#LoveDoveFruits: Chocolate Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LoveDoveFruits #CollectiveBias

Breakfast before school in our house has always been kind of a struggle for me. I love making sure my daughter has a good breakfast before she goes off to a day of learning, but getting out of bed early enough to make that possible? That's tough. Seriously tough. That's why I love those breakfasts that you can prepare in advance and use throughout the week. I've done the breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and now... Breakfast cookies! Breakfast cookies have been trendy for a while now and I can totally see why. I mean, it's a cookie... for BREAKFAST! But you can easily justify it because it's not packed with sugar and super-unhealthy ingredients... 

Know what my secret to the perfect breakfast cookie is? DOVE® Fruit. Basically, it's a combination of delicious, better-for-you ingredients like DOVE® dark chocolate and blueberries, cranberries and cherries! I've found that the blueberries add the perfect amount of sweetness and breakfastyness (is that a word?) to the cookies and make for a super-satisfying treat. I found a giant bin of them in the front of my local Walmart while I was out shopping the other day and grabbed one of each!

I'm going to be honest... these are one of my new favorite things. I have always loved chocolate covered, well, anything... and DOVE® has always been one of my all-time favorite chocolates (so silky and smooth!) and now I feel content and happy that I can eat these yummy treats and not feel guilty about it.

Before I could eat them all myself, I decided I should probably get started on my breakfast cookies! {I did grab a few here and there while I was working, though...} These breakfast cookies only have 4 ingredients! Can you believe that? And they're good! So, so good! The first ingredient is bananas... smashed up bananas, that is.

Once you've got your bananas all mushy and perfect, you add in your Old Fashioned Oats. Mix them together until you've got a nice little batter going... Then, add in a dash of cinnamon.

And then, the best part... Add in your DOVE® Fruit Blueberries! So much yumminess in one bowl.

The last part is the baking! Once they're out of the oven, you have yourself a delicious treat that kids will love! No more scrambling in the morning to find something that isn't a big bowl of sugary cereal. Hooray!

Plus, I'm going to let you in on a little secret... You know that "ice cream" that's been circulating around the internet for months, that only contains one ingredient -- bananas? Yeah, you know the one that's actually good for you...

 Well, if you whip up a batch of that banana "ice cream" and spread it between two of these cookies... (and maybe pop it in the freezer for an hour if you want it to firm up.)

You have a nice, indulgent treat that's better for you than any of the ones you can find in the frozen aisle! You're so, so, welcome.

See more great DOVE® Fruit recipe ideas on the DOVE® Fruit social hub

You can also download a coupon to save on your DOVE® purchase.

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Chocolate Covered Blueberry Breakfast Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas, peeled
• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup DOVE® Fruit Blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash bananas until they form a thick paste (no lumps!) then stir in the old fashioned oats and cinnamon. Mix until well incorporated, then, gently fold in the DOVE® Fruit Blueberries. Place heaping tablespoons of the mixture on your baking sheet (about 2 inches apart), flatten slightly, and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cookies are no longer mushy and are starting to turn golden brown. 

Store cookies in airtight container for a couple of days (or you can freeze them and pop them in the oven for a few minutes.)

Makes about 18-20 cookies.

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Banana "Ice Cream":

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas, peeled and frozen
• *optional Vanilla extract

Directions:

Place frozen bananas in food processor and blend until it becomes smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. You can also add in a little vanilla extract while it's blending (yum!)

The Monday Sundae

For years now my daughter has been talking about starting her own restaurant. She's 7 and she has decided that her goal is to have a family restaurant where the children get a sucker on their birthday. A cherry sucker, specifically. She has also decided that there will be an ice cream sundae on the menu called the "Monday Sundae" and it will help you get through the long week of work/school. She has been begging me for months to help her bring her vision of the Monday Sundae to life, so I thought it was time to finally see it through...

We wanted the Monday Sundae to be the most comforting ice cream treat in the whole world. It had to give people a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling that would help ease them into the work week... We all know how hard it can be to get out of the "weekend mode!" So, we had to start with a base of something that was so amazing, so ooey-gooey, warm-you-from-the-inside-out delicious that all other things would pale in comparison... soooo... we used a Warm Cinnamon Roll. Oh yes, we went there...

Next we scooped on a heaping pile of Butter Pecan Ice cream, because it is most definitely a comforting ice cream... We followed that up with a massive amount of Salted Caramel and finally, the pièce de résistance, Chocolate Covered Candied Bacon. How badly are you drooling right now?

Let me warn you, though... This is probably the best ice cream sundae you will ever taste. The Chocolate Covered Candied Bacon alone is absolutely mind-blowing... Plus, the caramel?! And the cinnamon roll?! You must think we're crazy... But, I promise you, this time, our craziness has paid off and because of our craziness you will be able to fly through the week and the weekend will be here before you know it. And guess what... from now on you will look forward to Mondays because the Monday Sundae is here to help you.

Monday Sundae:

{Print Recipe}

INGREDIENTS:

4 Slices Bacon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 jar caramel dessert topping

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 cinnamon rolls

Butter pecan ice cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack (coated with baking spray) over the top. Coat both sides of the bacon with brown sugar and place on the rack. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is firm and crisp. Remove from oven and immediately remove from rack. Place on parchment paper and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Meahwhile, heat chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl until melted, then, carefully spoon it over the top of each strip of bacon and allow it to cool. Once it has cooled you can break it into pieces.

Add sea salt to jar of caramel and mix well.

Place warm cinnamon roll into your serving bowl, top it with a giant scoop of butter pecan ice cream, as much salted caramel as your heart desires, and finish it off by sprinkling the chocolate covered bacon over the top.

You now have the most comforting dessert in the entire world at your fingertips… You can now conquer the world.  

Makes 4 Sundaes.

Fudgy Chocolate Wine Brownies and Rich Chocolate Wine Fondue #Cheers2Chocolate

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or over.

For most of us, the Holidays are a time of great happiness, and if you know anything about food bloggers, happiness most often equates to yumminess. It's a time we make our favorite dishes for friends and family, create extraordinary appetizers and sweets for parties and bring out the best red wine and white wine to pair with our holiday feasts. Ahh yes... the holidays are a time of delicious joy in our home and most of my fondest memories are of warm, cozy gatherings with friends, family and good food and drink.

I recently was introduced to something amazing that i had no idea was even in existence... Chocolate wine. Yes, you read that right... Chocolate wine. It's called ChocolatRouge and it's basically an amazing mixture of decadent chocolate and red wine. What could be better, right? This divine drink is great just to drink by itself but you know what's even better? Making some fudgy brownies with it. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part... a chocolate wine fondue for dipping said brownies. Are you drooling yet? I'm drooling and I just ate about a dozen of them... I mean... oops.

The biggest obstacle with having this wine in the house to cook with is that it pretty much disappears before it ever makes it into the recipe. That's the problem with working with such delicious ingredients and one of the main reasons why, when i'm cooking with bacon, I always cook about 3x more bacon than I actually need for a recipe. Now that I'm on the subject of bacon, I'm pretty sure my next sweet concoction should involve this amazing chocolate wine and bacon. Winning combination? I think so.

In order to make delicious brownies, you must start with an extremely chocolatey base of cocoa, sugar and butter. Lots of butter. Then, you gotta mix in the eggs and vanilla and wine!  The flour will come next... 

Delicious chocolatey goodness getting ready to go into the oven.

Make sure you let them cool COMPLETELY before you cut them. They're fudgy brownies to the extreme. These are great for all those upcoming Holiday Parties! 

*Fondue contains alcohol, so make sure to warn everyone!*

Fudgy Chocolate Wine Brownies and Rich Chocolate Wine Fondue:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ChocolatRouge Wine
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• pinch salt

For Fondue:

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup ChocolatRouge wine

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" x 8" square baking dish with 2 sheets of aluminum foil (this makes it so much easier to remove the brownies!)

In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in ChocolatRouge wine and vanilla, then add eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition. Once batter is thick and everything is well combined, add flour and salt and mix well. 

Place brownies in preheated oven and bake for 35-35 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached (note: when inserting a knife, you want there to be a little bit of gooey goodness on it as these are meant to be fudgy brownies!)

While brownies are baking, place chocolate chips and ChocolatRouge wine in a medium glass bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat about 2 cups of water to boiling. Place glass bowl on top and using a spatula, stir and mix chocolate and wine until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and transfer to a fondue pot.

Cut brownies into pieces and serve with Rich Chocolate Wine Fondue.

You can find out more about ChocolatRouge by following them on Facebook

Chocolate Chunk French Toast Casserole

So... The other day I was cleaning my kitchen, after putting it off for 3 or 4 days, and I found a package of Hershey's chocolate bars in my pantry! I always love finding ingredients I forgot I had, especially when it's dessert related, because then I have an excuse to bake something amazing. Hubby and I have actually been eating "better" lately and I haven't even touched a dessert in weeks! If you know me, you know that's mind-blowing. Well, anyways, once I found those tasty little morsels, I knew that whatever I was going to make was going to be sinful; It was going to put me in a sugar-coma and I was going to be in heaven. I also knew that I had been wanting to make some kind of french toast dish for a while, so I thought this would be the perfect time!

What I ended up creating was a rich, decadent, nutty and chocolatey masterpiece. My daughter said it was one of her favorite breakfasts I've ever made! I will be making this again. And again. And possibly again. The only advice I have for you is: Don't continue to eat piece after piece of this tasty creation. You will probably regret it later. I know I did.


Chocolate Chunk French Toast Casserole Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
5 cups cubed bread (I personally used wheat, because that's what we had, and it was really, really yummy!)
1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
2 ounces Hershey's chocolate bars (chopped) (Of course you could use chocolate chips if that's what you have!)
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Maple syrup (for drizzling over the top)
Hershey's syrup (for drizzling over the top)


Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, melted butter, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. Place bread cubes in a 2.5 Quart baking dish (I used a round one). Throw in chocolate and pecans and toss slightly. Pour egg mixture over the top. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight, or for at least a couple of hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover your baking dish, sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar over bread mixture and dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until you can stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Once you are ready to serve, slice a piece and drizzle it with chocolate syrup and maple syrup. It's so very, very bad and so very, very good all at the same time.


Linked To:

Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Whipperberry
Feeding Big

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

Today I have a recipe for you that is going to make you feel a joy that you haven't felt since Christmastime. It's a joy that will bring you back to your childhood and make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. It's a joy that will make you smile from ear to ear and only think positive thoughts. Well, at least this is the joy I feel every time I eat this delicious chocolate chip banana cake recipe that i'm going to share with you. This recipe is actually adapted from my mom's banana cake recipe, but it has been updated jazzed up with a few ingredients that make it the moistest, flavorfulest, wonderfulest, chocolateyest banana cake in the whole wide world. I know you already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen... so, I ask you, dear friends, please, take the time to gather up those ingredients, place them in a bowl, mix them, place them in a pan in the oven, allow them to bake for just a little while, then let them cool for a few minutes... then... enjoy them. Then, swear to yourself that you will not rest until every piece of this delicious little concoction has been devoured.


Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Recipe - {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 medium bananas (smashed)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/4 cup flour
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease an 8"x8" baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and combine. Stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the flour,  add reserved tablespoon of flour to chocolate chips and then add to batter and combine.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. Set aside.

Allow cake to cool for 15-20 minutes then spoon glaze over the top.




         

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