Sooji Halwa

1.5c milk
1/4c. water
1 dash cardamom
1/4c (or a little less) sugar
saffron- few strands

Combine these in a saucepan, bring to a boil, stir and turn off.

1/4c. Ghee
handful cashews
handful raisins
1/2c. sooji or rava

Melt ghee in a skillet, add cashews and stir until they begin to turn golden, add raisins. Add sooji and continue stirring for a minute or two, then add in milk syrup from saucepan. Be careful as the milk will splatter when added to the sooji. Reduce heat to low-med and stir for another minute or two until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and try not to eat the whole batch in one sitting!

Grandma Shirley's "Just Delicious" Cookies

1c. brown sugar
1c. white sugar
1c. butter softened
1c. oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1c. coconut
1c. rolled oats
3.5c. flour
1c. rice krispies
1 pkg (16 oz) choc chips

Bake at 350 for 12-15mins
Makes 6 doz cookies.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

1 pint strawberries with stems/leaves, washed and dried
4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (If you don't have a double boiler, see tip below) Hold each strawberry by the stem, and swirl in melted chocolate until bottom half of strawberry is coated. After swirling, set strawberry on its side on waxed paper and allow chocolate to set (about 30-60mins). Enjoy!

Tips: I don't have a double boiler, so I took a small pot and found a bowl that would fit on top of it. I filled the bottom 2" of the pot with water, and brought it to a boil. Then I turned off the heat and set the bowl (with chocolate in it) on top of the pot. The heat from the steam slowly melted the chocolate.

I think these will only keep for about a day in the fridge. Between three of us, we had no problem finishing them in a day! I'm already craving more!

Tangy Lemon Bars

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
2 c. flour
1 (10 oz) jar lemon curd
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter, sugar, and flour until mixture is crumbly. Press 2/3 of mixture into bottom of 9x13" baking pan. Bake for 10 mins. Remove bars and reduce oven temperature to 350. Once bars are cool, spread lemon curd over bars. Mix coconut with remaining 1/3 of crumbs and then sprinkle mixture to cover lemon curd. Bake another 25 mins at 350 degrees until top crust begins to turn golden. Allow bars to cool before cutting into pieces.

These lemon bars are a bit tangier than traditional lemon bars. That's why I love this recipe. Warning: they are addicting. My husband ate two bars last night and was practically begging for a third! I hate to admit it but I ate one for breakfast this morning. Yum!

Decadent Chocolate Truffles

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tb. unsalted butter

First, decide how many types of truffles you'd like to make. I made three types: coffee, raspberry, and chocolate flavors. (See below for other suggestions) Divide your chocolate evenly between the bowls (I used three separate bowls). In a small saucepan, bring the cream and butter to a boil. Remove the boiling mixture and pour evenly over your bowls of chocolate (one third of the mixture into each bowl). Stir chocolate and cream until smooth and melted. Add the flavoring to each bowl. I added 1 Tb. raspberry jam to the first bowl, 1 tsp. instant coffee to the second, and I left the third bowl alone. Now place the bowls in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until chocolate is firm.

Here comes the fun and beautiful part. You are going to form your truffles into small, bite-sized balls and then roll them in a coating. I think the best options are cocoa powder, crushed nuts, and coconut flakes. Set up your countertop with each "coating" in a separate small bowl. Remove the chocolate from the refrigerator. Using a spoon or melon scoop, form the chocolate into small balls and roll each ball in the desired coating. Arrange on a tray and refrigerate again another 30 minutes or more. Serve chilled.

Other suggestions for ganache flavors include orange (add 1 Tb. orange zest), peanut butter (2 Tb.), or grand marnier. Get creative and add whatever you'd like. I've tried truffles with cheese, olive oil, wasabi, sea salt, cardamom, and the list goes on!

I rated it 4 stars because my family and I loved them, but I don't have any experience making truffles. They were very, very rich which can be good or bad depending on your taste. My 5 star standard in chocolate is anything from Vosges Haut Chocolate in NYC. If I can ever make something that tastes as good as Vosges, I'll give it 5 stars!

Makes 20-25 truffles.

Swedish Cardamom Cookies

2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter
1 c. sugar
1 Tb. karo syrup (I substituted 1 Tb. agave nectar)
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. cardamom (fresh or powdered)
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in syrup and egg yolk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Combine with wet ingredients. Roll into 1 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and flatten with fork. Bake for 10-12 mins. Makes 4 doz cookies.

Using fresh cardamom gives these cookies a little punch. I peeled the cardamom pods open and crushed the seeds instead of using the powdered cardamom spice. These cookies are quite rich, so the smaller the better. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea.

Carrot Cake

4 eggs
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb. ground cinnamon
3 c. grated carrots
1 c. chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
1/2 c. butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x13 inch pan.

In a bowl beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and then stir in carrots and pecans. Pour into pan. Bake for 40-50 mins, until knife inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth. Frost cake once it is cooled.

This carrot cake is rich and moist. I like the carrot cake lightly frosted, but my husband raves about the cake without frosting. Either way, its addicting!

Peanut Butter- Chocolate Chip- Oatmeal Cookies

Link to Recipe

These cookies are a great combo of sweet and salty.  I substituted sunflower seeds for peanuts.  The cookies are best served the next day with a cold glass of milk!  Enjoy, but just don't look at the nutrition information. Yikes!

Rating 4 stars