Chocolate Chess Pie Pops

Last night, I was working on an order for some pie pop samples, and I happened upon this wonderful discovery: chocolate chess pie makes a bombass pie pop. It can be majorly sweet, so it balances out the crust heaviness of the pop.

How do you do it? All you have to do is quarter a recipe for chocolate chess pie and use it in the recipe I posted a few months back. How does one quarter a recipe for chocolate chess pie? See below. Thank me later.

Recipe for a Teeny Tiny Batch of Chocolate Chess Pie (yields about two dozen pie pops)

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter (4 tbsp)

1/2 oz. of semisweet chocolate (that is half of one of those Baker's chocolate squares, which is what I prefer to use), chopped into chunks for easier melting

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg (you'll use half for the batter and the other half for an egg wash over the pops)

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch of sea salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan. Once the butter is melted, immediately turn off the burner and drop in the chocolate. Don't stir. Just swirl the chocolate around until it melts into the butter. 

2. While the chocolate is melting, place the sugar in a small bowl and whisk in HALF of an egg. Just approximate. You don't have to be too crazy about it. Whisk together until blended. Whisk in the vanilla and sea salt. 

3. When the chocolate has melted, whisk it into the sugar mixture. 

4. Place this in the fridge and let it harden a bit (1+ hours). It will be much easier to work with. 

5. Preheat the oven to 325F and bake for about 20 minutes, but otherwise follow all the instructions for making pie pops. I like to use an egg wash and then generously sprinkle granulated sugar on top. 

Note: It's best to bake these near the bottom of the oven so the filling doesn't bubble out. If it does, it isn't the end of the world. You can clean them up after. 

Totally Optional: dip half the pie pop in caramel sauce and top with a few flakes of sea salt. Again, optional, but it will make you a badass.

Southern Inspiration: Cranberry Curd, Buckeyes, Molasses Cake, Banana Bourbon Cake

I'm back in my kitchen full-force making all kinds of new cookies and other treats for people I know and strangers alike. It feels good to be trying out new stuff again!

Here are some of the goodies that I've been making or thinking of making lately.

Cranberry Curd via Kitchen Confidante. Curd (lemon or otherwise) is really simple to make, and it takes a long time to go bad because there's so much sugar in it. As many people know, I make a blueberry lemon curd pie, but if I make cranberry curd, that opens up so many more possibilities! Apple-cranberry curd pie? Yeah, I'd eat that.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes via Real Simple. The recipe I use is actually from Southern Living, but this'll do. 

Molasses Cake with extra creamy cream cheese frosting via the kitchn. This cake looks crazy-moist, and I love cakes that are crazy-moist. Also this frosting is a must-try! I plan to try this out with my molasses from Muddy Pond, Tennessee.

Banana Bourbon Layer Cake via Martha Stewart. I have to say, I probably won't put the bananas on top because they'd get really weird looking if you didn't eat the whole cake right away, but I would deeeefinitely use this as a base for banana bourbon cupcakes sans the caramelized bananas on top. 

Happy weekend, everyone!

Nutella Sea Salt Sugar Cookies

After a long hiatus from the kitchen while in Thailand, I am back in business with these babies: sugar cookies made with White Lily flour, packed with melted Nutella and sea salt flakes. Yes.