Killer Cookies!

Um, these are the BEST cookies ever!! Seriously, try them and tell me what you think! Or you can just come over, I have some at my house right now:) They are from the latest Cooking Light magazine, January 2010. They won first place in the Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest for dessert, and I completely understand why!

"I love chocolate and cherry flavors together, and I found great dried cherries from Maine for this recipe. I also used bittersweet instead of milk chocolate: Not only does it have less sugar, but it has a deeper flavor, too." —Marcie Dixon, Arlington Heights, Ill.

Yield: 30 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Cherry-Chocolate Heart Smart Cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
• 1.5 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

94

Fat:

3.2g (sat 1.6g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

1.5g

Carbohydrate:

15.7g

Fiber:

1.3g

Cholesterol:

10mg

Iron:

0.6mg

Sodium:

88mg

Calcium:

15mg

Marcie Dixon, Arlington Heights, Illinois, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2010

Christmas Cookies

Part of our family's Christmas tradition is baking rolled out sugar cookies. Last year I shared a recipe, but since then (for other holidays and major events:) I've been using a different one that uses cream cheese and almond flavoring. It's my new favorite! I still ice and decorate with butter cream icing.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. (It gets very sticky! I have to use lots of flour!) Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain for frosting, or brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar.

4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

ButterCream Frosting

1/3 c. butter, softened

3 c. sifter powdered sugar

2 tbs milk

1 ½ t. vanilla

Sift flour and blend into other ingredients.

Whoopie Pies

Christina shared this delicious pumpkin recipe with me...a new fall favorite for sure! The maple cinnamon icing is what makes these cookies oh so heavenly! :) (It's a Martha Stewart Recipe that she got from a blog but I noticed it was in the STL Post Dispatch a couple weeks ago too!)

Pumpkin Cream Pies

FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES:

3 cups all-purpose flour (I did one w/ white/wheat flour)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cloves

2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar

1 cup oil

3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (I added this part;) you could add nuts too!

FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. (Add chocolate chips.)Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. (I just used a cookie dough scoop for the icing.) Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

From The Martha Stewart Show, October 2008

Award Winning Crunchy Carmel-Apple Pie

My friend, Alisa, made this amazing apple pie for our church picnic and it's easy to understand why it won first place! The oatmeal, sugar, pecan, and carmel crumb topping is absolutely divine. I know apple season is pretty much over, but I thought it was better late than never to share this killer recipe! Not that you or I have several hours to spend on a pie, but hey, if you're up for it, it's soo worth it! (My mom actually made it over here for me several Wednesday's ago-I had all intentions to help but I ended up cleaning and cooking other food! :) I wish I had a picture to show you how incredible it looks. Mmmm! I think I might make it again in the form of a crisp-with just the topping , filling and apples (it's that good!) The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens.

Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pie:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping (not melted caramel!)

Crumb Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup butter

Pastry for a Single Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

salt

1/3 cup shortening

5 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

1. Prepare Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (see below). On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer pastry to a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim; crimp edge as desired.

2. For Crumb Topping, stir together brown sugar, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, and the oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine until the topping mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl stir together the granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, the cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle Crumb Topping over apple mixture.

4. To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil. (My mom used this fancy pie crust shield guard thing;) Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle pie with pecans (or add pecans ~5-10 min before pie is done) then drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on a wire rack.

5. Pastry for Single-Crust Pie: In a bowl stir together 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. Using 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water total, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water at a time over the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until all of the dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

A St. Louis Classic

If you're from St. Louis, I'm sure that you've enjoyed the classic gooey butter cake. I prefer homemade over store bought-they tend to be gooier! It's so incredibly easy and delicious to make too and guaranteed to be a sure hit wherever you take it. It makes a great coffee cake or dessert. There are yummy pumpkin and chocolate variations of it too... here's the original!

Gooey Butter Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 stick butter, softened

1 lb. box (4 cups) confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together cake mix (just the mix, not the other ingredients called for on the box) with butter and two eggs (will be very thick!). Pat into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Cream together cream cheese, 2 eggs, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour over cake mixture, spreading to the edges. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Dust cooled cake with powdered sugar. Mmmm enjoy!

Texas Sheet Cake

We had this on Mother's Day. This cake is so not good for you, but it’s so delicious! It’s a Drissell family classic and my dad’s favorite birthday dessert. (As long as it’s served with ice cream of course!)

Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients for Cake:

1 cup butter

1 cup water (I sometimes use 1 cup coffee)

1/4 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream or ½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1/2 cup butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

4 tablespoons buttermilk

1 box (1 pound) confectioners' sugar, sifted (4 1/4 cups sifted)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag milk chocolate heath chips

Directions:

Cake: Combine butter, water, and cocoa in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Make icing five minutes before cake is finished.

Icing: Five minutes before cake is done, combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread over the HOT sheet cake then sprinkle with milk chocolate heath chips. (M&M’s look fun & festive too-along with the heath chips of course! :)

Carmel Apple Cheesecake

I saw this recipe in September's Cooking Light and couldn't resist making it. It proved just as tasty as it looked/sounded!

From September 2008 Cooking Light: This creamy cheesecake showcases fall flavors. Granny Smith apples lend a pleasant tartness, but you can substitute Rome, Braeburn, or your favorite apple variety. Make this cake the night before your gathering.

Yield 16 servings (serving size: 1 cheesecake wedge and 1 tablespoon topping)

Ingredients

CRUST:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs, about 8 cookie sheets (I used cinnamon)

1 tablespoon egg white

1 tablespoon water

Cooking spray

CHEESECAKE:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup light sour cream

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs


TOPPING:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1 3/4 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)

Dash of nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. To prepare crust, combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press mixture lightly into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 6 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Wrap outside of pan with a double layer of foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

3. To prepare cheesecake, place 1 3/4 cups sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fat-free cream cheese) in food processor; process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process until blended. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch.

4. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove from oven; let stand in water bath 10 minutes. Run a knife around outside edge of cheesecake. Remove pan from water bath; cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

5. To prepare topping, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water, and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan; cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Cook 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Add butter to pan; gently stir until butter melts. Stir in half-and-half. Cool slightly.

6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in sugar mixture and nutmeg. Serve topping with cheesecake.

(OR Instead of making the sauce you could just saute the apples in melted carmel candy then pour on the cake)

Nutritional Information

Calories:256 (33% from fat)

Fat:9.5g (sat 5.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:7.6g

Carbohydrate:35.8g

Fiber:0.4g

Cholesterol:79mg

Iron:0.6mg

Sodium:268mg

Calcium:59mg