The other day, I was really worn out. But since I’m not a coffee drinker, I did the next best thing: I gave myself a shot of this mousse. It’s not alcoholic, but it sure is caffeinated. Be still my heart. Nope, it’s beating too fast for that.

Not only is this the epitome of coffee and chocolate goodness, but there are also chocolate Heath bits through and through. Mousse has never tasted so incredible!

Mousse is definitely a sensitive topic in my family. When I was growing up, one of my brothers didn’t put such a high premium on staying out of trouble. To make matters worse, he had this really bad habit of laughing at my parents whenever they were trying to punish them. I always told him that was a dumb move, but he didn’t seem to care that much.

On the rare occasions when my brother wasn’t wreaking havoc, my mother would reward him by making chocolate mousse. My mom didn’t bake often, so this was quite a treat. He loved chocolate mousse and I guess it was supposed to be a behavior incentive, but it didn’t work in the long term because, you know, kids.

Anyway, I have another brother who always a model of kindness and goodness. He was in trouble, oh, never. So all these years later, he’s still kind of amazed that while the majority of my mother’s children behaved well and never received mousse, my brother got it for being good now and then. It seemed like a great injustice.

And, well, I guess it was. But I’ve learned that it’s impossible to treat your children the same way. They’re different people, and it’s inevitable that they can’t always have the same things. It might come across as unfair, but I think it’s unavoidable.

Besides, my brother can have all the mousse he wants now, because I’ll make it for him! I’ll even make it for the one who didn’t behave. I love them both.

This takes almost no time to whip up, and it’s so nice and cool and light for these hot days. The toffee bits give a delightful crunch amid all the mocha creaminess, and you’ll be very happy. Plus, if you put this mousse in elegant glassware, it becomes the best company dessert ever!

If you want to stall some family squabbles this holiday weekend (or anytime, really), give mousse a try. It might make your kids behave, anyway…for about ten seconds!

So I was browsing through one of my oldie but goodie cookbooks a while back, The Cake Doctor. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the author takes cake mixes and turns them into other treats. It’s a great book and I suggest you buy it immediately, if not sooner.

While browsing, I came across this magical recipe. It’s so easy: a box of white cake mix, three eggs, and a pint of ice cream (flavor of your choice) to give the cake its taste. That’s it, folks. I picked coffee ice cream and away we went! Results are right here.

In fact, I almost made a video, but I’m taking a short cinematography break. With Passover looming in less than three weeks, all my energies are going into getting the house ready for the annual onslaught of reminding us that our people were enslaved and now we’re free. But nothing feels free about getting ready for the holiday. That’s probably the point.

If you’re unfamiliar with Passover or the prep involved, just consider it the most demanding holiday you can imagine on steroids. To make Passover happen, the house needs to be spring cleaned from top to bottom. Coat and jacket pockets have to be checked for food wrappers or crumbs, kids’ rooms need to be excavated, and at some point, I wind up behind the fridge chipping away at tiny muck-filled crevices with a toothpick.

It’s not just the cleaning, though. Passover requires special food. Almost no food that we eat all year long except for vegetables (and not all of them, either) is acceptable on Passover. We can’t use typical carb bases (like flour), corn products, most grains, and legumes. The list goes on and on. We also have to expunge all of these unacceptable foods from the house, which means that I spend the weeks leading up to the holiday shopping conservatively so that we don’t wind up wasting food. That includes condiments and the spice rack, people.

And have I mentioned dishes? That’s right. This holiday requires its own dishes, down to pots and pans. We can’t use whatever we typically use because it’s made contact with forbidden foods (I know, it sounds insane). And since people in Judaism typically have different sets of dishes anyway (we separate meat from dairy), you can see where this is going.

Tip of the iceberg, people. I haven’t even gotten into the fact that we host the festive holiday meal (known as the Seder) two nights in a row for both sides of the family, cousins included.

Can someone come scrape my remains off the kitchen floor on or around April 22nd? You’ll find me easily because my three young’uns will be standing in a circle around me, demanding that I get up to fetch them candy.

As I am at my peak of stress right now, I need easy recipes. Recipes with three ingredients that produce delicious cakes that I can take to work and feed people with. Because I work full time, too. In a high school. No stress there.

This cake made me happy, as did the simple brown sugar glaze I poured over it. If I can’t get away from holiday prep at home, I can relax at work among the students I teach. They’re far less demanding of my time, and I’m even allowed to have cake breaks in my mini-cubicle.

Even if you don’t feel the pressure right now, nobody ever objected to making a three-ingredient cake out of melted ice cream. Try it with a flavor you love! The book recommends Cherry Garcia, but you can bet I’m trying it with Peanut Butter Cup next time!

Personally, I’m not a coffee drinker. I’m fairly wired as it is, so I don’t need any chemical help getting going every day. And I was on a decaf kick for a while because it tastes nice, but it also stains your teeth. I guess some people don’t fall prey to that, but I do, which also explains why I gave up green tea. Hot beverages are not my friend.

As a result, I like to get my caffeine kick through dessert, and what better way than with the best muffin I’ve had in quite a while? These pack a nice coffee punch while not being overly sweet, making for a gentle start to the day. We all need that on a tired Monday morning!

In the meantime, I’m doing okay because I did not stay up late. I’ve mentioned before that my body turns off at nine, and I’m not ashamed of that. It’s also wired to wake up in the 4s, and I’m very upset about that. I should have been a farmer.

The thing is, once anyone wakes me up, that’s it. I’m up. My brain starts racing and I just can’t sleep any more. Kenny, on the other hand, sleeps through pretty much everything and if he does wake up, he’s snoozing again within seconds. It’s very tempting to throw things at him in the wee hours of the night out of sheer frustration at his sleep skills.

Over the past week, I have been awakened by the following: a child with a nosebleed, a child needing her nose to be blown, someone slamming the toilet seat shut at maximum volume at two A.M., Kenny accidentally turning the light on in the middle of the night, little feet running down the hall at top speed back and forth (I don’t want to know), and a nonstop looping nightmare that I’m drawing My Little Ponies nonstop for my daughters. Which actually did happen in real life, but the nightmare is worse.

While this level of sleep deprivation runs nowhere close to what we experienced when the children were babies, I have to wonder if I’ll ever sleep well again. When they get older I’ll just wonder where they are, who they’re with and what they’re doing. I can see myself doing a lot of waiting up. And by the time they’re responsible adults, I’ll have forgotten how to sleep properly at all.

But then, I can always throw things at Kenny while he sleeps if it makes me angry. He’ll never know. And I can make breakfast muffins with lots of coffee in them to get me going.

A few weeks ago during our big snowstorm, I decided to bake my way through Dorie Greenspan, and these muffins were part of that. As happens a lot with any recipe I make, I added chocolate chips. My mother pointed out that no coffee dessert recipe is nearly as good without chocolate, and I agree with her wholeheartedly.

These are pretty easy, and they make for good motivation after a night of little sleep to get up and at ’em. We’re all tired, but let’s see what we can do to make today happen!

There used to be something romantic about snowstorms too, but now that I’m watching Kenny dig us out from two-plus feet of snow while my children destroy the house, I’m not really that into it. I’d much rather have clean streets and be at work, thank you very much.

The good news is, I’ve got these mocha mousse brownie bites to keep me company as the snow refuses to melt and the winds die down. These are pretty much my idea of a perfect Valentine’s dessert. These rich, fudgy brownie bites are topped with a mocha mousse and drizzled with chocolate. If you think it’s rich, you’re right! That’s how I do.

In the D.C. area, people aren’t used to snow. When I first moved here, I was shocked at how a simple dusting could immobilize the entire region for hours, so you can imagine what this huge snowstorm (dubbed Snowzilla in these here parts) has done for the area.

It all began Friday night, and we have yet to see a single snowplow. Our cul de sac is still dusted with twentysomething inches of fresh powder, untouched by person or machine. I’d like to think we’ll be plowed out at some point, but I really have no clue when. In the meantime, the task falls upon me to keep the three little monsters happy. Lucky Kenny gets to go back to work tomorrow in our basement, since he teleworks.

So, any suggestions? I’m looking for snow day ideas that aren’t crazy messy or difficult. We’ll have our baking time, our yoga/fitness time, our movie time, our snow time. But what else can I do? Help me, please. PLEASE.

In exchange, I will bake you marvelousness if you ever come through DC. Really. It’s the least I can do for keeping everyone sane in the big bad storm aftermath.

These bites of decadence might be helping with that sanity a bit, too. When things get rough, I can hide in the closet with a stack of these and a thermos full of Riesling. That’s a pretty good coping strategy, in case you needed one.

If you’ve never made mousse using cream, it’s the easiest and safest way to go without resorting to Cool Whip. Instead of a mousse packed with raw egg, this requires whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Then the mocha gets mixed in (hellooooo, coffee and chocolate) and once the mousse is chilled, you can pipe it onto the brownie bites. It’s elegant as well as satisfying!

Stay tuned, because if they don’t plow us out by Wednesday’s post, I’ll either need more snow day ideas from you or some serious therapy. In the meantime, the digging begins as Valentine’s Day looms ever nearer. Stay warm, everyone!

I’ll keep this post short and sweet, since we’re all still recovering from Thanksgiving overload. Every year, my brothers make huge leftover sandwiches at night and chase them down with martinis, and the next day, they make pumpkin waffles for breakfast. I just cannot. I have a limit.

So while everyone is still doing it up with turkey, I’m giving pumpkin her swan song of the season. These brownies are pretty special!

As I write this, my kids are bouncing off the walls. It happens on every holiday break. All the sudden lack of structure and routine makes them go hog wild. Anybody got any ideas for corralling a group of crazy kids?

Holiday breaks are never relaxing. The other day, I talked to someone who just wanted her Thanksgiving break to be relaxing. I was totally flummoxed by that. Since when are holidays meant to be chill? The whole idea is that we all need a vacation from break when it’s over!

It was a delicious Thanksgiving, though. The final dessert roll call: brown sugar pumpkin pie in a gingersnap crust, this chocolate raspberry marzipan tart, Dutch apple pie, pecan pie bars with this recipe as a base, and a gluten-free version of Kahlua cake. And that doesn’t count the main meal, which included my challah stuffing and red-skinned mashed potatoes. It was good, and now it’s gone.

Time to think forward to the holiday season, which is pretty short. In the next month, the idea of snow and scarves is still welcome. That won’t last forever, kids.

And these brownies didn’t last, either. They’re made on the stove top with melted chocolate and coffee. I added a little canned pumpkin to the batter along with some pumpkin spice latte-flavored M & Ms. It’s a coffee pumpkin taste explosion, my friends!

Okay, not gonna lie. I’m exhausted from the holiday endeavors, and I kind of need a vacation. Instead, I’ll just keep this post short. Enjoy the brownies and the family time!

So instead, I’ll summarize. Ready? Oreo crust. Mocha mousse filling. Chopped Heath bar garnish.

Can we get some applause here? Maybe a reward of some kind? Actually, eating the pie is its own reward.

This might be one of those days when I’m mainlining pie. See, I just read another Donald Trump quote. Before we get into it, let me just be clear: I’m not talking politics right now. I’m just talking about this one person and his views on women.

We all know that the word “feminist” is loaded, and that’s too bad. It has taken me many years to be confident enough to say, loud and clear, that I am a feminist. If we need to define that, my view is that men and women should be equal. That means that we should be given the same opportunities, be on the same pay scale, and be free from societal double standards. As in, I don’t think that it’s fair to call a man a “player” and a woman a “slut” (pardon my language) when they’re engaging in the exact same behavior.

Enter Donald Trump. He’s on record as referring to women as “bimbos,” “fat pigs,” and “dogs.” He’s been very clear that he subscribes to the ancient idea that women are less intelligent than men. Anyone who truly believes that should probably not be in charge of anything more serious than real estate.

If anyone had made similar comments about men, I’d be up in arms, too. I think all of us deserve fair treatment. Let’s not even get started on Trump’s comments about people who come to America from other countries. He’s sounding scarily racist, and people need to speak out and defend others. It’s not okay to victimize people on the basis of their race or gender. It’s 2015. Get with the program.

And it’s also not too professional for a presidential candidate to be using derogatory or foul language. But I’m picky about language, being an English teacher and all. I know that I never use certain words in the workplace. Maybe he shouldn’t, either.

I have a theory about politics, actually. Here it is: if we all stopped arguing and started eating pie, the world would be a much happier place. Or, you know, dysfunctional. But there would be pie.

This pie is partially no-bake, which is always a lot of fun. The crust is made of Oreos, and then I whip up heavy cream and combine it with melted chocolate and coffee to make a mocha mousse. It’s coffee chocolate heaven. And if you’ve never had Heath bars with coffee (any Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz Ben and Jerry’s eaters out there?), it’s the best flavor pairing ever.

Just be careful, because once you start eating this pie, you probably won’t stop. But that’s okay. It’s much healthier to eat this whole thing under a blanket in the closet than to listen to Donald Trump talk about women. Like he knows anything about us.

Don’t hate. It’s not that coffee doesn’t taste delicious. It’s more of a personal choice. See, as the daughter of a die-hard coffee addict, I just decided to go a different way in life. Plus, I don’t like the tooth stains. They’re not too pretty.

Still, the flavor is great, and I love to bake with coffee. Or make icy summer treats with coffee. This granita is quick and easy. All it takes is two ingredients and you’re on your way to icy coffee happiness!

This week, I’ve been alternately going to work for meetings and staying home for what I call Camp Mommy. Next week I go back to work completely, and I gotta tell you, it will be a lot easier than being in charge of Camp Mommy. For you full-time moms who have kids at home, I salute you.

Yesterday we went to the following places: the park, the bouncy place, Target, and the library. We went home for about a half hour somewhere in the middle to have lunch, and when I begged my kids to let me have five minutes to sit on the couch before heading out again, my son said, “Camp Mommy is boring. You just want us to rest.”

I mean, really? Really?!

Parenthood is a thankless job. People complain that teaching is, too, but I do get thanked occasionally. So there. Wrangling 150 teenagers per semester is a heck of a lot easier than managing my own three children.

That’s why I get so angry when people think that teaching is anything like childcare. When I tell people that I’m not actually that into kids who aren’t my own, they stare at me and say, “But you’re a teacher.” Yep, that’s right. I love working with teenagers, but note my word choice: “working with.” As in, helping them learn and grow. I’m not instinctively nurturing, and that’s not my job as a teacher. I’m around to teach these kids how to write and think critically. It’s fun, rewarding, and crazy hard work.

It’s also nothing like childcare. For me, teaching is easier, but it depends on your personality. Most people can’t teach for more than a few years without quitting because they fundamentally misunderstand the job. That’s why teacher retention rates are so low.

And teaching is definitely exhausting. I’m up crazy early, have days that go 11-12 hours (and that’s before I go home, make dinner, play with kids, do bathtime and bedtime, and then start grading papers again), and collapse exhausted into bed. Teachers tend to sleep very well at night. And it’s very tempting when it’s dark and cold outside to turn to the nice hot coffee.

But I’ve been down that road, and it scared me how much happier I was with caffeine. It just wasn’t me. So instead, I limit my coffee consumption to treats like granita.

Granita is an icy concoction that is made by combining sugar with a flavor choice (like pureed fruit or, in this case, coffee) and then freezing the mixture into icy little shards. You accomplish its texture by stirring the granita at regular intervals during the freezing process. It’s not hard to make at all, but don’t make a batch unless you’ll be home for a couple of hours to stir it up.

For a better granita, use a good-quality coffee. You could make it really strong and use espresso, but then don’t have this for dessert after dinner unless you want to be peeled off the ceiling. Remember, this is real coffee we’re dealing with.

No matter how you spend your days, you reserve the right to be exhausted. To make those in-between moments a little easier, work some coffee into your dessert!

They need to try this cappuccino mousse. Because if anything will get your dopamine flowing and trigger a happy moment, this is it. Honestly, this mousse is pure wow. And it’s easy.

When we were kids, my brother loved mousse. My mom would make it when he behaved, which wasn’t too often. As a result, the rest of us got kind of annoyed. I mean, we behaved nicely all the time, but we never got mousse. Why was the pain in the neck being rewarded?

Until I got older, mousse to me was about being good. As an adult, I’m happy to report that it’s earned its proper place as an ultimate indulgence, the kind of treat you make when you have a few minutes of silence, a spoon, and a really comfy pair of yoga pants.

What makes this mousse such a standout is that it has a strong mocha punch. You can skip your coffee, or just prepare yourself for the joy of having it in dessert. Once the coffee and chocolate chips are melted together, they get folded into whipped cream. It’s heaven.

Now, I used real cream for this because Valentine’s Day is coming up, and Cool Whip doesn’t really float my romantic boat. But my guess is that this would work, though not as decadently, with Cool Whip.

Once the mousse is done it sets quickly, so be ready to spoon it into any glasses you desire. I put some of mine into cute to-go coffee cups to share with friends, and the rest got stored in my fridge in glass tumblers for maybe two hours before people found and ate it all.

Chocolate and coffee are amazing, and even better in mousse. Whether you’re single or attached this Valentine’s, well-behaved or not, get that happy moment going!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been absent. It was totally beyond my control this time. That flu epidemic the CDC declared the other day found its way into my house. I’ve never been so sick in my life. A week down, unable to do anything but moan. And in the process, my blog just kind of stopped.

But now it’s back, and it’s a new year! Don’t expect me to go with the trend here and start posting healthy recipes. I have very strong feelings about resolutions this time of year. It’s not that I don’t believe in making healthy decisions, but doing it on January 1st is just plain odd. Why would you want to? That date seems to have an alarming failure rate.

And by the way, so does dieting. 95% of all diets fail because they’re unsustainable. What is sustainable is moderation. So by all means eat this amazing cinnamon breakfast cake, but then don’t have a giant brownie after lunch and a milkshake with dinner. Your coronary arteries will not be happy with you.

This cake is sheer, unadulterated cinnamon goodness. It’s got a thin layer of chocolate and cinnamon toward the bottom and then the rest is just light and fluffy. It’s perfect for breakfast when you’re in the mood for something a little less hard-hitting than your average cinnamon pastry but don’t want to sacrifice any of that flavor.

Incidentally, this guy is gluten-free. No, that’s not code for “healthy.” That just means that I used certified gluten-free oat flour in this cake, and it worked out beautifully. Oats and cinnamon are a perfect pair! The bottom layer is also quite joyous, combining not just cinnamon and chocolate but also a touch of coffee. So if coffee is your beverage of choice in the morning, you’ll be quite the happy camper.

I’ve missed you, and from the bottom of my heart, I curse the flu. Stay healthy out there, and I’m not talking about your food choices. Wash your hands and stay away from schools, day care centers, and doctors’ offices!