Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I have been searching for a great peanut butter bar recipe. In college I remember having a few black sharpie fights in order to either confiscate or claim my friend Erica's peanut butter bars. They were usually being held hostage by Dave. I still haven't found a recipe that requires sharpie fighting, but this one is close.

Adapted from Once Upon a Plate

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (regular or old fashioned)

Topping:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Position oven rack to center position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch baking pan, set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla to butter mixture; beat until combined. Add flour in 2 additions, mix well but do not over-beat. Stir in oats by hand until evenly distributed.

Spread mixture evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and slightly firm. Remove from oven and quickly place spoonfuls of the 3/4 cup peanut butter on the surface. As the peanut butter melts, spread evenly with a knife. Allow to cool completely. When cool, make the chocolate topping.

Bring sugar, cream and butter to a full rolling boil. Boil for 45 seconds. Remove pan from heat and add the chocolate chips. Whisk gently or stir until chocolate mixture is smooth. As soon as mixture is smooth, pour evenly over the cooled cookie and peanut butter base. Allow chocolate to set up and harden. When set, cut into squares and serve.

Chewy Chocolate Brownies

I'm always a little skeptical of recipes labeled "light" or "healthy," especially when it comes to treats like brownies or cake or cookies. I mean, really? Can they actually be as good as the full-fat version? Well in this case, they are! These brownies turned out delicious, and you'd never know they are lightened up a bit. Chewy Chocolate Brownies
from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking 2009

3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 c. packed brown sugar
3 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 egg white
2 Tbs. canola oil
4 1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar, applesauce, egg, egg white, oil, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat in chocolate until blended. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; beat into brown sugar mixture just until blended.

Pour into a 9x13 baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 18 brownies.

*I will admit that I fattened up my batch of brownies a bit with about 1/2 cup of Andes mint baking chips that were left over from Christmas. Yum.

(For those of you interested, each brownie has 125 calories and 4 g of fat. Without the addition of the mint chips, of course.)

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing

The girls and I made these chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing during Spring Break last week. We made a total of 23 miniature cupcakes, which Olivia says the three of us ate in one day. I didn't believe her until all proof was gone, or probably devoured. We were cleaning, we needed chocolate. And besides, doesn't one mini cupcake equal about one bite of a regular sized cupcake? That's what I thought. Exactly.

recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

St. Patrick's Day Mini Cakes

I make this super moist almond flavored pistachio pudding bundt cake every year in March. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law. It's easy to make and so very green!

Ingredients:

1 package yellow cake mix

1 small package pistachio instant pudding

1/4 cup oil

7 drops green food coloring

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup flour

Directions:

Add all ingredients to mixing bowl. Beat for four minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased and floured mini bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Do not under bake. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and carefully remove. Cool on wire rack and dust with powdered sugar.

*To make in a large bundt pan: Pour batter in greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees on center rack in oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and invert onto wire rack. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Frosted Banana Bars

This is one of my favorite dessert recipes. They're really easy to make and a great way to use over-ripe bananas, which to me is any banana with even a single brown spot.

Frosted Banana Bars
(from Allrecipes.com)

Bars:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

Frosting:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

4. For frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.

Store bars in the refrigerator.

Lemon Bars

I remember Mom making lemon bars and taking them to Aunt Blodwyn's house when we were little. I must have breathed in while taking a bite, because I got a nose full of powdered sugar. Have you ever done that? I'm sure I nearly died on that occasion, because I can't eat a lemon bar without thinking about it. Anyway, I've been saving this post for Spring. Lemon bars seem like something to make when it's nice and warm outside when we're all gearing up for lemonade stands and lemonade ice cream pie. But it has been in the 80s this week here in Texas. It feels like Spring to me. I love the shortbread crust to lemony goodness ratio in these lemon bars. I cut them a couple hours after making them, so they were still a little gooey. I'd let them set up for at least six hours. They were actually perfect the second day.

Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 cubes), at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 pan, building up a 1/2 inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut and dust with confectioner's sugar.

Truffles

I love truffles but I've always been afraid to try making them myself. Something about the words "double boiler" always scared me. Silly. I made these today for Krynn for Valentine's Day and they were really easy. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs: My Baking Addiction. I would love to bake every recipe on that site. Which would be bad because we'd never eat anything but sweets. Yum.

Basic Truffles

12 ounces chocolate, chopped (semisweet or bittersweet)

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/3 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter and cream. Heat until melted and stir until smooth.

2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. (Claire started screaming at this point and I forgot this step. They were still good without, but I wish I had put in the vanilla.)

3. Pour into a shallow casserole dish and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop or melon baller (I used my smallest cookie scoop) scoop out chocolate mixture and roll into one-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roll balls in your desired coating. I used sprinkles, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: About 30 truffles.

Here is a link to the original recipe: Truffles. The blogger provides some good tips and ideas for making these extra special.

Chocolate Mellow Bars

Colored marshmallows are highly favored in our house by one little girl in particular. I wanted to make these candies during Christmas with her, but I ran out of time so we made them a couple of weeks ago instead. I remember Mom making these when we were little. I tweaked her recipe a little bit. These are also called Cathedral Windows and are meant to resemble the stained glass window panes in a church. I think they'd be really fun for Valentine's Day with pink mini marshmallows. You could pick out all of the pink ones from the package. Or you could have a little preschooler do it for you. They'd love it!

Ingredients:

8 ounces chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds)

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add egg; mix well. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Combine marshmallows and nuts in a large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over the nuts and marshmallows. Cut two 13 x 9 inch pieces of wax paper. Divide coconut and sprinkle half of it down the length of each piece of wax paper. Divide the chocolate mixture in half and shape each piece into a log on top of the coconut. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut. Roll up like a jelly roll. Freeze one hour. Unroll and slice into 1 1/2 thick pieces.

New York Cheesecake

During the holidays, my mother-in-law and I made the Famous Borjas Cheesecake. The Borjas cheesecake is very traditional, in fact, it's practically a member of the family. It shows up at important family events and celebrations. It's been around since the early 1950's. And I can't deny it's good, but for me, it's temperamental. I have about a 30% success rate with it. So I decided to find out the the secret of this cheesecake, you know, why it only works sometimes. And I found an interesting tidbit: the difference between the New York cheesecake and other kinds of cheesecake, is the thin layer of sour cream on top. I also found a new recipe fairly similar to the Borjas Cheesecake and some cheesecake cooking tips. The girls and I had to try the new recipe. We made it and felt so rebellious! It worked perfectly and was so good.

(adapted from Joy of Baking.com)

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling Ingredients:

32 ounces (4 - 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature (do not used reduced fat cream cheese)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream (not low fat or fat free)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth, (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on low until mixed. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake on a cookie sheet and set on the center rack in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to back for about another 1 1/2 hours or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. This tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day. Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces.

To freeze: Place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer. Can be frozen for several months. Thaw uncovered cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

Tips: To help prevent the surface of the cheesecake from cracking, do not overbeat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar. Also, do not overbake. Your cheesecake is down when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet. Finally, make sure the springfrom an is well greased as cracking can occur if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools.

Rolo Cookies

These are the new favorite cookies at our house. Alayna loves to help me make them, and they are so yummy right when they come out of the oven, when the caramel is still gooey. Also great dunked in milk. I got this recipe from thenerdswife.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 pkg Rolos
A bit of sugar for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Unwrap the Rolo candies.
Beat sugars and butter until fluffy.
Add vanilla and eggs to mixture.
beat until combined.
Combine flour, cocoa, and soda.
Add flour mixture to fluffy mixture.
Shape about a teaspoon of dough around each Rolo.
Be sure to cover it completely.
You want it to be about the size of a golf ball.
Optional- Press one side of the dough ball into the leftover sugar. Place sugar-side up on a baking sheet, about two inches apart.
Bake 8-10 minutes.

Halloween Graveyard Cups

These Graveyard Cups are a Halloween tradition. Even when I try not to make them, I am told that I must do it. And then I'm glad we do because they are yummy. This year I tweaked the ingredients to make a superior recipe. It's basically a chocolate trifle -- with worms. Yum. I made these for my piano party last week. I also made some from Jessica's pumpkin trifle recipe since some of my students are weird and don't like chocolate. We put gingersnap cookies in them and used cinnamon for the "dirt" on top. Thank goodness Olivia helped me make them all. She said she has the "gift of whisking". The pudding was perfect!

Ingredients:

1 package chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)

2 big boxes instant chocolate pudding

16 ounces heavy cream

1/8 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 brownie mix, made according to package CAKE BROWNIE directions

24 Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies

decorating gel

24 gummy worms

24 clear 12 ounce plastic cups

Directions:

Crush chocolate cookies. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons crushed cookies in the bottom of each cup. Cut cooked brownies in 1 inch cubes. Place 5 cubes on top of crushed cookies. Beat cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in mixer until it becomes the consistency of whipping cream. Put 3 tablespoons on top of brownies. Make pudding according to package directions. Put about 1/4 cup on top of whipped cream. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of crushed cookies on top. Write RIP on Milano cookies with decorating gel. Stick cookie in trifle. Place a gummy worm beside it. Refrigerate.

*I didn't actually measure each layer. Just estimate and eyeball it. The measurements are just suggestions. Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

I bought the new 2010 Taste of Home Holiday Recipes magazine at Costco on Friday. I've been thumbing through it all weekend. It's one of my favorite holiday traditions, thanks to you, Hilary! I got the inspiration for this recipe from that magazine, but I changed it up enough that I'll just post my version below. The trifle is made up of three layers: gingerbread, pumpkin, and whipped cream. The trifle is ready to eat as soon as it is assembled, but definitely tastes better the second day.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Gingerbread (adapted from allrecipes.com):

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. applesauce

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 c. molasses

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. hot water

Pumpkin Layer:

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding

2 c. milk

1 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 c. brown sugar

Whipped Cream Layer:

8 oz. Cool Whip (or use real whipped cream)

First, make the gingerbread. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch pan. Cream together butter and sugar. Add applesauce and egg. Mix in molasses. (Note: I started this recipe before I noticed how much molasses I had in my pantry... which was only about 1/3 cup. The original recipe calls for a full cup. It was really good with just what I had on hand, but would probably taste great with the full cup if you like molasses.) In a large bowl, sift together flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in hot water. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely.

Make pudding according to package directions. Add pumpkin puree and brown sugar and stir until smooth.

Assembling the Trifle:

After cake has cooled completely, cut into cubes and layer half the cake in the bottom of a glass bowl. Spread half the pumpkin mixture over this layer. Top with half the cool whip or whipped cream. Repeat layers, ending with whipped cream on top.

This dessert turned out really pretty and so yummy. Next time I make it I will use more molasses in the gingerbread and also use real whipped cream instead of the light cool whip I had in my freezer.

(**I'm sorry there are no line breaks in this recipe. That's really annoying. Why won't blogger just publish it the way I wrote it!?)

Triple-Layer Mud Pie

So, now that it is October, I started thinking about Thanksgiving (I know that it is still a long time before Thanksgiving, but believe me, I have been restraining myself), and this is one of our family's favorite pies. I found it on a "Jell-O" flier in a grocery store about 4 years ago. You can see a picture of it here.

3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

1/4 cup canned sweetened condensed milk

1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans, toasted

2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups cold 2% milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

MIX chocolate and condensed milk; pour into crust. Sprinkle with nuts.

BEAT pudding mixes and 2% milk with whisk 2 min.; spoon 1-1/2 cups over nuts. Stir half the COOL WHIP into remaining pudding; spread over pudding layer in crust.

TOP with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 3 hours. *Don't use whole, unpasteurized milk to make the pudding... it makes it taste like soap.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

I found one lonely can of pumpkin at the grocery store this week. (Is everyone else still having a hard time finding it?) I decided I'd better make something really good with that one can, just in case I can't get any more for a while. I came across this recipe on Cookie Madness: Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies. (Her pictures are much better than mine.) Wow. These are so delicious. Also totally worth the pregnancy-induced heartburn they brought on later. Maybe that will keep me from eating the entire pan tomorrow.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

6 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. granulated sugar

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

1 large egg plus 2 Tbs. beaten egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 Tbs. flour

Brownies Batter:

2 sticks butter

1/4 tsp. plus a tiny pinch of salt

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. (I didn't line the pan, just sprayed with cooking spray.)

Make the pumpkin filling first. Beat the cream cheese and sugars together with a mixer, then reduce speed and beat in the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the butter, salt and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate chips, then stir in the flour. Pour all but about 3/4 c. of the chocolate mixture into the pan.

Spoon the pumpkin mixture evenly over the brownies layer. Drop reserved brownie batter over pumpkin to give the brownies a marbled look. Bake on the center rack at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the brownies test done. That is, when a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool for about two hours at room temperature, then chill for a few hours or overnight. Cut into 16 squares.

*I used semisweet chocolate chips because that's what I had in the pantry. I also needed to bake mine close to an hour. I don't have a 9x9 pan, so I used an 8x8 and then put a little of the batter into a small loaf pan. The brownies definitely would have spilled over the top if I had tried to pour it all into the 8x8 pan. Just a warning.

Pannacotta (Italian Cream)

We had this dessert at book club last month and it was delicious! It's a little custard-like and wonderful served with fresh berries. The pannacotta would be really pretty layered with berries in a nice clear bowl or glass.

Pannacotta (Italian Cream)

Step 1: Sprinkle gelatin over water and let sit -

2 Tbs. cold water

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

Step 2: Mix together in a separate bowl -

1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pinch of salt

Step 3: Mix together in a saucepan -

1 c. heavy cream

2/3 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Bring cream and sugar to a boil, whisk until sugar is dissolved. Whisk hot ingredients into sour cream mixture. Stir in gelatin mixture. Refrigerate in a bowl. Serve in small dishes, layered with fresh berries. Serves 4.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

I got this recipe from the Taste of Home Cookbook and everyone loves it. How can anything go wrong with chocolate and caramel.

1 C. flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. butter
2 C. coarsely chopped pecans
1 C. flaked coconut
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
20 vanilla caramels
2 tbs. milk
1 C. chocolate chips

Crust:
Stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. Press into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle pecans and coconut over hot crust.

Filling:
Combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; pour over pecans and coconut. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in saucepan, mix caramels and milk. Cook and stir over med. heat just till melted (I use the microwave). Drizzle over the top and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cool and cut. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

I found this recipe in the "Worldwide Ward Cookbook" , it is really simple and makes really soft, moist cookies, so I thought I would share!

2 1/4 C Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 C butter, softened
1/4 C sugar
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 pkg. (4-serving) instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz. chocolate chips

Mix flour and baking soda; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Frozen Grasshopper Squares

I made this the other day when everyone came to down to Logan to go to Willow Park, it is so easy and so yummy. I just put more oreo on the top instead of grating chocolate and that made it a little cheaper!

28 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided

1 container (1-1/2 qt.) mint-chocolate chip ice cream, softened

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated

LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Crush 20 cookies; sprinkle crumbs onto bottom of prepared pan.

SPREAD ice cream evenly over crumbs in pan; top with COOL WHIP and grated chocolate.

FREEZE 3 hours. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Lift dessert from pan with foil handles; cut into 16 squares. Cut remaining cookies in half; place 1 on each square.

Apple Dumplings

This recipe seems to be floating all over the Internet -- probably because it's so good that people want to shout it from the rooftops! I love it because it tastes like something that was labor intensive to make and yet it is so not that. This recipe is quick to put together and makes for a delicious dessert. You also might be able to get away with it for a sweet breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 medium Granny Smith apples

2 cans crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 oz Sprite

cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel apples, core, and cut each one into eight wedges (16 total wedges). Open a can of crescent roll dough and carefully separate along the perforations. Place one apple wedge on each piece of dough and wrap it up. Place in pan and repeat with remaining can of dough and apples. Set aside.

In medium sauce pan melt butter; add sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour butter sugar mixture over the apples. Then pour the Sprite over top of that. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes.

When dumplings are done serve with ice cream and a ladle full of sauce. Serves 8.

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.