My 31 days of writing about chocolate are over. It began in response to the Nester’s challenge and invitation to writing for 31 days in October about a topic of our choosing. There were over 1200 of us that participated in this challenge. Wow!

Normally, I write about coupons and saving money and living frugally. I write book reviews and share my devotional school teacher thoughts. Those are things I live and know. I also love to bake, so decided to use this series as an opportunity to share some of my favorite recipes.

It was wonderful…and exhausting…and encouraging…and motivating. Most importantly, it was a good change of pace for me.

I knew what I was writing about each day – chocolate. At the start of the series, I planned what recipes I wanted to share. With few exceptions, I stuck to those recipes. Since I knew what recipes those were, I could bake ahead. And bake ahead I did! That was the only way I could make these series work.

It was nice to have a reason to bake. It was nice to have feedback on my chocolate recipes. It was nice to gain some new chocolate recipes for my box. Mostly, it was nice to be able to share chocolate treats with friends, family and students – just because.

I’m glad I did this series. I really am. It was a good challenge for me – and an opportunity to put my chocolate recipes in writing.

Now, tell me. What was your favorite chocolate recipe that I shared?

My new favorites are the chocolate syrup and thin mints. Oh, and the frozen chocolate chip yogurt! They were all good. My old favorites are buckeyes and chocolate chip cheesecake, of course.

I’m ever so curious to hear yours!

Today marks the end of my 31 Days of Chocolate. Whew! With this final recipe, I’ve successfully shared 31 of my favorite chocolate recipes. Who knew that I had so many chocolate memories and recipes to share? Well, I guess I did.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. I’m going to have a follow up soon, but I need to finish off this series with one more chocolate recipe!

This recipe has a chocolate crust that forms the chocolate component. The rest is chocolate’s favorite partner – peanut butter.

This is another one of my families’ favorite recipes. It was requested for birthday treats regularly. I’m realizing more and more that we aren’t really cake people. Hmmm.

Here is the recipe for my Frozen Peanut Butter Pie.

Ingredients:

17 Oreo cookies, crushed
1/4 cup margarine, melted
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces Cool Whip

Directions:

Combine the crushed Oreos and melted margarine. Press the crumbs firmly into a pie pan to form a crust.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixer until smooth.

Add peanut butter and milk. Beat until creamy.

Fold in Cool Whip.

Pour filling into pie crust. Freeze. Cut into slices and drizzle with chocolate sauces to serve.

Additional Notes:

In a pinch, or if you prefer, you can also use a graham cracker crust for this pie. You can buy a pre-made crust if you want to keep things even simpler.

If you have extra filling (as you most likely will), simply pour it into a separate container to freezer for a personal pie treat. It’s delicious even before frozen but the frozen element is a nice twist.

This is a great dessert to make ahead for company. Peanut butter pie stores well in the freezer and is one less thing you have do the night before (or the day of).

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.

Do you remember bringing birthday treats to school? It’s one of the highlights of your birthday when you’re a kid.

Most kids brought in store bought treats or chocolate chip cookies. Me? Thanks to Mom’s baking skills, and my requests, I brought in cream cheese filled cupcakes. It’s a basic chocolate cupcake but with a hidden cream cheese and chocolate chip center.

In fact, I decided to surprise my preschoolers with a batch of these cupcakes as a special treat – just because I love them. They quickly devoured them, found the surprises and asked for seconds. It was worth the extra time cleaning chocolately faces and cupcake crumbs from the table.

These cupcakes are worth it.

Ingredients:

Any flavor cake mix for your cupcakes (plus those ingredients)
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, mix your cake mix, according to the package directions. I prefer chocolate, although any flavor can work.

In a mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg and sugar. Add in vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips.

Fill your muffin tins half full with the cupcake batter. If you’re using a Pampered Chef cookie scoop, use the medium scoop to fill the tin half full.

Now, drop the cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls into the middle of your cupcake batter. It will sink as you bake. If you would add a bit more batter for a fuller cupcake, you can. Just add a spoonful (or 1/3 of a scoop) to cover the cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. If you are using a dark pan, don’t forget to lower your temperature to 325 degrees.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and the tins. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Frost with your favorite icing or perhaps my homemade chocolate frosting.

Now, enjoy surprising everyone with this twist on a basic cupcake!

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.

Homemade frosting has become a lost art. Sad, but true. Those cans of frosting are quick but not nearly as delicious as a homemade frosting. Plus, with a homemade frosting, you know exactly what you are getting – no artificial ingredients!

Growing up, my Mom traditionally made buttercream frosting. We could pick the color. I recall a lot of green for some reason. I still like buttercream, but my mother-in-law’s chocolate icing is a new favorite of mine. Of course, she just told me that she got it from the Hershey’s cocoa container but I still consider it hers – and it’s good.

I realize I’m speaking boldly by saying this is the best homemade chocolate frosting. I’ve tasted a lot of frostings. I prefer frosting over the cake any day. So, when I say it’s the best, that is my humble opinion. You’ll have to try it and let me know if you agree. It’s the best homemade chocolate frosting that I have tasted. Nothing else compares!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Add vanilla.

Alternate adding milk and powdered sugar to the cocoa mixture. Beat on medium speed with a mixer to get frosting to a spreadable consistency.

Now, frost whatever your heart desires! Frost a cupcake or frost a cake. Frost a saltine (salty) or frost a graham cracker (sweet). Or, if you love a good frosting as much as I do, enjoy a spoonful of frosting all by itself!

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.

This chocolate series would be incomplete without including one of the best – and my favorite – chocolate recipes.

This recipe comes from my Uncle Phil. I am so glad he shared this recipe with us! I don’t make any other cheesecake than this one.

It’s so good that I have requested this instead of birthday cake. It’s so good that my godson requests this instead of birthday cake, once I made it for him! A little slice with do you because it is a rich and decadent treat.

This is a simple recipe – as far as cheesecakes go. Plus, with an Oreo crust, chocolate chips through the cheesecake and sprinkled on top, there is plenty of chocolate in here to go around.

If you like cheesecake, this is one recipe you’ll want to bake!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed Oreos (about 17 cookies)
1/4 cup margarine, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mini-chocolate chips
1 teaspoon flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place Oreos inside a plastic grocery bag. Using a rolling pin, smash the Oreos until they are finely ground. Pour the margarine over the crumbs. Pat firmly on the bottom of a springform pan.

In mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

In a small bowl, toss together 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the flour to coat the chips. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom so your chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the cheesecake. Stir into the cheesecake mixture.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust in the springform pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips evenly on top. Bake 1 or until cake springs back with lightly touched.

Cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Remove the side of the pan. Cut and serve. For an extra decadent treat, top with hot fudge or homemade chocolate syrup – which is almost fudge like!

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.

I’m not a coffee person. Neither my parents or my husband’s parents drink coffee and so we don’t. I’m not a tea person either. Yes, I grew up in the South and spent a summer in China – both places where tea is served regularly. Those hot drinks just don’t do it for me.

Now, give me a cup of hot chocolate and I’m happy indeed! Every morning in the winter, I fill my travel mug with steaming milk and make hot chocolate to take with me to school. It warms me up and gives me some calcium at the same time. Plus, it tastes delicious!

I used to buy Nesquik or hot cocoa packets (when I saw a good sale). Now that I’ve learned how to make my own chocolate syrup, that is how I’m making my hot chocolate.

Still, when I discovered this recipe at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, I knew I wanted to try it for a hot chocolate variation. It sat on my Pinterest board for months, just begging me to make them. This week, I finally did.

I made my first batch of Hot Chocolate Truffle Balls.

It’s really a simple recipe. Ready?

Ingredients:

1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Put the chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Pour the cream over them.

Microwave for 1 minute to melt the chocolate. Stir together. Continue microwaving in small 1 minute intervals until the chocolate is smooth, creamy, and completely mixed together.

This only took me 2 minutes total. The first minute it looks speckled and doesn’t seem like it’s going to work. The second minute heats it enough to stir it together – even though it takes just a bit to combine it. Keep stirring! It will blend.

Let cool on the counter for 10 minutes. Then, move to the refrigerator and allow to cool for another 2-3 hours.

Remove the truffle mixture from the fridge. Using the large Pampered Chef cookie / muffin scoop, place one scoop on a small square of saran wrap. If you don’t have a scoop, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

Carefully roll and twist the plastic wrap together over the chocolate. Continue until all the chocolate is gone.

Place the wrapped balls in the freezer to continue hardening. Store in the freezer until you are ready to make hot chocolate. Then…

Remove and unwrap a truffle ball. Place in a mug and cover with milk. The amount of milk you pour depends on how rich you like your hot chocolate! Microwave for around 2 minutes.

Finally, enjoy a hot cup of delicious cocoa! While it is a simple recipe, I think I will still stick to my chocolate syrup. It was a fun recipe to try and would make a unique gift, if you are so inclined with homemade gifts.

Now, how do YOU like your hot chocolate?

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.

I have another simple chocolate recipe for you today – Peanut Cluster Candies. This is one that you can mix up in a matter of minutes and freeze for future use. These are a nice treat to keep on hand for surprise company.

With peanuts as the base, I do consider this more a candy than a cookie. It has a nice crunch to it, which makes it a good chocolate sweet for those who don’t particularly care for cookies.

This is also a good recipe for children or those who don’t consider themselves cooks. It’s easy for anyone to make.

Ingredients:

12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 ounce package of butterscotch chips
10 ounce package of peanut butter chips
1 large jar of peanuts (20 to 22 ounces)

Directions:

Melt the three bags of chips in a double boiler (or in the microwave). Stir regularly.

Add the jar of peanuts. Stir until the peanuts are completely mixed into the chocolate.

Drop by spoonful onto a wax lined cookie tray. Flash freeze for 5 minutes. Remove from the tray and put them in containers separated by waxed paper.

Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

If you feel like getting creative, there are countless ways to do so!

You can make this recipe with just chocolate and peanut butter chips, although the butterscotch really do add a great twist.

You can add in marshmallows or dried cranberries. I’ve done this combo and it’s quite good. You can add some cashews or other nuts. Maybe some orange zest if you are feeling adventurous? I’d love to hear what you try because the sky is the limit with these simple cluster candies!

Of course, the recipe is wonderful just as it is, or I wouldn’t share it with you, now, would I?

For all the other chocolate recipes, click on the button image below to view the rest of the recipes from my 31 Days of Chocolate.