Cocoa Kiss Cookies

Cocoa Kiss Cookies are another recipe that I love to make since I am an avid chocolate lover. This also comes from New Hampshire from an inn called The Darby Field Inn. It is a super simple cookie recipe that is great for gift giving (although these do not ship well either,but make great gifts packaged in decorative tins and given to friends and family locally. My family loves these as well and they were received well also when I brought them to work in one of my treat trays. I work in a happy place and like everyone who works there to be happy also during this time of year. The Hershey kiss on the top of each cookie remains soft after the cookie has cooled so it gives a great burst of chocolate when you bite into this cookie. Truly a chocolate lover's cookie!



Cocoa Kiss Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks)of butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (if desired)
1 package (9 oz) Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Mix flour, cocoa, and salt in a small bowl. On low speed, beat into butter mixture. Add walnuts (if desired); beat until blended. Chill for 1 hour or until firm enough to handle. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into balls, 1 tablespoon of dough each. Press unwrapped kisses into centers of balls. Place on ungreased or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly on sheet on rack. Remove cookies to rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar. If desired, dust with sugar again before serving. Store in airtight container.

Notes:
- I do not use nuts in my cookies, my family isn't really all that hot on nuts in cookies. I find they taste better without the nuts, but feel free if you like nuts in your cookies.

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

This is a wonderful holiday cookie recipe that I have come to love over the years. The Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies come from New Hampshire from The Forest which is a quaint country inn located there. I got it from my magazine Holiday Cakes and Cookies by Family Circle from 1999. They are super simple to make and the recipe makes quite a bit of cookies. It is versatile in that you can use any berry jam, I really like the raspberry and one year I made it with cherry jam and it was very good too. With the almond glaze, this makes it a very decadent cookie for any occasion. My family loves them, I usually end up making at least 3-4 batches a year for Christmas cookies. I may have to make more this year since I took some to work and they were received very well by my fellow co-workers. This is not one of my Grandma's recipes but, it is just a good cookie to have around!



Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 Tbsp water (or milk can be used for a richer glaze)

Beat sugar, butter, and almond extract in a large bowl until light and creamy. On low speed, beat in flour until dough forms. Cover and chill at least an hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. With thumb, make indentations in center of each dough ball. Fill each indentation with 1/4 tsp of jam. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

For the glaze whisk together powdered sugar and almond extract. Add water or milk until desired consistency is achieved whether you like a thin glaze or a thick frosting. Pipe on or drizzle on glaze on each cookie. Store in an airtight container.

Notes:
- Good cookie for gift giving but not for shipping. They are too fragile to make it in the mail but are great to put into a decorative tin to give gifts to friends and family locally.
- I make my glaze thick so that it pipes on good and stays on the cookie and a thicker glaze doesn't make the cookie soggy while it is stored. If you use a thinner glaze, plan on eating the cookies within about 3 days as they will absorb the moisture and become soggy the longer they sit.

Gooey Bars

Here is another recipe that is great for the holidays and would make a great gift for the person who has everything but is a lover of sweets. These Gooey Bars are very rich and decadent and so very easy to make. With a combination of chocolate, cranberries, and coconut, it is sure to please everyone. The best part, they are gooey and yummy!

Gooey Bars

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

Combine the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. Spray 13x9x2 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Pat down graham cracker crumbs into bottom of pan for the bottom crust. Pour sweetened condensed milk all over the crust covering all the crust. Add chocolate chips; then cranberries and nuts; finally top with coconut.
Bake in 350 oven (325 for glass dish) for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool completely, then cut and serve. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Notes:
- Arrange these in decorative tins for a great gift giving idea.
- Substitute raisins for the cranberries if desired.
- Substitute any type of nuts for pecans; the pecans are my nut of choice.
- Also great with crushed chocolate cookie crust instead of graham crackers.

Cranberry Pecan Chocolate Clusters

Here is a fun and easy Christmas candy that also makes a great gift in a jar or tin. It takes no time at all and I think I made my batch of clusters in about 20 minutes from start to finish. Get some great holiday tins or jars and they make great gifts for chocolate lovers. Try some!

Cranberry Pecan Chocolate Clusters

1/2 lb vanilla almond bark (or chocolate can be used for more chocolate flavor)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans

Melt the vanilla almond bark and chocolate chips. Add cranberries and pecans. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until hardened. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

How easy can it get? Pretty darn easy for fast gifts that anyone will love!

Swedish Cocoons

Ok this is a recipe that my mom has made for us during the holidays ever since I can remember. I do not know how this got to be a traditional recipe, but in our family, these cookies are a must have during the holidays. My mom made them for me and my sisters and now I make them for my kids. My older sister always needs to have these cookies, so she calls mom and asks her to make some and send them to her since she has such a hectic work schedule with little time to bake them herself. Mom is always happy to do it for her, these cookies are that good! They are super simple and only require just a few ingredients but the burst with flavor. Here it is:

Swedish Cocoons

1 1/2 cups margarine or butter (butter makes these cookies taste much better)
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3 cups finely chopped nuts (we use pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream margarine or butter with 1 cup of the powdered sugar until light; add vanilla. Blend in flour, add the nuts. Shape into cocoons (finger shaped pieces 1 1/2 inches long) Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Roll in remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar.

Lightning Fast Black Forest Cake

Well, here it is... the 100th post!! YAY!! Thanks to everyone who reads my blog for making it a success.

So here is a dessert that is very decadent but can be made lightning fast and no one has to know that it is a cake mix cake rather than from scratch. It is that good! If you do not have time to make a great dessert, consider this one. Here it is:



Lightning Fast Black Forest Cake

1 devils food cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
1 8 oz tub of whipped topping
chocolate curls for garnish if desired

Make cake by box directions. Let cool. On the top layer, frost with whipped topping lightly (just enough to put half the cherries on that bottom layer so they stick there). Put second layer on top. Frost all the way around with whipped topping and then put the other half of cherries on that top layer. Garnish with chocolate curls (directions for chocolate curls to follow). Store in refrigerator. Add a dollop of whip cream if desired when serving (can use regular or chocolate flavor whip for garnish).

Notes:
- To make a richer cake, you can add a box of chocolate pudding mix to the cake mix and follow directions on the box.
- For richer topping, use heavy whipping cream and add 3 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla to the cream and whip until heavy peaks form. With this you cannot finish the cake until right before serving. That is so the heavy whip cream does not turn to liquid from sitting. This makes a more decadent cake, but if you do not have the time to spend decorating your cake right before serving, this may not be an option for you.
- For chocolate curls, I just get a Hershey chocolate bar and grate it with a grater for fine curls; or using a vegetable peeler, I slowly peel the chocolate into thin long strips that will curl while peeling and then garnish my cake.

Chicken Bacon Stuffing Casserole

This is just a quick fix for dinner when you are in a hurry and have limited ingredients on hand. The ingredients in this casserole are things everyone should have in their kitchen anyway on a regular basis. I always keep some Stove Top stuffing in the cupboard in an emergency for when I need a fast meal or when I really do not feel like cooking. It is that easy! Sort of reminds me of the Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich at Subway (which is only my most favorite sub there).



Chicken Bacon Stuffing Casserole

2 chicken breasts, diced
1 box chicken flavored stuffing mix
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup cooked bacon, diced fine (about 3-4 slices)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
Ranch dressing, warmed up (if desired)

Cook the chicken breasts and dice. Cook stuffing according to package directions. Combine the sour cream, chicken soup, garlic, black pepper, and salt; mix with stuffing. Add chicken. Mix well. Spray 13x9x2 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour stuffing/chicken mix into the pan, top with cheese, then top with bacon. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

Notes:
- Add broccoli to the dish for a complete meal in one pan.
- I use regular Kraft ranch dressing warmed just until the chill is off of it to drizzle on my casserole serving.

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

If you like peanut butter and jam... this is a great dessert to make. It is very easy and tastes just awesome! I used my own homemade raspberry freezer jam to make this, but you can use any kind of jam with this recipe.



Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C. raspberry jam (or other berry flavor that is your favorite)
Glaze (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugars, shortening, peanut butter, and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Reserve 1 cup of dough. Press remaining dough in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Spread with jam. Crumble reserved dough and sprinkle over jam. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Prepare glaze and drizzle over bars. Makes 32 bars.

Glaze
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tsp hot water

Melt margarine and mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat in water, 1 tsp at a time until smooth and desired consistency.

Notes:
- For the glaze, I only added enough water to get a glaze that could be piped on rather than drizzled for a more frosting effect.
- For the glaze, I did not melt the butter first because I wanted more of a frosting consistency than a drizzle.
- The plate decoration is just heated raspberry jam until it is of a drizzling consistency used like a garnish on the plate. I just heated it until just warm so that it drizzles nice.