Two Weeks

Every once in awhile, I get the urge to make something on a week night, and realize there is no way it should stay in our house. It’s usually a combination of fear that the treats will disappear quicker than they were made, and also the realization that there is a strong possibility they’ll be forgotten about in the fridge. So, that’s when I bring my treats to work. I know that everyone in the office appreciates those surprise treats, as I’ve won multiple contests in the office. It’s certainly a nice pat on the back!

At the end of the month, though, my office treats will be no more. Rather, I’ll be trading them in for classroom treats! For those of you that have followed the blog for the past year and a half, you may have noticed my alluding to homework, and being back in school. I never wanted to mention exactly what I was in school for, just in case things didn’t work out. However, after three semesters of online courses, it’s finally time for me to student teach. I graduated from The University of Scranton with an English degree, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it. After getting into the working world, I realized my initial thoughts about teaching were what I truly want to do. So, I took the steps necessary to get the ball rolling, and am finally in the last stages. In order to become a certified teacher, I have to student teach for a semester. Basically, I get to work full time, for free!

I of course am going to miss everyone I work with, and the company will always hold a special place in my heart. But, I need to follow my heart, and believe it or not, my heart is working with the teenagers of America, trying to make reading and writing seem cool. Or, at the very least, not torture.

To soften the blow of leaving, I’ve been bringing in treats more frequently. I may also still be a contributor to their documentation and online knowledge base. So these last two weeks are going to be filled with desserts in the break room. What a better way to get in the Holiday spirit! First on my list was pumpkin chocolate pie.

Unfortunately I thought I had a can of pumpkin left in the pantry, but I was wrong. So, I decided to make a chocolate silk pie instead! My co-workers were fans, so it worked out in the end. Hopefully my future students and fellow teachers will be fans of my baking as well!

Easy Chocolate Silk Pie

Ingredients:
1 pie shell (graham cracker, short bread, regular – whatever you like!)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 12 oz. can condensed milk
2 egg yolks

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. If using a regular pie shell, blind bake for 10 minutes
3. Meanwhile, whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks in a sauce pan over medium-high heat until thick, being sure not to have the mixture boil
2. Stir in chocolate morsels until completely mixed
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust, and bake for an additional 5 minutes
4. Cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving (the longer the better!)
*I drizzled some fleur de sel caramel sauce over a slice which was absolutely delicious!