Chocolate Recipes and.....Moles? Huh?!

Meat recipes that have chocolate in them have aroused much attention. Little do most people know that these chocolate-related recipes have been around for many years. Since the Aztecs valued the chocolates so much and believed in its power-harnessing abilities, they've used chocolate in practically everything!

Imagine this: your favorite meat and the luxurious taste of fine, smooth chocolate combined in one recipe that would leave you mouth-watering. We have all that here in Mole.

A Saucy History

Mole is Mexican delicacy that is Aztec in origin. It came from the word Molli, which means sauce. It wasn't until mid-17th century that chocolates were added to mole and we now know them Mole Poblano.

Chocolate Mole instantly became a sensation, a staple during the holidays and special occasions, that it eventually became a national dish. It is normally served as a sauce for chickens and has bittersweet, nutty and spicy flavors.


The Hot Ingredient

Mole is mainly made up of about 10-30 ingredients, most of which are spices – specifically chilies. Varieties such as Pasillas, Guajillos, Chipotles, Anchos and Mulatos are commonly used each giving out very different flavors that when mixed is simply scrumptious.

Other ingredients may include Ceylon Cinnamon from Mexico which is also called canela, a type of sugar called Pilloncillo, plaintains, pineapples, ground nuts. You may replace raisins with dried apricots, tortillas instead of almonds, or yams instead of plaintain.

Toast them Chilies

The secret in successfully bringing out that nutty, charred flavor in mole is to partially burn most of its ingredients. Nuts, chilies and all the other spices need to be toasted on a pan, while tomatoes have to be charred until their skins are dark.

Other Mole Recipes

Mole Verde
Ingredients such as cilantro, tomatillos, epazote, Romaine Lettuce, and pumpkin seeds give this recipe its distinct green color.

Mole Coloradito
Spices include almonds, sesame seeds, garlic, Ancho, Pasillas, or Guajillo chilies banana, sugar, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, garlic and crackers. The color should be rich red.

Mole Rojo
Mole Rojo is much like Mole Coloradito but lighter in color. Do not be mistaken of its lightness, though, because Rojo is much spicier! Use the same ingredients as coloradito but add more chilies, onion, pecans, and chocolate.

Mole Amarillo
The ingredients to make this mole are garlic, cumin, onion, cilantro, black, pepper, Ancho, Guajillo and Costeno chilies, chilcoxle, hoja santa and green tomatoes.

Mole Chichilo
This variety has a distinct ashy flavor to it. The chilies used in this dish are pasilla, Chilguacle Negro and Mulato. For anise flavor, they use avocado leaves.

Mole Mancha Manteles
You often see this mole partnered with pineapple or plaintain and has a strong Ancho flavor.

Mole de Cacahuete
The mole you add to chicken is literally a peanut sauce mixed with chilies.

Today, moles are readily available at local supermarkets and specialty stores and usually come in bottles of green, yellow or blackish paste. Although popular as sauce for various preparations of poultry, any other meat could do well with a little mole flavor. This delicacy is popular at weddings, holidays, Cinco de Mayo and Quincenneras . The Mexicans also offer Mole to their dead during Dia de los Muertos.

Clearly the world just couldn't stop thinking of many ways to use chocolates. Any excuse to lavish in this tasty delicacy seems appropriate! As if picking out bags of chocolates weren't enough, this delightful piece of heaven has also found its way to our kitchen as exciting, uncommon but sumptuous chocolate-related recipes!

Chocolate Cookie Recipes

It was pure serendipity when Ruth Wakefield, the one who discovered baking of chocolate chip cookies, when she had to think fast when she unexpectedly ran out of ingredients while baking cookies for some guests. She was using another type of chocolate in one of her famous chocolate-related recipes at a small inn she was operating when she thought of using semi-sweet Nestle chocolates. And surprisingly, instead of melting, she found the chocolate chips just turning soft. And the result? A truly delightful treat of crunchy but chewy-on-the-inside cookies, now popularly known as the 'chocolate chip cookies' loved anywhere in the world!

Boundless Possibilities of Reinventing Choco Chip Cookies

And since the discovery of these all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies, hundreds of recipes have already evolved, each recreating the recipe and trying to improve the cookies to even greater perfection! There are just so many varieties of the recipe of the chocolate chip cookies we all love.

Try going on a chocolate chip cookie operation, and search for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe you can try at home and for sure, another addition of this recipe to your collection will bring delight to your loved ones' faces!

Search for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

Just a few days ago, I started on my chocolate chip cookie operation scouting for the best and unique recipes for these delightful cookies. Yes, there are so many quick-baking chocolate chip cookies available in the grocery stores, but I need to find the best recipes. I have tried those from the local grocery stores, and after baking the goodies, they do not look too good to me. And I thought to myself," Mission Failed"!

Still On the Look-Out for the Best Choco Chip Cookie Recipes

I keep trying out different kinds of recipes but still the cookies turned out either too thin for my liking, the other chocolate chip cookies I tried baking ended up appearing too cakey or spongy. You might have a good chocolate chip cookie recipe you might like to share. If you do have a unique recipe for these all-time favourite cookies, please post it online. And I am sure, you will make not just a single soul happy, but countless of us!

You see, I've got a long list of choco chip cookie recipes that I have tried and I am trying my best to find the one that will exceed my standards in baking them. With my repeated baking of such goodies, there's one thing I learned though. Changing the amount of sugar in the recipe can really bring about tremendous changes in the cookies!

Maybe I should try one or both of the recipes or even the original Nestle Toll House recipe that we find at the back of the semi-sweet chocolate packages. Some comment that these cookies are unbelievable! They say you only have to bake it at a lower temperature than in the ordinary recipes, and you will get that very texture, crispness and thickness you so desire! I might just try them really soon! And who knows it might be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have long been looking for!

But I should remember that the best tasting chocolate chip cookies will always remain dependent on the taste buds of the chocolate lover eating them. So, if you feel like baking up a set of this chocolate-related recipe, you may as well try some variations and who knows, perhaps you'll be the lucky one to find the world's next best chocolate chip cookie!