Someone put a “chocolate” spin on a tale that has been floating around the internet for some time now. Check out our slightly modified version here.

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were discussing their lives at a class reunion. The holidays were coming up and they decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired, who was always an inspiration to them. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work, lives and relationships.

Offering his guests a warm beverage, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups. Some cups were porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He invited his guests to help themselves. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor shared his thoughts.

“Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you are drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What each of you really wanted was hot chocolate. You did not want the cup…but you consciously went for the best cups. And soon, you began to eye one another’s cups.”

“Now friends, the professor continued, please consider this: Life is the hot chocolate. Your job, money and position in society make up the cup. It is just a tool to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor does it change, the quality of life you are living. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate that has been given to us.”

This holiday season, we hope that you spend more time savoring life and less time worrying about what is surrounding it. So next time you have some hot chocolate, be sure to savor every drop and watch your stress melt away!

Happy Holidays from Chocolate Tasting & More!

Back in May, a student named Parker put a recipe card in my mail slot in our school office. Along with the instructions, it had a wonderful photo of the young baker with his pan of delicious biscuits.

Fast forward to November and I finally get around to making this recipe. The only changes I made were to add walnuts and use two chocolate bars I had in my kitchen drawer: Seattle Chocolates’ Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar with 53% cacao and Extreme Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar with 65% Cacao, each 2.5 oz.

Eating these warm biscuits, which resemble a cross between traditional drop biscuits and a cinnamon roll, brought back fond memories of my Mom’s home made biscuits and breakfast biscuits & chocolate syrup my dear Aunt Jean would make on my visits to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Pure nirvana!

On is Seattle Chocolate’s bar wrappers is the slogan: “What happiness tastes like.” If Parker’s biscuits were to have a wrapper, it would say “What heavenly breakfasts taste like.”

Thanks, Parker, for your thoughtfulness. You sure know how to make a chocolate lover happy! This recipe is definitely one to try out this holiday season.

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar, divided
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, divided
1 cup chocolate semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate of your choice
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Nuts are optional

In a large bowl, combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate. Add milk; stir until dough holds a shape.

On a floured surface, knead dough lightly. Roll dough into 16 balls. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 1/3 butter. Pour ½ of the melted butter in an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a cup, combine remaining ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over butter in baking pan. Place dough balls in a single layer in pan. Brush with remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm.