Eggnog Cookies

In a large bowl beat until light & fluffy:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter -softened
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon rum extract
1 egg

In a separate bowl mix:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the wet & mix well.

Scoop dough into balls and place on baking sheet.  Make a slight indent on each cookie with the back of a spoon.

 Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. 

Cool Completely.

In a small bowl combine:
3 cup powdered sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoon milk

Blend until smooth.  Spread on top of cookies & sprinkle with nutmeg.
Store in tightly covered container.

Soft Ginger Cookies

Cream Together:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg

Add:
1/4 cup molasses

In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients to the wet & mix just till combined.

Roll into balls & then in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

DO NOT OVER BAKE!

Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Bars

Mix well:
1 box devils food cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
2 eggs -well beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract (or 1 tablespoon Amaretto)

Pour into greased 9x13 cake pan (or scoop into paper lined muffin pan)
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes for cake, 18 minutes for full size cupcakes, 13 minutes for mini cupcakes -Or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
Mix together:
5 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar

Cook frosting over medium heat.  Stir constantly until it boils.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from  heat. 

Stir in:
 6 oz milk chocolate chips until melted. 

Add:
1 teaspoon of almond extract (or 1 tablespoon Amaretto)

Frost while both cake & frosting are still warm (But not hot).

Jambalaya

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
8-12 oz Andouille Sausage, cooked & sliced
1 pound cooked, shelled, deveined shrimp without tails (I prefer smaller shrimp)
1 diced onion
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
4 cups chicken broth

Spray a large frying pan with nonstick spray.  Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat until it is cooked through.  Reduce heat to medium.

Stir in onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic.  Stir in salt & pepper.  When veggies start to soften add the Andouille Sausage.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, rice, shrimp & the can of tomatoes (do not drain the tomatoes -dump in the liquid too!)

Stir in the chicken broth.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low & cover the pan.  Let simmer 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

**Add hot sauce with the Worcestershire sauce if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings.

English Toffee

In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan over medium-high heat, mix:

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water

Stir constantly and cook till mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Immediately pour toffee onto parchment on a heat resistant surface. (I line a cookie sheet with parchment and set it on a wire cooling rack.)

Spread toffee to about 1/4 thickness. Work FAST! The toffee cools quickly and becomes unspreadable pretty quick.

Let toffee cool 1-2 minutes then sprinkle with:

1/2cup -1 cup of chocolate chips.

The heat of the toffee will melt the chocolate chips in a a few minutes. Once chocolate it melted, spread it evenly across the top of the toffee.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Let cool completely (until chocolate is hardened) -stick it in the fridge to speed things up if you want.

Break into bite size pieces.

Try not to eat he entire batch immediately. ;-)

Cream Cheese Squares

2 packages crescent rolls
2 -8oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon (enough to sprinkle -maybe a teaspoon or so?)

Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls into a greased 9x13 pan. Press together the seams and press dough slightly up the sides.

Mix together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spread on top of rolls.

Unroll other package of crescent tolls on top. Lightly press seams together.

Pour melted butter on top of rolls. Use a pastry brush to make sure the entire top has a coat of butter on it.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar. Then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

To Make Crust:

In a small bowl mix together:
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
7 tablespoons melted butter

Press mixture onto bottom and half way up sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

To Make Filling:

Mix together until creamy:
4 -8oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 4 eggs & mix until blended.

Stir in 6oz melted white baking chocolate

Pour into Graham cracker crust.

Warm 1/2 cup seedless red raspberry preserves in microwave -you just need them to melt a little. You do not want them to get hot -just warm enough to be a thick liquid. Dot the top of the cheesecake with spoonfuls of preserves. Cut through top of cheesecake to marbleize.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off but do not open it. Let cheesecake sit in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool COMPLETELY on counter. Then refrigerate.

**No mater what I do this cheesecake ALWAYS cracks where the raspberries are swirled in. The faster it cools the deeper the cracks. That is why I turn off the oven & let it cool in there & then on the counter before it ends up in the fridge.