This is less of a recipe and more of a “You should eat this now” advisory. I never thought chocolate and ginger paired so well together until I ate a Green & Black’s chocolate bar with ginger bits inside. It was mind-blowing. These are just the right balance of sweetness and spice to make you want another. And as you’ll read, it’s quite a healthy treat, too!

Ginger is something of a superfood. It’s been a ancient Chinese remedy for everything including nausea, diarrhea, the common cold, congestion, upset stomach, high-cholesterol, and heart disease. And of course, like all of my term papers, my facts are from Wikipedia. Basically, we should be eating much more of it, and with antioxidant-rich dark chocolate, for our health.

Chocolate-Covered Ginger

Ingredients:

• 6oz chocolate chips
• 1/2lb candied ginger

Melt the chocolate over a double broiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Lay out a piece of parchment paper on the table where the ginger can cool

One by one, dip the ginger into the chocolate, leaving a little uncovered at the top so people can see what it is.

Shake off the excess chocolate and gently place it on the parchment paper to dry.

Either let the chocolate cool at room temperature or move this on a tray to the refrigerator to harden quicker.

I think it says something that I’ve had this candied ginger for almost a year and hardly touched it, and then I covered it in chocolate and half is gone in 2 days. Next time I make these I might add a little chili powder into the chocolate to give it a kick.

Now this is a chocolaty recipe for Valentine’s Day.

I’ve been wanting to make Jenna’s Oh Baby Bars(again) for a while now when I remembered the jar of chocolate peanut butter I just made. Oh yes; it was meant to be. These are a layer of firm, sweet chocolate peanut topped with a soft chocolate coating. What more can I say? Give these as a gift on Valentine’s Day along with bigger pants.

Double Chocolate Oh Baby Bars(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients(makes 16 squares):

• 3/4 cup chocolate peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter(or Earth Balance)
• 10oz semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon butter(or Earth Balance)

Mix together the chocolate peanut butter, melted butter, and powdered sugar until it’s a homogenous dough.

Press the mixture into an even layer in an 8×8 baking pan. Don’t worry if there’s some bumps or texture to the top because it won’t be noticeable at the end.

Melt the chocolate and remaining tablespoon of butter and mix until it’s smooth and creamy. Pour the melted chocolate over the dough and spread it into an even layer.

Allow the pan to chill in the refrigerator until it’s firm enough to cut into squares. Serve at room temperature for the best texture.

These are so good that they’re not going to last until Valentine’s Day. I might have eaten those 3 within 3 hours. Don’t judge; you’d do the same. The chocolate flavor is extremely song but there’s no lacking of peanut butter flavor, either. Next time I might add a sprinkling of sea salt to the top to round it off.

Yum.

These are my new favorite brownies. They’re also probably the most fattening/sugary brownies I’ve ever made. Coincidence? I think not.

I’ve been wanting to make grasshopper brownies for the past few months. If you don’t know what those are, they’re a layer of brownies topped with a peppermint filling and a chocolate top. Delicious, no? These are so sweet and rich and they absolutely melt in your mouth. I couldn’t praise these enough. It’s like a peppermint patty in brownie form. Just don’t think about how many calories in them and enjoy.

Grasshopper Brownies

Ingredients(Makes 16 servings):

• 1 1/4 cup flour(I used gluten-free all-purpose flour)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4oz(1/2 cup) chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter(or Earth Balance)
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 1 tablespoon butter(or Earth Balance)
• 8oz(1 cup) chocolate chips

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Start by sifting together the first 6 ingredients. Melt down the 4 ounces of chocolate and mix this with the cooking oil. Add that to the flour mixture along with the water and egg and mix to form the batter. Grease an 8×8 cooking pan and spread the batter in. Bake for 25 minutes and let this cool completely.

To make the filling, melt a stick of butter, pour in the peppermint extract and sift in the powdered sugar. This will form a loose filling. Spread it over the cooled brownies in as even a layer as you can.

Tip: If you’re having trouble with the peppermint mixture sticking when spreading, put a piece of saran wrap between your hands and the filling and use that to press the filling down.

Lastly, melt 8 ounces of chocolate with a tablespoon of butter and spread this out evenly on top of the peppermint layer. Take care to move quickly and gently so that the peppermint layer and the chocolate don’t get mixed together. Let the top harden completely before cutting into these with a sharp knife.

You can really use any brownie recipe for the bottom; I just included that one for convenience sake(it also makes incredibly moist brownies which is never a bad thing). I wasn’t crazy about the filling as I was making it, but combined with the chocolate and brownies it’s just rich enough not to get lost in the experience. Yes, experience, because these brownies are better than any trip to Disney World.

Screw Folgers, eating this is the best part of waking up:

One of my favorite things to snack on lately have been chocolate covered coffee beans. It’s coffee, it’s chocolate—what’s not to love? I though about how I could make an at-home version for less that’s just as good and settled on this bark recipe. I couldn’t help myself from eating it piece by piece as I was making it; I’m still a little buzzed from all that dessert. Best of all, it’s 3 simple ingredients! Yes, 3! I urge you to make this for the coffee addict in your life; they’ll love you until they crash.

Espresso Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

• 1 bag(12oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup whole coffee beans(most grocery stores let you buy these in bulk)
• 2 tablespoons coarse cane sugar

Melt down the chocolate chips and lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray. Spread out the chocolate to be about 1/2 an inch thick. Sprinkle on the coffee beans evenly and press them into the hot chocolate gently.

Lightly sprinkle a layer of sugar over the chocolate while it is still melted. don’t worry about even layering since most of it will shake off when it’s dried. Just make sure to cover all of the chocolate.

You can either let the chocolate harden at room temperature or speed the process up by putting it in a refrigerator. When it’s hardened tilt the large piece of chocolate to shake off all the excess sugar. Break the chocolate into single-sized chunks.

These are just as good as any chocolate covered coffee beans. I wanted to try them with a darker chocolate but after tasting how bitter the coffee beans make the semi-sweet chocolate I think any darker would be hard to eat. The sprinkle of sugar adds a great texture to contrast with the crunchy beans. Now you can have your coffee and eat it, too.

If you’re a longtime reader, then this recipe will look familiar. This single-handedly changed how I thought of hummus in general when I first made it over the Summer. After listing it on my Top 10 of 2010 list, I knew I wanted to make it again. So now I’m reposting the recipe with new step-by-step pictures, because I have nothing better to do now most days than cook and take pictures of my food(I know, it’s a rough vacation). Enjoy! And do try this because it never disappoints; it makes even the biggest skeptics believe that hummus has a place in dessert.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 cups):

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. Drain, measure, wash, and peel your chickpeas. Peeling them isn’t absolutely necessary but it makes for the creamiest hummus and really is worth the effort.
2. In a food processor, add the first 4 ingredients and process until the hummus is smooth and emulsified(the one thing no one wants for dessert is chunky chickpea pieces in their dessert).
3. Remove the blade and fold in the chocolate chips. Move into a deep serving bowl and serve with graham crackers or baby carrots.

“How can that possibly be good?” you may be wondering. The maple syrup makes this deliciously sweet; and the chickpeas, peanuts, and syrup all have a same earthiness that pairs with one another really well. The result is a creamy dip reminiscent of cookie dough only with healthy fats and fiber.

Who’s ready to dig in?