12 Decadent Chocolate Desserts

Rich and decadent chocolate desserts are what everyone craves after a meal. It's the perfect way to finish a delicious dinner on a sweet note. From chocolate lava cakes oozing with warm gooey chocolate to traditional chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven, chocolate desserts are always a favorite—and you may even want to eat dessert first.

Click here to see the 12 Decadent Chocolate Desserts (Slideshow)

With so many decadent chocolate dessert recipes, we decided it would be the ideal theme for this week's SWAT (Sharing with a Theme). We put the Culinary Content Network and our staff to the test to come up with decadent chocolate dessert recipes. Here are some of the highlights:

• Susan Palmer of Girl in the Little Red Kitchen shared with us her recipe for Chocolate champagne cupcakes, which are a sweet and decadent way to celebrate a special holiday. Palmer is a member of the Culinary Content Network.
• Lauren Gordon, the Entertain Editor at The Daily Meal, made the staff her mother's chocolate peanut butter fudge, which we all enjoyed at our staff Valentine's Day party.
• The winner this week is Nicole Johnson of Or Whatever You Do and her recipe for chocolate cream pie. This ultimate indulgence is rich, creamy, and full of great chocolate flavor.

All of the recipes featured can be made at home for about $20 or less, excluding the cost of small amounts of basic ingredients such as butter, oil, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and other dried herbs and spices.

Emily Jacobs is the Recipe editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyRecipes.