October 28—National Chocolate Day. Need I say any more? Nothing specific in this day. Generic enough to celebrate in any way you see fit. Start your day with a mocha frappe, my personal favorite, or enjoy a hot chocolate tea or hot chocolate or biscuits with chocolate gravy. Enjoy a chocolate cookie or chocolate cake. Make chocolate fried chicken, chocolate chili or enchiladas with chocolate sauce. There are so many options to choose from.

I don’t have much room this week so I am keeping my intro short. I just want to share a couple fun facts because I have so much fun with them. Did you know the smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which triggers relaxation? See- chocolate really does make ANYTHING better! It’s scientifically proven! The inventor of the Chocolate Chip Cookie sold the idea to Nestle Toll House in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Sign me up for that! M&Ms were created in 1941 as a means for soldiers to enjoy chocolate without it melting. Also a wartime effort, Nutella was invented during WWII, when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate to extend his cocoa supply. There are many ways to use chocolate in the kitchen and I use all forms -- a lot. I am a self-diagnosed chocoholic here. This week, pick up your favorite chocolate and meet me in the kitchen for these easy chocolate recipes!

Triple Hot Chocolate

3½ cups whole milk 1½ cup heavy cream 6oz milk chocolate, coarsely chopped 6oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 6oz white chocolate ¼ cup sugar 2 tsps. pure vanilla extract Whipped topping for topping, if desired In medium saucepan, heat milk and heavy cream over medium-low heat until just starting to bubble around edges. Whisk in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, sugar and vanilla until smooth and combined. Taste and adjust if needed. Top with whipped topping. Serve warm.

Chocolate Pizza

1 premade pizza crust or crescent roll dough sheet 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup M&M’s 8 jumbo marshmallows cut into smaller pieces or mini marshmallows Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake dough as directed on package. Pour chocolate chips on crust and return to oven for 1-2 minutes to melt chocolate. Use back of spoon or knife to spread chocolate over crust. Add marshmallows and broil for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted and slightly browned. Sprinkle M&M’s on top. Serve hot.

Easy Chocolate Pastries

1 can crescent roll dough 1 cup semi-sweet morsels 1 cup white chocolate morsels 1 egg, lightly beaten Powdered sugar for dusting or chocolate for drizzling, if desired Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out crescent dough to form an even rectangle. Cut dough into equal rectangles. Adrian wanted larger squares so we only did 6 pieces. Whatever size you do, make sure they are big enough to fold over the morsels and seal. Sprinkle semi-sweet and white morsels over half of each piece of cut dough. Fold dough over morsels for each piece and pinch edges closed using fingers or a fork. Lightly brush each pastry with egg wash. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Dust each with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate or both! Serve warm.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cups

10-15 cookies-enough to use for all your cups, I had fudge stripes so that’s what I used. Oreos is what I would have usually used.

Filling

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 16oz cream cheese (2 packages), softened ½ cup granulated sugar ⅛ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tsps. pure vanilla extract 8oz Cool Whip, thawed Topping

1 cup heavy whipping cream 4 Tbsps. powdered sugar 2 Tbsps. semi-sweet chocolate chips, more or less to taste In food processor, pulse cookies until fine crumbs. Spread crumbs in bottoms of cups for individual servings. Set aside. Melt semi-sweet chocolate morsels in small saucepan. Stir until smooth. Set aside. In mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese with sugar, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder until fully combined (scrape down sides of bowl as needed). Add in melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip until incorporated. Pour cheesecake filling on top of cookie crumbs in cups. Refrigerate cheesecakes for 4 hours, or overnight. For the whipped cream topping, beat cold heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 3-5 minutes). Pipe on top of the cheesecake filling in cups and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Recipe adapted from shugarysweets. com.