Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

CRUST
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs*
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

GLAZE
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Wrap bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan with wide heavy-duty foil. Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter in medium bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press evenly into bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set; cool on wire rack.

2. Place 6 oz. chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl; place over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Stir frequently until chocolate is smooth and melted; remove bowl from saucepan.

3. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl at low speed until smooth. Beat in flour. Beat in 2 of the eggs just until combined; repeat with remaining 2 eggs. Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in sour cream and vanilla just until blended.

4. Reserve 2 cups batter in medium bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.

5. Stir melted chocolate into batter in large bowl until completely blended; pour into crust. Place pan in large shallow roasting or broiler pan. Fill with enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.

6. Bake 35 minutes. Carefully slide out oven rack several inches. Pour reserved peppermint batter evenly over cheesecake. Bake 25 minutes or until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. Center should move slightly when pan is tapped but should not ripple as if liquid. Remove cake from water bath; remove foil. Place on wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

7. Meanwhile, place 6 oz. finely chopped chocolate in another large bowl. Place cream, 2 tablespoons butter and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan; heat over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until hot (temperature will be about 190°F.). Remove saucepan from heat as soon as first bubble appears; pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute to soften; stir until mixture is smooth and chocolate is melted. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

8. Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake in pan, spreading evenly over top; refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving. (Cheesecake can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Store in refrigerator.

TIP *Crush chocolate wafer cookies or chocolate sandwich cookies in food processor or in plastic bag with rolling pin.

OOEY-GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Oh - the sugary-goodness! I think you actually feel your teeth decaying as you eat this, but it's oh so good!

1 stick butter
3 eggs
1 yellow cake mix (without pudding)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter. Add butter and 1 egg to cake mix. Blend until consistency of pie crust. Pat into a greased 9" cake pan, bottom and sides. Beat cheese, 2 eggs and 3/4 pound sugar until well blended and creamy. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly brown. Sprinkle balance of sugar on top. Serve warm or cold.

Victoria's Lace Cookies

2 C. Oatmeal (quaker rolled oats)
1 tbsp Flour
2 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 sticks melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp Vanilla
Reynolds RELEASE foil (This is brutally important)

Preheat oven to 325

Melt butter over LOW heat

Mix otameal, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl
Add melted butter- mix well
Add egg and Vanilla- mix well

Cover baking sheet in reynolds release foil.
Drop dough by little tiny bits (like maybe 1/2 teaspoon fulls) with lots of space between them (these cookies SPREAD)
Cook 4 minutes
turn cookie sheet around
Cook 4 more minutes
they should be just golden around the edges if they're not cook for 30 more seconds... these things cook really fast they go from raw to burnt in the blink of an eye.
Remove from the oven and take the foil, with the cookies still on it, off the baking sheet and put it on a cooling rack. let the cookies cool slightly and transfer from the foil to a wire cooling rack.

Soft Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats and chocolate chips. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

M & M Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 12-ounce package M&M'S® Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits
Granulated sugar as needed

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture just until blended. Stir in M&M'S® Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. With bottom of glass dipped in sugar, flatten dough very slightly so as not to crush M&M'S® Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden; let cool 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
2. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Spread in greased 14 inch round pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate as desired.

Lemon Butter Bars

Crust Ingredients:

1		cup all-purpose flour
1/2		cup Butter, softened
1/4		cup sugar

Filling Ingredients:

3/4		cup sugar
2		eggs
2		tablespoons all-purpose flour
3		tablespoons lemon juice
1		teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1/4		teaspoon baking powder

Topping Ingredients:

Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all crust ingredients in small bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto bottom of ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients except powdered sugar in small bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Pour filling over hot, partially baked crust. Continue baking for 18 to 20 minutes or until filling is set.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool. Cut into bars.

Colleen's Monkey Cake

get 4 cans of refrigerator biscuits...not grands and not buttermilk! cut them into fourths. In a plastic bag put 1 tbsp of cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar. Put half the biscuits into the bag and shake until they are all covered in cina-sugary goodness. Place in a bundt pan sprayed with pam. In a saucepan ... combine 1 1/2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil then pour half of this mixture over the biscuits in the pan. Once again combine 1/3 c sugar and 1 tbsp of cinnamon in a bag and repeat the shaking process with the other half of the biscuits. Place them in the pan on top of the other biscuits. Pour the reamining butter mixture over top and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Turn cake out of pan onto a cake plate.

You can eat with your fingers once it has cooled a bit. Tastes yummy warm or at room temp.

Feeds 8-10 monkeys (I think its called monkey cake b/c you eat with your fingers???)

Aunt E's S'more Brownies

10 whole HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken crosswise in half, divided 3/4 cup butter or margarine 4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate 2 cups sugar

3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup flour 2 1/2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows 1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending beyond sides of pan; grease foil. Place 15 of the graham squares in bottom of pan, overlapping slightly. Break remaining 5 graham squares into large pieces; set aside.
2.	Place butter and chocolate in large microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour until well blended. Spread over graham squares in pan.
3.	Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.)
4.	Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until marshmallows begin to puff. Press reserved graham pieces gently into marshmallows. Cool in pan on wire rack.
5.	Lift out of pan onto cutting board using foil handles. Cut into 36 bars.

Homestyle Banana Pudding

This recipe takes a little while, but very well worth it! Now a Thanksgiving tradition for us!

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk, low fat or whole
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• vanilla wafer cookies
• 3 to 4 bananas, ripe but firm
• sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping
• banana slices for garnish
• mint sprigs, optional

In a bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and flour; stir to blend. Slowly stir in milk until smooth. Pour into the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks; gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the slightly thickened hot milk mixture.

Return egg mixture to the double boiler, stir in the vanilla and butter, and continue whisking and cooking until well thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In tall dessert glasses or a 2-quart serving dish, make a layer of vanilla wafers then sliced banana. Spoon some of the pudding over the banana layer then layer more vanilla wafers and banana slices, topping with more pudding. Serve with whipped cream topping. If using short dessert dishes, use only one layer each of the wafers, banana slices, and pudding, and then top with a dollop of whipped cream. Garnish each serving with a few slices of banana and a mint sprig if desired.
Serves 6 to 8.

Banana Bread

1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional - I didn't use)
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape batter into prepared pan and place the slices of banana on top of the batter for garnish. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Ingredients
1-1/4 cup HoneyMaid Graham Crumbs (I used plain this time, next time I might try chocolate)
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 pkg. (250 g each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup Kraft Pure Strawberry Jam

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350.F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 325.F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix graham crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended.

Pour over crust. Gently drop small spoonfuls of jam over batter; cut through jam several times with knife for marble effect. BAKE 45 min. or until centre is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Cut into 12 pieces to serve. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Oatmeal KISSES Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (13 oz.) HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces.

2. Beat beat butter, shortening, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in rolled oats and nuts. Shape rounded teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven; immediately place chocolate piece in center of each cookie, pressing down lightly. Carefully remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 6 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.