Chocolate Dipped Apples

These are unbelievably good and even better with a little bit of carmel to add to it.

* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 cups water
* 3 large apples, cored and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 3 tablespoons butter or
* 1 bottle prepared hardening chocolate sauce (such as Magic Shell)

Preparation:

* 1) Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
* 2) In a large bowl, combine lemon juice and water. Place apples in lemon juice mixture. Toss to coat apples with lemon juice mixture. Set aside.
* 3) If you don’t have a microwave, skip this step and use hardening chocolate instead. Place chocolate chip and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir well. If chocolate is not completely melted, microwave on high for 20 seconds more and stir. Repeat until chips are melted.
* 4) Place apple slices on a paper towel and pat dry with another paper towel.
* 5) If you made your own chocolate sauce, dip apple slices halfway into chocolate mixture and place on baking sheet. If you are using hardening chocolate sauce, arrange apple slices on baking sheet and drizzle with chocolate.
* 6) Refrigerate apple slices for about 1 hour or until chocolate has set.

Fudge Sauce for Ice cream

In the store you’ll find strawberry syrup, butterscotch syrup, chocolate syrup, caramel, fudge, and even chocolate shell topping. The problem is, by the time you buy ice cream topping you might as well have bought the more expensive ice cream filled with candy and other goodies in the first place. its not as if groceries are getting any cheaper either. You can make some of these toppings from scratch at a fraction of the cost and store them in your refrigerator.

This recipe makes three cups of thick, rich, fudge sauce for ice cream. To make homemade this you’ll need . . .

1 twelve-ounce can of evaporated milk,
1 twelve-ounce package of semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of margarine
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Over medium heat, combine the milk, chocolate, and sugar. Stir the mixture constantly until it boils, and remove it from the heat. Blend in the margarine and vanilla. This delicious homemade fudge sauce can be served cold or warm, and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.

How to Make a Chocolate Crumb Crust

This pie crust is very easy to do. So easy that you may never want to buy one again.

1 package chocolate cookie wafers
1/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of butter melted


Position a rack in the middle of your oven and heat it to 450 degrees. Select a 9 inch pie plate (preferably glass).
Crush wafers into fine crumbs. You can break them into pieces in a food processor and process until fine or put them into a zip lock bag and beat the crap out of them. In a mixing bowl combine crumbs, sugar, butter using a fork until all ingredients are slightly moistened. Press the crumb mixture into the sides of the pie plate with your fingers. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes and then allow to cool and chill before filling with what ever goodies your heart desires.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce

2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
8oz bittersweet chocolate
2oz unsweetened chocolate
3tbsp butter
2 to 3 tbsp dark rum

Heat cream in Sauce pan and bring to a boil. Watch it, keep stirring it, and down let is burn. I'm bad about that. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half. This will take about 15 or 20 minutes.

Stir in the brown sugar stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Then ad the rum to taste. Pour over anything you want while still warm.

Chocolate champagne truffles.

1 cup of heavy cream
12 oz bittersweet chocolate
3-4 tbsp Marc de Champagne
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Gently warm cream in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear at pan edges. Place chocolate in a food processor, poor warm cream over the top, and allow to sit for 15 seconds before blending smooth. Add liquer to taste and chill until firm (about 3 hours). Use a teaspoon to scoop up 1 inch balls and place in a bowl with cocoa powder. Coat to form truffle. Can be stored in refrigerator for two weeks, but they won't last that long.

White Chocolate Cream

1 cup heavy cream
12 oz white chocolate (chopped into small pieces or shaved)
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey

Gently warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form at the edges (don't boil it). Process the chocolate in a blender and pour warm cream over the top. Then blend until smooth. Add the bourbon to taste. Allow to cool, then cover and chill until use. Its great with fresh fruit.

Where does Chocolate Come from

The 18th century Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus wisely named the tropical tree from which we get chocolate Theobroma which is a compound of green words meaning "Food of the Gods". The pods take five to six months to develop. Cacao trees can be harvested twice a year. They are placed on banana leaves in large wooden boxes. They are left to ferment for several days. The beans are roasted at 250 to 350° degrees for thirty minutes to two hours depending on the type of bean. After roasting the beans are winnowed. This is the process that removes the outer shell. The shells are sold as animal feed. The inner nib is then crushed then heated to melt the cocoa butter and ground to a thick paste. This paste is called chocolate liquor, but contains no alcohol. If the nibs are to become Dutch-processed cocoa they are treated with an alkali. If left untreated with alkali the chocolate liquor becomes cocoa powder. To make cocoa power a large press extracts all but 10 to 25 percent the cocoa butter from the chocolate liquor. The remaining cake is then ground and sifted through fine nylon, silk, or wire mesh. Low fat cocoa contains between 10 to 13 percent fat where high-fat contains 15 to 25 percent. Low-fat cocoa is usually used for cocoa drinks. The high-fat cocoa is used to flavor desserts.

You can find Cocoa tree seeds and seedlings on Ebay. They are tropical and will require hot weather and a humid climate similar to a rain forest. They grow find outdoors here in Arkansas until the weather turns cold and then they must be brought into a greenhouse.