Almond truffles

These are super yummy - almost like buckeyes or peanut butter-chocolate truffles without all the self loathing at the end.  All of the ingredients I found at our Kroger in the organic section.  They are gluten free, low sugar, high protein.   Paleo friendly.  Enjoy. 

TRUFFLE MIX:
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/2 c. almond flour
1 c. almond butter
2 tsp. coconut oil (melted)
1 T honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips (like these)

COATING:
1/2 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1 T coconut oil

Mix the truffle stuff together in a bowl.  Roll into balls and chill for 15-20 minutes.  Melt the coating in the microwave (it takes almost no time - watch it closely - like 1 min or less!).  Roll the balls in the chocolate coating and chill a little longer. So good.

--from Pinterest and my friend Dawn Candler. 

Brownies - Pioneer Woman

Over the Christmas break, I was on a hotel treadmill and caught a Pioneer Woman marathon.  She made these brownies and I knew I had to try it.  Yes, it was more steps than just opening the box of mix and throwing in egg and oil and water and baking.  BUT, it was well worth it.  I have made them twice, and besides the joy I get using a double boiler so that I feel like a real gourmet cook, the reception has been great. 

Knock You Naked Brownies

Prep Time:15 Minutes

Cook Time:23 Minutes

Difficulty:Easy

Servings:12

Ingredients

• 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines)
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (additional)
• 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
• 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.
Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.
Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.
*Adapted from the classic "Knock You Naked Brownies" recipe, based on a dessert at the Salt Creek Steakhouse in Breckenridge. These brownies don't really knock you naked...but almost.

Vegan chocolate chip cookies

2 c. unbleached flour (or 1 c. unbleached flour, 1 c. oat flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
vegan chocolate or carob chips (recipe says handful, but I will put a lot)
1 c. raw sugar
1/2 c. veggie oil or canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 350.  With all ingredients at room temp, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir in chips.  Mix and set aside.  In another bowl, add sugar and oil and mix well.  Add vanilla and water and mix well.  Add the wet to the dry and mix some, but not too much.  Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake until they are done.

Layered cookie cakes

Pudding mix flavor---Flavor choices---Cookies
chocolate---cinnamon (3/4-1 tsp)----30 chocolate chip cookies
vanilla---1 tbsp. cocoa---30 chocolate wafers
lemon---1/4 tsp ginger---30 ginger snaps
butterscotch---1/2 tsp vanilla---60 nilla wafers

Pour 1 cup mil in a medium bowl. Add 1 pkg of pudding mix. Beat with a wire whisk for 2 mintues. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cool whip.
Spread 2 tsp. pudding mix onto cookies, and stack cookies together. Stand on end and stick together to make a log. Frost with remaining pudding mixture.
Refrigerate overnight. Cut diagonally to serve.

Easy smores to go

I don't know if I dreamed this recipe or someone told me about it, or what...but I made a ton of these this Christmas.

Box of graham crackers (honey flavor, not cinnamon)
Jar of marshmallow creme
Bag of milk chocolate chips

Break the graham crackers into quarters
Spread marshmallow creme on one of the quarters, and top with another, to make a little sandwich
Dip in melted milk chocolate chips
Let cool on wax paper. Can put in the freezer after they have set a little, but not directly from dipping (or they will be a mess)

Peanut butter banana bread

Peanut Butter Banana Bread
From: Cooking Light Made by: Jennifer Green
New recipe-not in COH Cookbook

Ingredients
Bread:
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
Glaze:
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until blended.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool.
4. To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tablespoon peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread.

Nutritional Information: Calories:198 ; Fat:7.4g
(sat 2.3g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.8g) ; Protein:4.7g; Carbohydrate:29.7g;
fiber:1.9g; Cholesterol:28mg; Iron:1.1mg; Sodium:200mg; Calcium:27mg

Apple Crisp

2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oatmeal
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients with 1/3 c. melted butter. Pour over 4 c. of sliced apples or one can of apple pie filling. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Seven Layer Magic Bars

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
14 oz. Eagle brand milk
6 oz. butterscotch chips
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Pour melted butter in the pan and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top of the melted butter. Pour Eagle brand milk on top of the crumbs. Top with other ingredients. Press down firmly. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until browned. Cool and cut into bars.

Liz Mertz's Chocolate Cherry Cake

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 can of cherry pie filling
1/3 cup of oil
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 until the cake is done (maybe 35-45 minutes). Mix by hand and the batter will be very thick.

Cool and ice with chocolate frosting. YUM!

Kim's Peanut Butter Pie

9" graham cracker pie crust or chocolate crumb crust
One 8 oz pkg of cream cheese or neufchâtel cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream

Beat together the sugar and peanut butter on medium speed. Mix in the peanut butter and vanilla. In a chilled bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Pour into pie crust. Top with chopped peanuts or shaved chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate at least three hours before serving.

Three of my favorite dessert recipes

Banana Split Cake
2 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of butter
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
4 to 5 bananas
Large can of crushed pineapple (drain)
8 oz. Cool Whip

Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter together to make a crust. Mix the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar together for the filling. Top with pineapple and bananas. Layer Cool Whip on top. Can also top with cherries if you want.



Forgotten Cookies
Heat oven to 325
Beat 2 egg whites until stiff
Slowly beat in ¾ cup sugar.
Fold in 1 c. nuts (optional)
Add 6 oz of chocolate chips
Drop onto cookie sheet
Put in the oven
Turn the oven off
Leave all night or all day.
Makes 50 tsp size cookies.



Neiman Marcus Cookies
2 c. butter
4 c. flour
2 tsp soda
2 c. sugar
5 c. oatmeal (blend in chopper until a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter and two sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add in chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 375. Makes 112 cookies!!

Not-so-terrible-for-you Chocolate Clusters

The other night at the gym, I saw this recipe and noticed that all the ingredients were not horrible (low sugar, etc.) so I thought I would give it a try. The only problem was, I was reading one of the magazines that was property of the Y, so I couldn't just rip out the recipe and take it with me (unless I wanted to be a jackass). So I tried to remember the recipe, and think I screwed up the amounts, but made it today and it turned out pretty yummy!

Chocolate cherry nut clusters

10 oz. almonds (I used salted and threw them in the oven for a few minutes to roast them a little more)
6 oz. dried cherries
11.5 oz. bag of 60% (or more) cocoa chips (Ghiradelli has some yummy ones)

Coarsely chop the almonds and mix with the cherries. Melt half of the chocolate chips in the microwave or double boiler (I did microwave). Stir in the remaining half of the chips until melted. Add the cherry/almond mixture. Drop by spoonful on wax paper and let set. Voila!