Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups ground walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium 1 to 3 minutes or until almost melted. Stir until smooth. In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed 1 minute or until fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add melted chocolate; beat until blended, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.
2. In medium bowl, stir flour, ground walnuts, baking powder and salt until well-blended. At low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight.
3. Heat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls; place 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, 15 to 18 minutes or until surfaces are dry and slightly cracked and bottoms are lightly browned. (Surfaces will not brown.) Cool on baking sheets on wire racks 10 minutes. (Cookies will be very tender and slightly moist in center; they will firm up as they cool.) Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Place powdered sugar in wide shallow bowl. Lightly roll warm cookies in powdered sugar. Place on wire rack; cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar again. Store in airtight container, separating layers with waxed or parchment paper. Roll in powdered sugar once more before serving, if desired.

Makes about 5 1/2 dozen cookies

PER COOKIE: 80 calories, 4.5 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 1 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 10 mg cholesterol, 25 mg sodium, .5 g fiber

Caramel Filled Sandies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
• 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
• 2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg
• 34 caramel candies, unwrapped (from 14 oz bag)
• 3 tablespoons half and half
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
• 1/3 cup white baking chips, melted
• 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In medium bowl, combine cookie mix, pecans, flour, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Shape into 1 1/2–inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Using thumb or handle of wooden spoon, make indentation in center of each cookie.
2. Bake at 375° F for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool; place cookies on cooling racks. Cool completely.
3. In small microwaveable bowl, microwave caramels and half and half uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring once, until caramels are melted. Spoon 1 teaspoon caramel into indentation of each cookie. Cool 15 minutes.
4. Drizzle with melted dark chocolate and white baking chips. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Caramel Pecan Turtle Cookies

INGREDIENTS

Cookie:

• 1 cup Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Caramel and Chocolate Topping:

• 28 caramels
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 30 pecan halves
• 1 (6 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream Butter Flavor CRISCO® and sugars together. Add milk. Beat in eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix into creamed mixture. Chill for one hour.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time, to about 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out with 2 1/4-inch cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on un-greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden. Remove immediately to cooling rack.
5. Combine caramels and milk in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with waxed paper. Microwave at 50% (MEDIUM) for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat until smooth (or melt on rangetop in small saucepan on very low heat). Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on top of each cookie. Place 3 pecan halves around edge of caramel to resemble turtle.
6. Place chocolate chips in microwave-safe cup. Microwave at 50% (MEDIUM) for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat until smooth (or melt on rangetop in small saucepan on very low heat). Spread rounded teaspoonfuls over top of caramel. Do not cover the pecans. Cool completely.

Praline Caramel Cheesecake Bars

Thanks to Betty Crocker for this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Base and Topping

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
• 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup toffee bits

Filling

• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup caramel topping
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Place cookie mix in bowl; cut in butter using pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, 1/4 cup of the caramel topping, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked cookie base. Sprinkle with reserved crumb topping, pecans and toffee bits.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup caramel topping. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Chocolate Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted*
• 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 jar (13 oz) hazelnut spread with cocoa

DIRECTIONS

1. Let dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. In food processor with metal blade, process hazelnuts with on/off pulses until finely ground.
2. In large bowl, stir or knead cookie dough, flour, ground nuts and vanilla until well blended. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with 2-inch scalloped or round cookie cutter; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
4. To make each sandwich cookie, spread 2 teaspoons hazelnut spread on bottom of 1 cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press cookies together.
5. Place remaining hazelnut spread in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small tip from corner of bag; drizzle spread over cookies. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.

*To toast hazelnuts, bake uncovered in ungreased shallow pan in 350°F oven 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows

INGREDIENTS

Cookies

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® double chocolate chunk cookie mix
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half

Frosting

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water, egg and pecans until soft dough forms.
2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately press marshmallow half lightly, cut side down, on top of cookie. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until marshmallows begin to soften. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in 1-quart nonstick saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Add whipping cream, butter and vanilla; blend well. Stir in powdered sugar until smooth.
5. Spread frosting over each cooled cookie, covering marshmallow. Let stand until frosting is set.

Salmon with Fruit Salsa

Ingredients

SALMON

• 1 pound salmon steaks
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1/3 cup water

FRUIT SALSA

• 1/4 cup diced fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Arrange salmon steaks in a shallow baking dish, and coat with the lemon juice. Season with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Top with lemon slices. Pour water into the dish.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until easily flaked with a fork.
4. In a medium bowl, mix pineapple, onion, garlic, jalapeno, tomato, pineapple juice, red bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper. Cover, and refrigerate while fish is baking. Top fish with salsa to serve.