Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Taken from Eating Well. This recipe is pretty good considering that the cookies are lower in fat and calories. I made 48 cookies from this batch and they were decently sized. They spread quite well as they are cooking, so leave plenty of room between them on the baking sheets. Don't be worried if the recipe seems more like cake batter than cookie dough, you did it right!!

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped and melted (see Tip)

Preparation

1. Position rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until foamy, about 1 minute. Beat in granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Scrape down the sides, then beat in brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate. Stir in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until just incorporated.
3. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, 1 1/2 inches apart.
4. Bake the cookies until flat yet springy, with slightly cracked tops, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pan cool for a few minutes before baking another batch; replace parchment paper if torn or scorched.

Nutrition

Per cookie : 68 Calories; 1 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 0 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 14 g Carbohydrates; 1 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 51 mg Sodium; 54 mg Potassium

Chocolate-Cinnamon Cake with Almond Cream

Taken from Eating Well. This is a delicious lower calorie cake!











3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

• 3/4 cup cake flour
  
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup 1% milk

Almond cream

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon amaretto, or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray with flour. Alternatively, spray the pan with regular cooking spray, dust with flour and tap out the excess.
2. Melt chocolate in the microwave on Medium in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst to ensure even melting, until completely melted. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water, stirring constantly.) Set aside.
3. Whisk cake flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Beat egg whites in a clean medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Beat the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil in a large bowl on medium speed until combined. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then melted chocolate and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined.
6. Add 1/2 cup milk to the egg-yolk mixture, beating on low speed, then add half the flour mixture. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup milk, then the remaining flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the whites with a spatula, using long, even strokes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly to the edges.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.
8. To prepare almond cream: Beat cream and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is the consistency of sour cream, about 1 minute. Add sour cream, amaretto (or almond extract), vanilla and cinnamon; beat to combine. Serve the cake with the almond cream.

Nutrition

Per serving : 196 Calories; 10 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 44 mg Cholesterol; 25 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 151 mg Sodium; 86 mg Potassium

Caroline's Cranberry Oat Concoction

This is one of my original recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oats
1 cup cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar until well mixed and then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and honey and blend well. Stir in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Then add the oats, cranberries and chopped walnuts and mix well with a spatula. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and then transfer to wire wracks to cool.

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Taken from www.allrecipes.com

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

English Lemon Shortbread Strips

Taken from Land O'Lakes

Shortbread Ingredients:

2		cups LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
1		cup sugar
1/4		cup lemon juice
4		teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
4 1/2		cups all-purpose flour

Glaze Ingredients:

1		cup powdered sugar
2		tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
2		tablespoons lemon juice

Garnish Ingredients:

1

tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all shortbread ingredients except flour in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.

Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press dough evenly into lightly greased 15x10x1 jelly-roll pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl with wire whisk until smooth.

Spread thin layer of glaze over cooled shortbread; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lemon peel, if desired. Let stand 30 minutes to set. Cut into 2 1/2x1-inch strips.

Caramel Shortbread

My Auntie Mary would always make these for us every time we came over. I have her recipe somewhere but can't find it, so this one is from allrecipes.com. They are absolutely delicious but very rich, so go steady!

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 cup butter, white sugar, and flour until evenly crumbly. Press into a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. In a 2 quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over baked crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm.
4. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute, then stir and continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly to cover completely. Chill. Cut into 1 inch squares. These need to be small because they are so rich.

Mince Pies

Pastry Recipe taken from Joy of Baking

1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces

1/8 to 1/4 cup (30 - 60 ml) ice water

Mincemeat (I usually buy Crosse and Blackwell's brand, which they have at Safeway before the holidays).

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup (30 ml) water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the pastry in half, flatten each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.
Have ready one - 24 or two - 12 mini muffin pan(s). After the dough has chilled sufficiently, take one of the disks of pastry and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the pastry dough until about 1/8 inch thick and cut into 24 rounds that are slightly bigger than the muffin tins. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Gently place the rounds into the muffin tins. Place about a teaspoon of mincemeat into each tin and set aside while you make the pastry stars.

Roll out the second disk of pastry and cut out 24 stars and gently place the stars on top of the mincemeat. If desired, brush the tops of the stars with a little egg wash (one large egg whisked together with 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake in a 400 degrees F (205 degree C) oven for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the pastry has lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar (icing/powdered) before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. These tarts freeze very well.