Holiday Dessert Spotlight: Nutella Cakes (Gluten Free)

My first memories of Nutella are from way back when, during my first semester at Columbia. That’s when I first tasted this hazelnut and chocolate blend of European origin. I’ve loved it ever since. Somehow, it brings back memories of my time at alma mater. For a lot of people, Nutella is the taste of [...]

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Decadent and Easy Valentine’s Day Dessert Options

Stressing over making a homemade dessert for Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry, my loves, I gotcha covered with a few simple, quick options: Chocolate Almond and Apricot Truffles Or you could salvage a broken cake with my Chocolate Cherry Trifle: Another fun and easy option: Molten Chocolate Cakes with a Middle Eastern Flair If chocolate’s not [...]

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Chocolately Holiday Cookie With a Persian Twist

In my world, no holiday is needed to enjoy chocolate, but the holidays sure are a great excuse to do just that. I posted this recipe last year, almost exactly a year ago, in fact. It stands the test of time, and it’s worth sharing with everyone again. Like many of you, I’ve hardly had [...]

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Hot Chocolate Chai Latte

In my world, few things make a morning more tolerable, maybe even a tad joyful, than a steaming cup of homemade hot cocoa. I actually somewhat look forward to the cold winter mornings for this very reason. Perhaps this means I need to investigate the possibility of getting a life, but hey, there’s nothing wrong [...]

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When Life Hands You a Broken Cake, Make a Trifle Instead

Oh dear. A kitchen mishap. Big plans to bake a chocolatey, decadent, gorgeous birthday cake for a loved one. Said cake recipe was new to me and untested in my kitchen. Plus, I was having a bit of a trying day. Not to get all “Like Water for Chocolate” on you guys here, but I [...]

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Video! Chocolate Dipped Dates and Figs

The Grand Finale is to our West of Persia Chocolate Week is finally here. My gift to you? Video! Yep, it’s video of today’s recipe, Chocolate Dipped Dates and Figs. Of all of the chocolate recipes I’ve featured this week, this is the easiest, fastest, and perhaps the healthiest. Please note that while I do [...]

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Chocolate-Apricot-Almond Truffle Cookies

Chocolate week continues here on West of Persia, with easy chocolate recipes in honor of Valentine’s Day, and also in honor of chocolate in general. As you may have noticed, I’m sort of in love with chocolate. But as I was melting chocolate at 8 in the morning today, even I had to think , [...]

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Frozen Hot Chocolate Shots w/Optional Goat Yogurt Topping

Does this ever happen to you? The weather is cold. Even snowing, perhaps, like it is in New York City at this very moment. And all of a sudden, nothing sounds quite as good as a frozen treat of some kind? This sort of thing definitely happens to me. Maybe it’s the warmth of being [...]

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Chocolate Volcano Cakes with a Middle Eastern Flair

Our Chocolate Week here on West of Persia continues, ya’ll! It’s pretty tough to improve upon quality chocolate’s velvety flavor. But lately I have been finding that a bit of cardamom in my Persian Hot Chocolate, or added into chocolate-based cookies, or even mixed into plain old melted chocolate tastes quite amazing. The flavors of [...]

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Chocolate Week Warmup

It’s Chocolate Week here on West of Persia. Yep, nothing but chocolate recipes. Hooray! So Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and is as perfect an excuse as any to hold a Chocolate Week. Any holiday that involves chocolate and love is fine by me. Let’s get one thing out of the way right [...]

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