Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. dark choc chips
10-15 Brach's type wrapped caramels, cut into 4ths
sea salt

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda & baking powder.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Place spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet and press in 2-3 caramel pieces.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 min or until done.  Halfway through the baking cycle sprinkle on sea salt and then finish baking.

Recipe by Corrie

Cream Cheese Pinwheels

1  package cranberries
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion
4 large spinach tortillas

Combine first 4 ingredients.  Mix well.  Spread evenly over 4 tortillas.  Roll up tightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.  Cut each roll into 12 slices.  Ham slices can also be added inside the roll.

 

Recipe by Renee

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

1 14 ounce can of coconut milk (lite is fine), divided
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
scant 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup arrowroot powder, sifted (cornstarch can be used but arrowroot is best)
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder, sifted
1 -3.5 oz bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or 3.5 oz choc chips) 
1 tsp. vanilla

Shake the can of coconut milk vigorously for a few seconds.  In a heavy saucepan bring 1 1/4 cups of the coconut milk, maple syrup, and the salt just to a simmer over low heat.  

While that is heating, in a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining coconut milk, arrowroot powder and cocoa powder.  It should look like a chocolate frosting.

When the coconut milk and maple syrup mixture have started simmering take about 1/4 cup of it and whisk it little by little in to the arrowroot mix creating a slurry.  Turn down the heat to the very lowest setting.  Now drizzle the slurry back into the simmering pan of coconut milk whisking vigorously all the while.  Keep whisking until the pudding comes back up barely to a simmer and thickens up a bit, about 1 minute.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, continue whisking while it is cooling for about a minute.  Now whisk in the chocolate pieces and vanilla.  Keep stirring until the pudding is smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to chill thoroughly.  To prevent a skin from forming press plastic wrap against the surface of the pudding.

Recipe by Katie

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
10 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart baking pan (which is an 11 X 7 pan-I used a glass Pyrex dish) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Microwave caramels on High until caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds. This will take about 2 minutes, depending on your microwave.
5. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Pour hot caramel over the cookie dough. Sprinkle caramel with sea salt. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough over the caramel and spread dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.
6.Bake cookie bars for 30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut bars into squares and serve.

Recipe by Evelyn 

Mighty Bowl

 4 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup prepared curry
1 large can olives, sliced
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 large avacado
2 cups cooked shrimp
1 cup shredded cheddar 
sour cream

This dish can be served warm or cold.  If you want to serve it warm heat the beans, curry sauce and shrimp (separately) while rice is cooking.  When rice is finished cooking layer 4 bowls from bottom to top with rice, curry, black beans, shrimp, salsa, olives, cheese, sour cream, avacado and cilantro.  Makes 4 servings.

Recipe by Christie Sims

Lemon Bars

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 15oz can Lemon Pie Filling

Mix the Angel Food cake mix together with the lemon pie filling.  Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Recipe by Cathy Boardman