Chocolate Whiskey Frosting

Last week we made Chocolate Whiskey Ice Cream Balls. Mmm... so good.
Well I told you that I would show you what to do with any leftover filling

 (or maybe you just doubled the recipe so you could make both),

 and today is that day!

If you leave the extra filling out, and let it soften just a bit, it makes an excellent frosting!

We made cupcakes with it. Seriously, delicious.

In fact, maybe even more delicious than Ice Cream Balls.

Maybe.

Anyone ambitious enough that has will try BOTH recipes?

Which did you like better, Ice Cream Balls or Frosting?

Happy Birthday Kirstin (and a Chocolate Milk Martini)!

You probably don't know this, but today is Kirstin's birthday!

And since she was so sweet about what she wrote for my birthday,

and I don't think I get to say this stuff about her enough,

and so you can get to know her a bit better,

I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about her here:

1.She's beautiful inside and out.

2. How much she loves her family (immediate and extended). I was seriously hard pressed to find a picture of her to put on here where she wasn't posing with a family member.

 In fact, I was unsuccessful.

3. She's seriously one of the most generous people I know. I'm not sure we've said this on here yet--probably not, because why would it come up?--but my Adam, me, and Stetson (did we mention he's a St. Bernard?) are currently living with their family until we are a bit more settled here in Denver. And Kirst and her Adam have pretty much gone by the philosophy "what's ours is yours". I just hope that some of this generosity rubs off on us, but I know at the very least I know I have never been so thankful.

4. She's quirky, and funny. In fact pretty much the perfect mesh between the two. 

5. She loves to travel.

6. She's passionate-- about diet coke, sushi, the beach, and some more important things too:)

7. She is a great friend and a great encourager. She throws showers for people all the time (even for people who she just met) and will always take a phone call from a friend regardless of how busy she gets.

And so, in honor of Kirstin, I tried to find a drink that used some of her favorite things: Magic Shell, dark chocolate, and whipped cream.

The Chocolate Milk Martini + some Magic Shell for rimming = just the thing.

Here's what you need:

2/3 c milk

3 t Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup

2 oz Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka

Hershey's or Smuckers Magic Shell Ice Cream topping (again, for rimming)

Here's how to do it:

First mix up your milk and chocolate.

Then add in your vodka.

Stir well.

Then pour your Magic Shell onto a plate or into a wide bowl.

Take your empty glass and turn it upside down to coat the rim in chocolate.

It should harden.

Then pour in the drink.

It's ok if some of the Magic Shell breaks off into the drink. It's like adding chocolate shavings.

Happy Birthday Kirstin!

Do you have anyone special who has a birthday coming up?

What kind of special drink can you think of to customize for them with things they love?

BITES: Chocolate Whiskey Ice Cream Balls

First, I'm really excited about December.

We have some really fun holiday recipes and gift ideas coming up for you guys!

Second, we're starting December off with a fantastic dessert appetizer for your adults-only holiday party.
The combination of chocolate and whiskey paired down into bite size treats make it the sweet tooth's (and her man's) perfect dessert.

I had the idea of doing chocolate whiskey candies while trying to figure out what to do for my Gifts for Guys guest post on Kojo Designs . So I bought all of the ingredients for it and was planning to make Chocolate Whiskey Truffles.

But as I was making them they didn't turn out like I planned

(I'm pretty sure it's because I added extra Whiskey).

I'm not telling you this to sell out my cooking skills,

Im telling you this because it's the fun part of cooking,

it's creative, and it's ok if it's not perfect.

In this case, I think these turned out better than I hoped!

OK, so if you want to make these Chocolate Whiskey Truffles turned Chocolate Whiskey Ice Cream Balls yourself, I'm going to show you how:

Here's what you need:

12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (I used mini so they melted easier)

2/3 c whipping cream

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened

4 T Whiskey (or 5 for whiskey lovers)

Hersheys or Smuckers Magic Shell (ice cream topping that hardens)

Here's how to do it:

First, simmer the whipping cream over medium-high heat until hot.

Meanwhile, place the chocolate chips in a separate bowl.

When the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate, stirring until melted.

 Be sure to use a bowl that can tolerate extreme temperatures--I used a glass one.

Add in the butter.

And then the whiskey.

Stir until smooth.

(I put it in the microwave for 20 seconds just to finish melting the butter)

When it is all melted and smooth, put bowl into the freezer until it is firm and moldable, but not hard--about 30 minutes.

Then roll into 1 inch balls and place onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper

Then put back into freezer to firm up again.

They will get messier and harder to form as you go because they're warming up.

Try to keep smoothing them out as much as possible, but they won't be perfect.

(Also, I didn't use all of the chocolate. If you have some left over, or want to make a double batch, set aside, not in the freezer, and I'll show you another great dessert to use it for, in the next few days).

 

When firm again, pour the Magic Shell topping into a bowl

Roll each ball into the topping until completely coated.

Set on the cookie sheet and place back into freezer until serving time.

 

So chocolatey. So rich. Sooo good.

Sips Launch Party: Chocolate Stirring Spoons

Happy Monday! 

Hope your weekends were restful, productive, fun, or whatever you were expecting them to be, and more. (Adam's and mine was a mixture of productive and fun--not a lot of resting involved, but there's always next weekend for that.) Did you get around to trying out the Sam Adam's Winter Variety Pack or the Pumpkin Chai "Martini"? What did you think?

This week we have a few more details to share with you from our Launch Party and a couple of other surprises in store for you.

But today, we thought sharing how to make Chocolate Covered Stirring Spoons might make your Monday a bit more exciting.

We hope we were right...

You might have seen the original idea on pinterest, like I did. (I've found I spend most of my free time browsing these pages...). I thought they would be a great idea for the favors for our Launch Party.

 But, unlike a lot of the ideas I get on pinterest, I actually followed through with these, and I'm so glad I did.

So if you want to do it too, Here's what you need:

Plastic Spoons

Melting Chocolate

Toppings of your choosing

***Kirstin will laugh that I'm writing this on here, but I was super self-conscious about it at the party, so I want to share with you. Don't choose your toppings based on what goes well with chocolate. You'll see I chose to top some spoons with pretzels and peanuts...good in chocolate BUT NOT IN HOT CHOCOLATE OR COFFEE, gross. So learn from my mistakes so you don't get embarrassed come party time.***

Here's how to do it:

First spread out your spoons in a line on top of wax paper (for easy clean-up)

Melt your chocolate according to package directions

Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate onto each spoon.

My chocolate probably wasn't as smooth as it should have been, but I just tapped the bottom of each filled spoon as I went, and it smoothed out just fine.

After filling the spoons, top with whatever toppings you chose.

Again, I suggest avoiding peanuts and pretzels.

Let cool until hardened.

Then, if giving away as favors or gifts (wouldn't this be a fun Christmas present idea too?), wrap each in a baggy, and tie closed with a ribbon. You can even tie on a label if you feel like going the extra mile.

And that's it!

 Very low maintenance, and very cute--which is usually what we go for around here!

Fun, huh?

Double the Chocolate (Double the Fun) Pumpkin Smoothie

Yesterday, Kedron kicked off our Pumpkin Week with a little twist on our favorite pumpkin spice latte and a DIY version for making it at home. YES!

Today, we wanted to keep talking pumpkin with you. So,what better fall combo is there than pumpkin and chocolate? We couldn't think of one. Which is why when we were thinking of what pumpkin drink to share with you guys we figured it had to include chocolate--even better, dark chocolate.

So what do you think about a Double Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie? Did you say it sounds like a dream? Good, we hoped you'd feel that way.

Here's what you need:
1/3 c canned pumpkin
2/3 milk (we used skim)
2 T chocolate syrup (here's where we added the Hershey's Special Dark instead of just the regular. This step leaves lots of room for creativity.)
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t cinnamon
4-6 ice cubes

Here's what you do:

Add all of these ingredients into your blender.

Blend until smooth.
Makes 1-2 servings.

Be sure to check back because the rest of this week is all.about.pumpkins.