Mar 052013
 

Why in the world we don’t seem to have these bars in the US? I see them everywhere here, so simple and how can you go wrong with chocolate, marshmallows, and digestive biscuits? Almost Impossible. The British version does not have nuts, but since in the US and I am American, Rocky Road Ice Cream has nuts in it,  I decided to add peanuts. Plus I had leftover honey roasted peanuts so I thought they would make the perfect edition.

Rocky Road Bars

Rocky Road Bars

Rocky Road Bars Recipe

18 oz of milk chocolate

8 digestive biscuits broken up but not ground/graham crackers would also work (about 4-5)

150 grams or 5.2 oz of Mini Marshmallows

3/4 Cup of Honey Roasted Peanuts or a Nut of your choice

Optional you could add 1/2 cup of raisins or dried cranberries- I did not want to give these any nutritional value so mine did not have them!

8×8 inch baking dish- line the bottom with greased parchment paper.

Rocky Road Bars

Rocky Road Bars

In a Double Boiler melt the milk chocolate. Once the milk chocolate is completely melted remove from heat and let cool slightly for 2-3 minutes. Then add your ingredients and mix together with a large spoon until all the biscuits, marshmallows, and peanuts are covered. Pour the mixture into the dish and evenly spread out. Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours until the chocolate had harden. Now ready to cut and serve.

It is great to eat on its own, but I took a little with some chocolate ice-cream to make my own version of rocky road ice cream!

 

 

Feb 252013
 

I feel these are coming back into vogue. I have always loved them and sometimes forget how simple they are to make. Seriously, it is merging the best of two worlds a brownie and chocolate chip cookies! And the best part, they are so much easier than a chocolate chip cookie since you spread the batter out into a pan and dont have to make individual cookies and wait for one sheet to be done before the other sheet goes in!

Blonde Brownies

Blonde Brownies

Chewy Blonde Brown

Heat Oven 375

1 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup of Melted Butter

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract

1 Cup of Flour

1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda

1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

1 Cup of Chocolate Chips ( I used a mixture of white chocolate and semi-sweet dark chocolate)

In a mixing bowl add the dark brown sugar and melted butter and mix until combined followed by 1 egg and vanilla and mix for about 1-2 minutes. Sift in the flour baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix on low until evenly combined and then mix in the chocolate bits.

Grease a 8×8 inch square pan and evenly spread the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a nice light brown crust has formed on the top. Let cool slightly before serving. I think these are great to serve as dessert and could spruce up with some chocolate sauce and ice cream, as an addition to a lunch and served on own or as I made them for a care package since they pack really well!

 

Feb 182013
 

My sister is in town visiting from Boston. She wanted to go to Brussels for the day, which in theory seemed to be a good idea but ended up being one of those days where everything kind of did not go our way.What we learned- Don’t go to Brussels on Monday. Pretty much everything is closed.

Although in the end despite nothing going how we had planned when we arrived back to London tonight we all said what a great day.  We did accomplish what we wanted: Ate a waffle, Fries, and had some beer. I highly recommend trying   cherry fruit beer.

 

Waffles at Le Funambule

Waffles at Le Funambule

Right next to the Manneken Pis- The fountain statue of the little boy going to the bathroom who is only about 1 foot tall!

Funambule Waffles

Funambule Waffles- You might want an extra fork! Our forks kept breaking

Mary's Chocolate

Mary’s Chocolate-According to Neil’s Belgium Co-worker the best chocolate in Belgium

Beer in the Grand Place

Beer in the Grand Place

Perle Sugar

Perle Sugar

I did buy some Perle Sugar at a mini market to make Belgium waffles at home!!! Neil, though just wants to eat the sugar straight from the box. Good thing I bought 3 boxes.

A note about the Eurostar- It is all about booking in advance. Tickets go on sale 4 months in advance and unlike  airline tickets where rates can vary and sometimes you can get a last minute deal, not the case with the Eurostar. They are always cheapest  buying further out and continue to get more expensive the closer to your departure time.