Joy's Cookies and Fire Pits!

Whew, that was a long three days! But it was also incredibly interesting and informative. The cookies were a hit. I thought I should rename my business Joy’s Cookies and Fire Pits- you see the connection don’t you?

I spent this week on the computer, emailing and following up and now find myself facing Valentine’s Day! By the way, if you have a business site, you may want to consider marketing automation tools for email to have an immediate connection with potential customers. Everyone I know is on a diet so I guess I don’t have to bake or buy anything chocolate but there must be some way to make it special without calories! Or is there?

My latest favorite way of getting a chocolate fix without too many calories and with a drop of nutrition is hot chocolate. I mix together a heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa, a teaspoon of sugar, heat up 8 ounces of regular or soy milk and whisk them together. Marshmallows are delicious but optional. Or try this absolutely decadent Italian version with espresso, called Bicerin. Come to think of it, I will splurge on this for Valentine’s Day and maybe share it with my honey, too.

Makes 2 drinks

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder ( Ghiradelli or Lake Champlain are good) or dark chocolate shavings
• Sugar
• 2/3 cup chilled heavy cream
• One shot of espresso for each mug or 1 cup strong drip coffee

1. At least 15 minutes before making drink, place stainless steel cocktail shaker or jar in the freezer. Fill 2 mugs with hot tap water.

2. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate with 2/3 cup water and set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add sugar to taste and shut off heat.

3. Empty mugs and wipe dry. Remove shaker from freezer, add cream and shake vigorously for 1 minute to whip. Pour about 1/4 cup hot coffee or 1shot espresso into each mug and stir in about 1/3 cup chocolate mixture. Spoon over cream and serve.

Enjoy these chocolate treat and Add Light to your Life! Joy