And here is the very first quote ever to be included in my commonplace journal, and yes, it is about chocolate. Admittedly, I have often gone through the messy handwriting of my journal and wished I had chosen a slightly more meaningful quote to begin. But here it is, and there is no changing it.
I believe it was this month three years ago that I began my first commonplace journal and I think it is something worth noting. This quote started it all, so it must be shared and I shan't scorn it. It really is the perfect example of how fun and unique a commonplace journal can be. Plus, I do very much love chocolate.
This particular tasty bit comes from Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. It doesn’t really capture much about the story, but it does give a hint of the fun flavor of Brandon Mull’s writing style.
When I am writing a story, I find it easy to forget to have my characters eat (terrible, I know) and usually get away with simply saying that they merely munched some dry bread before getting chased by a monster. But Brandon Mull lets his characters enjoy some tasty edibles and goes a step farther; he describes them in a manner that makes his readers moan with envy over the delectable foods. Overall, it makes the entire story much more enjoyable. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien did this in their writing and were masters at it.
Note to self: let my characters enjoy some good food when they're not fleeing foes and slaying dragons.
But now we get to the real heart of this blog post. We must talk about chocolate. Sweet and creamy or dark and rich. Warm and moist or smooth and cold. Paired with peanut butter or accented with mint. It is my opinion that chocolate is one of the greatest discoveries of mankind and we should take a moment to give thanks to God for the gracious, marvelous, miraculous gift of chocolate.
Wonderful as it is to read about fictional characters eating chocolate, it is for more delightful to actually have some yourself. In my household we have amassed quite a collection of recipes involving chocolate of some sort and to celebrate the beginning of my commonplace journal I would like to share a few of them with you.
Enjoy!
Chocolatey Oats
Ingredients:
2 sticks(1 cup) of butter
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
¾ cup of maple syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa powder
5½ cups of oats
Step 1
Grind up the oats in a food processor till roughly cut.
(optional, but we love it best this way)
Step 2
Melt butter in a saucepan before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. Stir until combined then fold in ground-up oats.
Step 3
Place the warm pan on the table, pour a giant glass of milk, grab a spoon and dig into the warm, chocolatey, gooey goodness!
(or if you happen to be one of those strange, civilized sorts, spread the oat mixture into a parchment paper lined pan and chill until firm to the touch (maybe around an hour?). Remove and cut into squares and then finally… dig in!)
Mint Chocolate Delights
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks(a cup) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
4-5 drops of peppermint essential oil (or a dash or two of peppermint extract)
Step 1
Combine all dry ingredients except for sugars in a small bowl,
Step 2
Beat butter, sugars and peppermint oil in an large bowl with electric mixer until creamy then beat eggs in one at a time.
Step 3
Gradually include flour mixture (I’ve learned it’s best to do this VERY slowly…)
Step 6
Scoop up round balls of dough and plop them onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 11-13 minutes.
Step 7
Immediately pounce on the crumbling, moist, chocolatiness and messily scrape the delicious morsels into your mouth.
(or if you desire actual cookies allow them to cool a bit)
Note: My sister likes to add a bit of extra flour to make them extra thick.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Snack Bars (with chocolate chips)
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk (any kind)
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Step 1
Use an Electric mixer to beat peanut butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla.
Step 2
Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt to the mixture. Mix until the peanut butter is incorporated and broken into clumps.
Step 3
Add milk at low speed until combined then fold in chocolate chips.
Step 4
Roll into a ball and place in an 8 by 8 baking dish, pressing it to fit the pan. Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the middle is set.
(https://thrivinghomeblog.com/ is where we originally got this recipe, but I was unable to find it on their website)
Step 5
Gobble it up : )
There you have it! Those are some of our favorites and I hope you may enjoy them. I've collected hundreds of quotes, discovered so many books, and eaten way too much chocolate since copying this simple quote. And I am happy to share it and remember.
P.S. Someday I will talk more about the story this is from.