Mice Truffles

Ingredients:

2/3 cup chocolate chips
2 cup crushed chocolate wafers, divided (I used chocolate graham goldfish - crushed the entire bag and reserved remainder for future use)
1/3 cup sour cream (used light)
Red nonpariels
White sprinkles
Sliced almonds
Black shoestring licorice

Directions:

In microwave melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in one cup crumbs and sour cream. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

For each mouse, roll about a tablespoon of the chocolate mixture into a ball, tapering one end to resemble a mouse. Roll in remaining crumns to coat. Position nonpareils for eyes and white sprinkles of whiskers. Sliced almonds are ears and licorice piece are tails.

Makes 1 dozen.

Note: Save crumbs and extra chips for quick truffle balls. Follow above directions and role in cocoa, toasted coconut, powdered sugar or other topping of choice.

Jen W's Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

2 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup regular or superfine sugar (I use a bit less — 1/2 cup — they’re plenty sweet)
6 ounces chocolate chips, miniature chips or finely diced semi or bittersweet chocolate
1/4 chopped toashted pecans or walnuts(optional)

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla, and beat mixture again until it holds soft peaks. Add the sugar, gradually, beating the batter until it is stiff. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes. Undersides of cookies should be golden or lightly tanned.

Brown Sugar Bourbon Peach Sauce

Ingredients:

3 to 4Tbs. bourbon
3 Tbs. dark brown sugar
1Tbs. butter
1Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
2 large or 3 small peaches,peeled,pitted and sliced

Ingredients:

Combine all ingredients except peaches in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Stir until brown sugar dissolves. Add peaches and simmer. Serve over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Blueberry Cheesecake with Lemon Curd

Ingredients

1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust (you could make this from scratch ... but why?)
12 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
2 large eggs
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Lemon Curd (store bought ... sorry Nana)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener, beating until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until blended. Gently stir in blueberries. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

3.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm. (Takes longer if you use frozen blueberries). Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover and chill 2 hours.

4.Top with warmed lemon curd.

Polvorones de Canela (Cinnamon Cookies)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover cookie sheet with parchment.

2.In a medium bowl, cream together 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture to form a stiff dough. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Mix together 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; roll balls in cinnamon mixture.

3.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until nicely browned. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes and then roll again in powdered sugar and cinnamon mixture. Cool cookies on wire racks.

Noci Croccante (Hazelnut Crunch)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the sugar, water, light corn syrup, and dark corn syrup in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 260 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Mix in the hazelnuts, butter, and salt (the mixture will be thick and nutty), and cook until the thermometer registers 295 degrees F, stirring constantly, about 15minutes. Quickly stir in the baking soda. Immediately pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it as thinly as possible. Let stand until hard.

Break the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Serve with gelatto.

Giada De Laurentiis

Chill Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:

Wagon
Cash
Family
(And ride home if it rains)

Directions:

1. Load kids in wagon.
2. Walk down the block to your favorite (albeit slightly overpriced) yogurt shop.
3. Make yourself a no-fat, no-fun bowl.
4. Sweep in and eat your kids full-fat, full-fun discards while ignoring calorie count.
5. Get a ride home when it starts raining ... like you told your husband it would.

Beggar's Purse Baklava

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 stick butter, melted, divided
3 tablespoons honey
12 sheets phyllo dough

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt in a food processor and very finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and the honey and stir to combine.

On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (Cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and widthwise into 3 pieces. A pizza cutter works well.)

Gently press each cut piece of phyllo into mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 tablespoon of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups. Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and twist to make a sachet shape. Continue shaping the remaining sachets in the other mini-muffin tin.

Repeat process with 6 more sheets.

Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava sachets and transfer to a serving plate.

Good with small scoop of icecream.

Momofuku's Crack Pie

Total time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling and chilling times

Servings: Makes 2 pies (6 to 8 servings each). Second pie freezes well for another occassion.

Note: Adapted from Momofuku. This pie calls for 2 (10-inch) pie tins. You can substitute 9-inch pie tins, but note that the pies will require additional baking time, about 5 minutes, due to the increased thickness of the filling.

Cookie for crust:

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3 ounces) flour
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 egg
Scant 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) rolled oats

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. With the mixer running, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust:

Crumbled cookie for crust
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons (7 ounces) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon (3/4 ounce) milk powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 egg yolks
2 prepared crusts
Powdered sugar, garnish

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.

3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.

5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown (similar to a pecan pie), about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.

6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. The pies are meant to be served cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Macaroons

Ingredients:

5 egg whites
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 lbs. sweetened coconut
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place egg whites, salt, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of your electric mixer. Mix well for 1 minute, add coconut, mix until blended. Keeping your hands wet, form into golf ball-size mounds (or haystacks), pinching slightly so the macaroon holds.

Bake at 350 degrees, until the outside is golden brown -- about 20-25 minutes

Variations:

Chocolate dipped macaroons: Melt bittersweet, milk or semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the bottom of cooled macaroons and place on parchment-lined tray. Let cool and allow chocolate to harden.

To make nests: Just push down the center of the haystacks to form a nest. Bake at 350degrees until golden. After nests are cooled, you can fill them with little candy-coated chocolate eggs, lemon curd, raspberry jam or whatever you fancy. When using jam or curd, just melt to pouring consistency in the microwave and fill center of the cookie.

Almond joy macaroons: Follow directions for basic macaroon (for half of the above batch, add 1 t almond extract and 1/2 cup lightly toasted slivered almonds). Bake, cool, and drizzle with melted chocolate.

Macaroon thumbprints: Follow directions for basic macaroons. Once they are formed, press your thumb into the center to form a well where you will put lemon curd, raspberry and apricot preserves.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce So Good It Could Kill You

The day before:

RUM SAUCE:

Scald:
½ C. half and half

Mix:
3 large egg yolks
5T sugar

Slowly beat in scalded half and half, don’t cook the eggs.
Add to sauce pan, (spray it first with Pam, the custard is easier to pour)

Add:
½ C half and half and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Stir in:
2 T dark rum, or any other spirits, I think Sabra is divine, but you could use vanilla, just not as much
Pour into a serving dish; cover the top of the custard with plastic wrap.
Tear into bite size pieces enough croissants to make 5 Cups, let them sit on a cookie sheet to get stale.

Two hours before serving:
Combine in a pan large enough to hold the croissant pieces to be mixed with the sauce:

½ C. sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa
Stir in
1 C chocolate milk 1 C heavy cream
6 oz semisweet chocolate squares 3 T butter

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted
Add a tablespoon of the hot mixture at a time while beating constantly to
3 Large eggs lightly beaten until you have about ½ C and you are sure the eggs aren’t going to cook when you add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan and stir well

Add:
¼ C of rum, or what ever spirits you added to the custard sauce
Toss with:

Croissants

Mix well and let sit 30 minutes, stirring every so often from the bottom up
Heat oven to 350 degrees, Boil a teakettle full of water, and turn off water.
Place mixture in a well greased 2 quart casserole and place in a roasting pan and place it in the oven. Pour the hot water into the roasting pan to ½ way up the casserole. Bake 30 minutes, or until the blade of a knife inserted into the center is clean when removed. Serve with Rum Sauce to rave reviews.

Contributed by Becky