Tres Leches Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

2 pkg. (4 oz. each) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Prepare cake batter and bake in 13x9-inch pan as directed on package. Cool cake in pan 10 min; pierce with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Melt 7 oz. chocolate as directed on package. Blend milks and sour cream in blender until smooth. Add melted chocolate; blend well. Pour over cake, re-piercing cake if necessary until milk mixture is absorbed. Refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, make curls from remaining chocolate.

Stir cocoa powder into COOL WHIP; spread onto cake. Top with chocolate curls. Keep refrigerated.

- Mandy

Angel Food Cake- GF

Ingredients

3/4 cup sifted gluten free flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

14 large egg whites (1 3/4 cups), room temperature

1 tablespoon warm water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Fresh berries and lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a fine sieve, sift together flour, cornstarch and 3/4 cup sugar four times into a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together egg whites and warm water on medium speed until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and sprinkle in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff but not dry.

3. In six additions, sift dry ingredients over meringue, folding in quickly but gently. Pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom. Run a knife through the batter to release air bubbles. Smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes. Invert pan on its legs and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Carefully run a long offset spatula or knife around the inner and outer perimeter of the pan to loosen. Arrange cake on a plate bottom-side up. Use a serrated knife to slice cake. Serve with berries and whipped cream. Store cake at room temperature up to 2 days in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic.

-Mandy

Ghirardelli Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

I just recently finished reading Josi S. Kilpack's book Fortune Cookie, which I know many of you have read or are at least familiar with the Sadie Hoffmiller series. In this one, Sadie goes to San Francisco and Pete buys her some cookies from the Ghirardelli bakery. Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand when I read the recipe and had to try them out. I loved them. They are very rich and taste like a brownie cookie, so have some milk handy if you try these out!

1 (10-ounce) bag Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet baking chips, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Set aside 1/3 cup baking chips for later use. Melt the rest of the chocolate in microwave by heating at 50% power for 1 minute. Stir. Continue heating at 20-second intervals, stirring after each heating until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar, mixing until well combined. Slowly add egg mixture to the warm chocolate, whisking constantly. Add vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and let batter cool for a few minutes. Add reserved 1/3 cup of baking chips. (If batter is too warm, chocolate chips will melt.)
Chill batter in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After batter has chilled and thickened slightly, drop batter by rounded tablespoons on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt. Bake for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until the outside edge looks slightly cracked, but centers are soft and gooey.  Cool cookies for four minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
She notes that this was adapted from a recipe found on www.ghirardelli.com
She also notes that you can use semisweet chocolate chips for an even sweeter cookie.

Submitted by: Gina

Carrot Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

I found this recipe on shugarysweets.com and made it for Easter. It tasted really yummy, though it stuck to my bundt pan. Not sure if that is due to the altitude or if I didn't use enough cooking spray. She used nuts in hers, but I don't like my cakes to be crunchy, so I left them out. Here's the recipe I followed:

Ingredients

For the Cake:
• 2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cup shredded carrots
• 
  
• For the Filling:
• 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
For the frosting:
• 4oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 
  Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan generously with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combined all the ingredients for the cake, mixing until well combined. Batter will be very thick! Set aside.
3. For the filling, beat cream cheese with sugar, vanilla and egg until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
4. To assemble, fill bottom of sprayed bundt pan with about 3/4 of the batter. Spoon the cream cheese into the pan, being careful not to let it touch the sides of the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the cream cheese layer. It's okay if it doesn't cover completely.
5. Bake cake in a preheated oven for 60-65 minutes. Cake will be browned and will pull away from the pan when done. Remove from oven and cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. (I waited 10 minutes, but it was still pretty hot. I think next time, I will wait a little longer for the cream cheese filling to cool down and then hopefully it will all come out in one piece.)
6. Cool completely before frosting.
7. For the frosting, beat cream cheese, milk and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy. Pour over cake. ENJOY!

Submitted by: Gina

Caramel Brownies

Another recipe from Sister Leonard.

Ingredients:
1 package German Chocolate cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 small can of evaporated milk
1 package of caramel bits (or about 50 caramel squares)
Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake, melted butter, and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. Divide the mixture and press half evenly into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Melt the caramels and other 1/3 cup of milk, stirring frequently. Pour the melted caramel over the baked brownies. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the caramel. Drop the rest of the brownie mixture on top and bake for another 14 minutes.

Submitted by: Gina

Chocolate Caramel Rolo Cookies

Kaela's Beehive adviser would make treats for them almost every Sunday. She just moved due AF orders and gave us some of her favorite cookie recipes.  This is one of our favorites.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
30-36 chocolate-covered caramel candies (Rolo's)
2 Tbsp. sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together until well blended.
Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Mix well.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 Rolo in the center of each dough ball.
Form the dough ball around the majority of the Rolo. Roll each dough ball in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes.
Let cool on pan for 1 minutes then take off and place on cookie cooling rack.

Submitted by: Gina

Mickey and Minnie Oreo Cupcakes

I got this recipe from a friend in my class, but as I was looking over it, I realized that the recipe for the cupcakes is the same recipe for Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake.  You just bake them for 20 minutes at 325.  The icing I used is just a block of cream cheese, softened, a tub of Cool Whip, and five crushed Oreos.  To make them look like Mickey and Minnie, I just used one big Oreo for the head and two mini Oreos for the ears.  Add a bow for Minnie and Voila! Finito!  We LOVE them!

Submitted by Gina

Oatmeal PB and M&M Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 tsp. light corn syrup
4 1/2 cups oats
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini M&M's
Beat sugars and butter, then add the rest of the ingredients, saving oatmeal and chocolate for last.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until done.
Note: I have doubled the chocolate chips when I don't have the M&M's and they are still just as good!
2nd Note: These are gluten free! I always make them when Kaela's friend who is gluten free comes over.  They are a huge hit!
Submitted by: Gina

Pumpkin Roll Bars

These are just as good as the original Pumpkin Roll, but without all the work.  So yummy! (Found the recipe on therecipecritic.com)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
¼ cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1½ cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs, pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and water until well blended.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin/butter mixture and combine until well blended.
Spread about ⅔ of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1 egg, ¼ cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla until smooth.
Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the pumpkin batter. Dollop the remaining pumpkin batter over the cream cheese batter and spread out as evenly as possible. Use a table knife to swirl together the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when touched. Cool completely in pan, then cut into bars. Refrigerate any leftovers. These are yummy warm, but I like them cold from the fridge too!
Submitted by: Gina

Almond Toffee

Ingredients
1 cup  butter
1 cup  sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp  salt
12oz milk chocolate, melted
1 cup  whole almonds
1 cup finely ground walnuts
Instructions
On a foil lined baking dish (11x7)- or in a silicone brownie bite pan- arrange almonds in a single layer. Set aside.

In a heavy pan, combine butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Cook over medium-high heat with a wooden spoon until butter melts, stirring constantly. Continue cooking (AND STIRRING) an additional 5-7 minutes until candy turns the color of almonds (about 300 degrees). Pour over almonds. If using the brownie bite pan, I use a small metal scoop to get toffee into each bite, working quickly!

Cool completely.

When candy is cooled and set (about 2 hours), spread chocolate over top of toffee. Sprinkle generously with ground walnuts. If doing both sides, use only half of the chocolate and walnuts. Allow top to set before flipping over and doing bottom. When set, pop out of silicone pan and store in a airtight containers. OR cut into pieces. ENJOY!

Yield: 24 bites or one 11x7 pan

Submitted by: Brian & Mandy Coleman

Brian and I learned to melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water as to not burn the chocolate! :)

Cinnabon Rolls

Yes, these are like the Cinnabon rolls from their store.  They do take a while to make, but are very sweet and yummy.
Rolls:
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages dry yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
3.5-oz. package vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup margarine--melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
6 cups flour

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
To make frosting, mix all ingredients until smooth.

In a bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar.  Stir until dissolved.  Set aside.
In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions.  Add margarine, eggs, and salt.  Mix well.  Then add yeast mixtures.  Blend.
Gradually add flour; knead until smooth.  Place in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled.  Punch down dough and let rise again. 
Then roll out on floured surgace to 34" x 21" size.  Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface.  In bowl, mix 2 cups brown sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top.  Roll up very tightly.  With knife, put a notch ever 2 inches.  Cut with thread or knife.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Take hand and lightly press down on each roll.  Cover and let rise until double again.  Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.  Remove when they start to turn golden.  DO NOT OVERBAKE. 
Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting.
Makes about 20 very large rolls.
Submitted by: Gina

Cornflake Cookies (No Bake)

3 cups crushed cornflakes
3/4 cup coconut
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
Mix together cornflakes and coconut in large bowl.  Put syrup and sugar in pot and heat until boiling.  Remove quickly and add peanut butter.  Stir.  Add this  mixture to cornflakes and stir quickly.  Spoon out onto waxed paper.  Cool.
Submitted by: Gina

Chex Muddy Buddies (Puppy Chow)

9 cups of your favorite Chex cereal
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Pour Chex cereal into a large bowl; set aside.
In 1-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and margarine.  Microwave on high 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring after 1 minute and every 30 seconds thereafter.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated.  Pour cereal mixture into a large ziploc bag with powdered sugar. (I have a lid for my large bowl, so I just pour it into the bowl and shake.)  Seal securely and shake until all pieces are well coated.  Spread on waxed paper to cool.
Submitted by: Gina

Delicious Mint Brownies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts, optional
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix the above and place in pan.  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk
6 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. peppermint flavoring
Combine, spread on cooled brownies.
Melt two or three 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate with 1-2 Tbsp. butter.  Drizzle over frosted brownies.  Spread with knife.  Cool to set chocolate.
Submitted by: Gina

Apple Crisp Pizza

Homemade pie crust or store bought refrigerated crust.
Roll out onto a pizza pan.
Mix:  2/3 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 4 chopped apples
Pour onto top of rolled out pie crust.
Topping:  1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup salted softened butter.
Mix and sprinkle all over the top. 
Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.
Drizzle with carmel sauce and serve with ice cream!
Submitted by: Gina

Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup light cream
3-4 cups sugared strawberries
1 cup whipped cream
Sift dry ingredients.  Cut in butter.  Add egg and cream. Mix. (Mixture will be lumpy.) Grease 8-inch round pan.  Pour mixture into pan and build up edges slightly.  Bake at 450° for 15-18 minutes. Cut and serve with strawberries and whipped cream on top.

Submitted by Gina (my mom's recipe)

Twix Bars

I haven't only eaten these once, but YUM.

Crust:
2 cubes butter
1/2 c sugar
2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour and mix till crumbly.  Knead together and press onto a cookie sheet. Back for 15-20 min @ 350 until light golden brown.

Filling:
1 cube butter
4 TBSP light corn syrup (light dark who cares right?)
3/4 c sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag milk chocolate chips (i think you could have fun experimenting here)

Bring butter, sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup to boil and boil on low, stirring constantly, until it starts to turn a light caramel color. (5-10 min) Spread on crust. Immediately sprinkle choco chips onto caramel and wait for them to melt. (3-5 min) Chocolate cools fast so spread as fast as you can. wait until completely cooled before cutting.

Posted by: Colleen

4-H Peanut Butter Balls

We used to have these at 4-H Camp growing up.  We all loved them. 1/2 C smooth peanut butter
1/2 C light corn syrup
2/3 C confectioner's sugar
1 C nonfat dry milk

1. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2. Stir peanut butter and corn syrup in a bowl until blended and smooth.
3. Stir in sugar. Gradually stir in dry milk until blended.
4. Form rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Place on cookie sheet and refrigerate about an hour. Press tines of fork into dough to flatten and decorate.
5. Store in tightly covered container.

Submitted by Gina

Aunt Alice's Pineapple-Coconut Cookies

My great Aunt Alice used to make these and I hadn't had them for years.  My sister had made them and I had one while visiting her and they brought back memories from long ago.  I remember them being kept in the refrigerator and as a kid, I just didn't enjoy cold cookies.  But as an adult....de-lish!

Mix:
1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (well-beaten)
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix and add to above:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Submitted by Gina

Cookies 'n Cream Cheesecake

These are YUM and pretty easy to make!

Source: original recipe by Martha Stewart; via The Girl Who Ate Everything

42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds (32 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving. Best served really cold! You can garnish with fresh whipped cream and crumbled Oreos if desired.

Makes 30 cheesecakes.

Submitted by Gina