When Pepperidge Farm contacted me about the “Puffection” Holiday Entertaining challenge I was intrigued and gladly accepted. I’ve always been a fan of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies but up until this point I had never tried Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. The first part of the holiday challenge involved cooking an existing Pepperidge Farm recipe. I chose these individual Chocolate Fondue Cups because they are festive and perfect for holiday (or anytime) entertaining.
I’m sure that one day I will try making puff pastry from scratch but for now, like most busy moms, I have to pick and choose where I spend my time. Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry makes it so easy. If you don’t have time or simply don’t want to bother making puff pastry from scratch, you can use the Puff Pastry sheets or shells (found in the freezer section of most grocery stores) to quickly and easily achieve “Puffection,” as they have aptly coined it.
The thing I love about these fondue cups is whether it’s for holiday entertaining or a busy family weeknight, you have an elegant, tasty dessert in about 30 minutes. The puff pastry shells can even be cooked up to 24 hours in advance (although warm pastry shells served with warm chocolate fondue is pretty yummy, even without fruit and other dipping accessories).
Fondue is such a fun party food but sometimes for guests it can seem like too much of a hassle to use a skewer and worry about dripping chocolate all over. These individual fondue cups are perfect for parties because they not only look beautiful but they make it easier for guests to enjoy the dessert.
The recipe can be easily altered by using different extract flavors in place of the vanilla (such as almond and peppermint) or by using different types of chocolate. {I think a swirled dark and white chocolate fondue could be beautiful.} Ultimately, if you want to make it a savory dish, you can even replace the chocolate with a cheese fondue for an elegant little hors d’oeuvre.
Look for the second part of the challenge, my very own Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry creation, coming soon! In the meantime, you can check out more recipes, tips and how-to videos at http://www.puffpastry.com And for a chance to share your own puff pastry recipes, check out the Simple Puffection tab on the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Facebook page.
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate pieces
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 pkg. (10 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Shells, prepared according to package directions
- Assorted fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, banana slices, apple slices, pear slices, kiwi slices, pineapple chunks and grapes)
- Heat the chocolate pieces, heavy cream and honey in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat until the mixture is melted and smooth, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spoon ¼ cup chocolate mixture into each pastry shell.
- Serve the fondue cups with fruit, marshmallows, pretzel sticks, dried fruit, your Pepperidge Farm® cookie and more for dipping.
- Recipe Note: You can serve the fruit with skewers or toothpicks to make dipping easier.
- Easy Substitution: You may substitute orange, coffee or raspberry-flavored liqueur for the vanilla extract in this recipe.
*This is a sponsored post (#spon). Pepperidge Farms has provided me with a stipend for time and materials invested in the Pepperidge Farm Puffection Holiday Entertaining challenge.
