on not cooking this Sunday, or even parenting much at all (that’s how I like my Mother’s Day, nice and lazy). Second, I’m teaming up with Fair Trade USA once again to celebrate the amazing women farmers of fair trade! I think this might be my 4th Fair Trade Mother’s Day recipe and giveaway…I’ve lost track! Anyway, since it’s not Mother’s Day quite yet, I am still in the kitchen and today I’ve cooked up a batch of double chocolate coconut cookies that I am certain you will love.

But before we get to the recipe we need to meet a farmer. And do a giveaway, which includes tons of awesome fair trade goodies. Let’s go!

This year Fair Trade is focusing on the women of fair trade through their #FairHer campaign. Like ONE, another non-profit organization I work with frequently, Fair Trade recognizes how important it is to help women in order to tackle poverty. In fact, you can’t tackle poverty without focusing on women. And the work Fair Trade does empowers women in many ways, especially given that women produce more than 50% of the world’s food (ummmm…btw…they only own 2% of the land).

To make this all a little more real, I’d like you to meet one of those women farmers, Virginia Jimenez, a sugar cane farmer & member of the CORA Cooperative, a Fair Trade Certified organic sugar producer in Paraguay. Gimenez has been involved with sugar cane all her life, as both her father and late husband were sugar cane producers. Her late husband, Mario Miranda, joined CORA in 2010 and died a year later. Gimenez, a mother of four, has taken over as the CORA-affiliated producer.

Here are a few of Virginia’s thoughts: “For us, the access to machinery that CORA provides is key for our annual production [note: according to CORA, they are able to lend the use of machinery at low or no cost by using some of the Fair Trade premium fund]. I also like the ideals behind CORA. Their strict rules are good for our society. For example, the controls regarding the use of child labor is very good. The safety workshops have also been great help. And the idea of producing organic sugar cane without chemicals is very important. My husband believed strongly in this. If we were able to increase our earnings, whether from sales or from the premium fund, I would like to see our health services improved. We do not have medical attention here on a daily basis. If a poisonous snake bites someone, we have to go really far.”

So, keep an eye out for that fair trade symbol on the food you buy. It’s helping wonderful women like Virginia. A sincere thank you to Virginia for sharing her story and thoughts with us!

I mentioned a giveaway, didn’t I? Fair Trade USA sent me a package of goodies to provide inspiration for today’s recipe, and one of you lucky people will receive the same package! It just might be their best one yet. Click here to read about all of the products included!

Here’s how to enter the giveaway! (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT 5/11/16):

• Simply leave a comment on this post! That’s it!
• Bonus entry: Follow Fair Trade Certified on Facebook (leave a separate comment for bonus entry, if you already follow just let us know!)
• Bonus entry: Join the This Week for Dinner email newsletter list! (leave a separate comment for bonus entry, if you already subscribe just let us know!)

I think it’s time to get cooking with all these yummy fair trade ingredients!

Today’s cookies may not be fancy but they are pretty much perfect. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, these chocolate cookies are filled with dark chocolate and coconut, one of my favorite flavor combinations. And there are so many ingredients in these cookies that can go fair trade, from the sugar to the vanilla to the chocolate! For this batch I used Guittard’s organic semisweet chocolate baking wafers, which are my favorite chocolate chips to use in any cookie recipe. I also used Lake Champlain’s organic unsweetened cocoa, another fabulous chocolate source that I can’t get enough of.

Enjoy! And Happy Mother’s Day!

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

 

Print

Prep time

12 mins

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

26 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Generous ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut (I love wide sliced)
• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (I love Guittard's baking wafers)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix together the butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for approximately 5 minutes. (Yes, 5 MINUTES...you want it to mix for a long time.)
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Place a sifter over the bowl and add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and cocoa powder to the sifter, then sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just mixed.
5. Add coconut and chocolate chips and mix with a large spoon until evenly distributed.
6. Place dough in 2-tablespoon dough balls on a cookie sheet, leaving a few inches between each cookie.
7. Bake for about 12-14 minutes. The cookies shouldn't look wet beneath the surface (if that makes sense).
8. When you take them out of the oven, drop the pan flat onto the counter or stovetop to force the cookies to settle.
9. Let cool a few minutes before eating. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Dough balls can also be frozen and cookies cooked from a frozen state, you just may need to add 1 or 2 minutes to the cook time.

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Today’s Thursday Recipe & a Tip is all about chocolate. I could talk for days about chocolate. I limited myself to 11 minutes this time around, but I think I’m going to have to do more chocolate-themed episodes. Because 11 minutes is not enough time to tell you all the ways to make perfect chocolate in your kitchen. Anyway, today I share one of my most favorite chocolate recipes with you as well as the secret ingredient you can use in your cooking to make chocolate rich in flavor.

Please note: In this episode I mention that the SoNo Baking Company is in New York, but I meant Connecticut. I grew up in the “tri state area” (which is essentially NYC/Long Island, Northern New Jersey and Connecticut). Apparently my subconscious considers all of that “New York.” 😉

Shownotes:

• Cocoa powders I love: E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge and Scharffen Berger Cocoa Powder
• Scharffen Berger Truffles Recipe
• Scharffen Berger Cookbook
• SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake
• The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
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