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There are many traditions that every family has that make them unique. Through my years of working with families through a social services agency I came to realize that no matter how dysfunctional a family is there are still some sorts of traditions that bond them together. My husband’s family is quite close. Most of their traditions involve hunting, fishing and food.

My husband had three brothers and a sister. The brothers get together several times a year to go fishing and hunting. These hunting and fishing trips always involve meals and snacks.

[Do you love chocoloate chip cookies]

Throughout the years, they each settled on a favorite that they want to repeat each year. My sister-in-law bakes coffee cake that they want to have with them for each trip and I bake chili and chocolate chip cookies. As for the chili, they always want it with extra spice and loaded with several kinds of beans.

The chocolate chip cookies are loaded with oatmeal, shelled sunflower nuts, peanut butter chips and of course chocolate pieces. I have tried different recipes over the years, and I always throw something new into the mix, but I finally found a combination that they love and request for each outing.

The chocolate chip cookies taste more than just good. For the additional fiber that your body needs, they contain oatmeal and nuts, plus the peanut butter and the chocolate chips provide energy. I also experimented a bit on some ingredients in the chocolate chip cookies like using shortening, oil, or butter.

I have found that the oil produces a harder crunchy cookie, the butter cookies are very soft the blend of half butter and half solid shortening produces a cookie that packs well and remains soft. I have also experimented with the oatmeal. I use quick cooking oatmeal in which I process half of the amount used in the chocolate chip cookies in the food processor so that it has a finer texture.

This allows the cookie to become moister. Adding shelled sunflower seeds adds to the saltiness and it goes well with the sweet taste of the chocolate.

Several times a year I make huge batches of the chocolate chip cookies I bake some of them and freeze the rest of the dough in an ice cream pail. This way there are fresh cookies readily available for the planned or impromptu fishing or hunting trip.

It feels great that I have added a touch to the great family tradition. Whenever my husband smells chili simmering or cookies baking, he always starts talking about hunting and fishing stories.

Article by: [Mike B.]

Find out more about him [Here]

gourmet gift baskets

Perhaps when you think of Christmas, you think about the excitement of roving the stores and shops to discover the perfect gift for each person that is on your Christmas list, or you think about lovingly and carefully wrapping the gifts with the type of paper and bows that will bring a glint to the eye of the recipient. It could be that your Christmas memories are filled with wintertime travel to a relative’s house where the family gathers for a feast unlike any other all throughout the year. If you are like many, then the special hard candy treats are part of Christmas too.

Many people also have fond memories as children of visiting the homes of family members or friends and being greeted by bowls of hard candy, such as red and white peppermint discs wrapped in clear cellophane or those bright and multicolored ribbon candies. Most children had the opportunity to begin to learn the meaning of patience, and to practice it as well, as they waited with wide eyes and watering mouths to be offered a chance to snatch up a handful of the sweets.

The Christmas candy cane has to be one of the most common kinds of hard candy that is seen during the Christmas holiday season. There are giant striped peppermint canes that almost seem too heavy to lift and tiny candy canes that easily pop right into the mouth whole, and just about every other size and flavor combination in between. In addition, candy canes often serve as decorations in retails shops, malls and homes wherever you go.

Many people use candy canes to decorate their Christmas trees, while others tuck them into the Christmas stocking. Often a candy cane will find its way into a rich cup of hot chocolate, which adds an extra dimension of peppermint flavor and blends so well with the chocolate beverage.

In many families, there is a tradition of leaving some fresh Christmas cookies or chocolate chip cookies out, along with a nice glass of milk, so that Santa can recharge and rejuvenate himself for the long night of delivering gifts that he faces. There are other families that also leave out some hard candy as part of their family tradition, and often a candy cane or two are the treats of choice for the jolly and generous gentleman.

There are many varieties of hard candy that are not especially associated with Christmas, which are also long-time favorites of people for a variety of reasons. For the most part, it seems that people has a tendency to want to enjoy those favorite candies that they remember from their childhood. As a result, you can now find a candy store in just about every mall across the country, which not only has a nice selection of chocolates, but also bins and barrels full of “old fashioned” candies, such as humbugs, that have been popular for generations. Of course, humbug candies are in no way associated with the term, “Bah, humbug”, as quoted in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

A popular choice for gift giving these days are gourmet gift baskets that include hard candy, gourmet chocolates, truffles, cookies or just about any other kind of edible indulgence that a person might enjoy. These gift baskets offer variety and make it quite easy to find just the right thing to give, even to the person who already seems to have everything.

love chocolate

It’s hard to find a place in the world where people don’t love to occasionally enjoy a wonderful, rich and flavorful cup of hot chocolate as a special treat. Actually, some people enjoy it almost daily as part of a relaxing ritual that brings sweetness into their day. Still, there are others who like to enjoy this warm and tasty chocolate drink only on special occasions, such as after a day of frolicking in the snow, or as part of a Christmas Eve tradition.

One thing that many people enjoy is adding a nice peppermint candy cane to the beverage, making the aromatic cup of chocolate even more of a Christmas treat. And, one of the favorite and most popular roles for this good, chocolate drink is to warm up Santa on those long and cold Christmas Eve delivery runs. There’s nothing better than a rich cup of warm chocolate refreshment, paired with warm chocolate chip cookies or some chocolate cake to keep Santa going.

Recently, scientific studies have shown that chocolate has many health benefits, and there are many people who drink hot chocolate because of these beneficial aspects and because they find that it also gives their mood a boost as well. Of course, there are many who drink the chocolate beverage simply because they enjoy the taste, while others take delight in the wonderful childhood memories that are associated with a warm cup of liquid chocolate.

Not only do some people consider this drink to be good for them, but there have actually been many cultures around the globe that have used and revered chocolate as a food of the gods and as a remedy with healing powers. It is only recently that there has been research done in the Western world that backs up this very idea. Of late, more and more information from research studies has been coming to light about the health benefits and beneficial elements that are found in cacao, which is what is used to make all of the fabulous fine chocolates that the world enjoys today.

One of the best ways for people who love chocolate beverages, and who wish to take advantage of the health benefits of chocolate at the same time, is to use a special machine, much like a coffee maker, that is designed to make hot and steaming chocolate drinks.

With the popularity of chocolates overall, it should come as no surprise that these chocolate drink-makers are one of the most popular types of hot beverage machines that are sold, with coffee machines naturally holding first place with consumers. But the machines that produce wonderful dark chocolate drinks are running a close second in many retail establishments.

With a hot chocolate maker, the user no longer has to fuss with boiling water, or even worse, trying to prepare the needed hot milk without scalding it. Instead, you simply add the liquid of choice, water or milk, add in the cocoa mix or the chocolate bar or syrup, and then let the machine work its wonders. In no time at all you have a steaming mug of liquid chocolate to enjoy, and with hardly any mess to clean up.

boxed chocolates

Most of the time when people think about chocolate, their eyes glaze over and they begin to recount the myriad of various chocolate treats that are available on the store shelves today. But, there was a time when chocolate was not readily available to the average person and was even revered as a food for the gods. In some Latin American civilizations from days gone by, chocolates were either set aside for rulers and royalty, or used for curative and medicinal purposes.

Fortunately, things are quite different today and anyone can buy chocolate products. They are enjoyed by a wide range of people, from rich to poor, from all walks of life and in just about every civilized country around the globe. Although there are some countries where various types of chocolate sweets are not as common, it is true that most everyone knows and loves the opportunity to indulge in a chocolate bar, some chocolate chip cookies, a chocolate cake or some decadently rich chocolate truffles.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate, or if you prefer your chocolate plain and pure or combined with other delectable ingredients, such as nuts, raisins, fruits or flavorings. If you love chocolates, then there are products on the market that can entice and captivate. Much to the delight of many chocoholics, there are even more choices today, thanks in large part to the internet.

These days, a person can hop online and in moments find specialty chocolate shops. At the same time, for those who are adventurous and who don’t have a narrow definition of the perfect chocolate delight for them, they can meander through numerous websites that feature all kinds of gourmet chocolate wonders from inventive and avant-garde chocolatiers who are bringing fresh and novel chocolate concoctions to the marketplace.

As a result, no matter where you might be, you can buy Belgian chocolates directly from some of the world masters in the art of traditional gourmet chocolate making. Or you can buy chocolate truffles from a tiny and obscure chocolatier who has dreamt up some amazing, or even alarming combination of ingredients that push the boundaries.

At the same time, you can go online to purchase boxed chocolates in specialty designs or gourmet gift boxes that are perfect for giving at Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, as Mothers Day gifts, or for any other special occasion. Since most everyone loves to receive chocolate gifts, you can hardly go wrong when you decide to present someone with a carefully chosen and specially prepared box of chocolates.

One problem that people run into when they try to order chocolates online or through a catalog is the seasonal weather conditions. Some chocolatiers will simply not ship their chocolate creations during the summertime, while others will ship during summer but only by using specially chilled and insulated containers, and only via overnight delivery, making it an expensive proposition. But the good news for the northern hemisphere is that Christmas chocolate gifts can be sent to those on your Christmas gift list without any problems or concerns.

chocolates sweets

There are those inevitable days in the lives of most every adult when things just seem to go wrong, to work against you, and to be filled with frustrations, hindrances, obstacles and disappointments. One way to try to salvage such a day is to go home and relax, and enjoy some wonderful chocolates sweets that can soothe and comfort, and help to push those negatives of the day into the background.

No matter what is going on at home, at work or at play, often the mood can be lightened and a mediocre day turned sunny by someone who has stopped at the nearby candy shop and bought a box of chocolates to share with whomever is around, such as family and friends, coworkers, or even strangers. Chocolate is by far the favorite treat of the majority of people around the world who have a sweet tooth and it is almost a language in and of itself.

It has been said the one of the most basic and universal facial expressions is the smile, as it is able to transcend language barriers and communicate happiness, friendliness and joy in every country and culture in the world. One of the nicest things about a box full of yummy chocolates sweets is that it is a surefire way to engender bright smiles that can in turn generate feelings of friendliness and goodwill.

While it might seem a stretch to give so much credit to something so simple and wonderful, the fact is that you can observe a change in a room when someone walks in bearing chocolate gifts. Whether they are handmade chocolates from a favorite family recipe or expensive gourmet chocolates, these tasty treats can quickly and easily bring a spirit of joy and happiness into a room and can even help to set aside disagreements, sooth tempers and build bridges.

All of this begs the question, would the world be a more peaceful and happy place if world leaders would gather around a smorgasbord of fine chocolates to discuss matters of global importance? Would truffles lead to treaties? Would chocolate chip cookies lead to compromises that could quell hostilities and bring those universal smiles to more faces?

Even if loading down our world leaders with gourmet gift baskets filled with a fabulous assortment of fine chocolates might not mean that all of the world’s problems will simply dissolve, candy bars or boxed chocolates can make a difference in small ways in the average person’s life. Often the simple act of kindness embodied in splitting a chocolate bar can result in making a new friend and engendering smiles.

At the very least, popping a couple chocolates sweets in your mouth to savor at the end of a tough day can often serve to provide that touch of sweetness that everyone needs at least once a day. It is often the simple things that help a person to get through challenging days. Something as simple as a little chocolate treat can be just the thing to do the job.

gourmet gift baskets

Have you ever seen the pictures of those perfect chocolate chip cookies in your favorite recipe book, or on display plates in a candy store window? Have you longed to be able to produce such a marvelous looking and tempting plate of homemade cookies for your family, neighbors or friends? Consequently, have you ever been disappointed to discover that the cookies that come out of your oven never quite look as inviting and enticing as the pictures or store cookies do?

If you have ever experienced that, then you can be comforted to know you are not alone, not by a long shot. The fact is that those are staged pictures and there were probably only a dozen cookies chosen for the picture out of hundreds that were made for the photo shoot. Nobody in their home kitchen can compete with that, in addition to the skills and talents of well paid food stylists whose job it is to make everything look delectable.

But, the fact of the matter is that how your chocolate chip cookies look, as compared to professional photographs in a magazine or book, is not nearly as important as how they taste. Add to that the fact that your kids will remember the loving good spirits and the fabulous aroma emanating from the kitchen much longer than they will remember how those cookies looked.

And, the same is most likely true of anyone you share those cookies with. If you baked them with love and shared them with friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members, then the cookies filled with dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips for that matter, will no doubt be a hit, of course barring any major wrong turns when following the recipe.

Are you hoping to have every batch of cookies made with chocolate chips come turn out to be wonderfully soft and chewy? If so, then you are like most people and the good news is that making the perfect chocolate chip cookie really is fairly simple and not that hard, especially if you let go of the expectation that each one will look like it belongs on a magazine cover or tucked into gourmet gift baskets. The trick is simply to have a good recipe in hand and to follow it as closely as possible.

One problem with some recipes for cookies made with chocolate chips is that they instruct the baker to drop a spoonful of batter onto the cookie sheet and then put them into the oven until they appear to be a nice golden brown. Unfortunately, that advice is all wrong and by the time you see the top of the cookies turning brown the bottoms have already gotten overcooked and are dark brown or even burned. From that point of being over-baked, when you let them cool they will end up getting hard and becoming more like jaw breakers than the handmade chocolates treat you intended for them to be.

There is a simple remedy to this problem, and that is to simply remove the cookies about two minutes earlier than what most common recipes for chocolate chip cookies suggests. It could be that you’ll need to run some of your own tests to figure out the exact balance of oven time and the size of the cookie, but if you experiment, write down your results and exercise patience, then there is no doubt you will be whipping up batch after batch of delicious cookies that people will love.