Frozen Hot Chocolate

[adapted from Serendipity 3's in NYC]

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates (as top quality as you are able]
2 teaspoons of store-bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups of cups of ice
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This is a very old recipe, but it's foolproof. I like it because it uses oil instead of butter, so you can be spontaneous and whip them up quickly, rather than waiting for your butter to soften (or accidentally melting it in the microwave as I usually do). Plus you can mix with a spoon, rather than a mixer, making it perfect for baking with little helpers.

(Note: I've also made this with cocoa powder when I haven't had chocolate - you can't even tell the difference!)

1/2 cup oil

4 squares (4 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Mix oil, melted chocolate, and sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Add vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into the chocolate mixture. Chill several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into the powdered sugar. Roll into balls, making sure they're pretty heavily coated with the powdered sugar - this makes them prettier after they've baked. Place about 2" apart on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't overbake!

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

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Takes less than five minutes to make the easiest cookie in the world.
(Even though they are called "cookies" they are more like a candy to me)

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 TBS cocoa
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky)
3 cups dry quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup coconut (may omit)
2 tsp vanilla


1. Add the first four ingredients into a 4-quart sauce pan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and hold for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the next 4 ingredients and drop by tablespoons onto wax paper or foil.
5. Let cool until set.

Makes approx 20 cookies

Mississippi Mud Cake

A old family recipe. Very rich and delicious.

Cake
1 lb. butter
4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
8 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

Icing
1 (14oz) jar marshmallow cream

2/3 cup cocoa
2 boxes powdered sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla


Cream butter, sugar and cocoa. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and baking powder. Gradually add the 3 cups flour. Fold in coconut and nuts.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350' for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. When cake is done and still hot, spread marshmallow cream over the top and let cake cool completely.

When cake is completely cooled, mix ingredients for icing (cocoa, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla) and spread over cake. Top with extra chopped pecans if desired.

Layered Chocolate or Lemon or Lime Dessert

[We renamed this "Better Than Sex Dessert" among the adults in my family.]

Layer 1

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

Layer 2

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip

Layer 3

1 pkg instant chocolate (or lemon or lime) pudding mix
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
* if making lemon flavor, add 1 TBS fresh lemon/lime juice

Layer 4

1 large container of Cool Whip
*if making chocolate flavor pudding, top dessert with a grated milk chocolate bar, if making lemon or lime flavor top with fine shavings of lemon/lime peel.


DIRECTIONS

Layer 1: mix flour, butter and pecans. Press into a 9x13" pan. Bake at 325' for 25 minutes. Cool completely.

Layer 2: mix softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar with an electric mixture. Fold in by hand 1 cup cool whip. Spread over the baked layer.

Layer 3: With an electric mixture, beat together puddings and milk until smooth and thick. Spread over the cheese layer.

Layer 4: Spread cool whip over pudding layer forming nice swirls. Refrigerate several hours. Garnish with either shaved chocolate curls or the shaved citrus rind depending on flavor made.

S'more Thumbprint Cookies

1 c butter, softened
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs (either pre-made or approx 16 cracker squares finely ground in a food processer)
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups miniature marshmallows
4 1.5 oz Hershey's milk chocolate bars, broken into 60 rectangles

Heat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat until blended. Add flour, graham cracker crumbs and salt, beat on low speed about 1 minute or until a stiff dough forms.

Shape dough into heaping teaspoon size balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. With thumb, make indentation in center of each.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are firm and edges are just beginning to brown. Lightly press 2 marshmallows in the center of each cookie, bake 2-3 minutes longer. Top marshmallows on each cookie with a rectangle of chocolate, let stand 2-3 minutes. With a tip of a knife, spread the melting chocolate over marshmallows. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Serve with a glass of milk!

approx 5 doz cookies

Super Easy Pecan Cookies

These are so easy to make and no one would ever know you didn't make the dough yourself!

1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup pecans, ground fine in a food processor
2 cups pecans, chopped medium fine
1 c milk chocolate chips
1 c white chocolate chips
2 freezer ziplock bags

Preheat oven to 350. Break up cookie dough in a large bowl, add cinnamon, vanilla, and fine ground pecans. Stir well. Form golf ball sized balls of dough. Roll each ball into chopped pecans. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly with your hand. Bake approx 8-12 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove cookies from oven and let cool slightly on sheet, then remove. Once cookies are completely cooled, melt milk chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring inbetween until smooth. Spoon milk chocolate into a ziplock bag and snip off a tiny opening in one of the bottom corners. Drizzle milk chocolate in one direction over cookies. Reapeat with the white chocolate, drizzling in the opposite direction, so that milk chocolate runs one direction and white runs crossing over it. Refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Hannah's English Cookies

These never stay in the house very long when Hannah makes these.

1/2 c minus 1TBS. butter
1/4 c light brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBS milk
1/2 c hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
2 oz milk chocolate,coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Cream the butter with both types of sugar in a bowl, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt in another bowl, then sift into the creamed mixture, beating constantly with a wooden spoon. Add milk. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate. Scoop dough by the tablespoon for each cookie, space well apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 7-8 minutes.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let cookies cool slightly, then remove the cookies with a spatula and let cool on a wire rack.

O'Baby's

A cross between a O'Henry bar and a Baby Ruth. So good!


1 c. light Karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanuts, unchopped
1 c. peanut butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Stir together Karo syrup and sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter to Karo mixture and stir until peanut butter is smooth and incorporated. Add peanuts. Microwave everything for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies. Spread into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Press mixture down with the bottom of a flat glass or measuring cup.

Combine chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes at one minute intervals, stirring in between. Stir until smooth. Spread over rice krispie mixture and cool in the refrigerator until chocolate is set.

Remove and cut into 1-inch squares.

Solid Gold Chocolate Pecan Pie

This pie is so delicious and easy to make that you'll never make chocolate cream pie from Jello pudding ever again. If you're really inspired you can make your own pie crust. I don't.

1 9-inch pie crust
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped pecan pieces
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Slightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Weight pie crust with beans or pie weights and bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

In the top of a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate chips over almost simmering water. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate with corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into the cooled pie crust and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Place half of the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a small bowl. Place the remaining bittersweet chocolate and the oil in the top of a double boiler. Heat the chocolate, whisking, until melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the chocolate in the bowl, whising to melt. Pour over the warm pie, spreading to the edges to coat the top. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.

When serving, garnish each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Caramel Layer Chocolate Squares

This is hands-down my family's favorite cookie.

I made this many years ago for a church event, they flew off the cookie table. I had one in my hand while I was talking to a friend. A elderly lady approached me, seeing that I hadn't touched it, and asked me if I was going to eat it. I think she wanted it if I didn't!

1 (14oz) pkg. light caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 pkg. Butter Pecan cake mix (if you can't find this, you can use 1 pkg golden butter cake mix + 1/2 cup pecans, which have been placed in a food processor to a very fine powder)
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup milk chocolate chips

oven temp 325
baking time: 25 min

Generously grease a 13x9" baking pan (must be a 13x9 pan, nothing smaller or the recipe will not work well).

In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, butter, 1/3 cup milk, and nuts. Stir by hand until dough holds together. Divide dough in half and press 1/2 of the dough into the prepared pan. Reserve the remaining dough for topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust.

In a microwave safe dish, combine caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk, cook for 1 min then stir, cook again at 1 minute intervals until smooth and melted when stirred.

Spread melted caramel mixture over the chocolate chips. Crumble reserved dough over caramel and chocolate layers. Return to oven and back an additional 18-20 minutes to set the caramel filling.

Let cool, cut into small squares and store in an air tight container to keep moist.