Chocolate Wine Pie

 

This is one of those viral recipes I had to see to believe. It's actually quite nice! A rich chocolate flavor with the red wine backbone. not overly sweet, and texture is like a cross between pudding and mousse. It's fun to serve alongside a glass of the same wine just to compare flavor profiles, so pick-up 2 bottles of the same! I used a bottle of Trader Joe's Chianti and I think that was a perfect pick for this recipe.

Note: this recipe makes about 2 cups more filling than can actually go into the pie, so try to get a deep crust pie if you can, a mini pie crust, or be prepares to save/throw out the extra.

Chocolate Wine Pie

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

1 chocolate pie crust (cookie, wafer, or graham)

1-750 mL bottle good dry red wine

1/2 cup corn starch

1.25 cup sugar

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped small (optional: save off a few chocolate curls to top the pie)

2 Tbs. butter

pinch of salt 

Whipped topping:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. sugar

Instructions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the cornstarch and 1.25 cups sugar. Over medium heat, slowly whisk in wine to prevent lumps from forming. Cook until mixture has come to a simmer and is very thick, about 8 minutes, whisking constantly. 

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, butter and pinch of salt until smooth.

3. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 4 hours and up to overnight.  

4. For the whipped topping, beat together cream and remaining 1 Tbs. of sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over cooled and set pie, and top with chocolate curls if desired.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I have been buying groceries from Hy-vee online and then just picking up. It's amazing, it's so much easier to get the sale items because someone else is shopping way before I'd be in the store to shop myself, and I *generally* get exactly what I ordered, no more. However, I got a couple bags of pretzels to make chocolate covered pretzels, and both bags were almost entirely broken. I had to use both bags to make one batch of chocolate covered pretzels. But then... what else to do with the basically 2 full bags of broken pretzels?! I found this recipe recipe in search of that answer. Easy, simple, 5-ingredient no-bake bars.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

from Live Well Bake Often

makes 12 big bars (or more smaller)

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Pretzel Layer:

1.5 sticks (170 g.) butter, melted

1.5 cups (180 g.) powdered sugar

1 cup (250 g.) creamy peanut butter

2 cups (200 g.) crushed* pretzels

Chocolate layer:

1-12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup (65 g.) creamy peanut butter

*Measure pretzel after crushing if measuring by volume. To crush pretzels, use a food processor and pulse until mostly ground but some small pieces remain.

Instructions:

1. Line a 9"x13"  baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment. Make sure to leave some overhang for easy removal, and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, powdered sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, and crushed pretzels and mix until fully combined. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press it down into an even layer.

3. In a medium microwaveable bowl, add chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals until fully melted. Pour over peanut butter pretzel layer and use a spatula to distribute into an even layer.

4. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until chocolate layer has hardened. Then remove from the pan, and slice into bars. You can slice into 12 big bars, but they are pretty rich. I'd recommend making them smaller.

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a recipe from Truman State University's Food Service! They would sometimes serve this in the food hall and I asked the staff enough times for the recipe I finally got it! The original was for an industrial-sized batch, so this is a normal pan's worth. Made this recently again for my friend's kid's second birthday party and it was a huge hit. I'm not a fan of the cream cheese frosting recipe, so I am not posting it. Honestly It's delicious and moist and flavorful on it's own and does not require frosting but should you so choose, I recommend using your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.

Tip: Double this recipe if you want a cake instead of bars in the same sized pan. Increase cooking time accordingly.

Zucchini Bars

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 scant tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded zucchini with moisture squeezed out (measure after squeezing)
1.5 oz. walnuts

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. In a medium bowl, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix.
3. In a large bowl, combine oil and eggs. Mix well. Sift in dry ingredients and combine.
4. Shred zucchini. Then place in a cheesecloth or a very thin dish towel and squeeze over the sink until you can't get any more moisture out. Add zucchini and walnuts to the batter and fold in.
5. Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan. Pour in batter and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.