A Chocolate Twist and a Pineapple Chaser

My kitchen has been busy over the last week.  Lots of baking of sweets to sell at my garage sale, and the chance to make new recipes for friends and family.


My brother-in-law turned 50 last week, and this is no small occasion for him.  Since he was gone on his birthday, I did want to make sure he was remembered on Sunday when he returned so I made him this Chocolate Cinnamon Monkey Bread.  He's a big chocolate and cinnamon fan, and since I don't have many of those recipes, I was hoping for the best.  This wasn't a complicated recipe, and it was very tasty without being overly chocolatey.  In fact, I'm inspired to try making regular monkey bread with cinnamon rolls instead of biscuits.

Since I had a lot of fresh pineapple on hand, I also decided to try using it in muffins with this recipe.  It's sweet and cakey, but doesn't have a very strong pineapple flavor.  I've liked them best over the last few days toasted with butter on them.  I think they would even be good with a sprinkle of cheddar on them, similar to pineapple au gratin.


Lastly, I made this Nutella and Cream Danish for my pre-teen neighbor.  We have watched Max grow up over the course of the last 10 years, and he's always been so sweet to us.  Apparently he has been cruising my Pinterest boards and drooling over some of the things pinned there.  So, I told him to pick something out, and I would make it for him.  Although I didn't get to taste the danish, Max and his family pronounced it delicious, and made my day by calling me the "best neighbor ever".  I assure you I'm not, but it was still fun to make something for him.

Edit:  Totally forgot to mention these new Iced Coffees from Prairie Farms.  We had them with the monkey bread and muffins and they were delicious!

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