Ingredients:

½ cup bitter sweet chocolate

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

3 large eggs

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup peanut butter

¼ cup cream cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F and spray with cooking spray 4 baking ramekins.

Chop chocolate into small pieces and microwave in 30 second intervals until JUST melted. In saucepan, place melted chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and butter, stirring until JUST smooth. Remove from heat, add eggs and whisk well.

In separate bowl combine peanut butter and cream cheese. Roll into equal sized balls and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and place each ball at bottom-center of each ramekin and fill ¾.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Truffle Cakes

Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and place in center rack of oven for 25 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a dessert plates. Dust cakes with additional cocoa powder, powdered sugar, crème fraiche, yogurt, chocolate sauce or mixed berries. These cakes will keep well in an airtight container for one week.

Makes 4 mini cakes

Garlic Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

28 oz canned black beans drained

3 cups chicken stock

¾ cup bacon crumbled

2 large white onions

6 garlic cloves chopped

1 cup red wine

1 tsp dried chipotle

1 tsp cumin

1.5 Tbs orange zest

1 tsp fresh rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook crumbled bacon, drain off fat and set aside.

In stock pot, sautee onions, wine and garlic for 5 minutes on medium heat.  Add herbs/spices, orange zest , chicken stock and black beans and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Place soup in blender until smooth.  Reheat and serve with your favorite garnish.

*Granish options:  orange zest, ricotta cheese, sour cream, crème fraiche, cilantro, raw onions, chives, parmesan, avocado.

Almond and Rum Balls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of sugar

2 sticks of unsalted butter

2 tsp of vanilla

1.5 Tbs rum extract

1.5 tsp of cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners sugar (used for dusting)

1 cup of chopped almonds (toasted)

Instructions:

Cream together sugar, butter, rum flavoring, vanilla and cinnamon.  Add flour and almonds until mixed. In hands, roll bite sized balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let FULLY cool on rack.

After the rum balls have fully cooled, roll in powdered sugar in a plastic zip lock bag until full coated.

***These get better as they age! (Kinda like people.)

Choco-Cherry-Nutty Oatmeal Cookies

Choco-Cherry-Nutty- Oatmeal Cookies

“I learned from my Granny to always bake one cookie sheet at a time, for a more evenly baked cookie – Unless you have a convection oven.”

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt (optional)

1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 Tbs Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract *

2 ½ cups quick oats

2 cups Ghirardelli** 60% cacao bittersweet baking chips

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a mixer on medium speed cream the brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar until creamy.  Slowly add eggs and vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in flour/dry mixture.  Add oats, baking chips, pecans and cherries.  Do not over mix.

Drop soup-spoon sized dollops onto un-greased baking sheets (I usually put parchment paper down just in case).  Bake for 9-10 minutes for chewy cookies (my personal favorite), or 12-13 minutes for crispier cookies.   Bake one sheet at a time.***  Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute then remove to wire racks to cool.

Food For Thought:

*Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract is a few dollars more than regular vanilla extract, but well worth it!

**Use good chocolate like Ghirardelli…it makes a HUGE difference when you have good chocolate chips.

Christmas Crack

Christmas Crack

“I broke a toe one Christmas after eating this stuff….sugar high gone bad”  WARNING:  DO NOT DANCE TO JINGLE BELLS AFTER EATING!

Ingredients

2 sticks butter

1 c. brown sugar

36 saltine crackers

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. toasted pecans, almonds, peanuts or whatever nut you like.

Instructions:

Heat butter and brown sugar to boiling; boil for 4 minutes. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and lay out saltine crackers. Pour butter and brown sugar mixture over crackers, spreading evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.

Pour chocolate chips over hot crackers and spread evenly. Then sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate until cool enough to break apart, approximately 1 hour.

Breakfast Baked Oats -n -Nuts

Baked Breakfast Oats -n- Nuts

“This is an exercise of trust…..just make this!”

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup quick cooking oats

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup sugar

½ cup whole milk

¼ cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 egg

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Spread mixture evenly on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  At the 15 minute mark, use spatula and toss mixture evenly.  Bake until golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving, this will make it more crispy.  Serve with warm milk/cream with a dash of honey.

King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden was fond of a drink made from German wine, sugar, honey, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves. It was later named “glödgad vin” in 1609, which meant “glowing-hot wine.” The word “glögg” is a shortened form, and first appeared in print in 1870.

Ingredients:

1.5 liter bottle inexpensive dry red wine (the larger bottle)

1.5 liter bottle inexpensive American port (the larger bottle)

3 cups rum

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp whole cardamom seeds***

24 whole cloves

½ cup crystallized ginger

1 orange (peels)

1 vanilla bean sliced down the center

1/2 cup dark raisins

1 cup blanched almonds

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

Instructions:

Place all non-liquid ingredients (except sugar) in a cheese cloth and tie with string.  Place contents in large stainless steel pot and simmer for 2 hours.  Serve warm. Garnish with the peel of another orange

glogg

*** you MUST use cardamom…..this is the crucial ingredient!

Acorn Cookie

Acorn Cookies

(GREAT FOR KIDS TO DO….ages 10 and up)

 Ingredients:

Mini Nilla wafers

Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses

Pretzel sticks (the skinny kind)

½ cup of chocolate chips (melted)

Instructions:

Melt/temper chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir, then repeat until just melted.

On mini-Nilla wafer, spread a small amount of melted chocolate  on flat side of cookie and adhere Hershey’s kiss (flat side) …flat meets flat.

Dip small amount of chocolate on the end of a pretzel stick (break down to 1/2 inch) and adhere to the other side of the cookie (curved side).  Set (pointy end of Hershey’s chocolate side down) into a bowl of uncooked rice or popcorn seeds to dry. If you don’t do this step the stem/pretzel stick with fall off before drying to the rest of the cookie. Drying only takes 5 minutes.