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This Brownie Tart has a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor and a creamy smooth texture. Its chocolate flavor comes from both semi sweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder. The surprise ingredient is the addition of cream cheese, which tempers the richness of the chocolate and gives the Brownie a slightly tangy flavor. We also add some toasted pecans which give extra flavor and a pleasing crunch.

Blondies, also known as Butterscotch or Blond Brownies, are a dense and chewy bar cookie that has a wonderfully sweet butterscotch flavor. Blondies are said to be related to the Chocolate Brownie, although they do not look or taste like one. It is a little confusing as Blondies are not made with dark chocolate so the only real connection to the Brownie seems to come from the fact they are baked in a square pan. If you think about it, the batter is more like a chocolate chip cookie batter; full of butter and brown sugar, with the added touch of toasted pecans and chocolate chips.

These Cinnamon Rolls (Buns) are made with an enriched white yeast bread. They have a wonderfully soft and tender crumb and are filled with a mixture of ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter (and sometimes raisins and/or chopped nuts). Although you may be able to buy these gorgeous yeast buns, nothing compares to the smiles you get when your family wakes up to the lovely smell of these baking in the oven.

This Chocolate Hazelnut Torte is a European style cake. It is rustic looking, with its thin top crust which is cracked and broken and sunken in the middle. Yet inside the texture of this cake is dense, yet wonderfully soft and moist. It’s buttery rich with the flavors of chocolate and hazelnuts. It really doesn’t need a frosting, and oftentimes I like to serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraiche.

This is a recipe for a Hazelnut Meringue Cookie. In Italy, this cookie is known as Brutti ma Buoni. Roughly translated Brutti ma Buoni means ‘ugly but good’. Personally, I don’t agree with the ugly part, but I do agree that they taste really good. The outside crust of this cookie is thin and delicate, yet wonderfully crisp. Inside the texture is soft and chewy and full of toasted hazelnuts. Fantastic with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Pound Cakes have a lovely golden brown crust, a soft and tender crumb, and a wonderfully buttery flavor. In the past I’ve always made my Pound Cakes using granulated white sugar. But for this recipe I decided to change that and use light brown sugar instead. I really liked the results. The brown sugar turns the Pound Cake a lovely honey brown color and provides a mild caramel flavor to the cake. Delicious on its own, but I couldn’t resist covering the cake with a Broiled Pecan Frosting.

This Bread has a golden brown crust that’s wonderfully crisp. Yet inside it is soft and tender. I like it with a slathering of butter or sometimes I like to dip it in a good olive oil or pesto. It makes delicious sandwiches and really good toast.

This Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake has a rich chocolate flavor and a dense, yet soft and moist texture. It doesn’t really need a frosting, but it is really delicious when covered with Chocolate Ganache, a simple mixture of chocolate and heavy cream.

Soft Dinner Rolls are delicious buttered and make the perfect accompaniment for soups and stews. They also make great sandwiches and can even be used as hamburger buns. I just love their golden brown crust that’s wonderfully chewy, while inside their texture is soft and oh so fluffy.

How to make Chocolate Cigarettes / chocolate cigarillos and five more chocolate decorations