The best part of Valentine’s Day is undoubtedly the chocolate, so I was excited when Stonyfield asked their bloggers to make a dessert that paired yogurt with Divine chocolate. Yogurt’s a great addition in brownies to replace some fat and keep them moist. Like the chocolate, these brownies will melt in your mouth. 

My local grocery store only had Divine’s white chocolate in stock. White chocolate can be difficult to bake with because cheaper brands melt of burn but the chocolate chunks came out smooth and full of flavor. Spreading the jam in a layer in the middle instead of mixing it into the batter adds a little bit in every bite. 

Divine White Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 5.3oz Stonyfield vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 3.5oz Divine White Chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 2 Tablespoons water

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sugar.
3. Beat in the eggs, Stonyfield yogurt, oil, and 2 Tablespoons of jam.
4. Add in the chopped chocolate and mix. 
5. Pour half of the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
6. Mix the remaining raspberry jam with 2 Tablespoons of water. Spread the jam over the top of the brownie batter covering all parts.
7. Add the rest of the batter layered on top of the jam. 
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

Bananas get a worse rap than any other fruit. You never hear of people who refuse to eat blueberries or mangoes; what makes the banana so loathable?

If you do love bananas then this is the right cookie recipe. They aren’t overly cakey or fruity–they’re just right.

The flour I used was Betty Crocker’s gluten free baking flour. It’s mostly rice based which keeps the cookies light and airy. If you use wheat flour I’d suggest all-purpose or cake flour.

I made mine with coconut oil and the flavor was even better. If you don’t have coconut oil, try adding shredded coconut.

Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 18 cookies):

• 1 banana, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil(coconut oil works well here)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the banana, eggs, oil, and vanilla. 
3. Add in the baking powder, sugar, flour, and salt and mix well until it makes a soft dough.
4. Fold in the white chocolate chips evenly. 
5. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten them to about 1/2 inch thickness before putting them on a nonstick baking tray. 
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown and the top is crispy. 
7. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

When you’re a food blogger, you constantly have to choose between making and blogging a holiday recipe a week in advanced and looking crazy celebrating all by yourself or making a recipe for the actual holiday and posting it a few days later late to the game. Usually I choose the latter but this time I happen to be early to the party; here’s a red, white, and blue recipe a month and a half before July 4th for you.

The Nutella cheesecake strawberries I made last month were a huge hit with my friends. I got asked to make them again but I always like trying something new. Instead of Nutella, these strawberries are filled with white chocolate cream cheese. At times I think I like white chocolate more than dark, and this is one of those times. It goes perfectly with the sweet berries.

Every time I make these stuffed strawberries, the first half come out looking sloppy and the second half look fine. You just have to get into a rhythm and figure out how to do it best. Getting the filling to the right consistency will also make it easier.

Red, White and Blue Stuffed Strawberries

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1lb fresh strawberries
• 3/4 cup(6oz) white chocolate chips
• 5 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons milk, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup blueberries

Method:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate.
2. Beat together the melted white chocolate, milk, and cream cheese until smooth.
3. Beat in the powdered sugar until it’s fully incorporated.
4. Move the cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. If the mixture is still runny, put it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
5. Cut the strawberries twice perpendicularly almost all the way through.
6. Squeeze the filling into the strawberries starting from the bottom and moving the tip up.
7. Garnish with a blueberry on top.
8. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. These won’t last long even in a refrigerator so eat relatively quickly. 

I find it very easy to get addicted to certain ingredients. Lately for me it’s been white chocolate baking chunks from Whole Foods. I try not to eat them straight out of the bag and actually make recipes with them, but these kind of things happen.

To finish off the bag and keep myself from eating them with spoonfuls of Nutella(highly recommended by the way) I made these cookies with the last 1/2 cup. I didn’t know white chocolate and peanut butter went so well together until I tried Peanut Butter & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful and they opened my eyes. These cookies have all the goodness of nutty peanut butter with creamy white chocolate—what more could you ask for?

This is basically your grandmother’s easy peanut butter cookie recipe with white chocolate mixed in. You could use white chocolate peanut butter or some earthy spices to mix it up but I think they’re just as addictive when they’re done simple.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredient(Makes a dozen cookies):

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and baking soda.
3. Fold in the white chocolate chips evenly.
4. Roll the dough into 1-ounce balls. Lightly press down on the balls with a fork in a criss-cross pattern to flatten it to about 3/4-inch thickness.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch and the edges begin to brown.
6. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before moving to a separate plate.

*National Almond Day may have been two days ago but there’s still time to enter to win an almond prize pack.*

I get asked a lot whether almond flour can be used in a recipe in place of almond meal and vice versa. I’ve never found much of a difference when baking with either one. Almond flour is lighter and finer than almond meal and generally better for light and airy baked goods.

I used a very fine almond flour for these and couldn’t believe how much they melted in your mouth for something that’s grain-free. The almond butter and almond flour together make a great flavor that’s more than your average blondie has.

These are definitely on the cakier side of blondies. I would love to figure out how to make them more fudgy, but still had no complaints with this recipe. Next time I would consider making a buttercream frosting to put on top of them.

White Chocolate Almond Blondies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup natural almond butter
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat in the eggs and almond butter until fully incorporated.
4. Slowly mix in the melted butter and vanilla extract until evenly mixed.
5. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan.
6. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the batter and gently press them in.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center of the blondies has set.
8. Let them cool before cutting.