Frosted Butterscotch Cookies

I love all cookies, Chad on the other hand is very picky when it comes to desserts. These cookies are a winner in his book because he had me make three batches in one week. These cookies are addicting, if your not a butterscotch fan don't worry they don't contain butterscotch, it is the frosting that makes them taste so good.

Frosted Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients

* 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream
* 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
* 3-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
* 5 teaspoons boiling water
* 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* Chopped walnuts or walnut halves (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In large mixing bowl beat the brown sugar and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Add eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to beaten mixture, beating after each addition. Stir in the 2/3 cup nuts.

3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

4. To make frosting, in a medium saucepan heat and stir 1/2 cup butter (no substitutes) over medium-low heat until golden brown. (Do not scorch.) Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, boiling water, and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat until frosting is easy to spread. Immediately spread on cooled cookies. If frosting begins to set up, stir in a small amount of additional boiling water. If desired, top with additional chopped walnuts or walnut halves. Makes about 60 cookies.

Make-ahead tip: Up to 1 day ahead, prepare and bake cookies. Frost cooled cookies; let frosting set. Place cookies in an airtight container with waxed paper between layers; store at room temperature.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

This is a great chicken recipe, and best of all it is super fast. If you stuff the chicken before church it makes a quick Sunday lunch.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

* 1 tablespoon snipped dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1-1/2 pounds total)
* 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (1 ounce)
* 2 tablespoons softened fat-free cream cheese (1 ounce)
* 2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon olive oil or cooking oil
* Fresh basil sprigs (optional)

Directions

1. Place tomatoes in a small bowl. Pour enough boiling water over the tomatoes to cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry; set aside. Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut a pocket in each chicken breast by cutting horizontally through the thickest portion to, but not through, the opposite side. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine feta, cream cheese, the snipped or dried basil, and tomatoes. Spoon about 1 rounded tablespoon into each pocket. If necessary, secure openings with wooden toothpicks. Sprinkle chicken with pepper.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 12 to 14 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once (reduce heat to medium if chicken browns too quickly). Serve warm. If desired, garnish with basil sprigs. Makes 4 servings.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening

Mix. Roll into small balls and cook at 350 for 8 min.

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cube butter
2 tsp vanilla
2-4 cups powdered sugar

Mix until smooth. Frost backs of cooled cookies and place together to make a sandwich cookie.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

This pizza will always remind me of visiting the family.

8 oz cream cheese, cubed
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
garlic to taste

Mix together in sauce pan.

Chicken, grilled and cubed
mozzarella cheese, shredded
green onion, sliced
Bacon (this is a recent addition, and very tasty)
feta cheese, crumbled

Put on a pizza crust and bake at 375 until the cheese is melted and the crust if browned.

Honey Butter

This honey butter has powdered sugar in it so it gets nice and fluffy . . . sort of frosting like. It's so good on the Naughty Cornbread muffins that you'll think you are celebrating your birthday.

From Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

2 cubes real butter

2/3 cup honey

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Place butter on counter for 20 minutes to reach room temperature. Don't let it get too soft or you will have a gooey mess. Place butter, honey, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Mix with a hand mixer for about 30 seconds and serve at room temp.

Shrimp, Tortellini, & Spinach

1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/4 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 lb. cooked cleaned medium shrimp
1 bag (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
Make It!

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package. Drain in colander; set aside. Heat dressing in same pan on medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook 1 min. Add tomatoes and shrimp; mix well. Bring just to boil. Stir in spinach; cover. Simmer 1 to 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.

STIR in pasta and basil; simmer, uncovered, 3 to 4 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

SERVE topped with cheese.

Ben and I really liked this, although I used chicken instead of shrimp cause it's cheaper! It was really good that way too!

Naughty Cornbread

This is a super simple, super tasty cornbread recipe from Our Best Bites. If you like your cornbread a little sweet and not so crumbly this is the recipe for you. It makes a 13 X 9 pan and 12 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix

2 Jiffy cornbread mixes

Oil, milk and eggs according to package directions

Directions:

Preheat oven according to directions on the cake mix box. Combine all three mixes in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions (replace all water with milk). Mix together according to cake mix directions. Bake according to cake mix directions (about 20 minutes for muffins or 30 minutes for a 9 X 13 pan). Freeze the leftovers.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This is one of my favorite desserts to make. I served it at book club last week and it was a hit. This cake looks beautiful served with a little whipped cream or a light dusting of powdered sugar.

This is what the cake looks like right out of the oven.


The cake puffs up while cooking, but as soon as you take it out of the oven it will begin to fall. That's okay, that's what it's supposed to do! The picture below is from about 30 seconds later, before it fell another inch or more.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. swemisweet chocolate chips
6 large egg whites
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 c. sugar
6 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 275 degrees, with rack in center of oven. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Place butter and chocolate in a large bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks. In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, beat until stiff and glossy. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Gently fold mixture into remaining whites. Pour into pan, smooth top. Bake until cake pulls away from pan and is just set in the center, about 45-50 minutes. Do not underbake (I usually end up cooking mine 55 minutes.) Cool completely before removing sides of pan.