How much chocolate is in your house this week?

Hey guys it's the 3rd week in March and American Chocolate Week is half way through but you still have time to celebrate this sweet Holiday. In fact most of us celebrate chocolate every week anyway don't we? I know we do. In fact Stephen has a bag of mini chocolate bunnies right now that he's been snacking on all week. Why bunnies you ask? Well for this year, American Chocolate Week butts right up to Easter so there's a lot of chocolate treats out there for this whole week guys. Now for me, well I've been hooked on chocolate coffee creamer this week myself. We are both big coffee drinkers and we change up our flavored creamers all the time and this week I went with chocolate. What else is chocolate in our house this week? Well our cookie jar is full of Chocolate Chip Cookies... We can't go without our cookies and milk! In my kitchen cabinet awaits a box of brownies and German chocolate cake mix. I'm crazy about German Chocolate Cake. I think that's all the chocolate we have in the house this week. So now guys tell us...... how much chocolate do you have in your house this week?
Are there other Chocolate Holidays?
OH YES! We are obsessed with chocolate and our Holiday calendar makes sure we never forget it either. Here's a long list of all chocolate holidays in our calendar; so go pick one that's just right for you and "melt that chocolate! " See National Chocolate Holidays.

Featured Books about Chocolate
Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner
Book Description: Chocolate and candy making today is undergoing a renaissance in public awareness and status. This comprehensive book combines artisan confectionery techniques with accessible explanations of the theory and science as well as formulas for use in production. Fundamental information for the confectioner includes ingredient function and use, chocolate processing, and artisan production techniques. The book contains 140 formulas and variations for beautiful confections, including dairy-based centers, crystalline and noncrystalline sugar confectionery, jellies, and nut center and aerated confections.


Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
Book Description: Established in 1996, Scharffen Berger has become America's preeminent maker of cooking chocolate. Essence of Chocolate, by the firm's founders and food writer Susie Heller, offers more than 100 recipes for a broad selection of delights like Chocolate Pudding Cakes, Chocolate Marbled Gingerbread, Cocoa Caramel Panna Cotta, and Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake, as well as savory edibles made with chocolate like Tortilla Soup and Chile-Marinated Flank Steak. Unusual recipes also include the likes of Chocolate Chunk Challah and TKOs, a homemade version of Oreos that leaves those favorites on the supermarket shelf.

Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor
Ann Byrn is on to something. Her first book, The Cake Mix Doctor, showed readers how to tweak store-bought cake mixes to produce "like-homemade" treats. The sequel, Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor repeats Byrn's foolproof approach, focusing solely on chocolate. The strategy? Begin with commercial mixes like chocolate cake, devil's food, and chocolate brownie; alter them with ingredients that add flavor, such as cocoa powder, or richness and moistness, like sour cream; use homemade frostings (supermarket versions won't cut it); and you're in business. "My mission," says Byrn, "is to help busy cooks find the time to bake even when company is not coming." If her sweets lack true homemade quality, they nonetheless produce entirely creditable desserts most bakers, and those they feed, will applaud.

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth
Book Description: Chocolate Caramel-Pecan Souffl Cake . . . Cinnamon-Donut Bread Pudding . . . Double-Crumble Hot Apple Pies . . . Giant Coconut Cream Puffs . . . Here's a collection of desserts that gives more than 75 sticky, chewy, messy, gooey reasons to stock up on napkins. In addition to each sugary favorite, the author has included simple techniques and tools to help home cooks recreate each decadent treasure again and again. Sprinkled throughout are tips on using phyllo dough, toasting nuts, and making a heavenly ganache, so every over-the-top treat tastes as irresistible as it sounds. For the serious sweet tooth, pour a tall glass of milk and get ready to bite into all that's Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey!