Dark Chocolate Raspberry Soda Bread | Divine Chocolate + Stonyfield Organic

My husband's food weakness is bread. Mine? Chocolate. {And cheese. And wine. And French fries, if I'm being honest.} Since he doesn't care for chocolate at all, I almost never make anything using chocolate as an ingredient because I'll be the only one who eats it.

But, in honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to try out a recipe that's a representation of both of our food loves coming together. A food baby of sorts. {No, that's not weird or anything.}

Bread and chocolate lovers, rejoice!  Dark Chocolate Raspberry Soda Bread.

Similar in preparation to Irish Soda Bread {but not at all falling into that category since traditional ISB fans get quite offended when you call un-authentic ISB by that name}, this quick bread comes together without the inconvenience of rise time that's necessary in making a yeast bread. I guess that's why they call it "quick."

When I was trying out Whole Foods' version of this recipe, I accidentally misread the directions and doubled {!!!} the amount of butter it called for. Whoops! Luckily, the result was still a tender, biscuit-like bread that is ready in under an hour. The addition of Stonyfield  whole milk yogurt gives the bread a similar tang to buttermilk, and the Divine Dark Chocolate with Raspberries? -- well, that just brings it home for those of us who are chocolate lovers.

{P.S. I originally purchased two Divine Chocolate Bars since I wasn't entirely certain which flavor I'd use. When I devoured the Milk Chocolate Hazelnut within the first 48 hours of buying the bars, my decision was made for me. If you prefer a different flavor of chocolate, by all means, use that instead! But I thought the Dark Chocolate Raspberry worked perfectly to keep this bread on the cusp of breakfast and dessert appropriate.}

 So there you have it. Our food love child. Too bad Steve won't accept it since there's chocolate involved.

Darn... guess I'll have to finish this off all by myself!

Disclosure: As a Stonyfield blogger, I received complimentary Divine Chocolate Bars for use in this post. As always, all opinions here are my own!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Soda Bread
Adapted from Whole Foods
Yield: 2 medium loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks {12 tablespoons} cold butter, diced into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 bar Divine 70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberries, roughly chopped
1 cup Stonyfield plain whole milk yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with a piece of parchment paper and dusting lightly with flour.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add cold butter and mix until the butter is somewhat blended into the flour {there should still be small pieces of butter and the flour should resemble wet sand when squeezed together between your fingers.}

3. Add in chocolate chunks and then mix in yogurt until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix. There may be a little bit of dry mixture left at the bottom of the bowl; it will get incorporated when you knead the bread.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands {the dough will be slighly sticky}, lightly knead the dough to ensure all the flour is incoroprated and divide it into two equal pieces.

5. Shape the dough into two round loaves and place on prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust the top of the breads with flour, then cut a deep cross in the top of both loaves.

6. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the tops are browned and the loaves are baked through. {You can insert a skewer in the middle to check and make sure the dough is not wet and sticky.}

Let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

{Flourless} Double Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Two incredibly exciting things happened the other day: 1. I noticed some bloggers posting pics of ingredients including cinnamon, pumpkin, and things with the word "spice" in the recipe title, and 2. My stats started showing an increase in views of my Ultimate Gameday Food Guide pin. These are very good signs that Fall is drawing near, bringing with it both football season and the end of my pregnancy adventure.

These days I get the question, "How are you feeling?" asked a lot, mostly due to the fact that "the bump" is now highly visible, even to the untrained eye. {i.e. The man at the FedEx store who gave me a dirty look when I picked up a shipment of wine for a blog-related project. Not to worry, I'm hosting a party at my house, not having one in my belly.}

The answer, I'm glad to say,  is "Not bad at all."

I'm entering my 3rd trimester in less than a week {!} and the only real complaint I have is that I'm no longer able to go at warp speed as I'm accustomed to. Things take a little more energy when you've got a stowaway on board. You may find yourself slightly winded from simple tasks like putting lotion on your legs after showering or taking off your jeans at the end of a long day. There are frequent pit stops to public restrooms, sometimes in the middle of what's supposed to be a "quick" trip to the store. Even sitting starts to become a challenge when you realize that you no longer bend in the middle, often forcing you into a reclined position so that your lungs have some room to expand. Several times a day, my belly begins shape-shifting as my son practices what I can only guess are his acrobatic skills. I've considered calling the circus just to prepare them for their future headliner.

Sure, it's a challenge getting used to increased weight and decreased mobility... but I'm doing my best to continue being as active as possible. This means I'm still spending time on my feet in the kitchen, which is important to me because I know that the luxury of recipe testing for hours will be coming to an end all too soon.

The great part about having less energy {yes, something positive has come of this!} is challenging myself to find and create recipes that require less time and less ingredients. Those are two bonuses for anyone, not just those with a bun in the oven!

That's how these cookies happened. It all started with a wonderful mail delivery from my friends at Peanut Butter & Co....



Dangerous things can happen when you ship 5 jars of flavored peanut butter to a pregnant woman. Luckily, Steve and I {and even Farley} have been taking turns diving into the peanut butter collection. His favorite use? In smoothies and on a spoon. Mine? Smeared on a banana or crisp apple slices. Or on a spoon. We can all agree, the stuff is great on a spoon. {Yes, even Farley.}

So all this peanut butter naturally gave way to ideas about baked goods. And believe me, there are tons to be had! But remember, I was looking for simplicity here, so the less ingredients, the better.

When I stumbled across this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe from Tina's Chic Corner, I was inspired to tweak her already fabulous recipe and make them my own. Deciding to use the Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter was the biggest struggle in making these because that's my favorite flavor and I didn't want to waste a single scoop on something unworthy. But as it turns out, they were worth the sacrifice.

I have become the queen of lazy cookies -- the kind that require little more effort than throwing a handful of ingredients into a bowl, mixing them and plopping them on a cookie sheet to bake. These would fall under this category. I'm thinking once the kid is older these types of recipes will be useful for last minute "Mom, I have to bring something in..." type moments.

For now, they're easy enough to mix up even on the days when I'm winded from tying my shoelaces. Hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

Disclosure: Peanut Butter & Co. sent me complimentary jars of their peanut butter for me to try. I have not been compensated for this post and the opinions written here are all my own! Thanks for the goodies, PB&Co!

{Flourless} Double Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 28 Cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup rolled oats {gluten free if you want to keep the whole recipe GF}
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
6 squares of dark chocolate, chopped into chunks {or prechopped chocolate chunks. Or chocolate chips. You get the idea.}
{Optional} Sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients {except chocolate chunks} until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in chocolate chunks until well distributed.

3. Using a cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto cookie sheet, spacing about 2 to 2 1/2 inches apart {these will spread a bit}. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt for a little extra flavor.

4. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies are just set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. {They will be quite soft right out of the oven but firm up a bit and become chewy once they're cooled.}

Dark Chocolate Coffee Toffee {Mini} Cupcakes

Did you celebrate my 2 Year Blogiversary all night? And wake up with glitter stuck to your face and your party hat on sideways??

ME TOO! {Read: I went to bed at 9:45pm and was snoring by 9:47pm. Oh well, we tried.} ;)

Ok, so maybe we didn't dance on tables and drink champagne, but I hope you at least entered the Sugarfina giveaway I announced on yesterday's post. I mean, free candy? Too good to pass up!

Anyway, I spent all day yesterday coming up with something celebratory and spectacular to share with you... or, you know, getting my tootsies pampered at The Spa at the Breakers with my bestie from the fabulous WP inks {which I'll be talking a little more about in an upcoming post}. But I promise, I was thinking about what I was going to bake the whole time!

After a long day of the royal treatment, I pryed myself away came home, made these amazing mini-cupcakes, frosted them, and photographed them... in about an hour flat. How's that for efficient? It's amazing what a day of relaxation can do for you.

The flavor, Dark Chocolate Coffee Toffee, was inspired by one of the sweet treat flavors that Sugarfina is kindly including in the Tasting Box I'm giving away. I happen to love dark chocolate, coffee, and toffee... so it was a no-brainer.

I adapted my favorite {vegan!} chocolate cake recipe from The Pastry Affair {p.s. Her photography... swoon!} to give it my own twist, and came up with a decadent frosting that's literally the icing on the cake. Thank heavens I made these into minis because I may or may not have "sampled" more than one! {Don't look at me like that, it's my party!}

I love how these turned out and I think you will, too. But just to be sure, let's make another batch to enjoy, shall we?

Dark Chocolate Coffee Toffee {Mini} Cupcakes
Cake adapated from The Pastry Affair

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder {I use Hershey's Special Dark}
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Heath Toffee Bits
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar {I used white vinegar, but I've also used cider vinegar before, too.}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, and toffee bits. Whisk together until well incorporated.

3. In another bowl, combine oil, coffee, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Whisk together.

4. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and whisk until just combined. {Batter will look runny.}

5. Using a small cookie scoop, fill cupcake liners nearly to top. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes, then remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack until ready to frost.


For Frosting

2 sticks butter {1 cup}, softened to room temp
4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
3 tablespoons Heath Toffee Bits {plus extra for garnish}

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, cream cheese, cooled melted chocolate, and espresso powder until smooth.

2. Slowly add in confectioners' sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add in milk and mix until frosting is smooth. {If frosting is too loose, add extra confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's too stiff, add a bit more milk 1 teaspoon at a time. Do this until you reach desired consistency.}

3. Stir in toffee bits.

4. Frost cupcakes and decorate with extra toffee bits if desired.

Yield: About 32 Mini Cupcakes