Pecan Pie Surprise Bars

 

1 box yellow cake mix 

½ cup butter

1 egg

1 cup pecans chopped

 

Filling

2/3 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

 

Topping

1 cup pecans chopped

 

Grease bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350°. Reserve 2/3 cup of dry cake mix for filling.

In a large mixing bowl combine remaining dry cake mix, butter and 1 egg.

Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans. Mixture will be tacky.

Wet fingers and press into prepared pan. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

Filling

Using an electric mixer combine all filling ingredients together on medium speed for 1 – 2 minutes. Pour filling over partially baked crust.

Sprinkle with pecans. Bake 30 – 25 minutes until filling is set. Cool and cut into bars.

This recipe can be found here.

Cinnamon Chip Almond Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

 

2¾ cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter 
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup cinnamon chips 
2 Tbsp. sugar + 1½ tsp. cinnamon
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. milk

 Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with foil and spray with vegetable oil.

 Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

 Toast almonds and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Gradually add in flour mixture. Stir in the almonds and cinnamon chips.

Spread two-thirds of the cookie dough in prepared pan. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Add the rest of the dough in dollops on top of the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until set and slightly golden brown. Cool about 10 minutes in pan on wire rack.

Glaze:

While bars are cooling, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Drizzle glaze over still warm bars. Cool completely in pan.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

 

1 cup butter, softened
2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
¾ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, eggs, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping tsp. of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

This recipe can be found here.

Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

2½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup toffee bits

I cup chopped nuts (optional)

 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. Remove from heat immediately when the butter begins to turn brown (about 8 minutes). Pour into a shallow dish and chill until it become solid, but still soft.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flourmixture until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, nuts and toffee bits and mix until incorporated into the dough.

Drop by rounded 1-inch balls onto baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until edges are just beginning to brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cookies stay fresh up to 1 week in an airtight container.

This recipe can be found here.

M&M Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3¼ cups flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup mini M&Ms

1 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.

Toast almonds, if desired.

Melt butter. Place in mixing bowl while still warm, add both sugars and mix on low until combined. Let sit to cool for a few minutes.

Mix in vanilla. Next, add eggs, one at a time.  Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips, M&Ms, and chopped almonds; stir to combine.

Chill for 30 minutes to one hour, until cooled.

Use tablespoon size cookie scoop to place on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes  Let cool for 5 minutes, and then remove from pans to cool completely.

This recipe can be found here.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

 

2 cups (4 sticks) butter

1 cup white sugar

1½ cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 cups flour

1 11.5 oz jar salted caramel sauce

2 cups pecans, toasted

Sea salt

Preheat oven to 325°.

Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil, extending the sides of the foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil liberally with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Lastly, beat in the four (4) cups of flour until a soft dough has formed. Press HALF of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate the remaining dough.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Pour the caramel evenly into the crust, distribute the pecans on top of caramel, then crumble the remaining dough on top to cover the caramel layer. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Return to the oven and continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the caramel is bubbly. If the middle jiggles a little bit, this is okay - it will continue to cook as it cools.

Cool completely, then refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting into squares.

The original recipe can be found here.

Lemon Chip Cookies

 

2¼ cup flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 cup lemon chips

½ cup chopped walnuts or almonds

½ cup butter

 

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Mix together shortening, butter and sugar. Add extract and eggs.  Add flour mixture.  Add chips and nuts.

Drop by tsp. onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

 

This recipe can be found here.

Air Fryer Shrimp

 

1 lb. shrimp (med – jumbo)

2 tsp. avocado oil

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

 

Cleaning the shrimp by removing shells and veins. Run under tap water, then pat dry with a paper towel.

Mix oil with seasoning in a small bowl.

Brush shrimp with seasoning mixture on both sides.

Arrange shrimp in an air fryer basket or rack, in a single layer.

Cook at 400° for 8 minutes (no need to turn them).

Serve.

This recipe can be found here.

Disco Cookies

 

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. flour

1/3 cup cocoa

½ tsp. baking soda

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 package NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Disco™ Morsels

  

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place morsels aside in a bowl.

Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda in small bowl.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, beating well. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Scoop dough into 24 balls, using a cookie scoop or tablespoon measurer.

Dip tops of balls into morsels, making sure they stick to the dough. Repeat with remaining balls.

Place balls onto ungreased cookie sheets, morsel side up.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

This recipe can be found here

Lemon Pull Apart Rolls

 ROLLS

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

 

GLAZE:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice (more or less)

 

Cut rolls in half and place cut side down in a greased 9x13" pan. Drizzle with the melted butter. Mix lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle HALF of the lemon-sugar mixture over the rolls.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise till doubled. Since the dough is still cold, it can take 2-3 hours.

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sprinkle the remaining lemon-sugar mixture on top of the rolls. Bake at 350° for about 20-25 minutes.

 

Whisk together glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over rolls while still warm.

 

NOTES

-If you can't find frozen roll dough in your area, you can use homemade dough and it works just fine.

-If you like lots of icing on your rolls, double the icing recipe.

This recipe can be found here.