Chocolate

Dessert in the Desert: Gertrude's at the Botanical Garden

I have a pastry chef crush on Marisa Lown of Gertrude's, the new(ish) cafe at the Desert Botanical Garden. Her pastry is straightforward, creative, and thoughtful. Marisa is bringing a unique touch and an expert hand to sweets here in the Valley, and I can't wait to see what she does next. See als ... More >>

Last Night's Scottsdale Culinary Event: The Chocolate and Wine "Experience"

It was a fairly sizable turnout at Talking Stick Resort last night for the Chocolate and Wine Experience, the decadent Day 2 of the week-long Scottsdale Culinary Festival. True to title, the event offered all forms of chocolate indulgence and bottled vino, but left plenty of room for interpretation ... More >>

Last Minute Chocolate Valentine You Can Make Yourself

AndyTalk: Salt - It's So Much More Than Sodium Chloride It's Valentine's Day and that means stress, especially if you're a bit of a procrastinator and/or you think that the card you bought just isn't enough. If you've got some chocolate on hand, even in bar form, you can make the best hand-made va ... More >>

14 More Valley Places to Wine and Dine Your Honey Bun on Valentine's

Remember last year when you swore you'd make Valentine's Day plans way ahead of schedule so as not to repeat the twelve-hour scramble of years past? It might be too late to get a reservation at the top spots in town, but you haven't missed the window entirely -- not yet. But put off calling around ( ... More >>

Superbowl Cupcakes This Weekend Only at Urban Cookies

Still don't know what you're serving at your big Superbowl party on Sunday? Urban Cookies Bakeshop has you covered -- for dessert, anyway. One flavor represents San Francisco, the other Baltimore. So if you're a 49ers fan, hopefully you love dark chocolate, red wine, and cheese. Pulling for the Rave ... More >>

Three Cookie Doughs to Freeze Now, Bake Later

It's that time of year. The holidays. And though it's tempting to wake up early the morning of a holiday party to bake, we recommend making these freezable recipes now, for easy baking later -- and a chance to sleep in. These aren't your typical sugar cookie recipes; these will make you look like a ... More >>

Karen Olson Makes Chocolate Chip Cookies

Forks up, Phoenix! Chow Bella and Roosevelt Row present the third annual Pie Social Saturday, November 3rd, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. We've got an all-star line up of bakers making pies for you to taste, and from now til Pie Social, we'll introduce them to you, one by on ... More >>

White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie at The White Chocolate Grill

See also: Pie Social 2012: Call for Entries If you're in the mood for dessert, it would seem there's no better place to go than a restaurant with chocolate in the name. That logic brought us to The White Chocolate Grill, on the surface a generic upscale American restaurant with the typical big plus ... More >>

Anatomy of a Chocolate Chip Cookie with Brady Breese of Urban Cookies

See also: Mail Order Cookie Clash: Urban Cookies vs. Goosebumps See also: Urban Cookies (OllieCake) Wins Food Network's Cupcake Wars See also: Urban Cookies' Brady Breese: Caramelpalooza Candymakers When you're cooking, it's all about a dash of this and a splash of that. But baking is another matte ... More >>

"Hot Chocolate" Cake at The Arrogant Butcher

Sam Fox: Love him or hate him, chances are you have some opinion about this Valley-based restaurateur. Not everyone likes the idea of one guy cranking out 12 (yes, 12!) restaurant concepts in 14 years. But even if not all of them are winners, at the very least Fox is putting up one hell of a fight a ... More >>

Last Night's Scottsdale Culinary Festival Chocolate & Wine Experience Not So Chocolatey

To me, one of chocolate's best properties is the fact that it doesn't need to be super sweet to feel incredibly indulgent. A blissful chocolate is smooth, rich, dark, and simple. My current favorite is Chocolove's Orange Peel, and I expected the Scottsdale Culinary Festival's only dessert event woul ... More >>

Guinness Chocolate Cake and Orange Glaze

Welcome to our new(ish) column, "Ask the Pastry Chef," by Amy Morris, a pastry sous chef at J&G Steakhouse. Have a question for Amy? Leave it in the comments section. Do you have a cake recipe with Guinness in it for St. Patrick's Day? Nothing says St. Patrick's Day more than Guinness beer. I c ... More >>

Chef Christine Boerner of The Baker's Daughter, Part Two

In recognition of Valentine's Day we're talking with chocolatier and pastry chef, Christine Boerner of The Baker's Daughter. Yesterday she gave us a peek into how she prepares for V-Day and today we get schooled about how you go from cacao bean...to chocolate dream. So, how do you make chocolate? ... More >>

How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

​ Welcome to our new(ish) column, "Ask the Pastry Chef," by Amy Morris, a pastry sous chef at J&G Steakhouse. Have a question for Amy? Leave it in the comments section.This week's question: How Do I Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries?Chocolate covered strawberries are perfect for Valentine's ... More >>

14 Ways to Get Your Phoenix Valentine's Day Chocolate Fix

​ Chocolate and Valentine's Day go together like eggs and bacon, or cookie and milk, or cookies and bacon, or bacon and bacon .....mmmmm bacon. Oh wait, we were talking about chocolate. Anyhow, chocolate and Valentine's Day go hand in hand. A Valentine's Day without chocolate would just be a ... More >>

Claire's Chocolate Chip, Fool Proof, and Better Than They Look (Really) Cookies

​Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. From now through Christmas, we present Chow Bella's 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Today, we bring you Claire's Chocolate Chip, Better Than They Look (Really) Cookies. I am not a baker -- a tough fact I thought I could hide un ... More >>

Arizona Biltmore's Dinner and a Movie Series Starts Today

Arizona Biltmore​Summertime in the Valley may be a scorcher, but the Arizona Biltmore, one of Phoenix's first resorts built in 1929 with the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright serving as the consulting architect, is playing it Hollywood cool. As part of their Hollywood & Wine summer-long series fea ... More >>

Melissa Barth's Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse and Banana Dessert

Carol Blonderchocolate-peanut butter mousse and sauted banana cake with creme fraiche ice cream​ Posh pastry chef Melissa Barth followed her older brother into a culinary program in high school, hit the pastry station, and found her niche. After completing the pastry and baking program at the Cu ... More >>

Suzanne Garcia's Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies

Carol BlonderSuzanne Garcia and her cookie counter​ Yesterday, Suzanne Garcia president of Chocolate Star Bakery shared the lessons she brought from a successful fashion and business background to her cookie bakery. The San Francisco native likes to keep her recipes simple but isn't afraid to gla ... More >>

Lisa Reinhart: Wei of Chocolate

Carol Blonder cacao pod​ In the eighteenth century, Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist credited for the naming and classification system used to distinguish plants and species found in Europe and the New World, named the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, "food of the gods". Cacao had a long-es ... More >>

Travis Watson's Chocolate Mousse Covered Strawberries

Carol Blonder chocolate covered strawberries​Yesterday in Sweet Talk, Executive Pastry Chef Travis Watson described his philosophy on the discipline and art of pastry creation and the important elements of any carefully crafted dessert. Chef Watson favors desserts that are refined and inclu ... More >>

Ibarra: Mexican Hot Chocolate

Erica O'Neil Ibarra chocolate flanked by marshmallows and cinnamon sticks. ​Tacos may very well be the perfect food, but let's face it, the standard Meximerican fare can get a bit stale after a while. Taco the Town is here to highlight some of the more unusual Mexican finds in the valley. T ... More >>

Cookie Showdown: Chocolate Chip Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Photo: Cyndi Coon Chocolate Chip Peppermint Sandwhich Cookie​ Cookie exchanges are a staple at every holiday office party, including the offices of Chow Bella. But the contributors to this blog are a cutthroat bunch, and with an inordinate amount of trash talk thrown about, our cookie excha ... More >>

Julia Baker: Julia Baker Confections

Carol BlonderJulia Baker ​ We recently visited Julia Baker at her headquarters in the Scottsdale Airpark. The "no talking" kitchen was in full swing preparing holiday confections for corporate customers and Julia Baker's Chocolate Boutique at The Montelucia. Julia graciuosly gave us a tour, and o ... More >>

Tully's Intense Dark Chocolate Mocha

​ Tully's Coffee is a chain, but we haven't seen too many locations in the Valley. But we stumbled upon a Tully's last week in the Fry's Markerplace off 27th Avenue and Bell Road, and since we'd never tried Tully's (gasp!), we decided to stop in. We ordered a tall "intense dark chocolat ... More >>

Recipe: Christine Boerner's Rocher

Carol BlonderChocolate gifts in gourds​ Rocher (FR: rock) When I was a kid we called these chocolate -coated bites haystacks. I stand corrected! These yummy little mounds can be made with your choice of ingredients, toasted nuts, golden raisins and chopped dried fruit. Christine Boerner provi ... More >>

Lou and Denise Mirabella of Chocofin Chocolatiers

What started out as a less than stellar homemade-Christmas-gift attempt at truffle making grew into the passion and livelihood of the entrepreneurial Lou Mirabella and his wife, Denise, of Chocofin Chocolatiers.

TeaTime Chocolate = Wei Good

This is the kind of math we foodies understand: One part tea plus one part chocolate equals a heavenly escape from the craziness of life, which is exactly what TeaTime and Wei of Chocolate intended for last night's tea and chocolate tasting.

Is This For Real? 'Healthy' Chocolate Cake at True Food Kitchen and The Compound Grill

Forget acai berries and pomegranate. Chocolate is our "superfood" of choice": decadent, rich and packed with antioxidants and endorphins. Hell, it's like taking a vitamin and a happy pill all at once! It's also delicious whether it's eaten in traditional bar form or used as an in ... More >>

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

​When we lived in Brooklyn, NY we had a monthly ritual. It started with going to our favorite sushi joint and loading up on Spanish mackerel sashimi and rolls of varying types and bowls of miso soup and sake. And then, because why stop there, we would stumble down the street for a walk of a few ... More >>

S'more Please Sundaes

​Here we are in July. Is it just us, or does July seem to sneak up and take you by surprise? It's time for summer plans to unfold. Time to escape the heat, or at least dream about it. Time to enjoy all those mainstays of summer: tomatoes, watermelon, swimming, lemonade, ice-cream trucks, salty ... More >>

Brownie Showdown: Frosted Guinness Brownies

Johnathan McNamara Beer makes everything better. ​When we heard about the 26-page Pentagon brownie recipe published recently, we couldn't resist trying to bake them. Emphasis on trying. What better time for the next Chow Bella Showdown? We gathered the staff and got them baked -- er, baking ... More >>

Valrhona Chocolate Truffle Recipe

Last week we reported on Valrhona's exclusive demonstration for Valley pastry chefs and culinary professionals. Now you can try their chocolate truffle recipe at home. ValrhonaValrhona Truffles(recipe after the jump)​

Valrhona Chocolate Demonstration Better Than a Trip to Wonka's Factory

Carol BlonderValrhona ​ A visit to the town of Tain L'Hermitage located in the Rhone Valley of France is on the bucket list of chocolatiers and professional pastry chefs from around the globe. Tain L'Hermitage is the home of Valrhona and the esteemed Ecole de Grand Chocolat. Carol BlonderJ ... More >>

Caffiend: Hob Nobs' White Chocolate Mocha

​Hob Nobs, a quaint beatnik cafe housed in the old Willow House building, retains much of its predecessors' ambiance: hardwood floors, colorful local art on the walls, cramped parking in the back -- but the menu here offers more options, and we dare say the java's just as good.We stopped by on the ... More >>

Thin Mint Showdown: Lazy Thin Mint Pie

Jonathan McNamaraGive me a spoon now!​One can never have enough Thin Mints. At least that's what we thought until Managing Editor Amy Silverman brought in a dozen unsold boxes to a recent Chow Bella meeting. If one must make lemonade when life hands one lemons, we theorized one must make deser ... More >>

Top 5 Cocktails For Easter

http://www.alcademics.com/2009/04/easter-drinks-for-my-peeps.htmlDown the hatch ... er, rabbit hole.​Church. Hiding plastic eggs for unappreciative children. Cooking a huge dinner. Putting up with painfully unlikable family members. Whatever your Easter entails this Sunday, there's a good cha ... More >>

Battle of the Sexy Desserts

With Valentine's Day around the corner, we thought we'd get you in the mood with a little friendly competition of gooey, rich and chocolatey desserts. We have two serious competitors: a deep, dark chocolate cake and a brownie-like dessert served with a side of warm chocolate sauce. So light so ... More >>

Locally Made: Sam Filicetti Achieves Higher Consciousness with Chocolate

​In ancient times, Mayans drank cacao concoctions to achieve an altered consciousness believed to bring them close to a god-like state.  It was this promise of elevated awareness and an interest in Divine Metaphysics that initially attracted Sam Filicetti, an electrical engineer, to choc ... More >>

The Provisional Poet: Battle of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Fight, fight, fight!​ Battle of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Fight, fight cups down the field, Fight with your peanut butter and cacao seeds and don't ever yield. Original has milk chocolate, newcomer dark, One will be victorious, the other, a lark. Cheer, cheer for the orange and brown ... More >>

Death to Chocolate in Phoenix?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misbehave/Lately, it's gotten downright impossible to get a chocolate fix in Phoenix. Sure, you can still find a Milky Way at Walgreen's, but we're not looking for the waxy stuff that you'd find in a 5-year-old's trick or treat bag. We want our chocolate grown up ... More >>

Bar None

Candy man Colin Redding chocs it up to experience

Best Cookies

Chocolate Star Bakery

Best Kosher Cookies

Cookies Amour

Best French Pastries

Pastry Maxine

Best Cookies

Fat Cat Cookies

Candy, Darling

Second Helpings