Chocolate Substitution Chart

 

I recently had need for chocolate substitution…

Hubby’s birthday = German Chocolate Cake. 

German Chocolate Cake = Sweet Baking Chocolate 4oz. 

Bare Cupboard = Substitution!

 

Chocolate, Bittersweet:

Substitute 1 (1-ounce) square semi-sweet baking chocolate for 1 (1-ounce) square bittersweet baking chocolate.

Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate may be used interchangeably in recipes, but there may be slight differences in flavor and texture.

Chocolate, Semi-Sweet:

3 tablespoons chocolate chips for every 1-ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate.

1-ounce bittersweet baking chocolate for every 1-ounce semi-sweet bittersweet baking chocolate.

1-ounce unsweetened baking chocolate and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar for every 1-ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate.

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or shortening for every 1 ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate.

Chocolate Chips, Semi-Sweet:

1 ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate for every 1 ounce of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

1-ounce sweet baking chocolate for every 1-ounce chocolate chips.

1-ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoons sugar for every 1-ounce chocolate chips

Chocolate, Sweet Baking (German's):

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 4 teaspoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter, shortening or vegetable oil for every 1-ounce German's sweet baking chocolate.

1 ounce dark sweet chocolate for every 1 ounce German's sweet baking chocolate.

Chocolate, Unsweetened:

3 level tablespoons unsweetened cocoa and 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or shortening for every 1-ounce unsweetened baking chocolate.

3 level tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa plus 1 tablespoon shortening, butter, or oil for every 1-ounce unsweetened baking chocolate.

1/2 cup (3 ounces) unsweetened chocolate chips or morsels - plus cut sugar by 1/4 cup and shortening by 1 tablespoon in your recipe.

Cocoa, Unsweetened:

Substitute equal amounts of Dutch-processed cocoa for unsweetened cocoa. Leave out any baking soda called for in the recipe.

3 tablespoon carob powder plus 2 tablespoons water for every 1-ounce unsweetened cocoa.

Do not substitute instant cocoa mix for unsweetened cocoa in any recipe.

Dutch-Process Cocoa:

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus a pinch (1/8 teaspoon) baking soda for every 1-ounce Dutch-Process Cocoa.

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (reduce fat in recipe by 1 tablespoon).

3 tablespoons carob powder for every 1-ounce Dutch Process Cocoa.

Milk Chocolate:

Substitute equal amounts of sweet chocolate OR semi-sweet chocolate for milk chocolate.

At your repeated request!

Blueberry French Toast

Yield: 8-12 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

12-14 slices day old bread (I used a large loaf of French bread cut into 1” cubes)

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

 

DIRECTIONS:  Cut bread into 1” cubes.  Place half into greased 9x13-inch pan.  cut cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and place over bread cubes.  top with blueberries and remaining bread.  In large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk and syrup.  Mix well and pour over bread.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 25-30 minutes more or until golden brown and center is set.

SAUCE

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbls. cornstarch

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS: In saucepan, combine sauce ingredients.  Bring to boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in 1 cup blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes until berries burst.  Put sauce into pour pitcher to serve over hot dish. 

 

**This dish reheats fabulously!  We ate it almost three days in a row and enjoyed every bite.  I didn’t think to take a picture, but it looks wonderful, too.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate

… is always a good combination!

 

 

Peanut Butter Finger Bars

Yield: 20 servings

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DRIZZLE INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbls. peanut butter

3 to 5 tsp. milk

 

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add peanut butter and blend together.  Add egg and beat until mixed.  Add flour, oatmeal, baking soda, vanilla and salt.  Mix well.  Spread mixture into a 13x9 inch pan.  Press evenly.  Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

Immediately after taking bars out of the oven, sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over the top.  Let stand 5 minutes, then spread evenly to coat bars. 

In a small bowl, mix together the Drizzle Ingredients.  Drizzle over chocolate frosting.  Cool completely and cut into bars.  These bars freeze quite well.

Canning Cherries!

Thursday was the day to accomplish the task.  I enlisted Angelina because this may well be her 4-H Food Preservation project for the coming 4-H year.  As a 4-Her, I remember receiving a Grand on my cherries one year. 

Memories of my dad, and all of us kids, eating canned cherries are still quite vivid.  I have no idea if my family will like canned cherries as much as my dad and siblings did years ago, but I’m always looking for a good alternative to boxed cold cereal for our breakfasts. 

Each canned quart needs about 2 to 2.5 pounds of cherries, pints approximately half that amount.  We’ll use a raw pack with a light sugar syrup.  Interestingly, the Ball Canning Book recommends pricking each cherry if they are not pitted … I do NOT remember doing this when canning with my mom.  Rather than rely on my somewhat shady memories of canning, we’ll prick the cherries to prevent bursting or shrinking.

Light Sugar Syrup

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

5 1/2 cups water

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat at med-high until the sugar is dissolved.  Keep the sugar syrup heated until ready to pour over fruit.  Each batch yields 6 1/2 cups of syrup.  (I like to make a double batch right away.  If there is leftover it can be stored in the frig for a couple weeks until the next canning session.)

 

Cherries

Raw Pack Processing: 

1. Wash cherries and drain.

 

2. Prepare the light syrup, and keep it hot.

3. Sterilize jars.  I have used the dishwasher to sterilize, but have also used the boiling water in the canner to accomplish the task.  The dishwasher will keep the jars hot, but you can also use the oven to keep jars hot. 

 

4. Ladle 1/2 cup hot syrup into a sterilized, hot jar.

 

5. Fill jar with cherries.  Shake the jar gently to pack the cherries and leave 1/2 inch headspace. 

6. Ladle hot syrup over the cherries to cover.  Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims and cap. 

 

 

7. Process pints and quarts for 25 minutes in a boiling water canner.  Since we live above sea level, our processing time is adjusted by adding 5 minutes.

8. Let jars cool for 24 hours before storing.

Strawberry Scones

 

First saw these on Regan’s, then had to link  and link to find them here!  I planned to freeze them for next week, but I snuck a taste before they cooled completely.  Utterly light and delightful! 

My only issue is that the batter doesn’t make enough to completely fill my mini scone pan.  I’ll find a way to adjust and add about a quarter more to the dough (there are plenty of strawberries to accommodate) and fill the remaining 4 scone forms.  Either that or I need to make them all smaller!

My notes and changes are italicized.

Strawberry Scones

Yields: 6 large scones or 12 mini scones

Ingredients:

1 cup diced strawberries (or other fruit)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk*

Topping:

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. I used a mini scone pan.

If using larger fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with ½ tablespoon sugar; set aside. Be sure to dice the pieces small or they tend to fall out of the dough. They’ll still be plenty prominent in your finished scones.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter (you may want to use your dingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together. I chose to add the fruit last because I didn’t want it to break up when I was mixing the dough. I also chose to eliminate the kneading, as the dough was fully incorporated by mixing in the bowl.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don’t break up the berries and don’t overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Press the dough into a circle ¾ inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into the dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving ½ inch of space between them.

Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them (This took another 15-20 minutes in my oven, but keep a careful watch and check every 5 minutes – you do not want dry scones!). (The sprinkling of sugar over the top for the last few minutes of baking creates a simple, sparkly topping.) My scones were done after a total baking time of 25 minutes.

* I used slightly more (maybe 1 Tablespoon) than 2/3 cup to hold the batter together.