What better way to celebrate the fall season than with apples and cheese!!!

The month of October is a beautiful time. The leaves have begun to turn orange, pumpkins are popping up on front porches, and caramel apples have once again returned. As delicious as the traditional treat of the caramel apple is, as a cheese lover I had to ask, can it be done with cheese!? I grabbed three apples, removed their cores and twisted wooden craft dowels ⅔  of the way into their cores.

Experiment equipment
Three apples
Wooden dowels (found at a craft store)
Cream
Flour
8-ounce-bag of Tillamook Medium Cheddar shreds
Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar
Jar of peanut butter
Bag of dark chocolate chips
Wax paper

Directions
My first attempt was an apple dipped in cheese. I melted down some Tillamook Medium Cheddar cheese shreds in a double boiler. I had trouble getting the cheese to stick to the glossy apple skin, and it didn’t turn out as appetizing as I’d hoped.

I’ve been hearing a lot of fan chatter about cheddar and peanut butter. An unlikely, but, delicious combination. I decided to cover my second apple in peanut butter and roll it in Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese shreds.

The third apple I made was a sweet and salty combination of chocolate and cheese. I shredded some Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar with a fine grater and set it aside in a bowl. I thought the extra sharp flavor would be a good contrast to the sweet chocolate. I melted a bag of dark chocolate chips in a double boiler, continuously stirring, and dunked my last apple on a stick into it. I rolled the bottom of the apple into my shredded Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and set it on wax paper in the fridge for an hour to set. This was my favorite, a salty and sweet fall treat, and my cheesy alteration to the traditional caramel apple on a stick.

What Tillamook products would you dip your apple on a stick into?

By Amalya

When I was asked to do a blog post for Chocolate Lovers Month I thought…that’s easy enough. I’ll write something about how amazingly delicious the new Tillamook Vanilla Chocolate Chip or Mudslide Ice Creams are, say how much my wife loves them, and call it good. But that’s too easy :)! Instead I wanted to try a few recipes with the new Tillamook Light Yogurt and this month’s favorite, chocolate! The first is a recipe that my mom used to make us growing up: a frozen yogurt pie. The second is a twist on a February classic: chocolate covered strawberries.

The saying “easy as pie” is often a misnomer, but with this pie it’s actually true. The foundation for any good pie is a GREAT crust! Because yogurt has a slightly tart flavor, I wanted to sweeten it up a bit with a shortbread cookie crust. Bake one batch of your favorite shortbread cookies then crush them into tiny pieces. Spread the crumbs evenly on a pie pan and place in the fridge to cool. While the crust is cooling, set-up a double boiler system – I used a standard pasta pan with a metal bowl on top -to melt 1 large bar of chocolate. The double boiler will melt the chocolate evenly without the risk of burning. After about 10 minutes take the pie crust out of the fridge and drizzle some of the melted chocolate on it, then put it back in the fridge to cool. While the crust is cooling, mix 5 cups of Tillamook Light Raspberry Yogurt with ¾ – 1 cup of Cool Whip. Whisk these together until fluffy but still creamy. Grab your pie crust, pour in the yogurt/cool whip mixture and level with a spoon so it’s evenly distributed in the crust. Place the whole pie in your freezer until it’s frozen solid. I left it in overnight, but it should freeze in 1-2 hours. Once frozen, finish it off by drizzling more melted chocolate on top and arrange some fresh raspberries, if you’re really daring! Done. See – easy as pie!

Looks decadent…but it’s healthy – well mostly!

Being a Pinterestaholic, I am always seeing awesome things from incredibly creative people. Recently, I came across the recipe for stuffed fruit, and I had to try it for myself using chocolate dipped strawberries and Tillamook Light Vanilla Bean Yogurt. Using the same double boiler technique as above, begin melting 2 large bars of chocolate. While it melts, puncture each strawberry lengthwise all the way through using a straw. Any plastic straw will work, but the stronger the better. Set them aside to dry. Once the chocolate is melted completely and your strawberries have dried, begin dipping the bottom 3/4 of each strawberry in the warm chocolate. When the first coat of chocolate has hardened, coat them again! Why? #1 – more chocolate is always better, and #2 you need enough chocolate to seal the bottom hole of the strawberry. When the second coat of chocolate has hardened, use a spoon to fill the top hole of each strawberry with your favorite Tillamook Light Yogurt. When all the berries have been filled, place the them in the refrigerator and let cool for 20 minutes. Serve chilled with champagne for a special occasion!

The Light Vanilla Bean Yogurt adds a nice tartness to the otherwise sweet chocolate and strawberries.

~ Matt of the Tillamook Team

By Matt

Give your taste buds a sweet and salty surprise by mixing up a batch of this not-so-traditional fondue!

CHEESY CHOCOLATE FONDUE

¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup milk, as needed

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Gradually add cocoa and sugar, and whisk until smooth. Add shredded cheese, and stir well. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract. Gradually add milk until fondue is of desired consistency.

Serve with bite size pieces of brownie, pound cake, angel food cake, fruit, pretzels, graham crackers or any other delicious dippers you can think of.

Have any fun fondue flavor combinations in your recipe box?

Photo: Flickr/Wendi Kelly (Creative Commons)

By Candace

I love, love, love this pie. The pie tastes just like a candy bar! It is incredibly rich, so a little goes a long way. I usually enjoy it with a glass of milk. The recipe has been in my family for more than 30 years, although its origin has been lost in history. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

1 cup Tillamook Butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate (melted and cooled)
4 eggs
1 baked and cooled pie crust
sweetened whipped cream
crushed Heath Bars or toffee

Beat butter with sugar until pale and fluffy. Blend in chocolate and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, taking 5 minutes to beat in each egg. Beat until shiny and buttery looking. Pour into baked pie crust. Chill for several hours. Frost the top of the pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle the crushed Heath bars or toffee over the whipped cream.

Note: This pie contained raw eggs, an ingredient that should be avoided by women who are pregnant.

By Chandra

Who’s in the mood for my cousin’s Chocolate Mole Pumpkin Cupcakes? Made with Tillamook Butter – YUM!

INGREDIENTS for Cupcakes:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoon Tillamook Unsalted Butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup mini chocolate chips

INGREDIENTS for Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Have all ingredients at room temperature (especially the butter). Whisk flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, ground cloves, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Combine water and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually add white and brown sugar to the butter. Beat in one egg at a time.  Add pumpkin puree and beat on low speed until just blended. Add the flour in three parts alternating with the water mixture in two parts, beating on low speed. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Bake in regular-sized cupcake forms for 18-22 minutes or in mini-sized cupcake forms for 12-15 minutes.

For the frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer or a food processor. Beat until perfectly smooth and spreadable. Spread over cupcakes once cool. If you are feeling artsy, use a pastry bag with a big star opening on the end and draw a beautiful star and shake confetti sugar all over the top.

My cousin says these are delicious and moist. If you are feeling adventurous, add cayenne to the mix for mole with a kick!

Photo: Flickr/Andrea (Creative Commons)

By Gillian

Celebrate National Hot Fudge Sundae Day with Tillamook Ice Cream!

If you need a break from the summer heat (or a good excuse to eat ice cream), have a hot fudge sundae today! It is, after all, National Hot Fudge Sundae Day and Tillamook Ice Cream provides a great avenue to help you celebrate this deliciously monumental day. As an ice cream lover, this is one of my favorite days!

For those of you visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory today, enjoy $.50 off hot fudge sundaes!

A classic hot fudge sundae recipe includes:

- Any flavor of ice cream
- Hot fudge, of course (I like a chocolate sauce)!
- Nuts
- Whipped cream
- Sprinkles (I love the color)!
- And a maraschino cherry on top

You may, of course, celebrate this day in any fashion and add your own twist to the classic. Bananas? Brownies? Marshmallows? Cake pieces? The choices are endless… Get your spoons ready!

Photo courtesty of Leslie Kalohi

By Laura

When I was dead asleep at 5am this morning, this is what I heard from my wife: “It’s Chocolate Ice Cream Day! It’s Chocolate Ice Cream Day!”

And now the question remains… how will we celebrate? Tillamook has so many delicious chocolatey ice creams to choose from:

Tillamook Coffee Almond Fudge Ice Cream and Tillamook Espresso Mocha Ice Cream (Perfect for breakfast, right?)

Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream (Holy chocolate!)

Tillamook Udderly Chocolate Ice Cream (With white chocolate and milk chocolate, it’s the yin and yang of chocolate ice cream.)

Tillamook Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream (A fan favorite!)

Tillamook Rocky Road Ice Cream (Smooth and delicious.)

Tillamook Sweet Centennial Ice Cream (Brownie batter swirl, peanut butter-filled chocolate cows… need I go on?)

Tillamook Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (Ok, not totally chocolate ice cream, but it’s soooo good.)

Tillamook Chocolate Ice Cream (100% chocolatey and 100% amazing.)

How will we ever decide which one to eat today?!

What’s your favorite Tillamook Chocolate Ice Cream flavor…  and how early is too early to eat it?

By Matt

I’m definitely in the mood for chocolate this month. The thought of Valentine’s Day makes me want something sweet! This recipe for Tillamook Ultimate Chocolate Cake used to be on the back of the Tillamook Butter box. It was really popular, and when we changed the recipe on the box to a different recipe, many people sent me requests asking for this particular recipe. It’s amazing – rich, creamy, perfect!

Here’s a little tip: You may want to dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar while it’s still warm. It melts a bit and tastes so very good! Share with your Valentine… or eat it all yourself!

Tillamook Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¾ cup Tillamook® Salted Butter, plus 2 teaspoons to grease pan
¾ cup sugar
5 eggs, yolks and whites separated
⅓ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Confectioners’ sugar
Prepared Whipped cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.  Line bottom with parchment paper, butter paper and sides of pan.

Melt chocolate, butter, and sugar in a large double boiler placed over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Let cool 10 minutes.

Beat yolks until blended. Whisk into chocolate mixture until smooth. Combine flour and cinnamon; whisk into chocolate mixture until blended.

Beat whites until stiff peaks form. Stir one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites until completely blended.

Pour batter into pan and bake 25 min.

Cool pan on wire rack. Turn cake out onto a plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Cut and serve with whipped cream.

Serves 10

By Jennifer