Homemade chocolate sauce, very good. Actually doesn’t contain any Bailey’s liquor, instead is named after a cholatier in Cambridge, Mass. Regardless, good over ice cream, strawberries, bananas, anything you’d put chocolate sauce on. Thanks Martha.

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 oz cooking chocolate
• small evaporated milk
• 1 stick of butter (8 oz)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Melt butter and chocolate in small sauce pan. Remove from heat.
2. Add milk and sugar, alternately, stirring out lumps.
3. Return to low heat and cool slowly for 8 minutes or until thicker, stirring out lumps.

Caramel is one of the greatest desserts ever, probably because there is a sugar in caramel. Maria was the greatest teacher ever, probably because she eats a lot of caramel which as we all know, has sugar in it. I think her success during her time as a fourth grade teacher, during which she always incorporated informal conversations and observations into her individual assessment practices was because of the sugar. Fortunately Maria has moved on into educational administration so that my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, can retain the lead among top fourth grade teachers.

Editor’s Note: Writing about teachers is scary because I know they’ll critque my run-on sentences and my grammers and my spellingz.

Caramel Bars – ala Maria

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz package of caramels
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine (Maria uses butter, so will you), soft
• 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup peanuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Cut in butter until pea-sized mixture.
3. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into a greased 9×13 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
5. Combine caramels and milk in saucepan and melt.
6. Sprinkle chocolate chips and peanuts on top of baked mixture.
7. Drizzle caramel mixture on top of chips and peanuts.
8. Bake for 12 minutes at 350.
9. Cool completely and cut into bars. Yum!

Thanks to Quaker Oats and a couple Sara(h)’s, this recipe is awesome. Great dough, great cookies, I eat them up.

Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – modified from Quaker Oats

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups Quaker Oats

Directions:

1. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well
3. Add combined flour, baking soda and salt, mix well
4. Stir in oats, and then chocolate chips
5. Drop by rounded spoonfulls onto cookie sheet
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown
7. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack

Makes about 4 dozen.

Butter, sugar, apples, and flaky pastry create sinful bliss. Be sure to line your springform pan with foil to catch the drips! While it’s baking, go run 5 miles, this isn’t on the Jenny Craig menu.

Tarte Tatin

Preheat oven to 350°F

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 apples – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Line the outside of a 9 inch springform pan with foil to catch drips.
2. Spread butter evenly into a 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle with sugar. Arrange apple slices into an overlapping pattern over sugar layer. Cover apples with pastry, trimming sides if necessary. Place pan on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, then release sides of pan. Place a large plate over pastry, then invert so apple layer is on top. Remove bottom of pan and serve.

These cakes are slightly underbaked so that the chocolate center oozes when cut into. Very rich, makes a perfect couples dessert. Serve with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mint Fudge Sauce: Bon Appetit

Sauce:

• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/3 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Cakes:

• 5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

1. For sauce: Stir both chocolates in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted. Add 1/3 cup hot water, corn syrup and extract; whisk until smooth. Remove from over water. Cool slightly. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Before serving, rewarm in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.)
2. For cakes: Preheat oven to 450?F. Butter six 3/4-cup souffl? dishes or custard cups. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Pour batter into dishes, dividing equally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
3. Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes or up to 14 minutes for batter that was refrigerated. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Spoon sauce around cakes. Serve with ice cream.

Makes 6.

Anneka makes them small, almost bite-sized, and thus you eat them like potato chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (modified from Nestle’s recipe)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks salted butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 TBSP low-fat sour cream
• 12 oz Nestle chocolate chips

Directions:

• Mix flour, baking soda & salt together in small bowl.
• Mix butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar & vanilla together (using a fork or spoon—do not use an electric mixer).
• Add sour cream to butter/sugar mixture.
• In three parts, mix in flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture (again, using a spoon or fork only).
• Add chocolate chips.
• Using dinner teaspoon, put heaping teaspoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheet (12 cookies per sheet).
• Bake for approximately 7 minutes until cookies lose the “shine” on their tops and start to turn slightly golden.
• Remove from oven & transfer to cooling racks (or if unavailable, to clean
  cutting board or countertop).

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 300ºF.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tbsp melted butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup pecan pieces

Directions:
Combine and mix sugar, corn syrup, salt and eggs. Melt butter and chocolate together and mix in vanilla. Combine with sugar mixture.

Put the pecan pieces on the bottom of the pie shell and pour everything in. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the center is set but not dry.

This has been my favorite holiday treat since forever. Wars have been fought over these, and now you can all make them…please send me some.

Auntie Mary’s Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups chunky peanut butter
• 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 – 12 oz. Package chocolate chips
• about an ounce of paraffin

Directions

1. Mix the melted butter, powered sugar and peanut butter, then add the Rice Krispies.
2. Chill the bowl to make forming 1 inch balls easier, then chill the balls for at least an hour. (shorter if you put them in the freezer)
3. Melt chocolate chips and paraffin in double boiler.
4. Dip balls into the mixture one at a time and place on wax paper. (Toothpicks work well to dip the balls)