Tag Archive: White Chocolate

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares

As I’ve been eating my way through yogurt that Chobani sent me, I’ve been trying to get creative on new ways to cook with it. Everyone knows yogurt is a great low-fat alternative for baking so I took that as my starting point and took off from there.

While a good base recipe is essential, a lot of the fun of cakes and brownies is what you put inside or on top of them. Chocolate chips and coconut are among my favorites. These might not seem healthy but with Greek yogurt in place of oil and butter and craisins and coconut filling it up(in addition to some chocolate chips, of course) these won’t do you wrong or steer you off your New Year resolutions.

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares Yield

If you want to make this more of a healthy snack, swap in 1/2 cup of crushed walnuts or slivered almonds in for the chocolate chips. Either way it’ll taste great.

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares Mix-Ins

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl sift together the gluten-free flour and baking powder.
  3. Add in the craisins, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, white and dark chocolate chips and mix.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, brown sugar, and eggs until homogenous.
  5. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry until the batter is well mixed.
  6. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
  7. Pour the batter into the pan and press down evenly.
  8. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup coconut on top of the batter and press in lightly.
  9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center of the cake has set and the coconut on top begins to toast.
  10. Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting into squares.

Loaded Coconut Cake Squares Final

Don’t forget to add caramel or fudge sauce just in case this doesn’t have enough flavors going on for you.

Low-Fat Cake Balls

Low-Fat Cake Balls Serving

Cake pops are one of my favorite recent food trends, not because I think they taste all that much better than regular old cake, but because once and a while we all make that cake that doesn’t rise or come out just how we planned and won’t serve to people but can’t bear to throw away.

That’s the beauty of cake pops: They’re very forgiving. You can start out with dry or crumbly cake and still come out with something delicious.

Low-Fat Cake Balls Chobani

Chobani sent me a few of their 32oz yogurt containers for their Just Add Good cooking campaign. They’ve added a new Kitchen page to their website full of yogurt recipes and beautiful photos to get your gears turning.

When I made these cake balls, I swapped out the oil in the cake recipe for an equal amount vanilla Greek yogurt. For the frosting I mixed the cake with, I swapped out the butter for 1/2 the amount called for of plain 2% greek yogurt. The result was just as moist and delicious as any cake ball I’ve made before.

Low-Fat Cake Balls White Chocolate

Since you lose richness when you cut the fat out of a recipe, this works better with bitter or spicy cake flavors like chocolate, pumpkin, or carrot cake. I used a gluten-free pumpkin spice cake with a white chocolate coating. 

Low-Fat Cake Balls

Don’t forget when melting chocolate to look for baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Baking chocolate melts smoother and makes a better coating for the cake pops.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

Candy corn seems to be one of those foods that divides families. People either love it or they hate it. Personally, I’m addicted to it. Sometimes it tastes good; other times it tastes like nail polish remover. But I will always eat it.

Still, candy corn on its own can be a bit much; I find it’s better with other things like Chex mix or Halloween crack corn that cut through the sweetness. White chocolate isn’t going to do much for that but peanuts and a little bit of dark chocolate definitely do. This bark is all around fun if you like candy corn and sweet treats.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark Broken

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 pieces):

  • 8oz(1 cup) white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup candy corn
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chip

Method:

  1. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.
  2. Pour the melted chocolate onto a non-stick surface and spread it into a layer about 3/8-inch thick.
  3. Evenly drop the candy corn, peanuts, and chocolate chips onto the bark and press them in gently.
  4. Move the chocolate to the refrigerator or freezer to harden for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Cut the bark with a sharp knife into asymmetrical pieces. Store in the refrigerator when not eating.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark Finished

If you serve this at a Halloween party you can make up fun stories like how the white chocolate is ectoplasm and the chocolate chips are ghost droppings. I don’t know what the candy corn and peanuts would be; any ideas?

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

I don’t think bark should be a holiday food. It’s chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit—what’s holiday-like about that?! That sounds like anytime food to me. So feel free to make this whenever you feel like.

This is an actually an old recipe from my archives. Last time I made it I wasn’t happy with the photos so I thought I’d give it another post, not that I need much convincing when chocolate’s involved. I love white chocolate but don’t buy it very often. It’s much better at pairing with other flavors than just on its own.

The tart cherries and unsweet almonds help to curb the sweetness of the white chocolate, and the dark chocolate on the bottom adds a bit of bitterness to the mix. Altogether it’s a winning combination.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark Drying

You can use sliced, crushed, or slivered almonds—whatever you have. Also feel free to swap in cherry flavored craisins if you get to the store and realize you don’t feel like paying more for dried cherries; you’d be in good company.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound white chocolate
  • 1/2 pound semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup sweetened or unsweetened dried cherries
  • 1/2 cup shaved almonds

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark Collage

Method:

  1. Start by melting either the white or dark chocolate—whichever you want to be the base of the bark(I started with the white)—in a microwave or over a double boiler. Melt until completely smooth.
  2. Lay the chocolate out in a thin layer on a non-stick surface like wax paper.
  3. Melt the other chocolate and carefully spread it on top of the first layer, gently swirling the two together with a utensil.
  4. Sprinkle on the cherries and the almonds all over the chocolate and press them in lightly with your hand.
  5. Freeze the chocolate for about 20 minutes until it has completely hardened.
  6. With a sharp knife, cut the chocolate into unequal pieces. Store for up to 2 weeks.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark Yield

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Chocolate-Covered-Strawberries

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I’m really horrible at remembering these federal holidays. I had no idea Monday was a holiday until a friend told me it was last weekend. Back in February I told another friend to have a good Martin Luther King day on Presidents’ Day… while he was in another country that celebrates neither of those. I really need to start looking at a calendar more.

Chocolate-Covered-Strawberries-Hands

Back to the food—Chocolate covered strawberries are one of those classics that get done again and again but they never get old. They’re so simple you don’t even need a recipe(but you’re getting one). You can make them last minute and they’re near impossible to screw up, so if you’re in a pinch for dessert this Memorial Day then these could be the perfect solution.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 dozen):

  • 2 dozen large strawberries
  • 10oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 3oz White chocolate(optional)

Chocolate-Covered-Strawberries-Plated

Method:

  1. Gently melt the chocolate in a small bowl until it’s smooth.
  2. Dip each strawberry into the chocolate and swirl around to cover completely.
  3. Lift the strawberries out of the chocolate and let the excess fall back into the bowl. Place them individually on a non-stick surface.
  4. If using the white chocolate, melt it carefully and put it in a pastry bag or Ziploc with a tiny whole cut out one edge.
  5. Drizzle the white chocolate across each strawberry from side to side.
  6. Refrigerate the strawberries until the chocolate has hardened. Plate and serve still slightly cold.

Chocolate-Covered-Strawberries-Bite

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And when life gives you strawberries, cover them in chocolate before eating them.

Almond Joy Fudge

Akmond-Joy-Fudge

There are few things better than fudge or candy, except maybe fudge that tastes like candy.

Coconut tends to be one of those touchy flavors; people either love it or hate it. Alone I think it’s pretty good—nothing special. Combine it with chocolate and sugar, though, and you’ve got a clear winner. This fudge has a standard chocolate base but with a layer of coconut-white chocolate fudge on top, topped with an almond. If you omit the almonds it’ll taste just like a Mounds bar.

The best part about this dessert? It can all be made in the microwave so you can enjoy it any time. OK, maybe that’s not such great news…

Almond Joy Fudge

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 16 servings):

  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
  • 16 almonds

Almond-Joy-Fudge-2

Method:

  1. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or over the stove.
  2. Mix into the melted chocolate 2 Tablespoons of butter, 3 Tablespoons of coconut milk, and 1/4 cup of sifted powdered sugar until the chocolate is smooth.
  3. Pour the fudge into the bottom of a non-stick 6×6 pan. Put the pan in a refrigerator temporarily to cool the chocolate.
  4. Melt the white chocolate using the same method, keeping an eye on it making sure that it doesn’t burn.
  5. Mix in the remaining butter, coconut milk, powdered sugar, and coconut until smooth.
  6. Take the pan out of the refrigerator and spread the coconut layer on evenly(It won’t be runny but shouldn’t be too solid to spread either).
  7. Place each almond about an inch apart in a 4×4 square pattern.
  8. Refrigerate the fudge for 20-30 minutes until it’s solid. Cut into 16 squares with an almond at the center of every square and serve cold.

Almond-Joy-Fudge-Hand

By itself the top layer tastes too much of white chocolate(I wasn’t aware that was even possible) to be like the coconut center of a Mounds Bar. But eaten together the chocolate and coconut fudge taste eerily similar to the candy joy. You might want to use an even larger pan such as 8×8 for flat rectangular pieces of fudge.

homemade-mounds-bars

And as long as we’re on the topic of coconut and chocolate, recently I updated the recipe page for Homemade Mounds Bars with better pictures and easier to read steps. It’s one of the most pinned dessert recipes I have so I can’t be the only one who thinks they’re amazing.

Perk Me Up Trail Mix

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix

What I’m about to say may be sacrilegious so read on at your own risk.

I don’t really like coffee. I used to love it but now I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve drank it in the past year. I’m a much bigger fan of tea now.

The one exception is chocolate covered coffee beans. I’ve probably spent a small fortune on those alone; I really can’t get enough. I’d much rather wake up to a handful of those than a cup of coffee any day.

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix-coffee

This trail mix has all the flavors you could want in a fancy Starbucks coffee drink: Vanilla, almond, chocolate, white chocolate, and coffee. When I do drink coffee, it’s always black, but a trail mix with just coffee beans wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. I threw in some raisins, too, because those are healthy and that makes the rest of it healthy by association, right? If you don’t want to make the vanilla sugar almonds, you can always buy flavored almonds and substitute them instead or just use regular roasted almonds.

Perk Me Up Trail Mix

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered coffee beans
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate
  • 1 cup seedless raisins
  • 2 cups vanilla sugar almonds*

*Vanilla sugar almonds

  • 2 cups almonds
  • 2-3 heaping Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1 Tablespoon liquid sweetener(corn syrup, agave, maple syrup, etc.)

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix-top

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all of the ingredients for the almonds in a bowl and mix together.
  3. Lay the almonds out in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 20-30 minutes, jostling occasionally until the liquid evaporates and the almonds turn golden. Remove and let the almonds cool completely before continuing.
  4. Toss the almonds, white chocolate, raisins, and chocolate covered coffee beans together. Store in an air-tight container for up to a month.

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix-mug

The best part of waking up is this in your cup.

White Chocolate Popcorn

white-chocolate-popcorn

I’m not a popcorn-at-the-movies kind of person. Buttery popcorn just doesn’t do it for me; I’d rather have the sour patch kids or peanut M&Ms. But when it’s chocolate on popcorn—that’s another story.

I’ve been obsessed with white chocolate lately and this is just another way to eat it up. It’s a crunchy, creamy, salty dessert that’s unexpectedly incredible. And it has whole grains so it’s not entirely unhealthy, right?

white-chocolate-popcorn-serving

If you’re worried about this being a messy treat, the chocolate doesn’t actually stick to your hand once it’s cooled down to room temperature. It’ll make your hands about as greasy as any buttered popcorn, though, so have a napkin nearby.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 servings):

  • 8 cups plain popcorn
  • 6oz white chocolate
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt

white-chocolate-popcorn-hand

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and butter together until smooth.
  2. Stir the salt into the white chocolate evenly.
  3. In a large bowl, poor the melted white chocolate over the popcorn. Fold the popcorn into the white chocolate until it’s all coated.
  4. Let the popcorn sit at room temperature and the chocolate solidify slightly. Scoop into bowls and serve.

white-chocolate-popcorn-long

This is definitely not as good as leftovers since it keeps so poorly, so I would suggest making it and eating it on the same day. I don’t think it’ll be too hard once you take a taste to finish the batch.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

white-chocolate-cherry-almond-bark

After Friday’s post you might be a little sick of hearing about bark but hopefully this recipe will change your mind.

White chocolate has been slowly but surely growing on me over the past few months. It’s so sweet and smooth; I don’t love it on its own but with other flavors it’s the perfect touch. Of course you can’t beat dark chocolate and cherries together, but there’s no reason white chocolate can’t join in the party, too.

white-chocolate-cherry-almond-bark-ingredients

I added some almonds to this, too, since it felt like it needed something sort of neutral and crunchy. Plus, almonds make this healthy, right? If you don’t have shaved almonds, you could use slivered, crushed, or even whole ones.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound white chocolate
  • 1/2 pound semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup sweetened or unsweetened dried cherries
  • 1/2 cup shaved almonds

white-chocolate-cherry-almond-bark-serving

Method:

  1. Start by melting either the white or dark chocolate—whichever you want to be the base of the bark(I started with the white)—in a microwave or over a double boiler. Melt until completely smooth.
  2. Lay the chocolate out in a thin layer on a non-stick surface like parchment paper.
  3. Melt the other chocolate and carefully spread it on top of the first layer, gently swirling the two together with a utensil.
  4. Sprinkle on the cherries and the almonds all over the chocolate and press them in lightly with your hand.
  5. Refrigerate the chocolate for about 20 minutes until it has completely hardened.
  6. Break the chocolate into 16-20 pieces. Store for up to 2 weeks.

white-chocolate-cherry-almond-bark-wide

This isn’t going to last long; I can taste feel it.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Truffles

White-Chocolate-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookie-Truffles

Gluten-free baking is a crapshoot. Before I came out with a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies that looked halfway decent, I had a big tray of cookies that spread too much and wouldn’t hold together. That’s what you get for trying new recipes.

I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the crumbs since they tasted delicious, so I needed to think of a new way to use them up. Cake pops are fun and delicious but these are cookies and needed something slightly different. Why not cookie truffles?

White-Chocolate-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookie-Truffles-raisins

I think the white chocolate compliments the flavors of the oatmeal, raisins, and cinnamon more than a dark or milk chocolate would, but you could use whichever is your favorite. Follow the directions and use only as much liquid as necessary.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Truffles

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

*Depending on how fresh your cookies are, you might not need any liquid. Follow the directions and adjust accordingly.

White-Chocolate-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookie-Truffles-serving

Method:

  1. Either by hand or in a food processor, mash the cookies into crumbs. If your cookies are dry, slowly add milk until the dough is moist and sticks to itself.
  2. Melt the white chocolate carefully in a microwave or over a double boiler making sure not to burn it.
  3. Break off cookie dough by the ounce and roll it into a ball in your hands. With a spoon, dip the truffle into the chocolate and move it around to cover all sides. Lift out of the chocolate and place on a non-stick surface.
  4. Repeat until all the dough and chocolate is used up.
  5. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

White-Chocolate-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookie-Truffles-inside

Next time I might try adding cinnamon into the white chocolate coating; you can never have too much cinnamon.