Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alright, I've decided to share with all of you some of my favorite chocolate infused recipes.  I have a lot of favorites, but I have to start with my mom's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are seriously SO good!  It is impossible to eat just one, and they never last very long in our house.  All growing up my mom only made them around the holidays, so now when I make them (all year long!) I am reminded of family gatherings and wonderful childhood memories.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 C pumpkin
1/4 C milk
3 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the flour, baking soda, cloves, allspice and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.  Cream the shortening, sugar, egg and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the milk.  Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.  This is a very thick cookie dough, so if you are using a little hand mixer like me, you will need to give your mixer a break every so often to prevent overheating.  If you're lucky enough to own a Kitchenaid or other stand mixer, I envy you...  :)  When the dough is all combined, mix in the chocolate chips (again, hand mixer people please use a rubber spatula and save that little motor).  Drop cookies onto foil-lined cookie sheets and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until done.  Let them cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet before moving them to wire racks (or your mouth!).  Mm-mm, I really do love these cookies!

Stay tuned for more recipes... if you have a chocolate recipe that you think I should add to my favorites, send me an email at Chocelata@gmail.com!

No-Fuss Fondue!

When my husband and I got married we got the usual myriad of wedding presents, one of which was a chocolate fondue pot.  This Monday (4/16) we will be celebrating 3 wonderful years together.  Do you know how many times in those 3 years that we've used that little pot to make the delicious chocolate fondue that we both love so much?  If you guessed more than once, you'd be wrong.  That's right, we've only used it once!!  It was a few months after we had settled in to our new apartment and we had invited our new friends and next door neighbors over for dinner and chocolate fondue.  We were so excited, but that quickly died as we scorched the first batch of chocolate.  We had to wait for it to cool enough to clean and start over.  It was very temperamental and such a hassle to get the chocolate just right!  Ergo, we've only used it the once...

BUT we are both really excited for the no-fuss fondue experience that Velata will bring to our home on May 1st!  What really makes the Velata warmers special is the silicone dish. It's a simple dish that has a patent-pending technology to keep the chocolate at exactly the right temperature. A metal plate wrapped in silicone absorbs the heat from the 25-watt bulb. The silicone keeps the heat from escaping, prevents the chocolate from scorching, and can go from the refrigerator to the microwave to the dishwasher with ease. You can't do that with a fondue tower, or a traditional fondue pot!

Picture a quick, delicious, family-fun night. Or a romantic date night with decadent treats. Or the "grab some chocolate and a warmer" addition to a potluck. Just imagine the possibilities!

I can't wait to start having parties with these little beauties!  If you want to add one of these to your kitchen arsenal or host a party (home or catalog) to get free and half-price items, please let me know.  May 1st is right around the corner, my calendar is gonna fill up fast, and these things will be flying off our virtual shelves!

A Chocolate by Any Other Name Won't Taste as Sweet!!

Velata is Italian for veiled or covered, and when you get your hands on some of our Velata chocolate, trust me, you are gonna want to cover just about anything edible with it!  Do you want to know why?

Simple, it's the best chocolate in the WORLD!  =)

Crafted from premium cocoa beans by one of the most prestigious Belgian chocolate companies in the world, Velata Premium Chocolate is designed to melt beautifully in our exclusive warmers and stay at the perfect temperature for dipping with no need to stir and no chance of scorching.  It's no-fuss fondue that is so quick and easy you could have it everyday.

And honestly, I just might!!

Here are a couple of other fun facts about our amazing chocolate:

• All Velata chocolate is gluten-free.  Friends with celiac, have no fear!!
• Our dark chocolate is dairy-free, but processed on the same line as products that contain dairy, so all you lactose intolerant chocoholics, eat the dark at your own risk...
• Velata does not contain any peanuts or tree nuts and is not produced in a facility that processes products that contain peanuts or tree nuts.  Nut allergy?  No problem!
• Velata chocolate will come in convenient 6-ounce pouches with pour spouts. Simply microwave, pour into the Velata dish, dip your favorite foods, and enjoy.

Have you circled May 1st on your calendar yet?

Which of our chocolates are you looking forward to the most?  Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or caramel milk chocolate??

Velata Premium Belgian Chocolate! Are you drooling too?

Chocolate has always been my favorite food group.  I mean, I had a chocolate fondue fountain, dessert bar, and candy buffet at my wedding.  'Nuff said.  So when Scentsy announced not too long ago that they would be launching a new brand of fondue warmers paired with premium Belgian chocolate, I literally started drooling.  But can you blame me?  They flew to Belgium for a "taste tour" and picked the world's BEST chocolate!  Not to mention, they have designed the Velata warmers so that they follow the Scentsy model: they are simple!  It's a light bulb, hello!  No flame, no scorching, and no messy clean up?  Where's my electrical outlet, plug me in!

Velata will launch on May 1st with 14 different warmers (three designs and eight vibrant colors) which you can pair with their four indulgent chocolate flavors: a silky caramel milk chocolate, a full-bodied dark chocolate, a creamy milk chocolate, and a smooth white chocolate.  If you're like me, you're already making your list of dipping items and (im)patiently waiting for May 1st... but I have some good news!  You don't really have to wait that long!  Contact me now for information on how you can get in on this amazing opportunity right from the start...

Email: chocelata@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chocelata
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Chocelata