GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE & A CHANCE TO WIN $100 VISA CARD!

This contest is now closed! Thanks to all who entered. The winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, December 16, 2010.

This is a sponsored review by BlogHer and Ghirardelli.

The holiday season is approaching quickly and I'm the first to admit, I'm not sure I'm ready! But I'm excited for all the baking and cooking. Now almost 5 months pregnant I'm finally getting a bit of my energy back and food is slowly starting to sound good again!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is baking for all my family, friends and neighbors. I love coming up with fun new goodies to share. The best of which definitely include chocolate. However, I'm a bit picky when it comes to my chocolate. Having spent a good amount of my childhood in Europe, I became a chocolate snob. Only the best will do. That's why I love Ghirardelli Chocolate. They're standard of quality and taste put them at the top of my list. So when I was asked to do a review, it was a no-brainer!

I found this yummy recipe in the Ghirardelli cookbook. I gave it a try, and it did not disappoint. In fact, It's a new favorite of my husbands. I've always been a lover of cheesecake, and this recipe allows me to make cheesecake into a "sharable" treat. We delivered these to a few of our neighbors for a holiday "test run" and they got rave reviews.

CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE BARS
(Recipe by Ghirardelli Chocolate Company)

For the Crust:
2 C. crushed graham crackers
1/2 C. Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa
1/2 C. butter; melted
2 T. granulated white sugar

For the Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese; at room temp.
1 C. granulated white sugar
1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/2 C. whole milk
1 t. vanilla extract

For the Chocolate topping:
4 oz. Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Baking Bar; broken or chopped into small pieces
1 t. solid vegetable shortening

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the crust, combine the crushed graham crackers, ground chocolate, butter, and sugar in a large bowl until well blended.
3. Press the mixture onto the bottom of an un-greased 9x13 baking pan.Bake for 8 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool.
4. While the crust cools, make the cheesecake layer. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and flour with an electric mixer at low speed until well blended.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. Mix in the milk and vanilla. Pour the filling into the crust.
7. Bake for 40 minutes, or until set. (My oven only took 30 minutes) Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely.
8. Melt the milk chocolate and vegetable shortening in the top of a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl, over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. (I actually melted mine in the microwave, cooking in 30 second increments until it was smooth.)
9. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the cooled bars.
10. Chill for approximately 10 minutes, just until the chocolate layer is partially set. Score the chocolate layer with a sharp knife, forming 2-inch squares (approximately), and return the pan to the refrigerator.
11. Chill for 30 minutes, or until firm. Cut through the bars and serve.
12. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Then next recipe I tried was a little twist on a fun treat that my friend Sarah shared with me last year. She makes these delicious Cinnamon Sugar Coated Pretzels, and as much as I loved them I knew my husband would love them even more, if I gave them a chocolate toffee upgrade.

The best thing about this recipe is how quick and easy it is. You can literally have a batch made in under 5 minutes. So, if you realize last minute that you need a treat to take to a holiday party, you forgot to give something to a neighbor, or your husband comes home and says, "I need to take a Christmas treat to all my co-works tomorrow." (That happened to me last year.) This can be your "go-to" recipe. Not to mention it's very economical. One batch makes an entire cookie sheet piled high with treats.

You're going to have to trust me, the flavor combination may sound a little strange...but these little babies are deliciously addictive!!

CHOCOLATE TOFFEE CINNAMON SUGAR COVERED PRETZELS

1 bag (18oz) pretzels
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bag (11.5 oz.) Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Premium Baking Chips
1 bag (8 oz.) toffee chips

1. Pour the pretzels into a microwave safe bowl. In a smaller bowl combine the oil, sugar and cinnamon; mix well.
2. Pour the oil and sugar mixture over the pretzels, making sure to fold over pretzels until they are coated.
3. Put in the microwave for 1 minute on high. Take out stir and put back in the microwave for another minute. Take out again, stir and cook an additional 30 seconds. Take out one more time, stir and place back in for another 30 seconds. (Be careful not to burn. If you microwave cooks too hot, you may need to eliminate the last 30 seconds.)
4. Immediately after cooking, pour the Ghirardelli Baking Chips as well as the toffee chips into the bowl. Stir to incorporate. The chocolate will melt as you stir, coating all the pretzels.
5. When the chocolate has completely melted and the pretzels are well coated, pour them out onto a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Put in a cool place to allow the chocolate to set up and dry; 1 or 2 hours. (I usually put mine out in the garage. In the winter it’s the perfect place to store chocolate.)
7. When the chocolate has set up, break apart the pretzels into bite-size or handful size pieces. Store in a large tin, or place in small gift sacks to deliver to your co-workers, neighbors, and friends.

I couldn't finish this review without a plug for these little pieces of heaven! Ghirardelli was kind enough to send me an entire bag of these and I'm not going to lie to you, they were gone with-in a couple days. I had to fight my daughter for this very last one, so I could take a picture! So when you come across this limited addition Holiday candy...BUY SOME! You will not be sorry!


Now let's get to the giveaway! Blogher wants to give one lucky reader a $100 VISA gift card. You can use it to do a little Holiday shopping or just stock up on some yummy Ghirardelli Chocolate! It's up to you. Simply leave a comment on this post and tell me which of these two recipes you'll be more likely to try this holiday season. Don't forget to leave your name and contact information, so I can reach you. The contest will be open until December 15, 2010. The winner will be announced the next day.

Click HERE to see official rules and regulations for the Giveaway.

Also, click HERE to see all the other bloggers posting fun and delicious recipes using a variety of Ghirardelli Chocolate!

Good luck, and happy holiday baking!

Short Rules:
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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
d) Follow this link and provide your email address and your response to the sweepstakes prompt.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.