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Espresso Chocolate Bark

Written on January 18, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Screw Folgers, eating this is the best part of waking up:

One of my favorite things to snack on lately have been chocolate covered coffee beans. It’s coffee, it’s chocolate—what’s not to love? I though about how I could make an at-home version for less that’s just as good and settled on this bark recipe. I couldn’t help myself from eating it piece by piece as I was making it; I’m still a little buzzed from all that dessert. Best of all, it’s 3 simple ingredients! Yes, 3! I urge you to make this for the coffee addict in your life; they’ll love you until they crash.

Espresso Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

1 bag(12oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whole coffee beans(most grocery stores let you buy these in bulk)
2 tablespoons coarse cane sugar

Melt down the chocolate chips and lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray. Spread out the chocolate to be about 1/2 an inch thick. Sprinkle on the coffee beans evenly and press them into the hot chocolate gently.

Lightly sprinkle a layer of sugar over the chocolate while it is still melted. don’t worry about even layering since most of it will shake off when it’s dried. Just make sure to cover all of the chocolate.

You can either let the chocolate harden at room temperature or speed the process up by putting it in a refrigerator. When it’s hardened tilt the large piece of chocolate to shake off all the excess sugar. Break the chocolate into single-sized chunks.

These are just as good as any chocolate covered coffee beans. I wanted to try them with a darker chocolate but after tasting how bitter the coffee beans make the semi-sweet chocolate I think any darker would be hard to eat. The sprinkle of sugar adds a great texture to contrast with the crunchy beans. Now you can have your coffee and eat it, too.

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What’s Not On My New Year’s Resolution List(And Why)

Written on January 1, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Holiday

Every time this year millions of people make plans about what they’re going to change in their life. But not me. I’ve always hated New Year’s Resolutions. Part of it is that I’ll set unachievable goals for myself; part of it is that, if I want to change my life in September, I’m not going to wait until January to do it. Here are the things that you won’t find on my list:

1. Dieting, because that’s no fun. I’m a healthy eater. I eat my greens, just sometimes that’s in the form of mint chip ice cream. I can deal with it.

2. Running a marathon. Yes, I’m signed up for one, and yes, I intend to train as best I can for the big day. But no one should push their body through 26.2 miles if it’s not ready for that. Instead of making your fitness resolution about the end point, make it about the journey.

3. Eating less chocolate, for the same reason as number 1.

4. Watching less TV. I admire Heather for her own goal but that’d be a lonely extra 12 hours each day.

5. Tweet less. I’m a bird and I’m going to chirp, chirp, chirp.

6. Going to bed earlier, because if I went to bed any earlier I’d miss my primetime television(see number 4).

7. Giving up coffee for green tea. It’s not the same; don’t let anyone tell you differently.

8. Being on The Today Show, because I don’t want to start getting desperate around next November and start sending kids through the air in silver balloons.

What does that leave? I’m not quite sure. I’ll leave it until 2012 to figure that out.

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