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!

Nothing screams Cinco de Mayo more than lime. Or key lime. So I’m doing it up today with this mousse! As it turns out, key lime isn’t just about pie.

This past week has been all about prepping kids for the upcoming AP tests. If you have a teenager in an AP class, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, then you clearly don’t care. And that’s fine! I didn’t care either, once upon a time.

When I was in high school, I made a choice to put aside overachievement in favor of socializing. You see, I come from a family of academic, high-achieving people, and they are a pretty intellectual bunch. Growing up, I thought I was stupid because I didn’t fit into that construct. It took years for me to understand that I was smart in a different way.

It’s hard to outgrow your childhood, that’s for sure. We all get slotted into roles fairly early in life: the geek, the emotional one, the sweet one. Do we ever stop being those people, deep down? I doubt it.

These roles are often assigned accidentally, but that almost makes it worse. Two kids can’t be the smartest, after all. So one of them inevitably becomes the one who is good with people, or the one who plays a better game of basketball. And unless you’re a very determined or confident person, there you stay, in that role.

I don’t have any answers. As hard as I try not to fit my own kids into roles, I can’t stop certain natural processes. I can only control what I do with dessert. You see, key lime is accustomed to being put into pie. That is key lime’s designated function. And I’ve turned it into mousse!

In case you didn’t hear about my raw egg aversion in this cappuccino mousse post, I make it a point not to make my mousse with egg. Instead, I whip heavy cream into stiff peaks, fold in my flavors, and call it a day. You could use Cool Whip, but the heavy cream tastes a little better. Or a lot, depending on your taste discernment.

This Cinco de Mayo, change up the book a little bit. Don’t be afraid to try a dessert you’ve only known in another role. And don’t be averse to embracing an identity you didn’t grow up with. We can’t stay the people we were as children, for better or worse. So let’s embrace the people we’ve become!

First of all, they often just change seasonally, if at all. And when they do change, there are a couple of standbys that never shift. At any given time of year, you can be pretty sure that there will be crème brulee and molten chocolate cake on the menu, along with a fruit-based dessert (tart or crisp, usually) and an assortment of ice creams and sorbets.

Don’t get me wrong. I love all those things. But why can’t pastry chefs be allowed to really get creative? To have more fun? And, dare I suggest it, change the menu at least (gasp!) monthly? Would that be so terrible? It’s more expensive for restaurant owners, of course. But let the pastry chefs do what they do best!

You see, I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that dessert at restaurants is no longer worth it, both in that it’s overpriced and mundane. I order it on special occasions, or at special restaurants, and then leave the rest of my indulgences to my own baking. At home, I take risks. I try new things. That guarantee doesn’t exist in fine dining anymore.

Take this strawberry ganache tart. I can make this whole tart for a fraction of what one slice would cost at a restaurant, and it tastes amazing. It’s pretty, too, and a great option for an at-home date this Valentine’s Day.

Listen, I’m not trying to pretend that running a restaurant is easy, nor do I think that I could do an amazing job in that setting. But here at home, this tart is making me plenty happy. In fact, after I added the last touch of drizzle and stepped back to examine the finished product, my heart sang a little. Nothing is prettier than a finished tart!

It was hard to destroy the prettiness and cut it up into slices, but the good news is, I gave half away and froze the other half for this coming weekend. Saturday night after the kids are in bed and the angels are singing, Kenny and I will have some tart and wine. It’s the perfect date.

And maybe I’ll stop being so, well, emphatic about dessert menus at restaurants. This is the season of love, after all. But if you are a creative soul, you might want to think about making your desserts mainly at home and saving the restaurant splurges for the occasional creative departure from the norm on the dessert menu. That makes it all the more special.

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!

Last week, I once again had a snow day, even though there was very little snow in evidence. That’s the great thing about moving to the DC area from the Midwest. When I lived in the Midwest, snow days were rare and precious, not to mentioned hard-earned. Here, they happen at the drop of a hat. But hey, this teacher is not complaining!

When my daughter got to the icy driveway, she just stopped completely and started crying. She was that petrified to walk to the car. But after some coaxing and the promise of truffles, she made her way toward her car seat.

Yes, my daughter loves truffles. She’s only 4 and a half, but she eats everything, including salad. And dark chocolate is her favorite. Every year, she gets a rich, dark chocolate birthday cake. But I had to appease my other children, who prefer something lighter. So I made these milk chocolate goodies instead!

Truffles are easy to make, relatively quick, and a heckuva lot cheaper than what you buy in any store. All it takes is some cream, a smidge of butter, and milk chocolate. When you’re done, you have a plate full of rich truffles, perfect to eat while staring out at icy driveways.

When these were ready to roll, I coated them in almond meal, which is just finely ground almonds. It comes in a bag at Trader Joe’s, or you can grind your own with a food processor. Either way, I am a chocolate almond addict, so this coating made me a lot happier than the classic dusting of cocoa. It added an extra something to the flavor, too!

The truffles are definitely better chilled, at least, in my humble opinion. They get fudgier and denser. Essentially, these truffles are a thicker ganache, so one will probably go a long way toward satisfying any cravings.

That is, until the next snowfall. There’s something about truffles and snow that just goes together, so whip up a batch and keep them handy for inclement weather. Or hey, if you live in a more temperate climate, that works too! Just think how lucky you are not to be driving through icy streets and dirty snow.

But you know, a snow day is still kind of magical. And a snow day with truffles is perfection. Savor the moments!

Turns out, kids like to eat on a schedule. A predictable one. They like to know that they’ll eat, I guess. Constantly. And as a result, I now always contemplate my next snack or meal as well. I think I used to spend that spare energy napping.

But seeing as how I haven’t napped since 2008, I spend a lot of time preparing meals and snacks for my brood. You’d think that I’d be eating a lot more as a result, but I kind of lose my appetite after I’m done fetching milk and napkins and yogurt squeezies and more napkins to wipe up the spilled milk and then more milk because, you know, it spilled.

In other words, I don’t sit down. So in those rare moments that the house is kid-free, I suddenly remember that I haven’t eaten and I make a beeline for the brownies.

These brownies really threw me. I’ve never been able to resist a brownie, but these are covered in thick, fudgy glaze. Two layers of it. When I brought these to Thanksgiving dinner as both a gluten-free option and an alternative to pie, they just started flying off the serving plate. I had to grab a few and hide them before they were totally gone for my bedtime snack.

Something about the glaze is ridiculously addictive. It reminds me of the decadent fudge topping you find on bakery cakes and cookies. I couldn’t really stop eating it. And it comes together very quickly on the stove top.

Bottom line is, I spend a lot of time being grossed out as I watch my children do unspeakable things with Cheez-Its. I need the good stuff to be available when they’re sweetly asleep. These are a perfect option!

Sorry, but it’s still officially Pie Week here on Just About Baked. I see no reason to stop making pies. Why should I? As long as I’ve got breath in me, I will bake pies!

Don’t worry, this one is easy. And delicious. And holiday-esque. And gluten-free. And mint, which is highly rare on this blog. In case you missed it earlier, I’m not so fond of mint.

But heck, the things I do for my readers. You all seem to like mint, so with a shake of my head, I present you with this lovely ganache pie, rich and chocolatey and garnished with lots of crushed candy cane Hershey kisses. You are very welcome!

You see, since having kids, I’ve learned to put other people before me in every area, even dessert. My kids don’t always love the desserts I make, so I will compromise my better instincts and give them the packaged crap they prefer to homemade cookies. Why not?

It’s with that spirit that I give you this pie. Honestly, I had a few bites to test it, and considering that it’s mint, I was happy with it. That means I didn’t want to stop eating it. So for you people who really like mint, I can only imagine what this will do to you.

I used the gluten-free Pillsbury pie crust, which rolls out just as nicely as any pie crust I’ve ever used. It also tastes wonderfully flaky. The ganache balances it out perfectly, and the mint adds that welcome cool blast.

Speaking of, this pie needs to stay refrigerated, so just be aware. And also be aware that I will probably not make anything mint again until Girl Scout cookie season. This is my gift to you. Happy Holidays!

Anyway, I’ve come to a very important conclusion about going back to work.

It makes me more productive! I know, duh. But it makes me work better everywhere. The house is neater. My bills are paid. And I baked three different things today, all of which I’m so excited to share with you! And the first is this evil little puppy right here.

Let me break this down for you: a layer of Reese’s pieces refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough (thank you, Pillsbury!) topped with very thick, very delicious peanut butter ganache. If that sounds complex, it’s not. This is one of those super quick recipes!

You take the dough, pat most of it in your pan (and save a few cookies for your own enjoyment, mmm), and then once it’s baked, you melt peanut butter chips and mix them with heavy cream. You pour, you chill, you are done. Finito!

And the result is peanut butter heaven. I’ll be completely honest here. I prefer peanut butter cups to pieces. I know, I know. It’s a legitimate debate! But I had to tell you how I feel. That said, Reese’s pieces are crazy addictive. And these are the mini kind, so they’re everywhere. Look how happy they are, nestled underneath all that cookie and ganache!

As always, be sure to not tell anyone just how little effort this recipe took to achieve. You want to be known in your part of town for your mad baking skills. Take all the credit. Always.

And of course, happy weekend! Nothing like ganache for a Friday!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. package Pillsbury Reese’s pieces cookie dough (minus three cookies)
• 1 package Reese’s peanut butter chips
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 8 square pan with cooking spray.

Pat the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan, making a flat, even layer. Reserve three of the cookies in the package for another time.

Bake the dough for 20-25 minutes until brown at the edges and firm. Cool slightly.

Microwave the peanut butter chips for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until melted and smooth. Add the heavy cream and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are smooth and incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the cookie crust and spread out evenly. Chill for at least two hours.

Cut into squares and serve. Store the bars in the refrigerator.