Today, if you follow a few bloggers online, you may have seen a lot of them sharing their favorite posts from Joan over at Chocolate, Chocolate and more. Last week Joan the wonderful and amazing lady behind Chocolate, Chocolate and More passed away suddenly. She left behind her loving family that included her 3 kids. The blogging community is very tight-knit. It’s strange to develop friendships with people that you’ve never met in person but that’s exactly what happens. It is one of the only industries where “competitors” aren’t really competitors and everyone really helps to build each other up. That’s how I “met” Joan. When Real Housemoms started back in August 2012 we didn’t know much. I did research online and read books but that only took me so far. I joined an online conference and that’s when Joan came into my life. She was an amazing guide and mentor to so many of us and she shared all of her knowledge with kindness and without ego. I never got the chance to meet her in “real” life and was heartbroken to find out about her passing.
The great thing is that her blog, Chocolate, Chocolate and More will continue. One of her many teachable moments in the blogging community just months ago was about creating a plan for after your passing for your blog. She has everything set so that her kids will continue to benefit from the income earned from her blog. Every time you click on her blog to find a tasty recipe you’re helping her kids. There’s no cost to you!!! All you do is look at her yummy desserts and if you feel inclined make one! There is a reason that she has over 2 million followers on Facebook! I’ve put together a list of my 10 Favorite recipes from Chocolate, Chocolate and more to get you started! It was hard to choose and, honestly my favorites change every time I head over to her site so make sure that you’re following along and finding your favorites.
Of course my list starts with a Death By Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake! Look at all that amazing chocolate piled up and ready for me to attempt to cut a pretty piece and then shove it into my mouth as fast as possible! This would be fantastic for celebrating this holiday season!
Just look how festive these Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies look! I love all the different sprinkles Joan used and that shortbread looks amazing and buttery!
I feel Joan’s pain on this Easy Brownie Pie. I am the worst when it comes to pie crust. I CAN do it I just don’t necessarily LIKE to do it and absolutely find refrigerated pie crust much, much easier! This time of year is all about pie and I wouldn’t mind seeing this Easy Brownie Pie at the Thanksgiving dessert table!
I’ve shared Joan’s Ding Dong Cake with you all on Facebook and you seem to love it just as much as me! I mean there is nothing better than nostalgia and chocolate cake served up together!
Speaking of Thanksgiving! Serve up a slice of heaven in Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake form and your friends and family will be begging for the recipe!
Growing up I remember my mom making Chex Mix at the holidays. It’s totally a holiday tradition and I can’t wait to add this Sweet & Salty Cinnamony Snack Mix to the… uh… mix!
As we move into the holiday season of baking, parties and fun you’ll need a killer frosting and you should only use the best so I’m making sure you have The Best Chocolate Fudge Frosting from Joan!
I love to bake up homemade gifts at Christmas time and these Homemade Peppermint Patties are totally going to be on this years gift list! How amazing do they look, right!!!!!
Milk Chocolate Fudge is another amazing recipe to make as Christmas gifts this year! (Mine may or may not make it out of my kitchen, past my mouth!)
Check out this Turtle Bark! This was one of the very first recipes I remember seeing from Joan and I’ve always loved it!!!
Thanks for hanging out with me today and sharing some of my memories and favorite recipes from the super talented Joan! I feel truly blessed to have known her even if it was only in cyberspace!
Gail says
Thanks for this touching tribute to my sister. I stumbled upon it when I was looking for a hummingbird cake that was posted somewhere on our facebook page. I miss her every day.
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
Joan has left behind some incredible chocolate treats for us to enjoy! I pray for her family and friends during this difficult time!!
Mary says
The friendships we make in the blogging community are hard for the rest of the world to understand, but they are very real and we are all reeling right now from the loss of our beautiful friend. I love how she made each one of us feel so very special. Your post is a great tribute to the amazing person she was.