Featured Chef – Chocolate Recipe Contest Winner

What do cheesecake, cupcakes and cookies have in common? They all share a common SECRET ingredient – CHOCOLATE! “Unleash The Chocoholic In You!” chocolate recipe contest attracted many out-of-this-world tasty, soul-satisfying chocolate recipes, ranging from Sinfully Dark Chocolate Brownie to Chocolate Banana Cupcakes. You voted and the crowd-pleaser was Pumpkin Chocolatta Chocolate Chip Cookies by Chef Alicia. Here’s her story about her winning recipe and she shares with us some of her cooking tips!



How old were you when you first started cooking and what was the first dish you made?
Growing up my mom and nana made big meals every night and food was a big part of our life. When I was 18 and ambitious, I made my first baked haddock. Looked simple since I had seen my mom make it a million times. Wow, was I wrong! I dried the heck out of the fish and left the skin on!

What’s the inspiration behind your Pumpkin Chocolatta Chocolate Chip Cookies?
My sisters and I love pumpkin and chocolate, so I put the 2 together and it was a match made in heaven! Click here to see the winning recipe!

What does cooking mean to you and what are your fave dishes to cook?
Cooking is a way to bring family and friends together. We love to entertain and our family loves to come over and try our new recipes. We are a big Sicilian family and love to cook up some family favorites like spidinis, aranchinis, and homemade pasta

Do you have any time-saving / budget-friendly cooking tips to share with other home cooks?
I always have frozen vegetables on hand because they can be thrown into any dish. To make a regular rice not so regular just throw in some frozen broccoli. Also, I always have potatoes in the pantry because they are so versatile and can be used several ways!

What are the kitchen tools / appliances that you can’t live without?
I absolutely can NOT live without my KitchenAid Mixer! The easiest way to make my breads, crusts, and whipped cream! My non-stick bake ware is also a must when baking flawless looking cakes and cookies! Get KitchenAid recipes here.

Click here to see other winning recipes.

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