Healthy Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding (no seed lumps)

Source

I had to be on a very restricted diet, for health reasons, a while back and couldn't find a receipt that fit my needs. I searched through a ton, never found something I liked, and finally just played around until I got it just the way I like it.

I wish I would have written this all out sooner so I apologize if you don't get perfect results but seriously, this stuff is amazing! In fact, I think I might make it again right now!


You will need: 

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup cocoa (you might want to add more, I usually do)

Coconut Sugar - to taste (I started with 1/4 cup. You could use any sweetener of your choice but I liked this because it 1) Fit within my diet and 2) It helped thicken)

1/4 cup chia seed (I'll be honest, I didn't measure so it could have been a bit more! Play around :)


Throw it all in your Vitamix and blend away.

I have a Vitamix so it shreds the seeds amazingly well. Some blenders wouldn't cut the seeds so you will end up with little seed crunches (which I don't like).

If you have trouble with this try putting the coconut milk in first, then the seeds, let it sit for 10 minutes and then blend.

The mixture will be runny but pore it in a bowl and it should set (as the seeds absorb the liquid).

Source

If you google "Chai Seed Pudding" it won't look anything like this but this is how mine looks and I wouldn't go back to dairy pudding after this! No way! 

Baking My Way: Chocolate-glazed Florentines

 Source

I don't know how I got it wrong but this recipe didn't work for me. It seems to be very temperamental and I just ended up with messes and blobs that were supposed to be cookies. After they cooled a little I formed them into cookie like ball and glazed over. Not really what it's supposed to be like but salvaged none the less! 

Cookies:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup finely chopped candy pine
1/3 cup chopped candied cherries
1/3 cup silvered almonds


Glaze:
4 oz chocolate
1 teaspoon shortening

Heat oven to 325.

Grease and flour cookie sheet.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; remove from heat.

Stir in honey, sugar and milk; stir in flour.

Cook over medium heat for 3 to 6 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; stir n candied peel, cherries and almonds.

Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 13 minutes or until edges are golden.

Cool 1 minute; carefully remove from cookie sheet. Cool for 15 minutes or until completely cool.


Melt all glaze ingredient in a small sauce pan until blended. Spread over bottom side of cookies. When wet but not set use a fork to make waves in the glaze. Let cookies set.

Baking My Way: Jam-filled Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

 These are very yummy cookies and the best part about them is making them with your man, something a little romantic. They are very soft and the jam adds a nice sweetness to the plain flavor of the shortbread.

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons raspberry jam


Directions

Heat oven to 375.

In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, orange peel and egg; blend well.

On a flowered surface roll out dough to 1/8- inch thickness. Cut into heart shaped cookies. Cut half of the cookies in the middle with a smaller heart shaped cutter.

On the full hearts place about 1/2 teaspoon jam in center of each; top with cutout cookies.

Bake at 375 for 7 - 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

Cool 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheet.  

Baking My Way: Easy Cherry Rum Balls

 Can't say I love these rum balls. I like my rum with chocolate, and there's not chocolate in them....so there you go. 

• 2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers ( 40 to 50)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red candied cherries
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup rum
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter melted
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

In medium bowl, combine crushed wafers , 1 cup powdered sugar, cherries, and pecans. Add rum, syrup and butter. Blend well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in the 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Cover tightly; let sit 24 hours for flavors to blend. Makes 3 dozen.

Baking My Way: Cherry Chocolate Kisses

These are some tasty cookies! As you can see, they went quickly! I highly suggest them and they're pretty easy to make too!

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
2 teasp. maraschino cherry juice
1/2 teasp. almond extract
few drops red food coloring
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teasp salt
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
approx 48 extra large chocolate chips or 48 chocolate kisses

•  combine sugar, butter, cherry juice, almond extract, and the food coloring. blend well
• lightly spoon flour into measuring cup. mix in the salt
• mix flour mixture with the butter mixture
• add cherries
• shape into 1'' balls. place 2'' apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet
• bake at 350' for 8-10 mins
• immediately after baking top each cookie with a kiss. press down firmly.. remove from cookie sheets

Baking My Way: Ranger Crispies

 These cookies are really simple to make and taste just as simple. Can't say I love them, but they're perfect for camping, throwing in your bag for a beach day or for lunch. They also work really well with puffed wheat instead of rice cereal.

1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup margarine or butter, softened
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups crisp rice cereal

Heat oven to 375º F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in cereal. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375º F for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. 5 dozen cookies.

Baking My Way: Texan-sized Almond Crunch Cookies

Not sure why they call them Texan-sized but I'll forgive that because these are such wonderful cookies! They were a huge hit for my buyers as well. They're on the list of recipes I will be making again! 

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
3-1/2 cups Pillsbury's® All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Pillsbury® Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups coarsely chopped almonds
6 or 7.8-oz. package almond brickle baking chips
Sugar


Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

2. In large bowl, blend sugar, powdered sugar, butter and oil until well mixed. Add almond extract and eggs, mix well.

3. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off.

4. Gradually blend in all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, soda, salt and cream of tartar at low speed. By hand, stir in almonds and bricklechips. Chill, if desired.

5. Shape large tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, roll in sugar. Place 5 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With fork dipped in sugar, flatten in crosscross pattern.

6. Bake at 350°F. for 12 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown around edges. Cool cookies 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets.

Baking My Way: Peanut Butter Macaroon Brownie

Looks pretty tasty right? Two of my favorite things put together; chocolate and coconut. The brownie was pretty dry so I would add maybe some more butter, or apple sauce in it next time, but other then that it was very good! (Also, next time, I think I would put a layer of chocolate frosting on top of the coconut layer. YUM!!)

Brownie 
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour 
2/3 cup cocoa
1 cup peanut butter chips 


Topping 
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 
2 2/3 cup coconut 
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. 

Grease 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan. 

Combine sugar, butter and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. 

Add eggs 1 at a time.  Beat after every addition. 

Add flour and cocoa; mix well. 

Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread in greased pan. 

Combine topping ingredients. 

Spoon topping over brownie; spread carefully. 

Bake for 27-32 minutes or until topping is light golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Cut into bars.

(I ended up having to cook it another 15 minutes because the brownie was still very doughy) 

Baking My Way: Rainbow Cookie Brittle

  I'll be honest, I don't get this recipe. There's a lot of butter, and it's very greasy (don't get me wrong, I love butter, but now when it just makes the final product really greasy). I don't really get how it's supposed to be like a brittle, it's more like a cookie bar. I tried it, and thankfully I split the recipe and didn't make a full batch. 

Ingredients

• 1  cup sugar
• 3/4  cup margarine or butter, softened
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2  cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
• 1/2  cup miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces or miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. 1Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir in flour; mix well. Stir in miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces. Press dough into ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
2. 2Bake at 375°F. for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely; break into irregular shaped pieces.

Source

Baking My Way: Chocolate and Vanilla Chip Biscotti

Finally I got biscotti right! I'll be honest, I don't really like the stuff. I like chewy soft baking, not crunchy stuff like this but there were around 5 biscotti recipes in this book so I had to do them all! I think this might be the last one and I got it right finally (I seemed to always under or over bake). This biscotti is pretty good. It's nice and chocolaty and the vanilla chips add a good sweetness in there.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine, softened
3 eggs
1 cup white vanilla chip

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking powder; mix well.

In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter; beat until blended.

Add eggs; beat well.

Add flour mixture; mix well.

Stir in vanilla chips.

With sprayed hands, shape dough into three 7" rolls.

Place rolls 3" apart on sprayed cookie sheet; flatten each to 7" x 3" rectangle.
 

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 22 to 28 minutes or until set and light golden brown.
 

Remove from cookie sheet; place on wire racks.
 

Cool 5 minutes.
 

With serrated knife, cut rectangles into 1/2" slices.

Arrange slices, cut side up, on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 minutes or until top surface is slightly dry.

Turn cookies over; bake an additional 6 to 8 minutes or until top surface is slightly dry.

Remove from cookie sheets; cool 15 minutes or until completely cooled.

Store in tightly covered container.

Source

Baking My Way: Cranberry and Orange Pinwheels

So as you can see my cookies didn't turn out so well. I'm not too sure what happened. The dough seemed fine, I rolled it just the way they said and in transfer to a cookie sheet, to put it in the fridge, it all fell apart. I decided instead of baking it like a blob I'd make it into a sort of cake. I lowered the temperature to 325 and back for around 45 minutes and you know, it turned out really great! I can't say I'm going to give this another go, still so many other recipes to try, but it's pretty great like a cake too, ha ha.

Cookies 
 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

 Filling 
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
 1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon cornstarch

In large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in remaining cookie ingredients until well blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, mix filling ingredients. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cover; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

On lightly floured work surface, roll dough with rolling pin into 16x8-inch rectangle. Spoon and spread cooled filling evenly over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Starting with one 16-inch side, roll up. Cut roll in half to form 2 (8-inch) rolls. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375°F. Generously grease cookie sheets with shortening or cooking spray. With sharp knife, cut dough into 1/2-inch slices; place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. 5 Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Baking My Way: Frosted Pepparkakor

I'm never making these again! Ha ha. Maybe there is a trick to it, but I didn't figure it out. They taste amazing but the frosting stayed sticky and was like melted marshmallows sticking together when you stacked the cookies (glad I took the picture now before!). Again, they tasted amazing so I guess if I wanted to eat them all at once it would be alright.  

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine or butter softened (I used butter)
3 tablespoons molasses (3 ounces, I used Bre’r Rabbit full-flavored)
1 egg
2 tablespoons water or milk (I had Musgovian evaporated milk)
3-1/3 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour (465g)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting:
3/4 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 tbsp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder (not a mistake)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Cookies: 
In large bowl, beat sugar, margarine, and molasses until light and fluffy. Add egg and water, blend well. Stir in flour, soda, salt, spices; mix well to form a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour (minimum) for easier handling.

Heat oven to 350 deg F. On floured surface, roll 1/3 dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep remaining dough refrigerated. Cut with floured 2-1/2 inch cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 deg F for 9-11 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.

Makes 8-10 dozen thin cookies.


Frosting: 
In 2-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup water and gelatin. Let stand 5 minutes to soften gelatin. Stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar, beat until foamy.

Stir in baking powder and vanilla; beat at highest speed until thick, about 10 minutes. Spread frosting on cooled cookies or pipe frosting following outline of cookies. Allow frosting to set for several hours before storing. Ample frosting for outlining 10 dozen cookies.

Baking My Way: Glazed Fruitcake Squares

I'm not a huge fan of fruit cake but this square is good! Still very fruit cake like but it's almost like a blonde brownie meets fruit cake. I'd make it again and it would make a great gift for those fruit cake lovers we all seem to know.

INGREDIENTS

Bars
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup brandy
2 eggs
2 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups diced mixed candied fruit
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, softened
1 to 2 tablespoons brandy

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F. Grease 15x10x1-inch baking pan. In large bowl, combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup brandy and eggs; mix well.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. With spoon, stir in all remaining bar ingredients until well mixed. Press mixture evenly in greased pan.

Bake at 375°F. for 15 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. 4 In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough brandy for desired drizzling consistency; beat until smooth. Drizzle glaze over bars. Let stand until set. Cut into bars.

Baking My Way: Chocolate Ginger Zebras

Photo Source 

I'll be honest, these Pillsbury Chocolate Ginger Zebras cookies aren't very interesting. They're a little dry and fall apart very easily. So what I ended up doing was using some left over chocolate frosting and making sandwich cookies out of these. And you know, wow, it made them 100% better and the different spices and ginger really popped and added a good flare to all the chocolate. I wouldn't make this cookie again as is in this recipe but I would make them again in the sandwich cookie form.

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup sugar
• 1/3  cup shortening
• 1/4  cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4  cup dark corn syrup
• 2  tablespoons milk
• 1  egg
• 1 1/2  cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon cloves
• 3  oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating
• 2  tablespoons shortening

Directions

1. 1In large bowl, beat sugar and 1/3 cup shortening until light and fluffy. Add cocoa, corn syrup, milk and egg; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; mix well. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours for easier handling.
2. 2Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. On floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with floured 2 1/2 to 3-inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. for 6 to 9 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool.
3. 3In small saucepan, melt candy coating and 2 tablespoons shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Allow to set before storing.

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Doesn't this look great!? AND the recipe is so simple! Check it out here.

Baking My Way: Chocolate Almond Linzer Bar

 This bar is super tasty! I love this bar! I didn't use raspberry preserver but cherry and apple butter and it gave it a little tart taste which went really well with the dark semi-sweet chocolate I used. I love the almond paste in this bar and it really adds to the richness of the dough. It makes it more dense but I sort of like it that way! I would make it again.

3 1/2 oz. almond paste
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
3 cups flour 
1 1/2 cups raspberry preserves
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp icing sugar

Hear oven to 350. Grease 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Combine almond paste and butter, blend until smooth. Add sugar, brown sugar, salt, almond extract and eggs; mix well. Add flour gradually, stirring to form a smooth dough.

Divide dough in half. Roll out half of dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to form 15 x 10 inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. To make decorative top cut hearts or circles in the one layer of the dough. Return cut outs to other half of the dough. Set top dough layer aside.

Roll out other layer same as first layer, then press it into greased baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. 

Spread evenly with preserve; sprinkle with almonds and chocolate chips. Lifting top crust with wax paper, place dough side down over filling; carefully remove wax paper. Trim edges if necessary.

Bake at 350 for additional 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Cut into 48 bars with heart cut out in the middle of each bar.

Baking My Way: Chocolaty Caramel Pecan Bars

 This bar was seriously good!! I would make it again and again! I think I would reduce the amount of caramels because and have no nuts, more like a Twix bar. It's crazy rich but I see why you need all the nuts, it makes it a little less intense. Either way, so good!!

Base

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon whipping cream

1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling

24 caramels, unwrapped

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 cups pecan halves

Topping

1 teaspoon butter or margarine

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

2 tablespoons whipping cream

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease 9-inch square pan. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 1 tablespoon whipping cream until well blended. Add flour; mix until crumbly. With floured hands, press mixture evenly in pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
• Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, place caramels and 1/3 cup whipping cream. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add pecans; stir well to coat. Immediately spoon over baked base; spread carefully to cover.
• In small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 teaspoon butter and the chocolate chips, stirring constantly. Stir in 2 tablespoons whipping cream. Drizzle over filling. Refrigerate 1 hour or until filling is firm. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.  

Baking My Way: Autumn Leaf Cookies

 I was really looking forward to making these Pillsbury Autumn Leaf cookies and they were a pretty big let down. They didn't turn out at all like how the photo showed and the icing just taste like the icing sugar, it doesn't look like the photo or like that rich sugar cookie type of icing like it reads as. AND the colouring directions are wrong. I had to add heaps more to get the colour even close to orange. I won't be making these cookies again. It wasn't a great recipe and there are many other sugar cookie recipes I love way more. The one thing I do like is the cream cheese in there. It does make the cookies softer and creamier. I might take the recipe and change it around to make it more interesting. What I ended up doing is making chocolate filled sandwich cookies with these. It made them a ton better! (Chocolate has been saving the day a lot lately)

Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 (3-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 cups powdered sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

8 drops red food color

8 drops yellow food color

• In large bowl, combine sugar, 1 cup margarine and cream cheese; beat until light and fluffy. Add orange peel, orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla and egg; blend well. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Using stockinette-covered rolling pin and floured pastry cloth, roll out 1/4 of dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated.) Cut with floured leaf-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375°F. for 4 to 6 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets; cool 15 minutes or until completely cooled.
• In large bowl, combine butter and shortening; beat until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl. Add 2 tablespoons milk; beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Add enough additional milk for desired spreading consistency.
• Divide frosting into 2 small bowls. To one bowl of frosting, add melted chocolate; beat until well blended. To other bowl of frosting, add red and yellow food color; blend well. Spread cooled cookies with 1 of the frostings; pipe veins on leaves with other frosting. Let stand until set.

Baking My Way: Coconut Diamond Gems

 Marshall helped me make these cookies, which is rare so I enjoyed baking these more then usual. They're quiet similar to Mounds bars but just a little simpler. I'd say I'd rather make a full base bar with a full coconut and chocolate layer. I found these a little dry but still tasty.

Cookies:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:
2 cup coconut
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 egg white
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Glaze:
3 oz. chocolate
1 tsp shortening

Cookies:
Combine sugar, butter and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Add yolk and beat well. Add flour, cinnamon and salt; mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 375. Lightly dust a large cookie sheet with flour. On the cookie sheet spread out the dough. Score dough crosswise in 1 1/2 inch wide strips and then do it in the other direction as well to make diamond shapes.

Topping:
Mix all topping ingredients. Scope 1 teaspoon onto each diamond. 

Bake for 8-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cut cookies along scorch marks and remove diamonds from cookie sheet to cool.

Glaze:
In a saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate and shortening, stirring constantly. Drizzle over cookies. 

Baking My Way: Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

These are little pumpkin delights. They are almost cake-like and then add the frosting and wow, so tasty! I think I may have eaten a lot of them myself.


Ingredients


Cookies
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts


Frosting
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together shortening, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on wire racks.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly, then stir in the milk, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups confectioners' sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency. Spread on cooled cookies.