Birthday Cake

My little brother's birthday is tomorrow. Oh to have a summer birthday... He always had a beach party with a piñata and angel food cake and lots of sunshine. My birthday is on a rainy day in October. I admit it I have been a bit jealous of his birthdate for a long time.

I texted him to see if he had a cake request - his comment: deep dish Chicago style pepperoni pizza. I countered with chocolate dipped potato chips. He accepted. I would have wanted something with frosting, but I have learned that a gift for someone should be something he likes, not what I want to give him because I like it. So dipped potato chips it is!

So easy - I bought ripple chips and a bag of good quality chocolate chips. Read: not Nestle's. I melted the chocolate (an entire bag) in the microwave and then stirred in a touch of canola oil - a trick I learned from Amy V's mom when making peanut butter balls. The oil will give the chocolate a nice shine when dry, a lovely alternative to looking dull and unappealing.

Then dip your chips and place them on parchment paper (or wax paper) to dry. I put the parchment paper on a cookie sheet so I could pop them in the freezer to set - it is 80 degrees here today. I stopped when my cookie sheet was filled. I still had chocolate left so I sprinkled almonds on parchment and poured the remaining melted chocolate over them, making a poor man's version of Martha Stewarts' winter bark.

Tomorrow will be a good day! Sugar highs all around...