Rolo Pretzel Turtle Candies

I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas and that you are looking forward to the New Year! Food is such a big part of our holidays aren't they. You've all probably eaten these delicious Rolo Pretzel Turtle Candies at some time. These candies are such easy little Turtle candies to make and so addictive once you pop one in your mouth. I made some of them into sandwiches for anyone that can't have nuts. I wanted to drizzle them with more chocolate, but I had depleted my stash of chocolate. Oh well, I'll do it next time. I will be making these yummy treats again.

Easy and delicious too, they don't require many steps. Here's the directions to make the Rolo Pretzel Turtles.

Rolo Pretzel Turtle Candies

From Hershey's Kitchens

Make as many candies as you wish. I used all of the Rolos. Baking too long will cause the Rolos to break open when pressed with a pecan, so don't over bake.

1 bag individual Rolo Candies, unwrapped

1 bad waffle shaped pretzels, I used Snyder's

pecan halves- enough for all the candies you are making

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place the pretzels on the baking sheet, not too closely. Place 1 Rolo on each pretzel. Put pan in oven and bake 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and press a pecan half on each candy. Let cool completely before serving. Enjoy!



Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I love cookies. My favorites are peanut butter, oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies. So when I found this recipe that contained all three ingredients in one cookie I was thrilled. I must say they taste amazing! Soft and chewy in the middle and crisp around the edges these are the perfect cookie in my opinion. The aroma while baking made it really difficult to resist when they were done. So I just gave in. They are just so delicious!  The dough freezes well too, making it easy to make ahead and thaw for later use. These Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are going to be on my cookie trays this holiday season. Here's the recipe.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Epicurious
This dough can keep in the refrigerator up to 1 week before baking. It also freezes very well. I baked about half the dough and froze the rest. I thawed it out about 2 weeks later and baked the rest. Perfect cookies!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2   cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, (yes, that right!)
3/4 cup regular peanut butter- either plain or chunky works
2 large eggs
1 1/2 bags (about 18 ounces, or more if you wish), of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a food processor pulse 1 cup of the oats until fine. In a large bowl mix together the ground oats, the other 1/2 cup of rolled oats, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In another bowl with a mixer beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and peanut butter and beat well. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, or mix it by hand if desired. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined.. Chill cookie dough covered,  at least 2 hours, or up to 1 week.

To bake:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Form rounded tablespoons of dough and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten balls just slightly. Bake in the middle rack of the oven 15 minutes just until pale golden. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes an then remove cookies to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Turtle Bars

 Decadent and addictive, these delicious Turtle Bars are perfect for your holiday cookie trays. With a crisp, pecan infused shortbread-style crust that is topped with a thin layer of caramel, then topped with chocolate chips and more pecans, your taste buds will be in heaven. Really, these are to die for, and I got the recipe from Grace at A Southern Grace. She has some of the sweetest, gooeyest confections on the web. Today is my birthday and I was wanting a sweet treat besides cake, and these Turtle Bars really hit the spot.

 This is a major birthday for me, I mean it's like the 'BIG' one. I am the big '60'! I can't believe it; I remember when my mother turned 60 and I thought she was ssooooo old. Now I know how young she felt! Anyway, these Turtle Bars were are so good. The crust is crisp, with the butter and the pecans that are also ground in. There is a thin layer of caramel; wish there was a bit more, but there is plenty of flavor. Chocolate chips are sprinkled on the confection right out of the oven so they will melt and you can swirl through the chocolate some. Then topped will pecans makes these bars a perfect treat. Give them a try for the holidays, OK!

Turtle Bars
Adapted only slightly from Grace

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup pecans, chopped

Filling:
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
pinch of salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips-I used Dark Chocolate chips that I had
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add crust ingredients to a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan. Pack the crumbs firmly down evenly to form a crust.
Add  the 2/3 cup butter, the 1/2 cup brown sugar, and salt to a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until it begins to boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, and then pour evenly over the crust. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until all the caramel is bubbling. Don't over bake! Remove from the oven; sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. Let set for 2-3 minutes and swirl melted chocolate chips with a knife. Leave some whole if desired. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and press nuts gently into the chocolate. (I sprinkled a little coarse salt over the bar, but it sort of disappeared). Cool, cut into bars, and enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Tiger Butter - A Yummy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Candy

Need some homemade goodies for gifts still? This Tiger Butter candy is easy and quick to make, plus it tastes amazing too. If you've ever used Almond Bark, you can guess how easy this candy is. Almond Bark is found on your grocers baking isle, close to where the baking chips are.

In this recipe, both vanilla and chocolate Almond Barks are melted. Peanut butter is stirred into the vanilla. The peanut butter flavored Almond bark is poured into a prepared pan.

Then the melted chocolate is spooned in stips over the peanut butter mixture.

I drag a knife through the candy to cause a marbleized effect, then run the knife through again in the opposite direction. You also could just drizzle the chocolate all over the peanut mixture if desired.

Now it needs to set and harden. My kitchen was rather warm because of baking, so I placed the candy in the refrigerator to harden. Then brake it into pieces and devour.Yum! This is a perfect gift for friends, family, teachers, mail carriers, whomever. My husband loves this stuff, so I may have to make another batch for gift giving.

Tiger Butter Candy
Recipe from a friend of my husbands

24 ounces Vanilla Almond Bark
12 ounces Chocolate Almond Bark
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky

1. Melt the Vanilla Almond Bark in a large microwave safe bowl. Do it in 1 minute increments, so that you don't cook the candy and cause it to seize. Or melt candy in a double boiler if desired.
2. When completely melted stir in the peanut butter until smooth.
3. Melt the chocolate in a large bowl. It took about 1 1/2 minutes in my microwave.
4. Line a large baking sheet, ( 12x17 inches) with wax paper or parchment paper. Pour the Vanilla Bark mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly.
5. Spoon strips of chocolate over the melted Vanilla Bark mixture.
6. Drag a knife across the width of the pan to swirl the cany mixture. Then drag the knife across the length of the pan. Or, drizzle the chocolate over the vanilla,if desired.
&. Let the candy cool and harden. Keep away from the heat. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

 Do you like chocolate and peanut butter together? Well, I do too, and so we love these easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars. Your kitchen will smell wonderful while these delicious morsels bake, which makes it really hard to let them cool before cutting. I must admit that I didn't wait; nope, I just had to have one, or two, before they cooled. I can say it didn't hurt a thing to cut these babies while warm, plus it made me very happy! These cookie bars are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so I hope you'll give them a try.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened- I used unsalted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips-I used dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour and soda together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine both sugars, butter, and peanut butter. Mix until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and stir in the chocolate chips. Press dough evenly into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan.
Bake for 18 - 22 minutes. Cool and cut into bars. I baked these bars for 21 minutes and that was too long. Next time I'll go for 18-19 minutes. They were not as gooey as I would have liked, but still soft and delicious. The middle may look too soft when you pull them out of the oven, but the dough firms up as it cools. Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

 Rich, decadent, dense chocolate. That's the only words needed to describe this yummy Flourless Chocolate Cake. I've been wanting to try a recipe for this type of cake for sometime, but wanted a small cake for just my husband and I. This was a perfect size. My only problem was that the recipe calls for an 8 inch pan, and all I had was a 9 inch. So, this cake was thinner than it should be, but it sure didn't affect the flavor.
Thankfully this cake was delicious. I've had some failures the last couple of weeks, and a couple of recipes that were just ok, so this made me very happy!

 This flourless cake is loaded with chocolate; chopped bittersweet chocolate as well as cocoa too. I added some cinnamon and vanilla to the cake, but couldn't really taste the cinnamon so guess I didn't add enough. I'll try again next time though. This cake is so easy to put together and doesn't bake very long. There is no flour, but the cake turns out almost brownie like and and very addictive, which is why I'm glad this recipe makes a small cake. For company I'll have to double the recipe. If you love chocolate and haven't tried a Flourless Chocolate Cake yet, you should. You really should give this a try!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Epicurious and Gourmet

Ingredients:
4 ounces fine quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)- I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon- my addition
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla- my addition also
pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch round baking pan. Line bottom of pan with a round of parchment paper, and then grease the paper also.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter until completely melted. Stir in the chopped chocolate and wish until the chocolate is melted. and smooth. Wish in the cocoa until smooth. Whip in the eggs, one at a time and the vanilla, salt and cinnamon if using. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. Since my pan was too large, my cake was done in about 18 minutes. Top of cake will form a thin crust when done. Cool cake on wire rack for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the side of the pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Dust cake with cocoa powder if desired. Enjoy!

Creamiest Chocolate Pudding (lower fat)

When I was a kid, my brother and I loved pudding, especially chocolate. It was the ultimate dessert for us! I still love chocolate in any form and this creamy chocolate pudding does not disappoint. I have made homemade puddings before but the recipes contained eggs and  butter and were so rich and creamy. So I was concerned that this lower fat version would be lacking in appeal to me, but my husband and I both loved it. The original recipe from Cooking Light uses 1% milk and fat free canned milk, but I used only the 2% milk that I always have on hand. So you will need to check out their recipe if you want to lower the fat even more. This Chocolate Pudding has a rich chocolate flavor that comes from both cocoa and bittersweet chocolate, and it has velvety smooth texture. It's a keeper for sure. Hope you'll give it a try.

Creamiest Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk-I used 2% fat
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao, found in the baking aisle)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large sauce pan add the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt and stir together with a whisk until well combined. Whisk in the milk over medium high heat. Stir continuously until the pudding starts to boil, then reduce the heat, and continue to cook and stir for 1 minute, until the pudding is thick.
remove the pan from the burner and stir in the chopped chocolate and vanilla. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Pour pudding into 6 (1 cup) dishes. You'll have about 2/3 cup pudding per dish. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of pudding. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours before eating. Enjoy!

NOTE: Stir the whole time the pudding is on the burner or it may scorch.
Some reviewers suggested heating the milk in the micro-wave first to lower the cooking time of the pudding. That will work; just watch the milk closely so it doesn't bubble over.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars

 Crisp chocolate chip cookie on the bottom, a creamy cheesecake middle dotted with more chocolate chip cookie- what could be better? These Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars may sound rather involved, but they really come together rather quickly. Mix up the chocolate chip dough first, and while the bottom crust is baking, you can stir up the cream cheese batter. If the cream cheese is at room temperature it creams and blends quickly.  They are rich and addictive and your family or company will be reaching for seconds. It is love at first bite. I sent some home with both my sons when they stopped by. I know when I can't be left alone with something this good! If you need a dessert for this Memorial Day weekend, this may be the one for you.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Cookie Dough:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans
Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the mini chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
Set aside 1/3 of the dough for the topping. Press the remaining 2/3 dough
into prepared 9x13 inch pan. Bake  for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven.
While crust bakes, beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla and eggs and mix until creamy and incorporated.
Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cookie crust and gently spread it to completely cover the bottom. ( Cookie dough will be very soft and maybe not set.) Drop small teaspoons full of reserved cookie dough over the filling. Return to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Mine were done in 30 minutes, so check early. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Cut into small pieces. Enjoy!

Coffee-Cocoa Snack Cake

 My chocolate craving got the best of me the other day, and I just wanted cake. But I didn't want to go to much trouble to make one. Walking through the grocery store, I saw all kinds of snack cakes to buy, and that reminded me of a recipe I had seen for a chocolate snack cake. I'll take homemade cake over store bought any day.When I went home, I found this recipe and decided to give it a try right then. Now, this is not a light fluffy cake. No, this cake is a dense, moist, dark chocolate cake. My only change to the recipe was to add chocolate chips, and to dust the top of the cake with confectioners sugar. I'll do the same again. I personally could not detect any coffee flavor, but it was still very good.
 Son Number 1 stopped by, ate 2 pieces of cake, and proclaimed it "awesome". So I will make it again. It is easy and has great flavor. Here's the recipe.

Coffee-Cocoa Snack Cake

slightly adapted from Fine Cooking

10 tablespoons very soft butter ( 5 ounces)

1- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached, all purpose flour;  7-1/4 ounces

1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa together- 2-1/2 ounce (not dutch-processed)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 -1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1-1/2 cups brewed coffee- cooled to warm

confectioners sugar for dusting

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9x9 inch square baking pan. If you are going to remove the cake from the pan, then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour it.

Do not use a mixer for this cake, except to cream the butter and sugar together, if desired. I just mixed it all by hand. Easy!

Mix softened butter and sugar in a bowl and cream until smooth. Blend in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and pour into the batter. Add the coffee and whisk the ingredients until mixture is smooth and mostly free of lumps.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before serving.

If you used parchment paper and are going to remove the cake from the

pan, let the cake sit for 20 minutes before inverting onto another rack.

I left my cake in the pan to cool.

This cake is a bit crumbly in texture. It can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.

M & M Cookies

These M & M Cookies are almost a guaranteed favorite with kids of all ages. I made some of these cookies, and some Snickerdoodles, a week ago for our church Christmas program and they were a hit. I used the Christmas red and green colored M & M's so the cookies would be festive. I always keep a good handful of the candies out of the mix, and then poke them onto the cookies before they are popped into the oven. This insures that there will candies on the top. This recipe came out of an old church cookbook of mine, like some other of my favorite recipes. M & M cookies were always one of our kids favorite cookies, any time of year. I have other cookie recipes here. I hope you'll give them a try as they are crispy around the edges, but soft and chewy in the center. That's a winner!
Sorry for my blogging absence for the last couple of weeks. My husband and I went on a short trip to Branson, Missouri, and I've had trouble getting back into the swing of cooking regularly, with the trip and the lull after Thanksgiving. But I'm back now, just in time for Christmas. Only one week left! Are you all ready?

M & M COOKIES ( called Party Cookies in my cookbook)

1 cup butter- softened to room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cup sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3/4 pound) plain M & M candies- I use the whole bag

In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, about 1/3 at a time. Blend well after each addition. Stir in about half of the candies. Drop rounded tablespoons full of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Place several candies on each round of cookie dough. Doing this makes sure that each cookie will have M & M's on top. (But you can just dump all the candies in the cookie batter if you prefer).

Bake cookies in a preheated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on racks. Enjoy!

Gone to Heaven Chocolate Pie

This pie is rich, really rich, and so creamy and decadent, that it is not for the faint of heart. It's not for those who don't like intense chocolate. It's not a pie to serve after a heavy or rich meal. But, it is for those among us who crave a bit of rich, creamy chocolate at times. It's luscious with a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea. I made this chocolate pie last week for a church pot luck and it was gone in a flash. So quickly was it gone that we had nary a sliver. So I made it again this week so we could try it. If you're needing a serious chocolate fix, give this pie a try!

GONE TO HEAVEN CHOCOLATE PIE
slightly adapted from Hershey's Kitchens

1 9 inch pie shell

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch- original recipe calls for 1/3 cup

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

3 cups whole milk, divided

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened - recipe calls for 2 T.

1 tablespoon vanilla- yep, you read that right!

2 cups (12 ounce pkg.) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips

whipped cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bake the pie shell; either your own recipe or the refrigerated pie crust from your grocer. Cool.

In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix 2 3/4 cups of the milk with the sugar.

2. In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch. Whisk in the egg yolks until thoroughly combined.

3. Heat the sugar and milk mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the milk is scalded, but not boiling. To temper the egg yolk mixture, take about 1/4 cup of hot milk and quickly whisk into the yolks. Then add some more hot milk, a little at a time, whisking quickly with each addition., until the yolks are very warm. Now, slowly pour the yolks mixture into the milk, and again keep whisking so that the egg doesn't get clumpy. Bring the pudding to a boil, stirring constantly. Let cook about 2 minutes.

4. Remove pudding from heat and stir in the butter, the vanilla and 1 3/4 cup chocolate chips until incorporated. Pour the pudding into the cooled pie shell. Place plastic wrap over the pudding to seal. This will ensure that the pudding does not form a skin. Cool. Refrigerate for several hours, or until cold and firm. Remove the plastic wrap and top with whipped cream and remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips. I used some mini chocolate chips for topping instead. Enjoy!

Keep refrigerated. Supposed to serve 8, but it's so rich that I cut into 10 servings.

NOTE: By tempering the yolks this way, the pudding was smooth and creamy with no lumps.

Neiman - Marcus Cookies

I have a sweet tooth, especially when it comes to cookies. If I made cookies as often as I actually want them, I'd be baking every few days! It's just too hard to work off those cookie calories these days. But during the last Christmas season, I followed Barbara's blog very closely as she was posting some wonderfully addictive looking cookie recipes. There are several I want to make, but I'm starting with the Neiman-Marcus $250 Cookie Recipe. With oatmeal and chocolate chips whats not to love? I really had to watch them as they bake. Once the edges start to get golden, they are done, if you like your cookies chewy that is. I really didn't change the recipe, other than I used only half of the nuts called for in the dough, and Barbara didn't use any nuts. But these cookies are winners for sure-we couldn't stay out of them! It's a good thing I gave some away, because we all turned into cookie monsters! Here's the recipe.

NEIMAN MARCUS $250 COOKIE RECIPE

from Barbara Bakes

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal (pulse oatmeal in a blender to make it flour like)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 - 4 ounces Hershey bar, grated

3 cups chopped nuts ( I used 1 1/2 cups)

Cream the butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In another bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips, grated chocolate and nuts. I used a rounded tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Roll each cookie into a ball and place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. These cookies do spread out, so don't crowd them. Bake at 375 degrees for about 9-10 minutes. As soon as they began turning golden around the edges, I removed them from the oven and let them set on the cookie sheet about 30 seconds before removing to cooling racks. They stayed nice and chewy down to the last cookie! I will be making Neiman-Marcus Cookies again, and again! They are just so good. Give them a try!

Peanut Butter Bars

I made these Peanut Butter Bars a few days ago, not knowing what to expect exactly. Does that ever happen to you? This recipe uses a cake mix for the base, and I have only used a cake mix for a cake. I thought these cookie bars would be more like brownies, gooey and chewy. But they are like a soft cookie bar, with a chocolate chip and sweetened condensed milk filling. I somehow thought these two ingredients would kind of melt together, but they really don't. But the bars do taste great. They just aren't what I expected. You spread half the cake mixture in a

baking pan, top it with the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk, and the top the whole thing with the rest of the cake mixture, like the picture above. After baking, it will look like this.

Cool the bars completely before cutting into squares. They have a wonderful peanut butter flavor, which is perfect with the chocolate center, of course. Or, you can use peanut butter chips for an all the same flavor bar. So, these bars are delicious, but not what I was hoping for. But my whole family enjoyed them, even if they didn't turn out to be the chewy, gooey bars of our dreams!

PEANUT BUTTER BARS

from Mr. Food of "oooh it's so good!" fame

1 package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix

2 large eggs

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 package, 12 ounces, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or a 10 ounce bag of peanut butter chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, eggs, butter and peanut butter together. Press half of the mixture evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips and drizzle with the sweetened condensed milk. Crumble the remaining peanut butter mixture over the top. Place pan back in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy! A perfect snack for any occasion!

Note: To make all chocolate peanut butter bars, just use a chocolate cake mix with the chocolate chips.

Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

My family loves Chocolate Chip Cookies that are crisp around the edges yet soft in the middle. This recipe fits the bill perfectly. I found this awesome recipe in an old church cookbook that I bought more than 30 years ago from a friend. The poor book is falling apart and I have to be careful that I don't misplace any pages when I'm flipping through it. This wonderful cook book comes from a church in Grandview, Missouri, and it contains many treasured recipes that my family loves. I want to thank Geneva S. for this addictive cookie recipe.I have never met her, but my family has eaten her cookies for years now! When my kids were young, they used to steal

bits of dough from the bowl as I was trying to bake these chewy cookies. My kids always preferred these without nuts, even though my husband and I love them loaded with pecans. So, I used to add nuts to half of the cookie dough, so that we could indulge in them as we preferred. The things a mother has to do when she has picky kids! I am submitting this recipe

for our family's favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies to Laura of "The Spiced Life", and Shelby of "The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch", for this months "Family Recipes; Memories of Family, Food and Fun!" Here's the recipe for these super cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies- Our family's Favorite!

2/3 butter, softened to room temperature

2/3 shortening

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda (originally called for 1 tsp. soda)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped nuts; I use pecans

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening, eggs, sugars and vanilla together until creamy. In another bow, mix the flour, soda and salt together. Add to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the nuts and chocolate chips and stir until well combined. I use a tablespoon to measure the dough so they will be similar in size. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until light brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheet. Cool completely and store in air tight container. Makes about 5-6 dozen, depending on how big you make them. Best eaten straight out of the oven, of course! Enjoy these addictive cookies!

I know there are plenty of cookies on the Internet, especially chocolate chip, but these are wonderful. I've tried other recipes and I keep coming back to these so, I'm just sharing our favorite, so far. These cookies have made many wonderful memories in our family and we have shared them with friends and neighbors at Christmas time. Try them, you'll like them!

Four Layer Pudding Dessert (Family Recipes)

This recipe goes back quite a few years and I'm sure that many of you have made it or eaten it before. I was given this recipe about 1980 by a friend, who actually made it with pistachio pudding instead of chocolate. I've also eaten it made with banana pudding and cut up bananas, so it can be made according to what you're craving that day! I normally use the chocolate pudding as everyone in my family will eat it and we all love chocolate. This is a delicious, addictive dessert that was always requested at family gatherings or pot luck dinners at church. The first layer is a crisp crust made of flour, butter, and chopped pecans and it adds such a nutty, flaky layer to hold the rest of the dessert.
The second layer is a yummy cream cheese layer and over that, the pudding. On top goes the rest of the whipped topping, or even whipped cream, if desired. I normally top that with some chocolate shavings, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or some cocoa lightly sifted over the top, to give it a nice finish. It's so good and is one of my children's favorite desserts of their childhood!

FOUR LAYER PUDDING DESSERT (from Lynda's Recipe Box)

FIRST LAYER;

1 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts, I use pecans

1 stick melted butter - 1/2 cup

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; scatter the crust mixture over the bottom of a 9x13 in baking pan and press together to form a crust. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Cool.

SECOND LAYER;

1 -8 ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

8 ounces of whipped topping, thawed ( like Cool Whip)

Mix together the cream cheese and sugar; then fold in the whipped topping. Place spoonfuls of this mixture all over the cooled crust. Gently spread out the cream cheese to cover the crust, taking care to not break the crust.

THIRD LAYER;

2 packages of instant chocolate pudding (or other flavor of choice)

3 cups of milk

Combine pudding mixes and milk and stir until well blended and thick. Spoon pudding over cream cheese layer and carefully spread it out.

FOURTH LAYER;

8 ounces of thawed whipped topping ( I sometimes use a little less- it's rich!)

nuts, or chocolate to put on top, if desired

Spread topping evenly over the pudding layer. Top with nuts, chocolate shavings or sifted cocoa, if desired. Refrigerate for several hours before serving. Enjoy!

I have such vivid memories of some of the delicious dishes that my Mother used to make. This dessert is a memory maker for my kids. I can remember them begging for " just one more piece, Mom"! I'm submitting this recipe to Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, and Laura, of The Spiced Life, for this months Family Recipes roundup. What's your favorite dessert from your childhood? Let me know in the comments!

Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies ( or How to Satisfy Your Chocolate Craving!)

Do you crave chocolate, or more precisely, brownies! Well, don't resort to a mix when you want those thick, gooey, chewy, decadent bars that we know as brownies! No! If you keep some basic ingredients in your pantry, you can have these yummy bars anytime you want. Many brownie recipes call for certain extra ingredients that you may have to purchase before you can make a recipe. But these are basic brownies that you can dress up or leave plain, and they will satisfy you every time! If you will keep cocoa and butter and some other basics on hand, you'll be ready to make these anytime the craving hits. The recipe does call for chocolate chunks, but I've made them without, or, I've subbed chocolate chips, or nuts or M&M's. When my kids were young, I always made them plain as that how they liked them. They are awesome anyway you make them! I use this recipe when I make brownie sundaes with my homemade Cocoa Fudge Sauce.

Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownie
Source: Not sure, possibly Taste of Home
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips (I usually use less)
In a large bowl combine the cocoa and soda; blend in 1/3 cup of the melted butter. Add the boiling water and stir til blended. It may get thick which is ok. Stir in the eggs, sugar and rest of butter. Add flour, salt and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chunks and pecans if using. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into bars. Yea, right! I don't think we've ever let them cool that long, unless I was taking them elsewhere to be eaten. I bake them for 40 minutes in an air bake pan, but it will depend on your oven and the pan you use as to how long it will take for the brownies to bake.

These brownies will have a light crust on top, a result of the cocoa, I think, but the center will be moist and chewy, as you can see from the photo. I have other brownie recipes, but this is my standby. This time, I used chocolate chips instead of the chunks, and sprinkled the nuts on top before they went into the oven. I added some more chocolate chips about 2 minutes before the brownies were done, but they didn't stick; they just fell off. So don't do as I did! But, make these yummy brownies; you'll be glad you did!

Black-Bottom Banana Bars

There is one flavor that my whole family loves, and that's banana. In a family of 5, finding a food that everyone loves can be rare. Banana desserts are at the top of everyones list, so when the bananas start to turn I can be sure that what I make will be devoured! These Black-Bottom Banana Bars are deliciously moist and have a wonderful texture, somewhat lighter than banana bread. And, of course, the fact that the bottom half is chocolate is a huge plus! This recipe comes from an older Taste of Home magazine, but it is also on their website. I made no changes, other than I used 4 bananas instead of 3, and I didn't swirl the dough, but they taste the same either way. These bars are very addictive and will disappear quickly!

BLACK-BOTTOM BANANA BARS ( from Taste of Home)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, 3-4
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and add the egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Mix in the mashed bananas. In another bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.Add to the banana mixture and mix well. Divide the batter in half and add the cocoa to 1 half of the batter. Spread the chocolate batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Spoon remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife, if desired. I just spread it out some. Bake in a preheated, 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the bars test done. Remove from oven and cool. These delicious bars get incredibly moist and are perfect for any banana lovers that you know. Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies! (from Family, Friends and Food)

I made these decadent, brownie-like, chocolate cookies over this past week end and they were an instant hit! Actually, they were a hit before they even made it to the oven. You see, I have a couple of grown kids that like to steal bites of cookie dough when it is first mixed in the bowl. Well, these kids just happened to be here, and the stealing continued even after the dough was put into the refrigerator to firm up! And I must confess, that even I gave into their wayward temptations! Yes, this dough is to die for! The cookies are to die for! This recipe is supposed to make about 60 cookies, but believe me, it didn't in this house. This addictive cookie recipe came from Patsy at Family, Friends and Food, who is my mentor in the Adopt a Blogger program. This program, started by Kristen, from Dine and Dish, is to help the novice blogger (me), by pairing them with an experienced blogger (Patsy). Patsy has been wonderfully patient as I've asked a lot of questions and she has been able to answer them all, or find an answer for me through some blogging friends. Thanks, Patsy! Thanks for putting up with me! Anyway, I found this recipe on Patsy's blog and knew I'd have to make them as most of my family are chocoholics! These Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies are rich, chewy and deliver big time on the chocolate flavor. These are going on my list for the holidays and will be made throughout the year as well. Let's get to the recipe-I'm eating one as I type!

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies- from Family, Friends and Food

3/4 cup butter

4 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups(12 ounces) Semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

2 tsp. shortening

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together.Cool. Transfer melted chocolate to a large bowl; add sugar and eggs and beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chops to the dough and combine well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight until dough is easy to handle. Drop dough by the tablespoon full onto greased cookies sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 7-9 minutes, until edges are set and the tops are slightly cracked. Cool cookies on the pans for about 2 minutes and then remove to wire racks. After all cookies are cool, heat 2 tsp. of shortening with the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips until melted. Stir well and drizzle over the cookies. Let cookies stand 30 minutes until the chocolate has is set. Store in a covered container.

Patsy's cookies were actually prettier than mine, as she used white chocolate to drizzle over the tops of the cookies. But I had plenty of the semi-sweet on hand, so that is what I used. Check out Patsy's blog; she has lots of great recipes to please the palate! Make these cookies and take a plateful to your neighbor; they'll love you for it!