I have not been a very good blogger lol. Between cooking and running a catering and meals to go business, running sprints after my 4 year old daughter, and squeezing in just enough time to shower I haven't had much time to write anything. The summer is always a little slower at work so I have started doing some cooking classes which has allowed me to create and try out new recipes!!!!!
The first class that I did this summer was a Kid's Chocolate Factory class and it was soooo much fun. There was chocolate on the floor, on the walls, on all their faces and probably the ceiling as well! We started off the something easy and stuffed cherries with cream cheese then dipped them in chocolate. These were so good and really fun to do with kids.
Cream cheese stuffed chocolate cherries:
Ingredients
60 fresh cherries
Filling
2 oz spreadable cream cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoon whipped topping or whipped cream
Chocolate
10-12 oz good quality milk or dark chocolate
2 tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (optional)
Directions
Wash and dry cherries. Remove stems and pit cherries. We used a plastic straw to get the seed out then placed the cherries on paper towels to dry.
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Gently stir in
whipped topping and place mixture in a piping bag with a tip that will
fit inside the hole of the pitted cherry.
Dab each cherry dry and fill with cheesecake filling. In a small ziploc bag, melt about 1 oz of chocolate. Pipe a small
amount to “seal” the top and bottom of each cherry. Set the cherries on
their side on a parchment lined pan. Place in the freezer for about 5
minutes.
Meanwhile, place a
small amount of the chocolate in a microwave bowl. Microwave at 30%
power in 30 second increments until most of the chocolate is melted.
(You don’t want to melt it all the way, stirring will melt the remaining
pieces).
Dip each cherry into the melted
chocolate turning to coat. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and place
cherries on a parchment lined pan
Melt 2 tablespoons
semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in a small ziplock bag for about 20
seconds in the microwave. Snip a tiny piece off the corner and use to
pipe a design on your chocolates.
Cool at room temperature 15 minutes. Refrigerate until serving.
