Chocolate Pots de Creme

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60%, if using 70% the chocolate needs to be reduced to 8 ounce)
5 lrg egg yolks
5 Tb sugar
1/4 ts salt
1 1/2 c heavy cream
3/4 c half and half
1 Tb vanilla extract
1/2 ts instant espresso powder mixed with 1 Tb water

Place chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl; set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
Whisk yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until combined; whisk in heavy cream and half and half. Transfer mixture to medium saucepan. Cook mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot with wooden spoon, until thickened and silt and the custard registers 175F - 180F on instant read thermometer. Do not let the custard overcook or simmer.
Immediately pour the custard through strainer over chocolate. Let mixture stand to melt the chocolate, about 5 minutes Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in the vanilla and espresso. Divide mixture evenly amount eight 5 ounce ramekins. Gently tap ramekins against counter to remove air bubbles.
Cool pots de creme to room temperature, then cover with cling and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 72 hours.Before serving let pots de creme stand at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Golden Oatmeal Muffins

This is a favorite in our house. It is easy to make and goes well with a fruit salad for a lovely breakfast.

1 box Duncan Hines Butter yellow cake mix
1 cup dry oatmeal
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 TBS melted butter
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with Pam or grease with Crisco, or line muffin pan with paper cups. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into muffin pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 large muffins.
Serve with butter and/or honey.

Magic Cookie Bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 for glass pans). Spray a 13 x 9 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place stick of butter in pan. Place pan in oven until butter is melted. Remove and sprinkle graham cracker curmbs over melted butter evenly. Lightly press into butter.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then nuts, then flaked coconut. Pour one can of Eagle Brand milk over top of all ingredients.

Bake for 25-30 min. until lightly golden on top. Cool and cut into bars. Keep in refrigerator for a week. Serve at room temperature.

VARIATIONS: You can add 1 cup of butterscotch chips for 1 or the chocolate chips. You can also use peanut butter chips or even the colored Christmas chips. I prefer the origonal recipe, but the others are good too.

Russian Tea Cakes

Mix together thoroughly:
2 sticks soft butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir in:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Mix in:
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Chill dough about an hour. Roll into 1" balls. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 min. until set, but barely brown on bottom. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. I put a long strip (about 4 paper towels) on the cabinet and put the cookies on that after I roll them the first time. Allow them to cool completely and then roll again in powdered sugar. Cookies can be stored in airtight plastic container and frozen for up to 3 weeks. You may want to sprinkle a little fresh powdered sugar on them when you take them out and serve them.

Note: I use my Kitchen-aide for the whole recipe. It makes it go a lot faster.

Spritz Cookies

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract or almond extract
3 egg yolks
2 1/4 cups flour
food coloring
colored sprinkles or sugar

Cream butter, sugar and extract till light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks. Stir in flour until dough forms. Divide dough. Mix food coloring into each half. Force through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Decorate with colored sprinkles or sugars. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 min. until firm but not brown. Remove to wire rack to cool. Can be frozen up to 3 weeks before Christmas.

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 14-oz. can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner's ("powdered") sugar
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to a 10-inch or 12-inch springform pan and place it in the oven to melt.
Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and 1/2 way up the sides.
Bake at 350º F. for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined.
Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
Beat at medium speed until smooth.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again until the mixture is completely smooth. This may take 1-2 minutes.
Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
Bake at 350º F. for 60 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Run a knife blade along the rim of the springform pan to release the edge of the cake; but do not remove the outer ring of the springform pan just yet.
Leave the cheesecake on the wire rack until it is completely cooled.
Remove the outer ring of the springform pan and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Shortly before serving, prepare the whipped cream. Simply beat the whipping cream and confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form.
Spread the whipped cream over the cheesecake. This will hide any "cracks" in the cake's surface, too!
Chill again until you're ready to serve.

Note: I just use the whipping cream in the can (Redi-Whip) and squirt stars on top then drizzle with Caramel syrup and sprinkle some chopped pecans on top. It is delicious.

Brocolli Parmesan

1 large head brocolli or more if you are serving several people
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbs. butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Steam brocolli.
While brocolli is steaming, saute onion in butter in saucepan. Add can of cream of chicken soup, milk and stir well. If too thick, add just a little more milk (tablespoon at a time). Stir in parmesan cheese. Heat through. Serve over hot, steamed brocolli.