Happy birthday, Ross! Today is our son's 12th birthday. We have loved sitting through countless basketball and baseball games with him, Soap Box derbies, reading hundreds of books about alligators and crocodiles, busting our buttons at school award assemblies and watching him whip his dad with his NCAA national championship basketball bracket picks.

Oh, there are so many fabulous moments and we have cherished every single one of them. Now we enter our last year before becoming a teenager. It is somewhat scary to me, yet exciting too, as I know we are yet to experience so many more great things together.

Ross is the chocolate lover in our house. He does not eat candy, pies or many other sweets; except chocolate. That is his weakness. So in honor of his birthday, today is all about chocolate. Sit back, relax and enjoy these recipes that I hope you will want to save and add to your collection.

Double Chocolate Lava Baby Cakes

A dense chocolate cake hides a rich torrent of caramel in this pint-size dessert.

3/4 cup butter

6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup)

1 recipe Praline Sauce (see below)

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup pecan halves, toasted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease and flour six 1 to 1 and 1/4-cup soufflZ dishes or six 10-ounce custard cups. Place soufflZ dishes or custard cups in a shallow baking pan and set pan aside. In a heavy small saucepan melt butter and semisweet chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool. Meanwhile, prepare Praline Sauce, cover and keep warm until needed. In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture on medium speed. Sift flour and cocoa over chocolate mixture; beat on low speed just until combined. Divide batter evenly into prepared dishes or cups. Bake 10 minutes. Pull cakes out of oven. Using a small spatula or table knife, puncture top of each partially-baked cake and gently enlarge to make a dime-sized hole. Slowly spoon about 1 tablespoon Praline Sauce into center of each cake. Return cakes to oven. Bake 5 minutes more or until cakes feel firm at the edges. Cool in dishes on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Using a small spatula or knife, loosen cake edges from sides of dish or cup and slip cake out upright onto individual dessert plates. Stir 1/3 cup toasted pecan halves into the remaining Praline Sauce. If necessary, stir 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water into remaining sauce to thin. Spoon warm Praline Sauce on top of cakes. Top with pecan halves and sweetened whipped cream. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Praline Sauce: In a heavy medium saucepan combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons dark colored corn syrup. Stir in 1/2 cup whipping cream. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Makes 1 cup sauce

Chocolate Cream Pie

3 cups milk

5 egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (about 7 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish with chocolate curls

Combine milk, egg yolks, salt, sugar, cornstarch and cocoa in large bowl of

mixer; beat until completely smooth. Pour into saucepan and cook over

medium-low heat until thickened; add butter and vanilla and stir until

melted and mixed. Immediately place plastic wrap on top of the filling and

allow cooling for about one hour. Pour into baked and cooled pie crust and

again place plastic wrap on top of filling. Refrigerate until completely

cooled and then top with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate curls if

desired. Note: Makes filling for one 9 or 10-inch pie.

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together in chilled medium size bowl and beat until stiff peaks.

Perfect Pie Crust

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups Crisco (I use 1 cup Crisco and 1/4 cup lard)

1 egg

4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon mild vinegar (rice wine vinegar) (I have never added this, but the recipe says to)

Place flour and salt in large bowl, cut in Crisco until mixture resembles corn meal. In a separate bowl, beat water, egg and vinegar together. Stir into flour mixture. Roll into log form and cut 3 ways. Shape into balls and chill about 30 minutes. Turn out onto floured board, roll to fit desired pie pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. NOTE: This makes 3 (9-inch) pie crust.

Peanut Butter Balls

Fills my son's craving for chocolate and peanut butter!

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup melted margarine

2 pounds chocolate almond bark

Mix the sugar, peanut butter, and margarine together. Roll into small balls. Chill. Melt the chocolate almond bark. Using a toothpick, dip the chilled balls into the almond bark. Let set till firm! Makes about 50-60 balls.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Pie

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 package (6 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup quick oats; uncooked

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell (see note)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon; beat well. Stir in semi-sweet

chocolate morsels, nuts, oats, raisins and orange rind. Pour into prepared

pie shell (see note). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm.

Garnish as desired. Makes one 9-inch pie. Yield: 8 servings.

NOTE: If using frozen pie shell, it's necessary to use deep dish style, thawed. Place on cookie sheet and bake additional 10 minutes. And, of course there is the old all-time-favorite recipe of his; the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe on the back of the package. It is his favorite and he will enjoy a batch today with his friends at school. I ran out of room far before I was ready, so will call this to a close and wish you a great week and until next time, happy cooking.