VANILLA GIRL LIVING IN A CHOCOLATE WORLD

Paper or plastic? Debit or credit? Mustard or ketchup? Hot dogs or hamburgers? Choice, it’s all about choices. When it came to chocolate or vanilla, hands down it was chocolate every time. I was all about the chocolate.

That all changed in DEC 2012. The imposition of dietary restrictions left me searching for the perfect substitute for chocolate.

The quest for a perfect substitute for chocolate revealed no acceptable substitute for chocolate.

My jar of chocolates has been replaced with fruit filled shredded wheat. Caramel is the new chocolate syrup atop my vanilla ice cream. Cool whip sits alone without a buffer between it and a scoop of ice cream on my banana split. Lemon squares in place of chocolate brownies. Pound cake instead of red velvet. You get the idea.

I’m now a vanilla girl living in a chocolate world.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: When preparing baked desserts, make several at one time. Begin with the lightest colored dessert; next a darker dessert and finish with the darkest dessert. You will save time by not washing utensils and bowls between desserts. Energy is saved by baking several desserts in the same oven. Freeze your bounty of baked deliciousness. Defrost and serve when needed!

Below are three desserts using the above technique: blueberry and banana nut muffins and a pound cake. When using the light to dark technique, begin with vanilla or lemon, move to carrot or red velvet and finish with chocolate!

 

Here we have mini Bundt cakes, mini layer cakes and chocolate chip cookie bars all made simultaneously. Half my batter was used for mini Bundt cakes, half for mini layer cakes. The third and final dessert was the chocolate chip cookie bars.