Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark Recipe

Potato Chips Drowning in Chocolate

Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark popped into my head on the way home from work one cold, dark rainy Cape Cod evening.  (What is it about shorter days and dropping temperatures that makes me crave chocolatey confections?)  The night before I was inspired to make Cape Cod S'mores Bark and I knew from the reception it had received that a sequel was in order.  But how do you top S'mores Bark?  And that's when it hit me, chocolate covered potato chips!

Love at First Bite

I first tasted chocolate covered potato chips about 10 years ago at a food show Joe and I attended.  The two of us had to be asked to leave the booth.  Never before had we experienced such an unearthly combination of salty and sweet.  And we had to be careful not to experience it again too soon.  The fact that potato chips aren't allowed in our house 362 days a year didn't give me pause as I headed on towards our neighborhood grocery store for the only chips worthy of what I was planning, our island's very own Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Just 2 ingredients, a half sheet pan, and a piece of parchment paper

If you've never made chocolate bark before, the most dangerous part to consider is how is easy it is to make, because you may start making bark morning, noon, and night.  Once you've decided on your potato chips, choose your favorite chocolate for melting.  After indulging in milk chocolate in our S'mores bark the night before, I decided our potato chips would be complemented by a luscious dark chocolate.  I happened to have Dark Chocolate Candy Melts on hand which are perfect for making bark because they are ideally suited to melting.  You can use chocolate bars or chips, too.  In fact, chocolate bars are super for making bark.  If you use chocolate chips, you may want to add a little shortening to make it smoother.

Melt over a double boiler

Before you get melting, it's important to prepare your potato chips.  I poured out about 1/3 of the bag for crushing into small pieces.  Use cellophane or a baggie to keep your hands from getting greasy.  Also make sure you have a sheet pan lined with parchment paper waiting in the wings.  I found that a quarter sized sheet pan (9" x 13") was the perfect size for this recipe.

Now you're ready to start melting.  I like melting my chocolate using a double boiler made from a stainless steel bowl sitting on top of a simmering pot.  It's more hands-on than using a microwave and there's less mystery or risk of wrecking the chocolate.  Plus, I love stirring and inhaling chocolate.  Once your chocolate is melted, mix in your crushed potato chips and thoroughly coat them.

Then spread the coated chocolate-potato chip mixture into your parchment-lined sheet pan.  At this point I decided I wanted to add another layer of chocolate because I planned on sprinkling more chips on top and it looked like they needed a little more to sink into.  So it was back to the double boiler with another cup of chocolate melts.

Spread your next layer of chocolate and then sprinkle with more crushed chips.  Push the chip-chips into your top layer, then head for the refrigerator.  In less than 1/2 and hour, your bark is ready to break apart into servings.  I chose to slice my bark into small pieces so that I could put them in little cups to give out to customers during our Christmas Open House.

You can leave your bark in an air-tight container for several days, but most likely it won't last that long!  For a printable, easy-to-follow recipe click HERE.

You Need These 5 Things for the Perfect Chocolate Fondue, Especially the Last Item of #2.

Making the perfect chocolate fondue is really amazingly easy. Unlike savory fondue that needs various hard-to-find cheeses, wine, etc., Chocolate Fondue requires only 1 ingredient: Chocolate Candy Melts.  You'll also need some yummy things for fondue dipping, long fondue forks, and a heat-resistant fondue pot or bowl for serving.  A fondue maker is helpful, but not necessary.  I must admit, I love using our electric fondue maker.  And the cord unplugs so you can take it gracefully from the kitchen to the table.

You Need These 5 Items for Perfect Fondue

1.  Chocolate Candy Melts:  Available in both Chocolate and Dark Chocolate

2.  Great Dipping Food:  Create a smorgasbord of fruits and goodies like strawberries, bananas, kiwi, Oreo cookies, Milano cookies, shortbread cookies, marshmallows, and my absolute favorite, POTATO CHIPS.  (Have you ever tried chocolate covered potato chips?  Devine.)

3.  A double boiler | fondue maker | microwave:  You can use any of these three methods of melting your Chocolate.  The great thing about Chocolate Candy Melts is they melt so easily without adding any other ingredients.

4.  Fondue Forks:  Long handled with a forked tip, fondue forks make all the difference when you're enjoying fondue.

5.  Serving Bowl | Fondue Pot:  This should be heat resistant.  Stoneware is great, stainless steel, enameled cast iron, etc.  If you're using a fondue pot, you're all set!

Set of 6 Fondue Forks available in store

The Best Chocolate for Fondue

Great Stainless Bowls for a Double Boiler

If you have any great fondue ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

Chocolate Strawberry Shots with Ganache Filling

Turn Strawberries into Shot Glasses

Here's a great way to take Chocolate Dipped Strawberries to a whole new level:  Ganache-filled Strawberry Shots!  You can turn a strawberry into a shot glass with just a few flicks of the wrist.  First, hollow out your strawberries with either a paring knife or a strawberry huller to make room for a shot full of ganache chocolate.  Then slice off the pointed tip of the strawberry to make it possible to stand the strawberry up after it's been dipped in melted chocolate.  I love how it looks like a footed edible shot glass when it's all done!  Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Shots with Ganache Filling                    Print

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of strawberries
• 8 oz Chocolate Flavored Candy Wafers
• 4 ounces heavy cream
• Sheet pan lined with a baking mat or parchment paper
• Strawberry Huller and Paring Knife

Directions:

1. Slice off the pointed end of the strawberry, just enough to form a flat surface
2. Slice off the top of the strawberry, and carefully hollow out a cavity.
3. Melt 4 ounces of Chocolate Candy Wafers according to package instructions
4.  Create the footed bottom of your strawberry shot by dipping the sliced end of strawberry into melted wafers. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill for 5 minutes. You may have to hold the strawberry in place for a moment so that it does not fall over.
5. Melt 4 ounces of candy wafers according to package instructions. Microwave 4 ounces of heavy cream until hot. Stir melted wafers and hot heavy cream together to make ganache.
6. Fill strawberry cups with ganache. You can add whipped cream as a garnish.
7. Enjoy!

Here's a few of the kitchen essentials we used in today's recipe preparation:

Victorinox Bird's Beak Paring Knife

Our favorite Baking Liner

Delicious Chocolate

Sheet Pan

Chef'n Strawberry Huller

LaBelle's Stuffed French Toast Recipe: New Years Edition

New Year's Day morning...can often be painful.  We're not exactly big drinkers around here, but one thing we're pretty sure of is:  Bread is the answer.  Adding some cream cheese and sweet fruit preserves are most certainly going to make your New Year's Day breakfast as festive as you can handle.  And you really don't want to be following a difficult recipe to start the new year, so our Stuffed French Toast is just what the doctor ordered.

Of course you can use any jam or preserves you have on hand, but our Very Berry Preserves is such a wonderful combination of Blackberries, Strawberries, and Raspberries, why would you want to?

Now for the 'you don't have to be too conscious' part.  Just crack open an egg into a shallow bowl big enough for dredging your bread.   Whisk it up with some milk, cream, or half and half, and a bit of cinnamon sugar and that's your batter.  Grab some hearty bread like our favorite Farmhouse Oatmeal by Pepperidge Farm and toast it to dry it out so it won't get too soggy later.  Once it's lightly toasted, slather one slice with preserves and the other slice with whipped cream cheese.  If you don't have whipped cream cheese on hand, just microwave regular cream cheese for a few seconds to make it more spreadable.  Sandwich the two halves together and slide into the bowl for a nice soaking of French Toast batter.  Make sure you turn it over to get both sides.

This is a great time for using a cast iron pan.  Slide your stuffed bread onto a pan heated to medium high.  Grill both sides and you're ready for some breakfast that tastes like something just this side of heaven.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and a drop or two of your favorite syrup, if you wish.  I love using my Nicholas Mosse Jug for syrup.  And enjoy.  Happy New Year!

Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients

Eggs

Half & Half

Cinnamon Sugar

Fruit Preserves

Whipped Cream Cheese

Hearty Bread

Directions

1. Toast bread.
2. Whisk together eggs, half & half, and cinnamon sugar.
3. Spread preserves onto once slice of bread and cream cheese on another.
4. Sandwich two slices together.
5. Place sandwich into batter and cover both sides.
6. Slide into pan on medium high heat and grill both sides.

Enjoy!

Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Lobster-Men Cookies 

Tired of the same-old, ho-hum gingerbread boy Christmas cookies?

We decided to have a little fun this year and spice things up with our Cape Cod-inspired Lobster-Men Gingerbread Cookies.

The recipe is easy and our Lobster Cookie Cutter will turn any frown up-side-down...And they are so yummy they're hard to put down! You could also use one of our other great seaside cookie cutters.  We have the classic Scallop Shell Cookie Cutter, the Whale Cookie Cutter, the Dolphin Cookie Cutter, and many more adorable coastal and nautical cookie cutters.

Get into the Cape Cod Christmas spirit, and gather your sheet pans, parchment paper, cooling racks, and coastal cookie cutters together and let's start making some Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookies!

Gather together Sugar, Eggs, Flour, Salt, Nutmeg, Shortening, Molasses, Baking Soda, Allspice (or Cloves), Ginger, and Cinnamon.

We found a tip we liked in the current issue of Martha.  She suggests forming your dough into a flat disk for easy storage (one atop another) and we found it fit perfectly on a small pizza pan.  Just slide it in the fridge for a few hours to make it cold for rolling out.

 

I have one word for you: PARCHMENT!  Making cookies without parchment paper is a total waste of energy.  Do the bottoms of your cookies sometimes burn?  Use parchment and they won't.  Have trouble sliding your cookies off the cookies sheet?  You won't if you use parchment.  Another cookie essential is a commercial-grade Sheet Pan.  This pan is ideal because it won't warp and will keep your cookies nice and flat for easier decorating later on.

We also have found that rolling out your dough directly on to Parchment Paper makes for fewer casualties when transferring cut-out cookies to the pan.  Just peel away the extra dough around your cut cookies then lift the paper onto the Sheet Pan.  It's a beautiful thing.

This lobster catch is all wrapped up and sitting on our Cape Cod Christmas Tree awaiting the arrival of a hungry guest in need of Christmas cheer.

Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Click here to print recipe

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 325°

2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Shortening
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Molasses
4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Allspice
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg

Directions

1. Cream together Sugar and Shortening.
2. Add 2 Eggs and 1/2 Cup Molasses.
3. Sift together Flour, Baking Soda, and Spices.
4. Add to Sugar Mixture.
5. Form dough into a flat disk for easy storage.
6. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for several hours.
7. Roll dough out onto Parchment Paper, about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.
8. Cut out with Lobster Cookie Cutter and peel away extra dough.
9. Lift parchment and slide on to Sheet Pan.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

For Icing

1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar

1 T Milk

Combine Confectioner's Sugar and Milk.  Spoon into pastry bag with a thin piping tip.  Outline cookies and have fun!

In Stock & Quick to Ship

Still looking for a last minute gift?  We can ship these great in-stock items out to you in time for Christmas.  But don't delay!  (order before 12/18)

Cape Cod Anchor Bracelets $18

Star Wars-Paper Airplanes! $20

Best Rated Chef's Knife $39

Pandora-style Bead $48

Gift Boxed Travel Mug $15

Magnetic Bottletop Catcher/Opener $25

Soda Bottle Bird Feeder $11

Bungalow Clutch $15

Cape Cod Mermaid $11

Mini-Bundt Brownie Pan $33

World's Best Masher $12

Microwavable Syrup Dispenser $15

Cranberry Bog Frogs $12

The Best Martini Shaker $30

Cape Cod Ocean Stars $34

Mini Cheesecake Pan $22

Thanksgiving Essentials

OXO Good Grips Chef's Digital Leave-In Thermometer, Stainless Steel
LaBelle's General Store

Dexter Russell S140-12SC-PCP Sani-Safe 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer
LaBelle's General Store

Trudeau 11-Inch Silicone Splatter Screen, Red Amazon.com
amazon.com

Diamond Pro Pull-Thru Knife and Scissor Sharpener
LaBelle's General Store

OXO Good Grips Flour Sifter
LaBelle's General Store