3X Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients;

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (2 ounces)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate (2 ounces)


Directions;
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash together the butter and sugars in a large bowl,with a fork until well mixed.
Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy.
Mix in the vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Stir in the dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and mix well.
Form cookies and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

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Attune(R) Foods Debuts Two New Probiotic Wellness Bars

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Chocolate fondue zap

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups milk chocolate chips
* 3 tablespoons heavy cream
* 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee



DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a fondue pot or slow cooker. Slowly warm until melted, stirring often. Dip strawberries, bananas or graham crackers.

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Sandwich Cookie Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
1. 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food chocolate cake mix
2. 4 (1 ounce) squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
3. 1/4 cup butter, cut up
4. 1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
5. 1/2 cup sugar
6. 2 cups thawed Whipped Topping
7. 12 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare cake as directed on package. You will need to make 2 cake layers.
Cool in pans 5 min.
Invert and remove pans.
Cool layers completely.
Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.
Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Cool 5 min.
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Add the whipped topping and cookie crumbs; mix lightly.
Spread 1 of the cake layers with the cream cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining cake layer, top-side up.
Cover the top of cake with the remaining glaze.

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Cook's Corner: Chocolate cake just like grandma made

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Carob Versus Chocolate

Carob is an evergreen tree native to the eastern Mediterranean where it has been in cultivation for at least 4000 years. The fruit of carob is a pod, technically a legume . Pods are borne on the old stems of the plant on short flower stalks.

The dark-brown pods are not only edible, but also rich in sucrose (almost 40% plus other sugars) and protein (up to 8%). Moreover, the pod has vitamin A, B vitamins, and several important minerals. They can be eaten directly by livestock.

Carob is used as a chocolate substitute when the pods are ground into a flour that is a cocoa substitute. Although this product has a slightly different taste than chocolate, it has only one-third the calories (total 1595 calories per pound), is virtually fat-free (chocolate is half fat), is rich in pectin, is nonallergenic, has abundant protein, and has no oxalic acid, which interferes with absorption of calcium.

Carob flour is widely used in health foods for chocolate-like flavoring.

Although carob powder is lower in fat and naturally sweeter than cocoa powder, fat is added to turn carob powder into candy. Its total fat and calorie counts are usually the same as in chocolate. The difference: The cocoa butter added to chocolate bars is rich in stearic acid (a saturated fat which has been shown not to raise blood cholesterol levels), while any type of fat may be added to carob -- including artery-clogging palm kernel oil and coconut oil.

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Brownie Sundae

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Oven Ready! Homestyle Brownies - Chocolate Chip Golden
• vanilla ice cream
• hot fudge topping
Baking Instructions:

1 Bake brownies according to package instructions.
2 Place scoop of vanilla ice cream on warm brownie.
3 Drizzle with hot fudge topping.

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The Chocolate Lovers Festival

The Chocolate Lovers Festival features activities everyone can enjoy.

The annual two-day festival is held in early February. In 2008, the festival will be held February 2-3. In 2009, the festival will be held February 7-8 in Fairfax, Va.

Among the events planned each year are the Taste of Chocolate, featuring chocolate vendors selling their wares; the Chocolate Challenge, an arts extravaganza where the medium is chocolate; the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast featuring chocolate chip pancakes; historic re-enactments; children's activities; a craft show at Fire Station 3 sponsored by the Auxiliary to the Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department; open houses at historic buildings; and much more.

Some events require a fee, and other events are free to all visitors.
For more information http://www.chocolatefestival.net/

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