Maraschino Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

These were the tasty result of an RS cookie swap a few years ago - I've made them every year since. Thanks Tori!

2 10-oz jars of Maraschino cherries
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons milk

Drain cherries, reserving juice. Combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well. Put butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well.

Put chocolate chips and milk in a small saucepan and heat, stirring constantly, on low heat until chocolate melts. Add reserved cherry juice to taste (I use 1-2 teaspoons). Let cool slightly.

Shape dough into 1" balls. Place on ungreased baking pan. Push in centers with thumb or bottom of a teaspoon, then spoon 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into each thumbprint and top with a cherry. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Don't overcook or they will become hard and not as tasty. Let cool on wire racks.

Martian Cookies

In an attempt to use up a truckload of zucchini that we harvested during the five days that our friends were out of town, I've been trying just about every recipe I can find on Allrecipes that involves squash - and even adding it to some that don't. Some of the results have been better than others... this was one of the winners!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. In a medium bowl, stir together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until well blended. With a spoon, stir in oats, zucchini, and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

The first time I made these, I forgot to add the oats and they were really good that way too!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

My sister shared this wonderful recipe with me for my birthday. It sounds kind of weird, but tastes delicious! For those of you who have given up chocolate mousse because it has too much fat or contains raw eggs and dairy... you need suffer no more! This was super creamy and very rich! Even my kids thought it was great! You'll be amazed by the secret ingredient...

Bread Pudding

This is one of those great comfort food recipes that has been passed down through generations... my mom remembers eating it as a child and her mom (my grandma) does as well - it goes back at least as far as my great-great grandmother, Johanna Jurk. It was always a special treat for us as children - we loved it warm and fresh from the oven.

2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups dry bread, cubed
nutmeg or cinnamon to taste
1/4 cup raisins

Place bread in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Beat the eggs and mix with milk, sugar and spices. Pour the liquid over the bread and let stand until thoroughly soaked. Add raisins. Bake 20 minutes or until firm in a 350 oven.

Those of you who know me know that I view recipes more as suggestions than as a hard and fast rule - which means my favorite recipes are those that are somewhat flexible in their execution. This is one of those recipes. I recently found a bag of gingerbread waffles in my freezer that had been there too long to taste very good on their own, so I used them to make a gingery bread pudding. I didn't add any extra spices to the liquid and replaced the raisins with chocolate and butterscotch chips - it was scrumptious!

Birthday Brownies

For my birthday, I decided I wanted to have brownies rather than a cake - and I found this recipe that was really intriguing so I decided I'd give it a try. It was the challenge recipe from Wondertime (sort of a my brownies are better than your brownies thing).
I have to say, they were really good. But I don't think I'd really call them brownies - they were more like fudge. I guess I like my brownies to have a bit more cake texture to them while still being fudgy. These are better when chilled but while not overly sweet, they are super rich... so have a glass of cold milk at the ready! They haven't posted the recipe online yet, so I'll print it here and update with the link when they have it ready.

Layered Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

Brownies: Heat oven to 300. Butter a 9x13 pan. Melt the stick of butter and chocolate in a small pan over very low heat or in a double boiler. Remove from heat. While the mixture cools, beat together the sugar, eggs, and salt for 8 minutes. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the flour and vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until it pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly, about an hour and a half.
Frosting: After the brownies have cooled for an hour, melt the butter over low heat until it's medium brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately beat in the confectioners sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Frost the brownies with this mixture while it's still warm. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
Glaze: While the frosting cools, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small pan over very low heat or in a double boiler. Pour over the white icing. (The best way to do this is to pour the chocolate on and tilt the pan back and forth until covered.) When the glaze has hardened - it will take an hour or two - cut the brownies into squares. Chill thoroughly before eating.

The next time I'm craving brownies, I think I'll try the ones my friend Tara has been raving about here...