Chocolate Puddin' Pie

This is for all you chocolate lovers out there. Get ready because this chocolate puddin' pie is AMAZING and rich and smooth and deeeeeelicious! Coo'king Li'ght inspired!

Crust:

Chocolate wafers (I estimated 3 - 4 hand fulls ... the recipe calls for 30 but it really depends on the size of the wafer - I used the chocolate kitty cookies from Trader Joes)

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

2 TBS butter, melted

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup reduced fat milk, divided

2 large egg yolks

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 TBS rum (I used dark but the recipe calls for white)

whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp sugar

1. To prepare crust, place wafers in food processor, process until finely ground. Add 3 oz melted chocolate and butter, process until blended. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze the plate 15minutes or until set.

2. To prepare the filling, combine sugar, cornstarch, coca, and salt in a large saucepan. Stir with a whisk. Add half of milk and 2 yolks, stir with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes OR until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 4 oz chocolate and stir until smooth. Stir in rum. Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving sides loose to vent. Chill 4 hours or until set.

3. While pie cools, make whipped cream by pouring the whipping cream into a bowl, add vanilla and sugar, beat on high until fluffy. Cover and set in fridge until dessert time then top pie with whip cream!

Anger Cookies

I took two nights off from cooking, hence the lack of recipes posted here. Well, that would actually be three nights off because we went out to dinner with some friends last night. We ate really bad veggie burgers on Thursday night and much better veggie burgers Friday night. Thursday is my late night at work, so Jason usually cooks burgers or some other easy meal. I chose a new kind of burger to try, and they were pretty bad. Friday I was in a terrible mood - angry at the world - and did not feel like making dinner. So, we used up our easy meal again, and ate veggie burgers which were thankfully better.

As an effort to deal with my anger on Friday, I went into the kitchen to make cookies. For some reason baking seemed like an appropriate action to take - I needed to channel my negative energy into something before risking spontaneous combustion! There was cocoa powder in the pantry and dark chocolate chips waiting to be used. I found a recipe on line for double chocolate chip cookies and got started.

I am historically an awful cookie maker. Actually, if it is sweet and needs to enter into the oven, I should not try to make it. But, my anger seems to be the secret to good baking, and the cookies are fabulous! No love in these chocolate delights, but they are extra tasty!

Amy's Angry Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter at room temp

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 bag Ghiordeli 60% cocoa chocolate chips (How do you spell that?)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Cream butter and sugars in a bowl with mixer on high speed.

Lower to medium and add egg and vanilla.

Mix flour and remaining dry ingredients through salt with a whisk.

With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to butter mix. Beat until combined.

Add entire bag of chocolate chips.

Spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes.