Chex Lemon Buddies

Okay, so this is not technically a cookie recipe, but you're still guaranteed to absolutely LOVE it!  And a little bit of lemony goodness is always refreshing after a big meal.  This treat pairs a little bit of sweet with a little bit of tart for the perfect little dessert! Packaged in a little canning jar or fancy bag it makes a great home made gift as well! This is so easy you can make it with your kids!

INGREDIENTS
9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 TBS. fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:  Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.  In 1 quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, and lemon juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Continue to microwave until mixture can be stiffed smooth.  Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  Pour into 2 gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.  Add powdered sugar.  Seal bag; gently shake until well coated.  Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool  Store in airtight container.

Caramel Stuffed Cookies

These are the best cookies ever! There are a number of ways you can make them.  The original recipe calls for 1 package fudge marble cake mix...and those are amazing as well...I just happened to not have the cake mixes and did have the Rolos so I just substituted my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chocolate chips of course) and voila! You have caramel stuffed cookies!

INGREDIENTS (Original Recipe)


1 package fudge marble cake mix
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
26 individually wrapped Rolos, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine yellow part of cake mix, eggs, and oil, stirring to combine.  Slowly incorporate chocolate mix to form marbled cookie dough.  Roll dough into 26 balls.   Shape each dough ball around 1 candy, rolling into a smooth ball.  Place dough on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are firm.  Cool on pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Alternate Recipe (Shown in picture above):  Mix together your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe and omit the chocolate chips.  If you're in a hurry, you could also just buy sugar cookie dough at the store and use it as well.  I'm sure it would turn out just fine.  Follow the instructions for the cookies above.  I baked my cookies for 16 minutes using my chocolate chip cookie dough recipe and they were perfect.  It's very important that you make sure each Rolo is completely covered with dough so it doesn't ooze out of the cookie when it bakes! Enjoy!!

Nutter Butter Truffles

Someone mentioned these on Teresa's FB page, and I really wanted to try them.  Found a recipe on the Bakerella site with instructions and pictures (Bakerella is an awesome site!).  Here is the recipe:

Nutter Butter Balls

1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies (broken… use cookie with the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
chocolate bark

1. Finely crush all but 5 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency.
2. Combine with cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 30 balls.

Mini Morsel Meringue Cookies

Received these cookies in a cookie exchange. Love them, and they are low in fat. Diet cookies, right?  They just melt in your mouth and are great with coffee!

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 300° F. Grease baking sheets.

BEAT egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in morsels 1/3 cup at a time. Drop by level tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until meringues are dry and crisp. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

Estimated Times:

Preparation - 15 min
Cooking - 20 min
Cooling Time - 15 min cooling

Yields - 60 cookies (5 dozen)

Grandma Lois' Buckeyes

1 lb. jar of Creamy peanut butter
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
6 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3-1/2 bar paraffin (see note below)
toothpicks

Mix ingredients by hand, slowly adding powdered sugar and crackers as they are incorporated into the mixture. Mixture will be VERY thick.

Shape into small equally sized balls, approximately the size of a quarter. Place onto a waxed cookie tray and insert one toothpick into each ball. Refrigerate until firm.

Once PB balls are firm, melt in a double boiler the chocolate chips and paraffin. Stir well until chips are melted and mixture is combined well.

Using toothpick, dip PB ball into chocolate and swirl around, coating the ball everywhere except a small area at top where toothpick is (giving it a buckeye appearance). Place back onto waxed tray and refrigerate again until chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

NOTE: The paraffin (gulf wax) is used to add shine to the chocolate and make it stay hard at room temperature. It is usually found packaged in a box in the grocery store either near the canning supplies or near the spices and salts. It is safe for consumption per the FDA (but I wouldn't recommend snacking on the whole box), and is traditionally used in candymaking.  It is what they use for making wax lips and the little coke bottles with syrup in them.  If you are unsure about using the paraffin, other recipes indicate that you may substitute 2 Tbsp. of vegetable shortening, but I cannot attest to how they will turn out. I like them Grandma's way!

Raspberry Almond Bars

Makes 4 dozen (according to how big your squares/bars are). They are very sweet so smaller bars might be better. Freezes well.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
4 cups vanilla/white chips (2-12 oz. bags)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. almond extract
1 cup raspberry fruit spread or preserves (kind that is fruit only without sugar if you can find it)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat.
3. Remove and add 2 cups vanilla chips. Let stand, do not stir.
4. Beat eggs in mixing bowl until foamy.
5. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until lemon-colored.
6. Stir in chip mixture; add flour, salt, and almond extract.
7. Beat on low speed just until combined.
8. Spread half of the batter in a greased 13×9x2 inch baking pan.
9. Bake in the oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
10. Stir remaining chips into remaining batter. Set aside.
11. Melt fruit spread in saucepan, then spread evenly over baked batter.
12. Gently spoon remaining batter over fruit. Sprinkle with almonds.
13. Bake 30-35 minutes more until golden brown. Place under broiler if necessary to thoroughly brown top.
14. Test for doneness.
15. Let cool and cut into squares or bars.

Most Awesome Sugar Cookie Icing

This icing dries hard and shiny and the colors stay bright. Substitute different flavorings for the almond extract. This icing's consistency is wonderful, too. I spoon it on cookies and work it around the shape. I use a paintbrush to add details, and the end of the paintbrush to add dots. And yes, I do add additional milk when needed--a 1/2 tsp at a time until I get the right constistency.

Original Recipe Yield: 1 dozen cookies' worth

Ingredients
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

Directions

1.In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

2.Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.


For Maple-Cinnamon icing:
Replace almond extract with maple extract, add appx. 1/4 tsp. cinnamon