The Snack Attack: It's National Chocolate Day! Recipes To Celebrate From Breakfast To Bedtime

Today -- Friday, October 28 -- is National Chocolate Day! And what a glorious day this is.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate this delicious day than by eating chocolate all day long. So, get ready to indulge with chocolaty recipes that will take you from morning to night, breakfast to bedtime.

The best way to pull this entire menu off is to multi-task: Melt the chocolate as your waffles are cooking; make both of your snacks at the same time as the vinaigrette; get the lava cakes going as the chili simmers -- you'll have plenty of time.

Breakfast: Chocolate Buttermilk Belgian Waffles

This recipe from Kitchen Confidante makes the fluffiest yet fudgiest chocolate waffles I've ever had. I personally like to make this dish with buttermilk caramel syrup (recipe), but you can make it extra chocolaty by using regular chocolate or dark chocolate syrup.

• Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 large eggs

• Directions

In one bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mix the buttermilk, melted butter and eggs. Add the milky mixture to the flour mixture and stir. Pour into a preheated waffle iron and cook 4-6 minutes.

Lunch: Salad with Chocolate Vinaigrette Dressing

All you're making for this dish is the dressing. You can use whatever type of salad mix and add whichever toppings you'd like. It's a versatile dressing that has just the right amount of sweetness for a salad. This recipe is slightly modified from Taste of Home. I've made other recipes that use chocolate syrup but it tastes so much better with melted chocolate.

• Ingredients

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

• Directions

Melt the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. But you can't just throw them in a bowl and pop it in the microwave, because leave it in too long and the chocolate will burn. A fondue pot, or something similar, is the best way to melt chocolate at a safe temperature. Or just be patient with the microwave, heating for a short period, stop and stir, repeat until smooth. Once the chocolate is smooth and not too warm, mix with the vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper. Pour in a container that makes it easy to shake and drizzle over your salad once you're ready to eat.

Snack: Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This snack is almost effortless. If you make it along with the salad dressing, your chocolate will already be melted. I didn't include any measurements because you can use however much you want. Make an entire bag of pretzels if you feel like it, or just use what you can with the left over chocolate. Either way, it's the perfect way to satisfy your sweet and salty cravings between lunch and dinner.

• Ingredients

Dark chocolate chips
Pretzel sticks

• Directions

Melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Dip pretzels into melted chocolate, leaving one end bare so you have something to hold on to. Let dipped pretzels cool on wax paper until chocolate has hardened.

Dinner: Phantom Chocolate Chili

This is a recipe straight from my kitchen and I use it as more of a guide -- I don't think I've ever made the same pot of chili twice. Depending on the selection of peppers at the grocery store, I might make it hotter or milder. Sometimes I toss in more seasoning or leave some of it out, again depending on how many peppers I use. But one thing is always the same: I always throw in decadent dark chocolate and a dash of cocoa powder. I let it simmer in a slow cooker on high usually for a minimum of four hours because I don't like when the peppers are crunchy. But if that doesn't bother you, feel free to take it off early.

• Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 bar dark chocolate (70-90%)
1/4 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork or Italian sausage
2 cans beans (whichever you prefer -- I usually go with light red kidney and another at random)
1 can diced tomato
1 can tomato sauce
2 bell peppers (yellow and orange)
2 poblano peppers
2 cubanelle peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
4-6 habanero peppers (use ghost peppers if you dare! I do)

• Directions

Brown beef and pork in separate pans. You can either leave the meat as is once it is cooked, or put it in a food processor for a less chunkier chili. Add cooked meat, beans, tomatoes, sauce, spices, cocoa powder and brown sugar to your crock pot; hold off on the chocolate for now. Whatever you do -- DON'T ADD ANY WATER OR LIQUIDS. That's what all of the peppers are for. And now it's time to dice those peppers -- this is the most time-consuming part of the process. Remove the seeds and cut into various sizes to your liking. A tool that comes in really handy during this process is a Slap Chop Chopper. Laugh if you want, but that utensil is a real time-saver when it comes to dicing your peppers. Add chopped peppers to the rest of the chili, stir and let simmer on high for three to four hours -- stirring occasionally. After the chili is boiling, about an hour or so, break up the chocolate bar and add to the slow cooker (I like to wait to add the chocolate until the chili is hot enough so it will melt). Once it's ready, top with cheddar cheese, mustard and sour cream and serve with corn bread.

Dessert: Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

Don't let the beauty of a lava cake scare you, these little desserts are way easier to make than they look. And even if the center of your cake doesn't turn out very lava-ey, who cares? These things are delicious either way.  The recipe comes from Nestle, of course.

• Ingredients

2 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, divided
2 bars (8 oz.) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Baking Bar
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar

• Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat ramekins or custard cups with two tablespoons butter. Stir 3/4 cup butter and chocolate in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until thick and pale yellow, about 8 minutes. Fold 1/3 of chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Fold in remaining chocolate mixture and flour until well blended. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 13 minutes. To serve, run a knife around top edge of cakes to loosen from the dish. Put a plate on top of the dish and carefully flip upside down. If you buttered your dishes correctly, the cake should slide right out. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and devour.

Nightcap: Sanders Chocolate Fudge Bumpy Cake Double Brown Ale

How could we celebrate National Chocolate Day without making a chocolaty toast? Luckily, here in Detroit our home-grown Sanders has created its first ever Chocolate Fudge Bumpy Cake Double Brown Ale. Drink that in for a second, a beer that tastes like Bumpy Cake. Pinch me because I must be dreaming. Sanders says the beer is brewed with cocoa and vanilla, providing a flavor profile reminiscent of Bumpy Cake components such as devil's food, chocolate fudge and vanilla buttercream. The beer is available only for a limited time, and is sold in 22-ounce bottles.

Bedtime Snack: Salted Dark Chocolate Kettle Corn

Nothing is better than watching a movie with a bowl full of popcorn before hitting the hay. Unless that popcorn is covered in chocolaty goodness, of course!

• Ingredients

Dark chocolate chips
Kettle corn
Salt

• Directions

Melt the chocolate and pop the popcorn in the microwave. Put the cooked popcorn in your largest bowl and let cool. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, pour over the popcorn. Shake and toss the popcorn until all of it is generously coated with chocolate. Place the chocolate covered popcorn on a sheet of wax paper and sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool before devouring.

The Snack Attack is a feature on CBSDetroit.com that centers around all things food. Know of a new snack we should attack? Send an email and we'll be sure to add it to the list.