Quinoa Almond Chocolate Bark

Feb 21, 2013 By Love & Flour in Candies 2 Comments Tags: chocolate, quinoa

Today I learned that when toasted, quinoa has a delicious nutty flavor. I also realized I should quit wasting money on waxy store-bought chocolates because with just three ingredients, I can make a delicious chocolate bark at home.

Technically, it takes five ingredients if you count the olive oil and sea salt. However, if Claire Robinson can use salt and pepper as “free ingredients” on Five Ingredient Fix, then I call olive oil and sea salt as “free ingredients” on Love & Flour. Roll with me here.

I chose to make this bark with almonds as called for in the original recipe, but really, the options are all yours. Not a fan of almonds? I have seen a number of recipes that substitute pistachios in this bark instead. Not a fan of nuts no matter their form? How about adding dried cranberries in their place.

Heat things up by adding a sprinkle of cayenne. There is really no end to the things you can mix in to a chocolate bark. All I ask is you try the star of this recipe – toasted (or popped) quinoa – at least once.

To further inspire you, Big Girls Small Kitchen offers up a list of Ten Best Chocolate Bark Mix-Ins to help spark your creativity. At Chasing Delicious, you can find three chocolate bark recipes in just one post. One of those recipes is of the peppermint variety. If you happen to be feeling wild, take that recipe one step further and make Peppermint Bark Popcorn as seen on Cookie + Kate.

In addition to those ideas, Brown Eyed Baker offers up recipes for Cake Batter & Chocolate Bark and Avalanche Bark. I have no doubt there are 16,000 other bark combinations out there, but those are the recipes I have pinned or rattling around in my brain as good resources. From one Thursday quickie to the next, enjoy!

Quinoa Chocolate Bark

Author: The Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook by Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

½ cup quinoa, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound dark chocolate, chopped
optional: ice cream for serving

Instructions

Place the olive oil in a saucepan over medium low heat.
When the oil is warm, add the quinoa and allow it to toast until lightly browned, about five minutes. Perform this step as if you were heating popcorn kernels, lightly shaking the saucepan back and forth over the heat.
Stir together the toasted quinoa, toasted almonds and sea salt. Reserve about three tablespoons of the mixture to sprinkle on top of the bark.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and in the microwave. If using a microwave, heat in 30 second increments and stir after each interval until fully melted.
Pour the remainder of the quinoa and almonds mixture into the melted chocolate mixture and stir until thoroughly coated.
Spread the chocolate mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and top with the reserved quinoa and almonds.
Allow to sit until set, about two hours.
Break into pieces and enjoy alone or served with ice cream.

Notes

I suggest rinsing the quinoa in the evening to allow it to dry overnight, or rinse in the morning and allow it to dry during the work day. To toast the almonds or other nuts, simply place them on a baking tray and allow them to sit in an oven heated to 350 degrees for a few minutes. They are done when their aroma infuses the air. Keep a close eye on the nuts during this step because they can burn very quickly.

Spice is Nice: Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

Oct 24, 2012 By Love & Flour in Candies 7 Comments Tags: marshmallow, pumpkin, spice

I felt really good about this recipe until I told my sister I made marshmallows. She responded by asking if I made them into anything. Ignoring the red flag my consciousness immediately raised, I asked her what exactly she meant. ”Like shapes?” I foolishly inquired. She went on to explain she had seen homemade marshmallows made to resemble mushrooms. She further claims to have seen such a thing in real life, not just on television. Well sheesh, my marshmallows are just squares.

Simple, boring ol’ squares, but tasty ones at that. In her defense, my sister attempted to soften the blow by reassuring me most people do not makes marshmallows at all. My hope is to change that with this delightful recipe for pumpkin spice marshmallows. I assure you, they really are quite simple and worthwhile to make.

Other than waiting for the sugar syrup to reach the correct temperature and then waiting for the mixture to whip up just right and then waiting for the marshmallows to fully set, this recipe is a breeze. If you have patience, you can conquer this recipe. In fact, even impatient cooks can make these marshmallows with relative ease.

Case in point, if asked to note something I would like to change about myself, my tendency to indulge in impatience would be right up there. I am and always have been a rather impatient individual. That is tough to admit, but I do so in hopes you recognize even an impatient person can get through all the waiting to enjoy homemade marshmallows.

I also admit I have tried my hand at such a recipe before. In that attempt, I made (giant-sized) homemade marshmallows. After my second attempt here, I still have quite a way to go before I reach perfection, but I tell myself that is part of the fun.

My verdict? Homemade marshmallows are soft, pillowy, lovely tastes of deliciousness. That is the extent of my ability to wax poetically about food, so I hope I have done them justice. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

Author: based on the recipe of the same name seen on Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup cold water, divided
¼ cup powdered gelatin
1¼ cups corn syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
non-stick cooking spray
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

Combine the pumpkin puree, ½ cup of the cold water and the powdered gelatin in a mixing bowl and mix until well blended.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining ½ cup of cold water into a saucepan along with the corn syrup, sugar and salt.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Gently brush down the sides of the pot from time to time to return any sugar crystals that form back into the mixture.
Upon boiling, place a candy thermometer into the syrup and continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 255 degrees F (hard ball stage).
Remove the saucepan from the heat.
With the mixer running, very slowly and very carefully pour the hot sugar solution into the pumpkin-gelatin mixture.
Gradually increase the mixer speed to high and allow to whip for 10 minutes. It may be necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice if the mixture creeps up to high.
At the beginning of the final minute of whipping (minute 9), sprinkle in the pumpkin pie spice.
Lightly spray a standard baking sheet (I used a jelly roll pan to help contain the mixture) with non-stick cooking spray and rub gently with a paper towel to distribute the spray and remove any excess.
Scrape the mixture into a prepared pan and spread as smooth as possible with an offset spatula or large knife. Be sure to coat the utensil with nonstick cooking spray as well.
Set the marshmallows aside and allow to rest uncovered at room temperature for at least four hours. (Resting overnight is fine).
After this final wait, cut the marshmallows with a lightly oiled knife or pizza cutter, break into individual pieces and place in a large bowl.
Whisk together the cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar and pour over the cut marshmallows.
Toss to coat completely and shake off excess.
Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container with the lid slightly ajar for one to three days.

Notes

1¼ cups powdered gelatin is equivalent to just more than 1 box or 4 envelops of Knox gelatin. In lieu of pumpkin pie spice, the original recipe called for 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Bailey’s Irish Cream Truffles

Mar 17, 2012 By Love & Flour in Candies 2 Comments Tags: booze, chocolate, holiday

Long ago on St. Patrick’s Day, I found myself standing in a Fort Myers’ Bennigan’s (restaurant) parking lot that had been roped off to accommodate a band and large amounts of people. Two boys from I-don’t-remember-where in Europe asked me why we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. I looked at them dumbfounded – not because they didn’t know, but because I didn’t know. I told them my best guess was it was simply an excuse to imbibe copious amounts of alcohol in the middle of March. I relate this story for two reasons: 1) I still don’t really know why St. Patrick’s Day is so popular in the United States and 2) boys used to talk to me.

To celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, I started the day by making Bailey’s Irish Cream truffles. Bailey’s Irish Cream reminds me of two things: 1) getting kicked out of a liquor store with my dad this past Christmas Eve and 2) my first not-from-a-keg drink in college.

As for the most recent event, Mom asked someone to go buy a bottle of Bailey’s so she could serve what she called a chocolate covered strawberry cocktail that evening. So off to the the liquor store Dad and I went. A chocolate covered strawberry cocktail is Bailey’s mixed with strawberry daiquiri mix (though I’m sure you could vary this with other liquors). Try going into a liquor store and asking for a bottle of Bailey’s and strawberry daiquiri mix sometime to see if you don’t get odd looks from the employees. “Um, you know those don’t go together right?” Then, with your ID at home, try standing with your almost-60-years-old dad while he tries to buy a bottle of Bailey’s. If you’re in Ohio, two days away from turning 33 (i.e. I’m starting to look old), without an ID, the liquor store employees will kick you both out. Whoops, sorry about that one Dad.

As for that other not-from-a-keg drink, it was called an Attitude Adjustment and made with equal parts Bailey’s, rootbeer shcnapps and amaretto. This morning, I enjoyed some Bailey’s in my coffee while I rolled my truffles. All of these drink stories may make it sound as though I have a problem, but I share because I hesitated to buy a bottle of Bailey’s in the first place. I do not drink a lot of mixed drinks, so I was uncertain how to put the rest to use. If you are like me, hopefully these anecdotes give you some ideas; other delicious recipe ideas can be found on Bailey’s website.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Bailey’s Irish Cream Truffles

Author: unknown – found on a card in my recipe box

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

1 pound chocolate, chopped
⅔ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar for rolling

Instructions

Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
In a saucepan over low heat, bring the cream just to a boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate, and let stand for one minute.
Starting at the center of the bowl, begin to stir the chocolate and cream.
Stir until smooth, microwaving in 20 second increments to melt the remaining chocolate if needed.
Once the chocolate is fully melted and smooth, stir in the Irish Cream.
Cover and let stand overnight.
Remove the chocolate truffle mixture from the refrigerator and roll into balls. It may be helpful to allow the chocolate to soften slightly before rolling into balls
Roll or toss the truffles in cocoa powder or confectioners sugar to complete.

Notes

Keeps for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.