¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed or 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup ground flax seeds
¼ teaspoon baking powder
5 egg whites
Powdered sugar (optional)
Fresh raspberries (optional)
Fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9×9 inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and mixture almost boils. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until melted (mixture may appear slightly grainy). Place egg product in a large bowl. Gradually stir the chocolate mixture into egg product; stir in vanilla (mixture may appear slightly grainy). Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, flax seeds, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to egg product mixture, whisking until smooth. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Stir a small amount of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold remaining egg whites into chocolate mixture. Spread in the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Transfer cake to a cutting board. Using a 3¼ inch heart shaped cutter, cut 6 heart-shaped pieces from cake. Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar, if desired. Top with raspberries and mint leaves, if desired.

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons brandy
One 6-ounce package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1/3 cup finely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 300°. In heavy gauge saucepan, combine butter, sugar, dark corn syrup, cinnamon, and ginger; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.

Remove from heat; stir in flour and brandy.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. (Do not bake more than 6 cookies at one time.)

Bake at 300° for 10-12 minutes. Let stand a few seconds. Remove from cookie sheets and immediately roll around wooden spoon handle; cool completely.

Combine chocolate and shortening and melt in the microwave 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not overheat.

Dip Brandy Snap halfway in melted chocolate. Sprinkle with nuts; set on waxed-paper-lined cookie sheets and chill until set. Store in airtight container in refrigerat

5 cups diced panettone bread
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cups of sugar
2 cups of half and half
1/4 cup of rum
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
Vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 475°. Place water on range top to boil for a water bath.
With a serrated knife, remove the side crusts from the bread. Cut into ¾-1 inch dice. You should have 5 cups. Reserve the cubed bread in a large mixing bowl.

For the eggnog custard, in another bowl thoroughly whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, half and half, rum, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Pour over the bread cubes.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Ladle the bread/eggnog mixture gently and evenly into the muffin tins. (The big cubes sticking up to look nice.) Place the filled muffin tin in a roasting pan. Transfer to the preheated oven and carefully pour the hot water creating a water bath for the muffin tin to sit in. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are nicely browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Bread pudding may be served warm or cold. And vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if using.

Topping:
½ cup old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

Filling:
2 pounds firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole- wheat flour
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with combine topping ingredients; mix with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the filling, combine the pears, cranberries, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the ginger, sugar, and flour and toss to combine.

Transfer the pear mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with crumb mixture. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the topping is a golden brown. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving, or cool completely and serve later.

¼ cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp bourbon
½ of a 15 oz can pumpkin (3/4 cup)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
8 oz Cool Whip
4 oz Mascarpone cheese, softened
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
½ cup whipping cream
1 3-oz package lady fingers, split
Ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg

Line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap; set aside.

Combine maple syrup and bourbon, set aside

In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.

Fold cool Whip into pumpkin mixture.

In another small bowl, combine mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until combined. Gradually beat in the ½ cup whipping cream just until thickened. Do not over beat.

To assemble: arrange half of the ladyfingers in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Drizzle evenly with half of the syrup. Top with half of the filling, spreading evenly. Arrange remaining lady fingers in a single layer over filling. Drizzle with remaining syrup and top with remaining filling. Dollop topping over filling. Using the back of a spoon, carefully spread topping evenly over filling. Cover and chill 8 hrs or overnight.

Use the plastic wrap to lift tiramisu out of pan. Place on a serving platter. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Carefully cut the dessert into slices.

16 oz milk chocolate chips
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
1 pound fresh strawberries

Wash and dry strawberries
Insert toothpicks into the tops of the berries (optional)
Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks or stems, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
Lay berries out onto wax paper until chocolate is set.

• In the top of a double boiler over hot water, not boiling water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water, melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. NOTE: Be careful boiling water may cause steam droplets to get into chocolate which can result in “seizing,” when the chocolate becomes stiff and grainy.
  NOTE: If you don’t have a double boiler you can improvise one by placing a glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water.
• Let the chocolate cool slightly, but it should not set.

Microwave Melting Chocolate:

• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips using either the defrost setting or 10-percent power in the microwave.
• Microwave for 1 minute, then check and stir. If you need more time, do it in 10-20 seconds intervals and check and stir after each addition of microwave time. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Baking chips and baking chocolate may appear formed and un-melted after heating but will become fluid after stirring.

HOW TO DIP: Grasp the stem, toothpick or green leaves of the strawberry and dip into the chocolate and swirl in chocolate to partially cover. Give the strawberry a little shake as you withdraw it from the chocolate (this will fill in all the cracks and leave a nice even line of chocolate at the base.) When the strawberry is completely withdrawn from the chocolate, swirl it in a quick, clockwise motion to let the excess chocolate drip off. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

Crumble Topping:
¾ Cup all purpose flour
¾ Cup light brown sugar
¾ Cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling:
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup white granulated sugar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 ½ pound Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
1 ½ pounds ripe Bartlett Pears, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices
2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained and picked over

Preheat oven to 375° and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray a 2-½ quart casserole or oval dish, or a 10-inch deep pie plate. Set aside.

For topping: combine the flour, sugar, oats and nuts in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend the flour mixture with a pastry blender. The mixture should be crumbly and about the size of peas. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In a large bowl combine the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt. Peel core and slice the apples and pears and toss them along with the cranberries, in the sugar mixture. Once combined, transfer to the prepared pan. Spread the topping evenly over filling.

Bake 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before serving

1 10 inch angel food cake
2 c sour cream
1 c cool whip
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 c flaked coconut
¼ c light brown sugar
½ tsp orange extract
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange sections, drained

Cut cake horizontally into 3 even layers.

Combine sour cream, coconut, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, cool whip and orange extract.
Place bottom layer of cake on serving plate; top with one-third of the pineapple mixture.
Add second layer of cake; top with another one-third of pineapple mixture.
Top with final cake layer and spread with remaining pineapple mixture.
Arrange mandarin orange sections around the top and chill thoroughly.
Keep refrigerated, serve cold.

1 cup white or semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 cups chocolate cool whip whipped topping
¼ cup seedless raspberry jam
¼ cup fresh raspberries

White or dark semi sweet chocolate will work. There is also a red morsel I found at a local store and I used this with the white chocolate for more color.

Ice cream, puddings, fresh fruits or cool whip with a drop of flavored extract will change this to suit individual tastes. Have fun!

Prepared cookie dough (I used the roll type found in the refrigerated section)
1 cup Cool Whip whipped topping
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
Chocolate syrup
Strawberry Syrup (warmed seedless strawberry preserves in a squeeze bottle)

Directions

Assembly

This recipe is so easy to prepare. Kids love them!