AW’s Chewy Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Base recipe source:  Food.com

Ingredients:

• Flour – 1½ cups
• Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Ground Cinnamon – ½ teaspoon
• Oats – 2½ cups
• Butter – 1 cup
• Brown Sugar – 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar – ½ cup
• Eggs – 2
• Honey – 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla Extract – 2 teaspoons
• Dried Cranberries – 1⅓ cup
• Chopped Pecans – ¾ cup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° (F).
2. Line cookie pan with parchment paper or spray with butter spray.
3. Mix dry ingredients (except the sugars) then add oats and pecans; stir well.
4. In a separate bowl beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and use a spatula to scrap down the edges of the bowl. Add honey and vanilla extract.  Beat mixture until well blended.
5. Add half of the dry mix into the batter and stir well.  Add remaining half of dry mix and stir until well blended.
6. Add cranberries and pecans and stir until well blended.
7. Put mixture onto cookie sheet and press down until mixture is level and touching each edge of the cookie sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 15 mins or until center is soft and no longer looks wet.
9. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to cutting board and cut into bars.  Place bars on rack to cool.

Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, and lemon extract until well blended. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners’ sugar. Roll them around until they’re lightly covered. Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

NOTE: Try using 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and some lemon zest instead of the lemon extract.  Also, try refrigerating the dough for about 24 hours.

New Orleans Bread Pudding and Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 quart sweet milk
• 2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 loaf french bread
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins

Soak bread in sweet milk and crush until well mixed.  Add eggs, sugar, vanilla and raisins and stir well.  Pour melted butter into bottom of casserole dish and then add mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees (F) until firm.

Whiskey Sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 small can Pet milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 2 jiggers bourbon

Combine butter, milk, sugar and egg yolk (best if in double broiler).  Cook, stirring over simmering water, until thickened.  Stir in bourbon.  Serve warm on bread pudding (or on cakes).

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cup Karo syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cup pecans, chopped

Line 2 unbaked 9-inch pastry shells with pecans.  Blend all other ingredients with mixer.  Pour half of mixture into each pie shell over pecans.  Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees (F) and then turn oven down to 350 degrees (F) and bake for 35 minutes.

Cheese Wafers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 2 sticks margarine
• 2 cup flour
• 2 cup Rice Krispies
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• dash of tabasco sauce

Add cheese and margarine in mixing bowl.  Cover and let stand overnight.  Add flour, then add pepper, tabasco sauce and Rice Krispies.  Shape into small balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten balls with fork.  Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees (F) for approximately 20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Thoroughly cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture.  Shape into 1 inch balls; roll in granulated sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Press down on cookie with a fork in a crisscross pattern.  Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 10-12 minutes.  Cool slightly; remove from pan and set on cooling rack.

No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 stick margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook margarine, cocoa, sugar and milk until bubbles form around side.  Remove from heat and add oats, peanut butter and vanilla extract.  Drop onto waxed paper and let cool.

Pecan Rum Balls

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crushed vanilla wafers
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup rum

Combine all ingredients (except sugar) and shape into balls.  Roll in sugar.  Serve and enjoy!

Deep Fried Snickers

Ingredients:

• Snickers candy bars
• funnel cake mix
• frying oil
• flour

Funnel Cake Mix:

• 1 and 2/3 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk

Freeze candy bars (for at least 2 hours).

Pour oil into fryer/saucepan (enough oil to completely cover the candy bar and batter).  Heat oil on medium-high until it reaches 375 degrees (F) [use a candy or deep fryer thermometer].

While oil is heating up, mix all ingredients for the funnel cake mix together.  Remove wrappers and dip candy bar into some flour to lightly coat (tap off excess) and then dip into batter.

Fry until its a rich golden brown; turning occasionally.  Remove with slotted spoon and place on cooling rack or paper towels.  Continue frying up other candy bars ensuring that you maintain the oil temperature at 375 degrees (F).

Be sure to let this cool down for several minutes as the insides are like molten lava (well not “literally” that hot)!!!  Dust the top with some powdered sugar.  Enjoy!

Experiment with your favorite candy bars and don’t forget the Twinkies!

Milky Way Cake

Ingredients:

• 8 Milky Way candy bars
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 ½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Melt candy bars and ½ cup margarine in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Cream sugar and remaining ½ cup margarine in mixer bowl until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add flour alternately with mixture of soda and buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in candy mixture and pecans.  Pour into greased and floured tube pan.  Bake at 325 degrees (F) for 1 hour or until cake tests done.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Invert onto cake plate to cool completely.  Frost with Fluffy Fudge Frosting.

Fluffy Fudge Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup margarine
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup marshmallow crème

Combine sugar and evaporated milk in medium saucepan.  Cook to 234 to 240 degrees (using candy thermometer; soft ball stage), stirring frequently.  Add remaining ingredients; mix until smooth.  Beat until it reaches easy-spreading consistency.

Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 and 3/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter, sugar and eggs together until well mixed.  Next add in the vanilla and incorporate well.  Add flour, baking powder and salt and again, mix well.  Place on a greased cookie pan and spread until the top is even.  Sprinkle with more sugar and bake at 350 degree (F) for 10-12 minutes.

To finish off the cake well, turn on the broiler and cook until the top is nicely browned.

Best when eaten warm; but can be reheated in the microwave by wrapping a few slices in a damp paper towel for 15-20 seconds.

Enjoy!!

Orange Cream Sickle Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 tub of Cool Whip (unfrozen)
• orange sherbet/sorbet ice cream
• 1 (14-oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
• ground nutmeg
• ground cinnamon
• 1 (8-oz) package of Philly cream cheese (softened)

1. In a large bowl take out 2 cups worth of the orange sherbet/sorbet and mash it up to make it soft and creamy.
2. Take a bread pan and line the inside completely with one sheet of aluminum foil.  Spoon in the creamy orange sherbet/sorbet and smooth out with a rubber spatula.  Put in the freezer to chill and firm back up.
3. In a large bowl put in the softened cream cheese and the entire can of the sweetened condensed milk.  Blend together well with a fork until nice and creamy.  Next mix in slowly the Cool Whip.  Now take a mixer and mix these ingredients until the mix is nice and creamy.   Add in nutmeg and cinnamon (to taste) and blend well.  Take out the bread pan and pour this mixture into the pan.  Smooth out with a rubber spatula.  Cover the top of the pan with clear wrap and put in the freezer overnight to firm up.
4. When ready to serve, remove the clear wrap and put the platter on top of the pan.  Invert the pan and the dessert and foil will slip right out.  Gently peel off the foil and discard.  Take a knife and cut the dessert into serving-sized slices and ENJOY!!

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

• 1  8oz cream cheese
• 1 graham cracker crust
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1  8oz cool whip
• 1 cup peanut butter

Mix well and pour into crust and freeze.