JennieO's Chocolate Chip Cookies

A chocolate chip cookie recipe that actually turns out for me.

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

Mix, then add:

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix, then add:

2 cups flour

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Rice Pudding

I've tried to put all my favorite recipes on here so I can look them up when I need them instead of digging through the old recipe box, but somehow this one was missed.  I've had to dig this out too many times, so finally here it is!  Good memories sharing this yummy pudding with mom.  The boys just didn't care for it.  Now I get it all to myself, unless Porter is in the mood to share with me.

2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups rice

In sauce pan scald 2 c. milk.  In bowl, mix eggs, sugar and vanilla.  After milk is scalded, remove from stove and gradually add in egg mixture.  You must do this slowly to avoid scrambling the eggs.  Pour milk mixture over the rice in 8x8 casserole dish.  Place 8x8 pan in a larger casserole dish, and fill dish 1/2 way with water.  Bake 2 pans at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  We liked to eat this with a little more milk or 1/2 & 1/2 over the top.

Guilt Free Dessert

Yogurt Parfaits

Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt
Vanilla & Almond Granola (or your favorite flavor of granola)
Any Fresh Fruit- I prefer diced Fuji Apples

This is seriously one of my favorite treats. It is under 100 calories of pure yumminess. When I can't make it another second without a dessert in my life this baby is my go-to. I love it even when I am a friend of chocolate, so you know it is good.

Mud Pie

I actually haven't tried this, but I found it online and want to try it, so I am posting it here. Here is the recipe, and the bakers comments:

I love this recipe, it is pretty simple and can be altered how you like it. I have had it with pistachio pudding in the middle and that is REALLY good too.

1 cup flour

1 cube butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix thoroughly and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 min, then cool.

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

9 oz. cool whip (1/2 of carton)

Mix well and spread on first layer.

2 small pkgs. of instant pudding (I mixed 1 butterscotch with 1 chocolate)

2 1/2 cups cold milk

Beat for 2 minutes then spread on second layer.

Spread on remaining cool whip and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Chex Mix

My mom swears this is the tastiest treat! She first had it at a YW activity, and the people there referred to it as "Mormon Crack" because it is so addicting! She's making it for her Christmas treats this year, and I'm looking forward to making it sometime soon.

Popcorn Chex Mix (Mormon Crack)

1 box Chex mix (any flavor or mixed)
1 bag popped corn
1 cup pecans (optional)
1 cup almonds (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together

In pan, boil together:
1 lb butter (yes, a whole pound)
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
¾ cup corn syrup

Boil for 5 minutes – Dump hot mixture over Chex mix and place on cookie sheet. Cook 225 degrees for 1 hour (40 minutes if you prefer chewy over crunchy). Stir half way through baking. Cool in bowl stirring every 15 minutes to break up chunks.

Scotcheroos

1 c light corn syrup
1 c sugar
1 c peanut butter
6 c rice crispy cereal
1 pkg semi sweet morsels
1 c butterscotch chips

1. Place corn syrup and sugar in sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.
2. Remove from heat and add peanut butter- mix well.
3. Add cereal, mix until well coated.
4. Press into 9x13 greased pan.
5. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips in saucepan on low until melted. Spread evenly, let cool, and cut into squares.

This is a treat I did NOT grow up with, and I was in heaven. Mmm, mmm, mmm....

Peanut Butter Cookies

My grandma gave me a cookbook a while back, that she and all her friends made over at the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. I just came across it, and it's my new best friend! There is nothing better than the favorite recipes of cooks that have been at it for many years! I really cannot make cookies, but these were great!

1 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cream together shortening and sugars. Add eggs and beat well. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Roll 1 tsp dough into balls, and place onto greased cookie sheet. Mash with fork slightly, in a criss cross design. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar after removing from oven. (I half the recipe and it makes about 20 cookies.)

Sweet Potato Casserolle

One of my favorite restaurants, Goodwood, just got a new side - sweet potato casserolle. I decided to try it and it was more like dessert. I was browsing through the top recipes on All Recipes today and found this one. It sounds so similar to the one that Goodwood makes, and after seeing the ingredients I can see why it tasted more like dessert - it was! So, even though it was a ways off, come Thanksgiving I will be making this dish for the big family feast. What's another couple of pounds anyway? :)

INGREDIENTS

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Banana Pudding

what is it about fruit in dessert that makes it seem and feel healthier for you? i know that it isn't, but somehow i feel a little less guilty enjoying every last bite. my sister-in-law made this on easter and it was so yummy. i made it for the 1st time tonight for a neighborhood bbq and loved how simple and easy it was. this definitely is a keeper.

1 box nilla wafer cookies
6 ripe bananas, sliced
1 large box instant vanilla jello pudding
3 cups cold milk
1 regular tub cool whip

in 9x13 casserole dish, layer- nilla wafers, bananas, vanilla pudding (blend pudding mix with milk for 2 minutes), cool whip, and then crush a few remaining nilla wafers on top of cool whip. cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate for 30 minutes and SERVE.

Titled "Best Brownies Ever"

Found online and want to try so posting here.

Ingredients

3 C sugar
3 squares of butter-softened
6 egg
3 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
3/4 C cocoa
dash of salt

Combine butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and then combine with batter. Spread batter into greased cookie sheet (This is a large recipe).

Bake @ 350° for 20 mins

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

(I just found this recipe online and don't want to lose it so I'm posting here.)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (i used almond extract)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups confectioners' sugar. Beat in the vanilla and coconut extracts and salt. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork dipped in confectioners' sugar.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until a light golden brown. While cookies are still warm from the oven, dust with the remaining confectioners' sugar.*I put mine in the fridge for a bit after cooking so the chocolate wasn't so gooey***This recipe makes a TON (96 cookies). I halved it and made my cookies extra big. I got about a dozen cookies out if**

Cinnamon Rolls

Hey, we all get a sweet tooth sometimes. And usually it doesn't correspond with a time when we feel like baking something. I am a huge fan of the Rhodes Rolls, and yesterday I tried these. They taste delish, just like homemade cinnamon rolls...without all the work! I have been craving cinnamon rolls ever since I saw Paula Dean make some on the Food Network. The 6 hour process wasn't so appealing. All I can say is... You're welcome!

Gourmet Caramel Apples

MMMM! Found this online, and after someone brought me one last Sunday I am so pumped about making them for others. Seems like a good recipe.

How to Make Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples
Caramel apples are a special treat and a fabulous gift. They are not hard. All you need is some good quality apples, caramels, and some great chocolate. With just a little practice, you can make some gorgeous apples. The ones in the pictures were dipped in caramel, then chocolate, and drizzled with almond bark. But use your imagination. How about caramel apples rolled in cinnamon candy bits or chopped pecans?
What you’ll need
• Individually wrapped caramels• Apples• Chocolate for coating• Craft Sticks• Almond bark or white chocolate (optional)• Nuts, candies, or sprinkles (optional)
Directions
If you use store-bought caramels, the little square kind that come individually wrapped, it’s easy to make gorgeous caramel apples. Here’s how
1. Use about 14-16 ounces (or 1 lb) of individually wrapped square caramels for 5 large or 6 medium-sized apples. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the melting caramels.
2. Choose the best apples that you can find. They should be free from bruises and firm. Tart apples contrast with the candy coating well. We prefer smaller granny smith apples. It makes for a better serving size. Remove the stem of the apples by twisting and pulling or by cutting with a sharp scissors. Press craft sticks for handles into the stem end of the apples.
3. Dry the apples completely. If the apples are damp the caramel will not stick to the apples.
4. Place buttered or oiled waxed paper on a cookie sheet or several large plates. Set aside.
5. Melt the caramels over very low heat, stirring occasionally as they soften.
6. While holding the pan to its side to make the caramel deeper, twist the apples through the caramel. By grasping the sticks, you can roll the apples on an angle so that the caramel does not need to be deep enough to immerse the apples. Let the excess caramel drip off of the apple. Scrape the caramel off of the bottom of the apple. More caramel will drip down the apple as it sits. Set them vertically on the waxed paper to cool.
7. Melt enough chocolate to twist the caramel covered apples through the chocolate. Use the very best chocolate that you can buy. You can buy melting wafers specifically made for candy coatings. (Avoid those melting chocolates designed for thin, hard coatings.) When the chocolate is melted, dip the caramel coated apples. Again, set on waxed paper to cool or roll the coated apples through chopped nuts or crushed candies.
8. Once cool, consider melting white chocolate or almond bark and drizzling the white chocolate over the apples in an attractive manner.
Notes:
1. Don’t cook either the caramel or chocolate coating. Cooking will change the consistency; it only needs to melt.
2. If the coating seems too thin, it’s too hot. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.
3. If the coating is not adhering properly to the apple, it is too cool. Heat the topping further.
4. The coatings will set up faster in the refrigerator.
5. Once cool, the apples can be placed in individual plastic bags and a ribbon tied around the stick.
6. They do not have to be refrigerated unless you would prefer to do so. If refrigerated the apple itself will be cold, but it may make the coatings harder than desired.

Cookie Bars

The story behind the recipe. Our Elder's Quorom President is apparently an amazing baker. Not long after he was called he brought these for all the Elders and Jared snatched one for me. I was wondering how he managed to sneak into Relief Society and was shocked to hear they were handed out in Elders Quorom! Very uncharacteristic. I was certain his wife spent hours baking and he took the credit, but she says he did it all on his own! Brother Ruiz also owns an Ultrasound Office and came over to tell us the sex of Porter when I was only 14 week along. I brought him some cookies to say "thank you" but now that I know what an amazing baker he is, it probably wasn't much of a thanks. It was the tastiest treat Jared and I had ever had, and he said "You HAVE to get that recipe!" His wife was kind enough to share. You will LOVE these, but as crazy as this sounds, they are not good warm out of the oven. You have to let them cool, as if you hadn't waited long enough to savor the yumminess. It is well worth the wait though, trust me.

COOKIE DOUGH

1 cup butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2.5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quickoats

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

FUDGE

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter

1 cup eagle brand milk

Melt the following ingredients slowly in a saucepan, and then add 2 tsp vanilla.

Grease and flour a 9X13 glass casserolle dish. Spread 1/2 cookie dough mixture on bottom, pressing down. Pour fudge over cookie dough layer, and then place remaining dough mixture on top. (You can't really spread the 2nd 1/2 well, so I take small pieces, flatten them out and spread over fudge until mostly covered - some fudge may be visible in between the blobs.)

BAKE in 350 preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden. Wait to cool, cut in squares and serve.

Diane's Blackberry Cobbler

A good family friend of mine, Diane Larson, gave me this recipe. I haven't tried it yet, but I can hardly wait to. If self rising flour wasn't in my pantry I would be making it tonight actually. The link to the recipe can be found here.

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup milk

2 cups blackberries

1/4 cup more sugar

Melt a stick of butter in a micro-safe bowl. In seperate bowl, combine sugar and flour. Whisk in milk until smooth, and then add the melted butter. Butter a casserole dish, and pour the batter in. Evenly sprinkle the blackberries over the batter, and top with 1/4 cup of sugar. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until bubbly and golden.

Note: I would imagine you could substitute for another fruit if you wanted?

Jennie's Pumpkin Chocoloate Chip Cookies

Jennie-O's recipe. How easy is it?

1 box spice cookies
1 small can pumpkin
1 pkg. chocolate chip cookies

Mix together well. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes.

Strawberry & Blueberry Topped Brownies

A Pampered Chef Recipe

2 boxes brownies, cooked in 1 9x13 casserole dish
1 container Cool Whip
1 8oz pkg. softened cream cheese
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 lb. sliced strawberries
1 pkg. blueberries

After you have baked your brownies, let them cool to room temperature. If you do not let them cool, the topping will simply melt. In mixing bowl combine whipped cream, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until well blended. Using rubber spatula, spread over brownies until completely covered. Top with sliced strawberries and blueberries. Tasty!

Crepes

1 cup milk
2/3 cup flour
3 eggs
Pinch salt

Use a whisk to blend ingredients well together until there are no lumps. Place a pan on the oven and turn to medium. Wait about 5 minutes until pan is heated up. Spray with non-sticking spray and pour a thin layer of crepe mixture to pan. Tilt pan back and forth until the mixture covers the entire pan. Let cook for about 3 minutes, and flip with a rubber spatula. The opposite side will only take about 30 seconds to cook. Continue this process until all your crepes are made.

Filling: We like to fill our crepes with sliced strawberries and bananas (fresh not frozen), and whipped cream. We roll up our crepes and sprinkle some powdered sugar and a little more whipped cream. Delish!