I confess. I am a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool, unrepentant chocoholic, so I thought it would be great fun to share a recipe with you each month. I also plan to slip a chocolate treat, and hopefully a recipe, into every future book I write. I will keep you posted on those!

ENJOY! (And please do not drool on the keyboard!)

Chocolate is health food!! Really. It contains compounds called flavonoids that can help to maintain a healthy heart, good circulation, and reduce blood clotting, which can cause heart attacks and strokes. So go ahead: Enjoy!

This is so rich and so delicious, you'll have to take a day off work to recover. :-)

Bobbie Jo's Tiramisu Brownie Squares

19-21oz pkg. brownie mix
1 cup milk
1/4 cup instant coffee
12oz (I use 16oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 sm pkg instant cheesecake pudding mix
20 Oreos (I use any chocolate sandwich cookies), chopped
2T semisweet chocolate chips
1/4t Korintje Cinnamon (I think any will do)

Bake brownie according to pkg. directions for cake-like brownies. Cool and chill. Mix milk and coffee. Add half of the whipped topping (I use almost 3/4 of the topping for this) and all the pudding mix. Fold in chopped Oreos and spread over brownie. Fill Easy Accent Decorator with remaining whipped topping and pipe in diagonal rows over filling (I just play with my decorating). Grate chocolate chips over topping and sprinkle with cinnamon.

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

NO PUDGE CHOCOLATE FUDGE....Lo Fat

Chocoholics unite and rejoice!
This is an old fashioned fudge, made from scratch, but it is delightfully low in fat and calories. Yummy!

2 cups granulated sugar
6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup evaporated 2% milk
3 tbsp. butter, divided
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Fill sink with 1/2 inch of cool water. Line bottom of a 9x5-inch loaf pan with a piece of wax paper that sticks up 2 inches at the ends of pan (so you can lift the fudge out of the pan when it's ready). Set aside.

Combine sugar, cocoa, evaporated milk, 2 tbsp. butter and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat. Cook slowly, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved and butter is melted. Mixture should be very smooth. This takes about 10 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high. Insert candy thermometer at this point, if you're using one. Bring mixture to a boil. Boil until fudge reaches the "soft ball stage," stirring occasionally. This stage is usually reached anywhere between 234 and 240 degrees F. Remove immediately from heat. Place pot in sink. Make sure water only comes up 1/2 inch on side of pot (you don't want to cool it too quickly). Add remaining 1 tbsp. butter and vanilla.

DO NOT STIR YET.

Allow fudge to cool for 5 minutes in water. Lift from sink and let fudge cool at room temperature for another 20 minutes (if you're using a thermometer, let the fudge cool to 110 degrees F.). When you press down lightly on the fudge it should indent a little. A "skin" will have formed on top. This is good.
Using a wooden spoon and a bit of muscle, begin to stir the fudge. Stop stirring and observe the fudge every once in a while. You're looking for it to lose its shine, lighten slightly in color, and become thicker. Repeat stirring and observing until these changes take place.

Spread fudge into prepared pan. Refrigerate until fudge is "set," about 1 hour. Run knife around edge of pan and lift out fudge by holding on to wax paper. Slice into 16 rectangular chunks. Store covered in fridge. Makes 16 pieces.

Per serving: 136 calories, 2.6 g fat, 28.9 g carbohydrate,

More good news. Other researchers found that although one of the primary fats in chocolate, stearic acid, is saturated, it does not raise cholesterol levels.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is not the usual chocolate chip cookies recipe. There are subtle differences that result in a crispier, browner cookie. Yummy!

1 ½ sticks butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ brown sugar
1 egg
1 ¾ cup self-rising flour
(You may also use reg. flour and baking soda, but I'm too lazy.)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (opt. but worth it)

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars, then add egg and vanilla. Beat well. You can use a mixer if you like. Add flour. Mix. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Smash them down flat. Bake 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

QUESTION: Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous?
ANSWER: Because no one wants to quit.

Helen's Rocky Road Brownies

My friend, Helen Neel of Nashville, TN is one of the best cooks I know. She shared this recipe with me.

Melt together: 2 sticks melted margarine, ¾ cup cocoa, 2 cups sugar
Add: 4 eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla
Stir in: 1 1/3 cup self-rising flour

Pour into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. Brownies should be moist and only slightly dry on the edges-best to undercook.

Sprinkle hot brownies with a cup of mini marshmallows and ½ cup chopped pecans. Add the following frosting.

Fudgy Frosting

(This is a sticky, moist frosting that's great on any cake or brownie)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup mil
5 TB. Margarine
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix sugar, milk, and butter in pan and bring to boil. Boil, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add chips. Stir until smooth and pour over cake while both are hot. (This melts the marshmallows.)

Reader Susan sent along this luscious recipe. Try it and let me know if you love it as much as I do. Thanks, Susan!

Chocolate Nut Angel Pie

1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp cream of tarter

Beat egg whites until stiff, fold in nuts. Butter pie plate and fill with meringue. Bake at 275 for 1 hour.

Filling:

Melt 3/4 cup chocolate bits in double boiler. Add 3 tbs hot water and cook until thickened. Cool slightly then add 1 tsp vanilla. Whip 1 pint heavy cream and fold into chocolate. Do not beat. Pour into shell and then refrigerate 2-3 hours.

This is delicious. For years I made it for every church bake sale. The ladies running the sale always kept it for themselves and it never made it out for the sale. My husband's grandmother made this 40 years ago. Hope you enjoy it.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Fudge

For those of us who really need a bite of fudge sometimes but don't want to make those huge amounts, here is a little recipe I devised to take up the slack. It's just the right amount so that if no one else is hungry, you can eat the whole batch by yourself!

Linda's most important rule: Never, never, never waste chocolate.

1 cup sugar
4 TBS butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips
about 5-6 big marshmallows
½ cup chopped nuts.

More proof that chocolate is a health food: Chocolate contains more antioxidants - the ingredient in red wine and vegetables that reduces your cholesterol.

Chocoholic Brownies

CHOC-OAT-CHIP COOKIES

1 c. butter
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. Oats
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts

Chocolate Gravy

This is an old country recipe given to me by my mother-in-law. My husband and boys love it. 

3 cups

1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

3/4 stick butter

2 tsp. vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a skillet. Add a couple of  tablespoons of dry mix to butter. Then add a bit of milk. Continue alternating dry mix with milk until all is used up (just as you would with any gravy). Cook to boiling. Add vanilla. Serve with hot biscuits.

 One ounce of cocoa contains 10% of the iron you need each day. So eat 10 ounces for a full days supply of essential iron.

 Puppy Chow Snack Mix

MY kids (and their mom) love this. It's fast, easy, and delicious and stores well. We call it puppy chow because it looks like kibble when finished--but it tastes much better. (I suppose.) <g>

6 cups of Crispix cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Poor cereal into a container with a lid. I use a  9x 11 plastic rectangular  storage container from Wal-Mart, but even a lidded bowl works fine.

In microwave, melt chocolate chips together with peanut butter . Stir.  Drizzle over cereal, stirring to coat all pieces as much as you can.  Sprinkle the sugar over this, put the lid on and shake gently until the sugar coats everything. Eat and enjoy.

 Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (No Bake)

This is the all-time favorite chocolate recipe at my house.  When my oldest two boys married, they called home almost immediately wanting this recipe for their wives, and ended up learning how to make them for themselves.

Ready to enjoy with milk in less than 10 minutes!

2 cups sugar                                         1/4 cup peanut butter

3-4 TBS. cocoa                                     3 cups minute oats

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter

Mix  sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to boil and boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup peanut butter and 3 cups of uncooked minute oats. Working quickly, drop by spoonfuls onto a buttered cookie sheet.  Hint: If mixture begins to harden too quickly, add a teaspoon or two of butter.