Everyone needs that extra little pick-me-up in the morning when headed into the office. Whether it’s trying to shake of that early morning grogginess or getting that extra little something, people love turning to coffee. Going to a favorite coffee shop and getting a nice cup of coffee with a pastry or dessert before work would be a treat, but not everyone has the time or funds to continually do this. If you’re tired of the same donut and coffee routine on your rush to work, there are a few food and coffee pairings that you can bring into the office for yourself or to share with coworkers.

If you have more of a sweet tooth and you like the standard pastry option you can never go wrong with anything chocolate. A rich chocolate brownie or piece of plain chocolate can bring out the flavors in your office coffee, while giving you that little boost to get your day going. Chocolate treats are also an inexpensive pairing for coffee.

If you’d like to take a break from the traditionally sweet options there are many fruit options that can offer an excellent compliment, and have fewer calories. Coffee is an acidic beverage, and you have to consider the acidity when choosing the right pairing. You don’t want to overdo mixed flavors with your coffee so try and stay away from sour fruits. Stick to sweeter fruits or fruit based pastries with berries. Stone fruits, such as peaches, apricot, or plums, are another great option that offers an excellent compliment, especially against a rich roast.

Biscotti’s come in flavors for every pallet and can be purchased at any major grocery chain. They’re always a great coffee or espresso pairing and are one of the most popular foods that go with coffee next to muffins or donuts.

So if you’re looking to add a little variety to your coffee or you want to liven up your mornings’ itinerary check out some of these delicious pairings and neither you nor your taste buds will argue.

*guest post

When trying to figure out what food gifts to give this year, I thought I’d make something I usually don’t, which is homemade fudge.  I’ve heard horror stories when it comes to fudge so I can see how it can be quite intimidating for some, much like pecan pies tend to do but my recipe is pretty simple and what I feel like, is some of the best fudge ever.

My homemade fudge recipe isn’t a family recipe but it may as well be because it came from a jar of Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar.  Just like many food brands, Kraft has been around for years so you can imagine all the recipes from their boxes or jars, have become a family recipe, perhaps even a secret family recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 7 oz. Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans that my FIL picked and shelled for me instead of walnuts)

DIRECTIONS

Try to have everything ready ahead of time.  It will make things a lot easier.  Chop the nuts and have the marshmallow cream out of the jar and in a bowl. In fact, I recommend you spray your spatula and bowl with Pam Cooking Spray before doing this because that creme is very sticky!  Line a 13″x9″x2″ baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

In a 3-quart saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and milk to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly once the mixture begins to bubble. Once the mixture reaches a boil,  you’ll want to remove the mixture from the heat once it reaches 234°F on a candy thermometer.  I just used a digital thermometer that I had but if you don’t have one, just remember it will take about 4 minutes to reach that temperature.

Remove from heat. Very quickly stir in chocolate and marshmallow cream. When those have melted,, stir in the vanilla and then the walnuts.  Pour into your pan lined with foil.  Cool to room temperature before slicing, at least 4 hrs or so.

Makes about 3 pounds of fudge.

You MUST let someone lick the spatula of course! Truett enjoyed this part of the process a great deal. Who wouldn’t right?

Once done, I placed some pieces of fudge in a Christmas bowl and put a whole bunch of fudge in these fun gift boxes from Wilton.  I really really like the gift boxes and bags. It made the whole food gift giving process easy for me and looked fabulous!

In my previous video, I made you Healthy Pumpkin Bread. Today, I bring you quite the opposite with Rocky Road Brownies.  When it comes to food gift giving during the holidays, so many people give breads and cookies but something we like to give, are brownies served in a dish.

I like to find pretty bowls or plates, place brownies in them, and wrap them up as a gift.  The receiver can use the dish over and over again instead of it getting thrown away, and the family can enjoy the brownies. Brownie pan was bought at my local Walmart.

HOW TO MAKE ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Great Value unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 bag (12 ounces) Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick’s Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup Jet -Puffed Mini Marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped Fisher pecans or your choice of nut.
• Reddi-wip for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch-square baking pan or use a brownie pan like I did.

Step 2. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of boiling water, combine butter and 1 cup chocolate chips. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Or you can use the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Just watch carefully.

Step 3. Remove mixture from heat; stir in sugars and salt, then eggs, and finally flour, stirring just until combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

Step 4. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips, then marshmallows and nuts. Bake until chocolate is shiny and marshmallows are puffed, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Cut into 16 squares and top with Reddi-wip!!! **DROOL*

Disclosure: Compensation has been provided by Walmart for my time and efforts to create the recipe, video and post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. Check out more holiday baking and gift giving ideas from my fellow Walmart Moms and from the Walmart website.

For our family the perfect muffin has to be healthy and also nut free (my daughter’s daycare is nut free), low carb for me and yet still delicious and moist for my husband.   I’m not an expert baker so I wanted something that would be quick and easy to make and relatively foolproof.   After combining a couple of recipes and tweaking a little we have found the one that works for us.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 6 eggs (at room temperature)
• ½ teaspoon coconut essence
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup Xylitol
• 1 teaspoon Stevia (Nu Naturals)
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups shredded coconut (we use organic unsweetened low fat)
• 1 cup coconut flour (best sifted – we use Bob’s Red Mill)
• ½ cup cocoa (best sifted – we use Green & Blacks Organic Fair Trade Cocoa)
• ¾ cup chocolate chips (we use Sunspire Organic 65% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips)

Preheat oven 375 degrees – To help keep the muffins moist we add moisture to the oven in the form of steam by placing a pyrex dish filled with water on the bottom of the over while preheating.

Directions:

1. Soften the butter and if your coconut oil is solid soften that too
2. In a large mixing bowl mix coconut oil, eggs, coconut essence, pinch of salt and xylitol
3. Separately mix the shredded coconut, coconut flour, cocoa and chocolate chips (keep some of the chocolate chips to sprinkle on the top of each muffin
4. Add half the dry mix into the wet mixture, add the heavy cream, add the remainder of the dry mix
5. Grease the muffin trays/cups.  We use spray coconut oil.
6. Spoon into the silicon muffin trays or muffin cups (we make 12 large muffins and 12 mini muffins)
7. Bake for 14-16 minutes.  For us the mini muffins are ready at 14 minutes so we remove these and leave the large muffins in for a few more minutes – since your oven may bake a little differently you can check them with a toothpick and the leave them in a little longer if necessary.

Candice is a co-founder of Bidmycleaning.com, an online marketplace for cleaning services.  Bidmycleaning was founded by her husband, Gavin and two partners.  Candice and Gavin live in San Diego and have an ‘almost-four-year old’ daughter, also known as the baking assistant.  Candice writes the Bidmycleaning Banter Blog where she talks about house cleaning, green cleaning and being eco-friendly.

You’ve been waiting all week haven’t you!  This is definitely drool worthy and is super easy to make and a great recipe for the kiddos to lend a helping hand in!  They can dip the strawberries in chocolate and braise the cake with Strawberry jam! This was made in the Stoneware Fluted Pan from Pampered Chef and are you ready?…..IN THE MICROWAVE!

Man was this good!!  And the pan was awesome of course. We laid it upside down on a beautiful bamboo platter for a good ten minutes to rest before lifting the pan.  Viola! It came out so pretty, no sticking.

You can find the main dish we served with this (and giveaway) and see more pictures from the Party.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil,  divided
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels
• 1 package (18.25 oz) devil’s food cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 jar (12 oz) seedless strawberry jam, divided

Glaze and Garnish

• 1/3 cup melted vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk chocolate morsels
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, divided
• Additional ice cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brush Stoneware Fluted Pan with 1 tbsp of the oil using Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush. For cake, combine chocolate morsels and oil in Small Batter Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30-60 seconds or until melted and smooth, whisking after 30 seconds. In Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water, ½ cup of the jam and chocolate mixture; whisk until well blended. Pour batter into pan.

2. Microwave cake on HIGH 9-12 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove cake from microwave. Wipe rim of pan clean using paper towel, if necessary. Center Simple  Additions Large Round Platter over pan and carefully invert. Without removing pan, let stand 10  minutes. Remove pan.

3. For glaze, combine ice cream and chocolate morsels in Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave on HIGH 20-60 seconds, stirring after each 20-second interval, until melted and smooth.

4. To finish cake, place remaining jam into Prep Bowl and microwave on HIGH 30 seconds or until melted; brush evenly over cake. Holding by stems, dip 16 of the strawberries into glaze; arrange around bottom edge of cake. Drizzle top of cake with remaining glaze. Slice remaining strawberries using Egg Slicer Plus; place into center well of cake. Serve with additional ice cream, if desired.

Cook’s Tips: For best results, bake this cake in a 1000-watt microwave with a built-in turntable. This cake can be baked in a conventional oven, if desired. Bake at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes. Proceed as recipe
directs.

Yield: 16 servings

Stoneware Fluted Pan

Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush

Small Batter Bowl

Small Micro-Cooker

This is one of the treat recipes that my mom grew up with. They are so easy to make and easy on the budget. They were always a big hit when her Mom made them, and they didn’t last very long around their house. They bring her back such good memories so I’m happy to share them with you in hopes that they bring you the same kind of memories.  After chatting with folks, it seems these were popular for lots of folks. If you try them out, let me know!

Oh, and the pan is the Wilton Bite Size Brownie Squares Silicon Mold Pan. CUTE!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 4 cups quick oats

DIRECTIONS

In a medium sauce pan cook together the butter or margarine, cocoa, milk and sugar until the mixture begins to boil.  Boil for one minute.  Stir frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Then add the oats and coconut.
Mix well….the mixture will be thick.  Drop onto waxed paper with a tablespoon and allow to cool.  Cookies will harden a bit as they cool.

Optional: 1 cup shredded coconut and decrease the oatmeal to 3 cups

Makes 2-3 dozen, depending on the size.

S’mores have been associated with camping for years but did it ever cross your mind to make them at home?  Me either, until my mom made them for my family while visiting recently.  It had been forever since my last s’mores encounter and my first time seeing little man devour one.  It had to be the most adorable thing ever.  To hear him saying, “mmm, mmm” was priceless.  And watching his fingers get sticky with marshmallow and him trying to lick it off was so much fun.

Since my mom was kind of enough to send home a S’mores Maker with us, I wanted to relive those precious moments with the little guy and my husband because I knew he hadn’t ate a S’mores treat in forever.  Big hit again!

My S’more’s Maker only does one at a time but you can get one that makes two. I would like that a lot and it’s cute to boot!  Looks like little hands are holding the S’mores down.

How do you make a S’mores?

You’ll need:

• Graham Crackers
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate (We used the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar)

Be creative and try Reese’s or white chocolate. Have fun with it!

You simply layer a graham cracker, your chocolate piece, and a big marshmallow.  Place in your S’mores Maker and microwave for 20 second. YUM!

OVER TO YOU!

I would love to hear your S’mores stories or recipes!  And do you have one of these makers at home?  Do you only make them outside or do you have some other creative way for making them?

During the summer I like to make quick and easy desserts. I also look for desserts that don’t have to be cooked. I don’t want to heat up my oven any more than I have to. This pie recipe is all of the above. It is very good, but also quick and very easy, plus you do not have to bake it.

The recipe originally came from Hersey’s, so I should have known it would be good. I usually use the special dark chips because I prefer them, but semi-sweet also work well. The recipe calls for a graham cracker crust. To keep this no bake, I buy my crust. I would suggest making it with an Oreo cookie crust instead of just graham cracker. I think it makes the pie even better than the graham cracker crust. But again either one will work.

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick), softened and divided
• 2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
• 1 packaged graham cracker crumb crust or Oreo crust

DIRECTIONS

Place chocolate chips and 1/2 of the butter in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 45 seconds and stir. If necessary, microwave an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and remaining butter in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until creamy. Gradually add melted chips, beating on low speed until blended. Fold in whipped topping until blended; spoon into crust. Refrigerate until firm.

Lynn is a stay at home mom to three kids. She loves to cook and try new recipes. You can follow her adventures in the kitchen at lynnskitchenadventures.com

I enjoy making different kinds of quick breads. The flavors you see most often are pumpkin and banana. But have you tried chocolate bread? It’s so good – moist and a great combination of chocolate and cinnamon. The other thing I really like about this recipe is that it makes 2 loaves. One for you, and another one for…you! You should try to share, but it will be tough!

It’s a recipe that Starbucks gave out a couple of years ago to go with one of their coffee flavors. They even sold this bread in their stores. I think mine turned out just as fabulous and yours will too!

Chocolate Cinnamon Bread
(from the kitchen of Marcus Samuelsson)

CHOCOLATE BATTER

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

COCOA-SPICE SUGAR CRUST

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• Pinch ground ginger
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1/4 cup decorating or sparkle sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 9x5x3 in. loaf pans and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

2. Make the Chocolate Batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed, until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.

3. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to butter, beginning and ending with the flour and beating just until blended. Divide the batter between the two pans, shake the pans to even the tops and set aside.

4. Make the Cocoa-Spice Sugar Crust: In another small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, ginger and cloves. Sprinkle the surfaces of both batters with the decorating sugar. Sprinkle with the cocoa sugar mixture, dividing evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely, run a thin knife around the sides to release the breads and remove from pans.

That’s all – LOL! I know it’s a lot to follow, but it’s SO GOOD!! I hope you get to try it soon.

Lisa

About the Author:

Lisa from Stop and Smell the Chocolates is a married mom of one amusing son and she loves chocolate! Take a little chocolate break during your stressful day – stop by her blog and you might find a yummy recipe, a funny story, a cup of tea, a household tip, a lovely picture, or a new friend. Lisa looks forward to meeting you and sharing some chocolate!

If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration, fill out the guest writer form!

I know, you’re saying, “Gah, where are all the recipes??”.  I’m sorry, I’m swamped at the moment and haven’t had time to get anything prepared.  I promise I’ll catch up and get back to normal soon.  In the mean time, enjoy some good food that was served to us during our trip to Stouffer’s, which is owned by Nestle.

And you know what, since you’ve been very patient with me, I’ve got coupons to give away for free Stouffer’s Corner Bistro, Stromboli or Flatbread Melt!!

I’ll giveaway 10 sets of 5 coupons!!

Just leave a comment here telling what your favorite Nestle or Stouffer’s product is.  That is if you even know all the products they make!!  If you aren’t quite sure, check out this list of Nestle brands. I think you’d be surprised!

Additional ways to enter, leaving each one you do in  separate comment please.

• Subscribe to my blog via email or with your favorite RSS reader.
• Join the foodie forum and start a thread.

Ends on May 12th.  Good luck!