Here are two things to know about me:

1. I’m a perfectionist.

2. I make mistakes. A lot.

I can’t count the number of times I have a kitchen mishap where something doesn’t go how I think it would. In cooking it’s easy to make that up by adding new ingredients. In baking it usually ends up in the trash.

I underestimated how much peanut butter and butter these crispy treats needed. The first time I refrigerated them, they fell apart as soon as I cut in. I had to sweep a few rice crisps off the floor and redo the process, remixing the batter. I don’t think it was as good as if I got it all right from the start. I even debated whether to still serve these, but I’m glad I did because they got two thumbs way up at a party over the weekend. This recipe reflects the fixed version. And you can’t bet I’ll be making these the right way one day soon; what kind of perfectionist would I be otherwise?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients:

• 6 cups cocoa crispy rice cereal
• 1 1/2 cups no-stir peanut butter, divided
• 1 cup Fluff(or marshmallow crème)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a large bowl, melt 1 cup of peanut butter along with the butter until it’s runny. Mix until the two are combined.
2. Add in the cereal and Fluff and mix until the cereal is completely coated by the wet ingredients. Press the cereal into a 9 x 13 baking pan.
3. Melt the remaining peanut butter and chocolate together and mix. Pour evenly over the tray of cereal. Refrigerate until set.
4. Cut into even squares and keep cold until serving.

There’s been a recent explosion of s’mores desserts on food blogs lately. Besides making me think “You’re killing me, Smalls,” it’s also made me jealous and hungry for some s’mores(and if you don’t get the quote go out to Blockbuster or Red Box or however people get movies these days and rent The Sandlot). And so I made them my way, with chocolate banana soft serve, original Fluff, and a touch of gluten-free graham cracker crumbs.

These have just the right ratio of chocolate to marshmallow to graham cracker. It’s cool, creamy, and sweet; being from Massachusetts, I wouldn’t recommend anything other than marshmallow Fluff, but you could always use marshmallows or—gasp—an imitation marshmallow crème. Add a scoop of peanut butter, too, for something extra special.

Healthy Frozen S’mores Parfaits

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 2 large frozen bananas
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons Fluff OR 1/4 cup miniature marshmallows
• 2 graham crackers

1. Throw the frozen bananas into a food processor and turn it on. Blend until creamy.
2. Add in the cocoa powder and pulse until it’s mixed in.
3. Scoop the chocolate-banana mixture into the glasses. 
4. Finish with a tablespoon of Fluff or marshmallows and graham crackers. Serve immediately.

Technically the recipe is for 2 parfaits but every time I’ve made this I’ve eaten the whole batch by myself. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m extra hungry or this is just extra good—I assume both. It’s (mostly) healthy anyway so dig right in.

Who’s ready to make whoopie?

I shouldn’t have been allowed to watch The Newlywed Game growing up; those euphemisms were not hard for a 6 year old to figure out. Also The Match Game; you don’t have to tell me where Alice told Frank to stick his blank.

I got side-tracked. I meant to tell you a different childhood memory.

My grandmother-in-law(I’m not sure if that’s a real thing but that’s basically what she was) always made the best whoopie pies for celebrations. She also made the best molasses cookies, peanut butter cookies, and soft butter taffy specially for Christmas, but let’s start with whoopie pies. Between losing her and finding out I can’t eat gluten, I haven’t had a whoopie pie in probably 6 years. That’s too long.

I tried making these last December but didn’t get the recipe right and ended up making fudge pies instead. This time the cookies held their shape and tasted as well as they photographed. While the thought of making them scared me before, it won’t ever again.

This recipe uses xanthan gum, a hyper-powerful fiber that simulates the support of gluten in baked goods. I generally try to avoid using such a specialty item but every recipe for gluten-free whoopie pies I looked up stressed this ingredient and the last time I tried making these without it the cookies fell flat. It really is an essential ingredient in this recipe.

Gluten-Free Whoopie Pies(adapted from this recipe)

For the cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk

For the filling:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4oz butter, room temperature
• 2 egg whites, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum and mix until emulsified.
4. Add in the coconut milk, egg, egg yolk, and scant 1/4 cup of water and mix it into the dough. The dough should be heavy and stick to itself.
5. Roll chunks of dough into 1-inch balls and put a few inches apart on the baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes until the top is firm.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling.
7. In a bowl(chilled is best), beat on high the sugar, butter, egg whites, and vanilla together for 4-5 minutes until light and airy.
8. Scoop 1/2 tablespoon onto one cookie and press another down on top.
9. Repeat until all of the cookies are used.

It’s always a good sign when all the desserts are eaten, and these are long gone. I was more interested in this cake but if whoopie pies are your cup of tea and you’re gluten-free, let this be a treat for you.

I’ll keep things short and sweet because that’s exactly what this recipe is: Short and sweet. And delicious. And addicting. And pretty fattening. But I can’t make a paragraph all those things.

I saw a recipe for something like this in the latest Food Network magazine and was dead set on making it myself. It has chocolate and fruit so it’s totally healthy and Summer appropriate. I used homemade cookies and chocolate mousse but store-bought would be great, too. However, if you do make your own chocolate mousse, adding a touch of liqueur takes this dessert over the top.

Chocolate, Raspberry, and Amaretti Parfaits

• 2 cups chocolate mousse
• 6 amaretti cookies
• 1 pint raspberries

Assemble by putting raspberries at the bottom of a parfait glass and layering on top a layer of mousse, 1 1/2 cookies crushed into pieces, more raspberries, and another dollop of mousse. Garnish with whip cream if desired. Serve at room temperature.

The best bites are always the one with a taste of each flavor in them. Rumor has it stores sell vodka-infused whipped cream now; if you want to spray that on top, I wouldn’t judge.

How can you have thick and creamy chocolate mousse with just chocolate and water? It seems impossible. But as soon as I stumbled on this blog post making exactly that I had a hunch I would make it and love it. It’s a little difficult technically but completely worth the end result. Following through with all of the prep work makes the active part easier.

This is one of those recipes where you’ll want to use good chocolate. You know, the Ina-Garten-only-uses-good chocolate. Since the recipe is primarily chocolate and water, all the flavor comes from the chocolate. You certainly don’t want to make this with chocolate chips. I used Callebaut baking chocolate and it came out fine. If I were making this to really impress someone(say for a Valentine’s Day dessert) I would use Vahlrona.

Chocolate Mousse With Kahlua(a variation on this recipe)

Ingredients(Makes 3-4 servings):

• 265 grams good quality bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons warm water
• 2 Tablespoons Kahlua
• 3 Tablespoons cane sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder*

*I added this at the very end to help thicken the mousse up. I might have needed it because water from the ice bath slipped into the chocolate bowl. If as it’s cooled the chocolate mousse doesn’t seem thick enough, add this in. Otherwise the recipe is fine without it.

Additional notes:

• Watch this video before starting for an actual portrayal of how the chocolate should look after each step.
• Since the proportions are very important for this recipe, it’s best to weigh all the ingredients out on a kitchen scale before starting including the liquids.
• Use a large plastic bowl with a wide bottom when whisking the emulsion so that the chocolate is shallow and will cool down faster.

Start by measuring out and mixing together the water, Kahlua, and sugar.

In a double-boiler or microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate down completely.

Prepare an ice bath in a larger bowl for the chocolate and move the melted chocolate to a bowl in the center of the ice bath.

In the ice bath, whisk together the chocolate and alcohol mixture. Continue mixing softly and smoothly for 5-10 minutes as the chocolate cools to keep the mousse emulsified as it cools.

If after a while the chocolate mixture is still rather thin, add in the 2 extra tablespoons of cocoa powder and whisk them in making sure not to leave any clumps.

Once the mousse has come together, spoon it in to servings bowls. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

It’s hard to imagine something so creamy being made with only chocolate and water. This makes for an easy recipe to pull out and impress with on special occasions; I’ll definitely be committing it to memory.