Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour

1/2 semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together oil with eggs. Stir in vanilla and sugar until well blended. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl then stir into wet  mixture.

Pour into greased 9 x 9 square pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until sides just starts to pull away from the pan and toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Lemon Drop Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
zest of one large lemon

Beat butter, icing sugar and salt until fluffy. Beat in lemon juice and lemon zest until blended. Add the flour in ½ cup intervals beating until blended. Roll into 1" balls. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 325F until cookies are lightly browned on the bottom.

Immediately toss in icing sugar. Repeat for a second dredging. Alternatively, mix icing sugar with lemon juice to make a light icing and top each cookie.

Lemon Lush

Crust
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 tbsp white sugar
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup flour

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 x 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsps lemon juice

1 pkg Sherriff lemon pie filling prepared as directed (cooled)

1½ cups Cool Whip

Finely grated lemon zest

Crust: Mix the flour, butter, sugar and pecans together. Press into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let crust cool.

Cream Cheese Layer: Beat cream cheese, icing sugar zest and lemon juice together until smooth. Spread over cooled crust.

Gently spread the lemon filling over cream cheese layer, then cover with Cool Whip. Dust with icing sugar and finely grated lemon zest. Chill.

Layered Pudding Dessert with Pecan Crust

Crust
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 tbsp white sugar
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup flour

Cream Cheese Layer
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar (use ½ cup for less sweetness)
1 cup cool whip

Vanilla Pudding
1 package of instant vanilla pudding or mousse
2 cups milk 

Chocolate Pudding
1 package of instant chocolate pudding or mousse
2 cups milk

Last Layer
2 cups cool whip

Topping
Shaved chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a mixer mix all the crust ingredients together and press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake it for about 20 minutes.Prepare the vanilla and chocolate pudding and refrigerate to thicken. In a mixer add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the cup of cool whip. Mix until light and fluffy.

Once the crust cools, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust. Spread the chocolate pudding over the cream cheese, then the vanilla pudding. Top with cool whip and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate. Refrigerate for a couple hours to set.


Lemon Layered Dessert: Replace pudding layers with Lemon Pie filling. Top with fresh blueberries.

AKA: Six in a pan or Sex in a pan

Pecan Tarts

24 tart shells
3/4 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup melted butter
Pinch salt
1.5 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup pecans, chopped or 2/3 cup raisins

Mix corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and vanilla until blended. Sprinkle pecans in each tart shell. Place tart shells on baking sheet and fill just to top with filling. Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes til puffed and bubbly. Line sheet with foil for spills. Also good with a few chocolate chips in with the pecans.

Substitute Maple syrup for some or all of the corn syrup.

Chocolate Cake from Hershey's

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. Add the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt to your mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Give it a couple of whirls until all of the dry ingredients are mixed together. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be really thin). Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

German Coconut Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 1/2 cups pecans

Add the evaporated milk, sugar, butter and egg yolks to a saucepan. Whisk to combine. Cook over medium low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. This will take about 10 - 12 minutes. When thick remove from heat and stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Frost cake while frosting is still warm.

Oatmeal Cookies

¾ cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
¼ cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cloves
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
3 cups oatmeal

Combine and bake at 350o for 7-8 minutes. Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2-½ cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup hard margarine or butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream margarine or butter, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough. Bake at 375° for about 8-10 minutes.

Uncooked Cookies - aka Chocolate Drop Cookies

2 cups white sugar
½ cup margarine (hard kind-like Parkay)
½ cup milk
3 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oatmeal (quick-cooking)
1 cup coconut (shredded)

In bowl combine oatmeal and coconut. In large pan combine white sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa. Bring to a rolling boil and boil only 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to combine. Drop by teaspoons onto sheet of aluminum foil. Cool.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup hard margarine
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2-2 ½ cups oatmeal (Old Fashioned)
2 cups flour
1-½ cups chocolate chips

Cream sugars and margarine. Add eggs, vanilla and milk and beat well. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well. Drop by teaspoon onto parchment paper lined sheet. Bake at 375F for 7-9 minutes.

Blueberry Crumble Pie

Filling
5 cups blueberries
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 -1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Pinch of ground black pepper

Crumble
1-½ cups flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¾ cups unsalted butter, cut into little pieces

Crust
1 frozen crust

To make the fruit filling, in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well. Crush about 20 percent of the blueberries so the juice mixes with the cornstarch and thickens the filling.

To make the crumble, mix the flour and brown sugar in a food processor until thoroughly combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms a crumble (do not overwork the mixture). Refrigerate until you are ready to use it. 

Preheat oven to 375°. Spoon blueberry filling into crust, then sprinkle topping over. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and topping is golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cover with foil after 30 minutes if browning too fast. Cool on a rack.


If using frozen blueberries: Do not thaw blueberries. Mix all filling ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir then add to pie shell and bake as above. 

Date Pecan Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup liquid honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups dates, chopped
2 cups pecans, chopped
Optional: unflavored protein powder

Cream margarine with sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and honey and mix until combined. Sift together the baking powder, soda and flour and add to creamed mixture. Stir in oatmeal, dates and pecans.

Spread in a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 350F for 13-15 min. til slightly browned. Cut into bars.

Lemony, Lemon Bars

3/4 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, soft
2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice (~1 lemon)
zest from 1 lemon

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the softened butter. In another bowl whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and zest. Add to the larger bowl and mix well. Pour into prepared 8X8 brownie pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. You can double the recipe and bake in a 9X13 pan for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool, then glaze.

Glaze
1/2C powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice (or more to make watery glaze)
zest from 1 lemon
Mix together and pour over cooled lemon squares

Original recipe and picture from: http://rita-may-recipes.blogspot.ca/2011/08/lemon-brownies.html

Lemony Lemon Squares

Original recipe from Becky Charms at http://https://sites.google.com/site/beckycharms/cakies/lemony-lemon-brownies">

Batter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Tart Lemon Glaze
1 cups icing sugar (add 1/2 cup more for a thicker icing)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease/Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter/cooking spray and set aside.

Zest and juice two small/large lemons; set aside. {whatever you have}

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.  Do not overbake, or the bars will be dry. {even with the yummy glaze}

When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze...sift the powdered sugar, add lemon zest and juice, and whisk together all three ingredients. Spread 1/2 the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula.  Let glaze harden.  Spread the remaining glaze over the bars, and let it harden.  Cut into bars, and serve!

Buttercrunch

1 ¾ cups white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
1 cup toasted finely chopped almonds
melted chocolate
chopped almonds

Slowly heat sugar, corn syrup and water in heavy pot. Boil and add butter. Cook to 154C (300F) hard crack on candy thermometer. Remove from heat and add almonds. Pour out on buttered foil and mark pieces. When cool, spread top with melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped almonds. When cool, flip over and do other side if desired.

Five Minute Chocolate Fudge

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 4-5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts. Stir until marshmallows melt and blend. Pour into a PAM sprayed 8” square pan. Chill. Cut into squares.

Walnut Greek Shortbread (Kourambiethes)

2 cups butter
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup very finely chopped walnuts (toast walnuts first)
approximately 4 cups all purpose flour
Icing sugar

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with mixer until very light and fluffy (at least 10 minutes). Stir in nuts and most of the flour. Add enough remaining flour to make soft not sticky (but not dry) dough. Shape into ovals or balls. Bake at 300 degrees F until golden on bottom, 18-20 minutes.
Put immediately onto a pan or bowl very heavily covered with icing sugar. Toss gently in icing sugar IMMEDIATELY OVER HOT COOKIES to cover cookies. Let cool. Roll balls again in remaining icing sugar.

Place in red/green mini-muffin papers for a pretty Christmas presentation.

Nut Crackle Corn

½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp baking soda
10 cups popcorn
1 cup peanuts (or mixed nuts)

Mix together popcorn and peanuts in large bowl. Melt butter, stir in sugar & corn syrup. Bring to boil, then cook gently for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour over popcorn & nuts. Spread on a foil covered baking pan and bake at 250F for 1 hour, stirring once or twice. Cool and peel off foil. Can easily double recipe, but use big bowl.

Date Squares—Matrimonial Squares

Base
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter

Date Filling
½ lb dates, pitted
2/3 cup Water
1 tsp Lemon juice

Base: In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Spread 3/4 of the crumbs in a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

Date Filling: Mix dates and water together in a saucepan. Cook until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Allow to cool before using. Spread over the crumbs in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over top of the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Chocolate-dipped Almond-Pistachio Macaroons

4½ cups icing sugar
1 cup almond pieces, coarsely ground
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
¾ cup egg whites (about 6 large)
¼ tsp corn starch
12 oz semisweet chocolate, for dipping or white chocolate.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, blend together sugar and almonds until well blended. Add flour; blend until uniform. Add pistachios; blend well.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and ¼ tsp corn starch in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold nut mixture into whites in 4 additions (batter will be thick).

Spoon batter by generous tbsp onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 1½ inches apart. Bake cookies until dry and cracked on top, about 10 minutes. Bottoms will be slightly brown. Slide parchment with cookies onto another surface to cool.

Dip one half of the macaroon in melted chocolate, if desired.

(Can be made 3 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper. These freeze well).