Deceptively Healthy Dessert: Gluten, Dairy, and Grain Free Chocolate Loaf Cake

Hello health food fans, vegans, and gluten free folks!

This recipe was suggested to me by my little brother, Kirby. I know, shocking, right?! Turns out he saw the picture of the original trending on buzzfeed. He didn't know what was in it and I changed the recipe anyway when the consistency wasn't what I wanted. Reading the recipe, I was a little skeptical, but it was better than I expected!

The Recipe: 

Cake:

• 1/2 cup plus 7 tsp pumpkin puree
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp applesauce
• 1 egg (***Dairy free by using 1/2 cup applesauce instead of egg)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp cashew butter (almond butter or peanut butter would work as well!)
• 1 1/2 tsp nutella

Glaze: 

• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp powdered sugar

The Process: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and ground flaxseed in a small bowl. 
3. Whisk the pumpkin, almond milk, applesauce, egg, nutella, vanilla, and cashew butter in a larger bowl using a fork.
4. Add the dry to the wet bowl and mix. 
5. Grease a 1 lb loaf pan. 
6. Add batter to pan. 
7. Push chocolate chips into batter. 
8. Bake for 30 minutes. 
9. Mix glaze in a small bowl. 
10. Apply to cake while hot. 
11. Allow cake to cool. 
12. Enjoy! 

The Calories: 

Pumpkin: 53 calories

Applesauce: 2 calories

Cashew Butter: 150 calories

Egg: 70 calories (dairy free substitution has 30 calories)

Salt: 0 calories

Baking Powder: 0 calories

Baking Soda: 0 calories

Cocoa Powder: 98 calories

Vanilla Extract: 12 calories

Honey: 384 calories

Flaxseed: 365 calories

Chocolate Chips: 201 calories

Almond Milk: 10 calories

Nutella: 33 calories

Powdered Sugar: 20 calories

__________________________________________

TOTAL: 1398 calories

This genuinely surprised me! The cake was about 9 slices, which means each slice was only 155 calories of mostly healthy ingredients. The dairy free version contains 150 calories per slice, though applesauce is less protein than eggs. 

What went right:

          The cake tasted great and was gone in one night! Kirby ate three slices and my parents really liked it too. It was rich and moist with the bitterness of dark chocolate and nicely satisfying. It came out of the pan very easily and displayed well. 

What went wrong: 

          Once Kirby was told what was in the cake, he decided he was no longer a fan. We've decided he's no longer allowed to know what's in food. I think I'll make it again and tell him it's different (shhh! ;) )

What I would do next time: 

           While shopping for almond milk, I noted that there is such a thing as dark chocolate almond milk. That is something I definitely want to try, as well as adding more glaze so it covers the entire cake. I would also like to try using half as much cocoa powder and a square of melted baking chocolate (like in brownies). It would also be interesting to use almond butter or peanut butter instead of cashew butter; the consistency of using almond might make the taste more consistent. Additionally, adding pecans or walnuts on top would add some much needed texture. Finally, I would like to serve this with a frozen yogurt, sorbet, or ice cream. Something cold and fruity would go very well with this cake. 

Overall, an amazing and simple cake that I can't wait to play with!

Lemon Roasted Broccoli

Hello and welcome!

This recipe is a take off of the classic Roasted Vegetables, adapted and matured for Lemon Christmas.

Lemon Christmas was a creation of my Aunt Connie and I for this year's Christmas dinner. What started as the story of Domathes being passed down through the generations of my neighborhood became a dinner of Domathes with Lemon Sauce, Lemon Chicken, Lemon Roasted Broccoli, Lemon Risotto, and Limoncello Cookies!

The Recipe: Lemon Roasted Broccoli

• Fresh cut Broccoli florets (as much as you would like to make, we had about 2 cups)
• about 3 tbsp Olive oil with Lemon (Trader Joe's)
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
• Lemon Zest, to taste (about 1 tbsp)

The Process: 

1. Set broiler to high, or bake to 350 degrees F (176.6 degrees C)
2. Spread broccoli out on a pan. 
3. Pour Olive Oil over broccoli. 
4. Sprinkle Salt and Pepper over broccoli. 
5. Use a spatula to "mix" broccoli, oil, salt, and pepper. 
6. Roast for about 5 minutes, or until browned. 
7. Enjoy!

The Calories:

Broccoli: 62 calories

Olive Oil: 357 calories

Salt/Pepper: 0 calories

Lemon Zest: 0 calories

____________________

TOTAL: 419 calories

Never feel guilty for roasting vegetables. This is a large portion of broccoli meant to be shared as a side dish. It's not advisable to eat broccoli and only broccoli (especially this much) as a meal, as it can have some nasty stomach effects in large quantities). 

What went right: 

         Everything! These were quite delicious and a lovely complement to the rest of dinner. The Olive Oil with Lemon is fantastic and should be in every kitchen. It gave the broccoli a nice lemon taste without being overpowering. Love. 

What went wrong: 

         It's too good. If you have a child who doesn't like broccoli, make it like this and they'll love it! 

What I would do next time: 

         If I were trying to eat it by myself rather than with family as part of a separate meal, I would combine it with other vegetables as we've done in the past. 

Would I make this in college:

         5 minute prep time, 5 minute cook time? Of course! 

Overall, a lovely addition to Lemon Christmas :) 

Lemon Risotto (a la Giatta)

Hello and welcome!

This recipe comes from Giatta's cookbook, courtesy of my Aunt Connie, as part of our Lemon Christmas :)

Lemon Christmas began as the story of a neighborhood tradition, and grew from our love of cooking and food into Domathes with Lemon Sauce, Lemon Chicken, Lemon Risotto, Lemon Broccoli, and Limoncello Cookies. It was the best, most successful five hours of cooking I've ever experienced. This recipe is one I would love to make again, because it's fantastically addictive!


The Recipe: Lemon Risotto

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 2 large shallots, diced
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine for cooking (can be found near the olive oil and balsamic vinegar)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesean cheese 
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

The Process:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth and half of the lemon juice to a simmer. Cover to keep warm. 
2. In another pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. 
3. Sautee the shallots in the butter for about 3 minutes. 
4. Add rice and stir. You do not need to cook the rice beforehand. 
5. Add the white wine and remaining lemon juice and cook for about 3 minutes, continuing to stir. 
6. Add small portions of the broth and lemon juice mixture in the other pot (about 1/2 cup each time) to the pan with the rice and shallots. 
7. Once each is fully mixed, continue slowly adding and stirring until all broth is in the mixture. 
8. Add in remaining ingredients: parsley, mint, parmesean, mascarpone, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. 
9. Stir over low heat until creamy. 
10. To serve in "lemon cups": hollow out lemon halves used for juice, but not zest. Cut off tip so it is flat. Fill with risotto. 
11. We recommend only serving the first portion in a lemon cup and keeping the remainder in a bowl on the table, to save time. 
12. Try to stop eating ;)

The Calories: 

Chicken broth: 77 calories

Lemon juice: 30 calories
Butter: 306 calories
Shallots: 14 calories
Arborio rice: 363 calories
Wine: 80 calories
Parmesean: 216 calories
Mascarpone: 146 calories
Zest of lemon: 11 calories

Salt: 0 calories
Black pepper: 0 calories
Parsley: 2 calories

_______________________

TOTAL: 1245 calories

This batch made quite a bit of risotto. We had enough for 6 lemon cups, plus maybe 2 cups in a bowl. This would make about 15 servings. That means each serving is only 83 calories! 

What went right: 

          This was absolutely delicious. We really nailed the risotto. Giatta, great recipe, and Aunt Connie, thank you so much for teaching me! I think I ate the most of anyone because I just couldn't stop. Even my little brother tried it and didn't hate it :) The consistency was fantastically rich, but still light enough to not densely clump. Love. 

What went wrong: 

         It's entirely possible that I now have a risotto addiction. Just kidding! But really, nothing went wrong with this recipe. 

What I would do next time:

         Risotto is something I would definitely love to make again. Mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients, so I would like to make a mushroom risotto. Weirdly enough, I just ate red pepper risotto at the Emory cafeteria (Dobbs University Center AKA the DUC) and it was...not terrible. I think they used white cheddar instead of mascarpone, which made it very dense, and there were no shallots (sad day!), but it was still more impressive than I expected and quite well-timed! It would also be fun to try putting squash in risotto. I've also seen caprese and saffron risottos that looked quite delicious!

Would I make this in college: 

         Given that it's essentially a single pan and single pot dish, oh yes! I would make a much smaller batch, because there's no way I could keep myself from eating it all, but it doesn't take very long to make and the marginal return on taste is enormous. 

Overall, an amazing second course to Lemon Christmas, and a simple base cooking technique that will definitely become some fun experiments in the future :) 

Ground Turkey Domathes: A Neighborhood Tradition

Hello and welcome!

This dish has an amazing story passed down through the generations of my neighborhood and was the inspiration (and appetizer) for Lemon Christmas :)

While shadowing my Aunt Connie -with whom I share a fondness for cooking and enjoying delicious, unique food- for a day, she told me the following story...

"On our block there used to live a Greek woman who was very close to Dorothy (fantastic grandmother, chef, knitting extraordinaire, and our lovely former next door neighbor, rest in peace <3). One day while I was visiting Dorothy, she brought out this recipe for Domathes (Greek traditional stuffed grape leaves) and told me about the Greek woman, who taught her how to make them. So Dorothy taught me to make them and gave me the recipe, and I would like to teach you how to make them if you'd like."

Naturally, I was very excited and honored to be a part of this tradition!

Once I learned the sauce for the domathes was lemon, I suggested that we have an entire lemon-themed dinner. Thus, Lemon Christmas was born :)

The Recipe:

Domathes:

• 1 Jar of Grape Leaves
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 cup rice
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp mint flakes
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 box chicken broth

Lemon Sauce:

• 3-4 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup of "hot liquid from pan" (referring to the juice from the cooked domathes pan)

The Process:

1. Brown the ground turkey. 
2. Mix in rice, salt, pepper, parsley, and mint. 
3. Cook onion with olive oil and tomato sauce in a pan. 
4. Add to ground turkey. 
5. Add egg to ground turkey. 
6. Mix the filling for the domathes and allow to cook together on low heat. 
7. Very carefully, remove grape leaves from jar and separate, laying each leaf on a section of paper towel to air dry. 
8. If you have leaves with holes, or leaves that are very small, you will want to combine a few small leaves to make a larger leaf. 
9. With a spoon, place some of the ground turkey in the center of a grape leaf. 
10. To fold properly, fold the stem up first, covering the ground turkey mix completely. Next, fold in each side. Finally, roll the leaf tightly away from you, securely wrapping the turkey mix. 
11. Place in a deep pan in a close, circular pattern (see photo). 
12. Once you have rolled all leaves, you will likely have a very large amount of ground turkey left. We probably used 1/3 of the ground turkey recipe, so you may want to make less or buy more grape leaves. 
13. Cover the wrapped domathes in the pan with chicken broth. 
14. Bring to boil and cook for 30-40 minutes. 
15. About 10 minutes before the domathes finish cooking, begin the sauce. 
16. Separate 3 large eggs. 
17. Beat whites until they are foamy. 
18. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice slowly to whites. (We used fresh lemons for everything, so account for juicing time based on your personal juicing comfort.)
19. Add egg yolks slowly to the whites and lemon juice. 
20. Add 1 cup of hot liquid from cooking domathes to the mix. 
21. Plate rolls as desired. 
22. Slowly pour sauce over plated rolls. You should have plenty left over to put on the side. 
23. Share and enjoy :) 

The Calories: 

Turkey: 676 calories

Grape Leaves: 13 calories

Rice: 684 calories

Salt: 0 calories

Pepper: 0 calories

Parsley: 2 calories

Mint: 1 calorie

Onion: 46 calories

Olive Oil: 119 calories

Tomato Sauce: 70 calories

Egg: 294 calories

Chicken Broth: 60 calories

Lemon Juice: 30 calories

___________________________

TOTAL: 1995 calories

This recipe makes a ridiculous amount of domathes. Using 1/3 of the filling mixture and sauce, we made at least 60 domathes. The total for this batch alone comes to 674 calories, meaning each of the 60 domathes was about 11 calories. I probably ate 10 and that was a LOT of food. 

What went right: 

         These were absolutely delicious!! They're great appetizers, especially for cold weather. Domathes have a very real, timeless, warm taste. I have absolutely no doubt that love is a flavor integrated into every step of this recipe. 

What went wrong:

         The lemon sauce makes the domathes a bit too damp to eat by hand in more than one bite. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't seem to eat one without drops running down my hands and forearms or a squirrel cheek. I probably should have just used a fork and knife but there's gotta be a way to serve these without the runny drops. Potentially keeping the sauce on the side the whole time but having it readily available for dipping would have alleviated this issue. 

What I would do next time:

         Aunt Connie and I decided that making a smaller batch of the filling and sauce would be better, since we only had enough grape leaves for about 1/3 of the batch. (Maybe grape leaves have gotten smaller since this recipe was made?) 

         There's nothing in the recipe itself that needs to be changed, but the serving/eating should have some alterations for the sake of etiquette. For a more formal gathering it would be nice to consider cutting them in half and serving them on small spoons for bite-size pieces that don't involve actual handling. For casual get togethers like ours, maybe keeping all the sauce on the side, readily available for dipping but not on the domathes, would have made it easier to handle. If I think of any other serving techniques/test these, I'll be sure to edit! 

Would I do this in college:

         This would be very difficult to do while in school. It takes a significant amount of time and specific ingredients that aren't in most other things. I would definitely make it again at home and will be making it in my future, but making it in school isn't time-efficient. 

Overall, a great start to Lemon Christmas! Keep checking for the next courses :) 

Bagel Panini Sandwiches

Hello and welcome! 

Today's meal was inspired by Chicago Bagel Authority, a restaurant by my high school that makes fantastic sandwiches on fantastic bagels that I've been craving for quite some time. 

                                     

Thanks Lauren, Emmy, Emma, and Keywan for having dinner with me and trusting my Improv Cooking :) 

Thanks Alec for the term Improv Cooking :) 

Thanks Aunt Connie for teaching me to make paninis :) 

                                   

Thanks dad for teaching me to maximize caramelization :) 

                                   

The Recipe: (Per serving)

• 1 Bagel
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 2 tsp Canola Oil
• 1/4 cup mixed Cucumber, Mushrooms, Tomato Slices, Red Onion

The Process:

1. Heat frying pan and panini pan on the stove. 
2. Sautee cucumber, mushrooms, tomato, and red onion on frying pan. 
3. Cut bagel in half using a serrated knife. 
4. Use a glaze brush to coat both sides of both halves of the bagel lightly with olive oil. 
5. Place the bottom half of bagel on the panini pan. 
6. Sprinkle with cheese. 
7. Add spinach. 
8. Add sauteed vegetables. 
9. Add top half of bagel. 
10. Press until cooked (should take a minute or so depending on your stove). 
11. Enjoy! 

The Calories:

Bagel: 260 calories

Cheese: 30 calories

Spinach: 3 calories

Olive Oil: 90 calories

Canola Oil: 80 calories

Vegetables: 10 calories

___________________________

TOTAL: 473 calories

What went right:

          Everyone loved these sandwiches and each only took about 5 minutes to make! Apparently they're also very good without cheese, because Keywan doesn't like cheese and loved it anyway. 

What went wrong: 

          I didn't make this sooner in the year :( 

What I would do next time: 

          Nothing, this is perfect the way it is and will be made so much more often from now on :) 

Overall, a super amazing, fast, easy addictive sandwich. Love. 

 

Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Cookies

Hello and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Welcome to yet another of my holiday baking experiments gone oh so right! 

                                  

Originally based in the Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies, this recipe became something entirely new and unexpected, but still equally loved and appreciated by my gluten free friends :) 

The Recipe: 

• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tbsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup melted chocolate
• Crushed Candy Canes (as desired)
• Water (as necessary)

The Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176.7 degrees C). 
2. To separate egg, crack and turn such that the yolk falls into one half of the shell. Carefully transfer yolk between shell halves, allowing white to drip into a container below. 
3. Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe container in 30 second bursts, stirring the chocolate after each burst. 
4. Mix egg white, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, melted chocolate. 
5. Add water in small portions until the batter holds together and is moldable. 
6. Roll batter into balls and "thumbprint". 
7. Add candy cane pieces as desired 
8. Bake for 6 minutes. 
9. Enjoy and share! 

The Calories: 

Egg White: 17 calories

Cocoa Powder: 65 calories

Powdered Sugar: 389 calories

Vanilla Extract: 3 calories

Melted Chocolate: 80 calories

Candy Canes: 30 calories

______________________________

TOTAL: 584 calories

And that's for the ENTIRE recipe!! Each of the 25 cookies made has only 23 calories, and they're gluten free! 

What went right: 

          While I thought the consistency was totally wrong because it didn't match the consistency of the Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies, they turned out amazing regardless. 

What went wrong: 

           Ditto :) 

What I would do next time: 

           It would be fun to try this recipe as a vegan recipe as well, by replacing the egg white with applesauce. Additionally, if dipped in unsweetened chocolate, this could make a delicious vegan truffle! 

Overall, a very successful recipe despite its deviation from the original. It worked quite well with my Spritz Cookies as well ;)        

Easy Caprese Chicken

Hello and welcome to one of the few meat-centered meals on my blog! 

Today's recipe was inspired by pinterest, my distaste for steak and fish, and my friend Alec's request to cook dinner together at his place :) 

                                   

Alec insisted that we improvise, but as he once messed up ramen, I was a bit more into the recipe. That said, the original plan was to grill, but sadly Atlanta decided it was the right day to rain. We tried to start the coals, but it didn't work out too well. The state of the kitchen was rather expected from a house of men, but it was great that they had a panini press. Once we cleaned it, we set to work... 

The Recipe: Easy Caprese Chicken (Recipe per serving)

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 1-2 slices of Mozzarella Cheese 
• 1-2 slices of Tomato
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 small slice Butter (about 1/2 tsp)
• Sprinkle of shredded Basil 
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 tsp Olive Oil

The Process: 

1. Heat the panini pan. 
2. Wash the chicken breast. **Raw meats must be handled very carefully!! 
3. Rub salt, pepper, and olive oil into the chicken breast. 
4. Place chicken breast in panini press. 
5. Wash hands! 
6. Heat pan on the stove. 
7. Make balsamic reduction in the pan by mixing butter and balsamic vinegar. 
8. Wash and slice tomato. 
9. Once chicken is nearly finished, place cheese on top and allow to melt. 
10. Remove chicken from panini pan with a spatula and plate. 
11. Place tomato slices on top, drizzle with balsamic reduction, and sprinkle with basil. 
12. Enjoy! 

The Calories: 

Chicken: 250 calories

Cheese: 78 calories

Tomato: 5 calories

Butter: 10 calories

Balsamic: 26 calories

Basil/Salt/Pepper: Negligible

Olive Oil: 40 calories

__________________________________

TOTAL: 409 calories

What went right: 

         The dish worked well together as a whole and we had fun cooking together! 

What went wrong: 

         Personally, I thought the chicken was a little dry which meant we either over-pressed it slightly or needed to prep it more. It was still very good considering our college kitchen. 

What I would do next time: 

         Marinate the chicken and either bake it or plan to be able to grill it rather than panini pressing it. 

Overall, the dish was a success and a great evening of kitchen experimentation and catching up with an old friend :) 

Christmas Pasta Casserole

Hello and welcome! 

Today's dish was one that could only be called "Improv Cooking" (thanks to Alec for the term). While cleaning out all the food in Turman, Lauren and I decided it was time to have an actual meal. To be honest it has little to do with Christmas other than being red and green with "snow", but I suppose that says something for my one-track mind...

The Recipe: Christmas Pasta Casserole

• 1 Box Penne Pasta
• 1 cup Spinach Leaves
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese to taste

The Process: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176.6 degrees Celsius)
2. Boil enough water to fill 3/4 of a pot on the stove. 
3. Cook pasta to desired consistency. 7-8 minutes should produce al dente pasta, depending on your stove. 
4. Strain pasta and transfer to bowl. 
5. Mix spinach, tomatoes, and cheese with pasta. 
6. Transfer to casserole (or other oven-safe) dish. 
7. Sprinkle the top with cheese. 
8. Bake for 5-10 minutes (as desired). 
9. Enjoy!

The Calories: 

Pasta: 800 calories

Tomatoes: 136 calories 

Spinach: 7 calories

Cheese: 52 calories

_______________________

TOTAL: 995 calories

Divided by the two of us, this makes a very nice filling meal of only 498 calories each, made of quite healthy components! 

What went right: 

          The pasta was cooked nicely, the spinach was great even though it wasn't sauteed, and the whole dish really fit together quite well! 

What went wrong: 

          Nothing necessarily wrong. I don't know that I can classify it correctly as a casserole without the massive amounts of cheesy layers and far more ingredients, but I can say that it's delicious! 

What would I do next time: 

           Potentially add sauteed zucchini and mushroom. and bake slightly longer. 

Overall, this was a great dish that will definitely be made over and over! 

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Toffee

Hello and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Despite the cold, November through January is my favorite time of year. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving, American New Years, Ramadan (depending on the year), anything else, or nothing at all, there's never a lack of holiday spirit and joy! 

                                

My floor at Emory is undeniably the MOST full of holiday spirit on the entire campus. Finals or not, we have a fully decorated lounge complete with Christmas Tree and Menorah, Santa letters on the walls, a Secret Santa exchange, and overall glee is at an all time high. 

Back home, this is the time of year I would normally spend practice baking for the week of Christmas through New Years. In high school, I used to bake a different treat for all my AP classes during the last week of school, and we had classic high school parties during the school day with treats and movies and almost no students in each room. There was something about December that always made me dress up in red and green and paint my nails with a new Christmas theme every day. Finals put a slight damper on this time for me, because studying > baking, nail painting, and dressing up. I wasn't my usual super happy holiday self, and it really worried me for a while that I didn't feel at home. 

Then finals ended and I was able to make up for lost time with some holiday favorites. For the rest of my time at Emory, Turman Hall smelled remarkably like home.

Thank you Emmy, for making this with me!!

Thank you Adrienne, for the original recipe using walnuts and milk chocolate!

The Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Toffee

• 60 Saltine Crackers
• 1 cup Brown Sugar 
• 1 cup Butter (2 sticks, 16 tbsp)
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Crushed Candy Canes (Optional)

The Process: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheet with tin foil. 
3. Lay saltines on baking sheet.
4. Melt butter and brown sugar in a pot, stirring constantly, until it reaches the color and consistency of the below photo. 
5. Pour butter/brown sugar over the crackers. 
6. Bake for 5 minutes. 
7. Spread dark chocolate chips over the toffee base and cover the pan with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. 
8. Put candy canes in a bag. 
9. Crush against a hard surface with pot. (as desired)
10. Use a spatula to spread chocolate chips into a layer of chocolate. 
11. Top with crushed candy canes (and sprinkles!) 
12. Allow to freeze for 30-45 minutes. 
13. Break and share to spread holiday cheer!!

The Calories: don't matter at the holidays. But if you're really that curious...

Crackers: 758 calories

Butter: 200 calories

Brown Sugar: 839 calories

Chocolate: 860 calories

Candy Canes: 50 calories

________________________________

TOTAL: 2707 calories

Mind you, this is for an entire PAN of toffee. If we assume a pan makes 60 servings, each serving is a mere 45 calories! So indulge away ;)

What went right: 

         I baked with a friend, it was super quick and easy as usual, and everyone who ate it LOVED it. In fact, it was so easy that we made another pan later and added some dark chocolate covered cherries to part of the recipe. Game changer. Once again beloved! It's really one of those recipes you can do in almost no time with very little necessary technique and few ingredients, but it never ceases to please! 

What went wrong: 

         There's always that one recipe that tends to go a little TOO fast...

What would I do next time: 

          Make two pans ;) Otherwise, it would be nice to try with a pretzel base, though that might be a bit more sticky, and with different types of toppings like dried fruit, white chocolate or nuts. 

Overall, this is a perfect college treats recipe that everyone can participate in and enjoy :) 

Keep looking out for more fun holiday baking!!