• 15 full sheets of graham crackers
• 1/2 C chopped pecans (2-oz bag) (original recipe calls for 1 cup…I’ll probably go with 1 cup next time)
• 1 C butter (2 sticks)
• 1 C brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 C mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12×17 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Break graham crackers into quarters and lay out on parchment paper. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the graham crackers.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter then add brown sugar and a pinch of salt.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Boil 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour the butter/sugar mixture evenly over the graham crackers and pecans, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.  Top immediately with the chocolate chips.  (You could also spread the chocolate chips once melted, or melt ahead of time and drizzle.  I just left the chocolate in chip-form).  Allow bars to sit until hardened.  You can refrigerate for 30 minutes to help speed up the process.  Break into bars.

60 servings.  81 calories per serving (when using 1/2 C pecans)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 30 large marshmallows (a 10-ounce bag contains 38 to 40)
• 1 teaspoon green food color
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups cornflakes cereal
• Red-hot cinnamon candies, for decorating

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon food color and the vanilla. Add the cornflakes; stir until coated evenly.  Drop mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto wax paper or parchment paper. Decorate with candies. Let stand 30 minutes, or until cool.

• 1 Devil’s Food cake mix
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 package of Andes mints

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop rounded spoonfuls (2 tablespoons?) of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes (I did 9).  Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie.  Wait 5 minutes for the mint to melt, then use the back of a spoon to smooth out each mint like frosting.  Let cool so the frosting sets up.  Enjoy!

• 1 bag of Fritos corn chips or Fritos Scoops
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 bag milk chocolate chips

Spread the fritos out in a bar pan (15×10x1).  In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar and corn syrup to a boil, stirring frequently.  Boil 1 minute then remove from heat.  Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.  Pour over the fritos.  Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle over the fritos.  Cool and enjoy.

Crust:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 C cold butter

Filling:

• 2 C sugar
• 7 Tbsp flour
• 1 C whipping cream
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 5 C finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Topping:

• 2 pkgs (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C whipping cream, whipped (can also use 2 C cool whip)

In a bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Press into a greased 9×13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, for filling, combine sugar and flour in a bowl.  Whisk in cream and eggs.  Stir in the rhubarb.  Pour over the crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until custard is set.  Cool.  For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream.  Spread over top of custard layer.  Cover and chill.  Store in the refrigerator.

• 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp lite sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 recipe vanilla frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, whip together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Beat in the eggs.  Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well-blended.  Slowly add the dry mixture and stir until well combined.  Gently press the batter into the sprayed baking dish.  Bake approximately 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden.  Cool completely, then frost and cut into 18-24 bars.

Vanilla Frosting:

• 1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
• 2 C powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp lowfat half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• several drops of food coloring

In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip together butter, powdered sugar, and half and half until fluffy.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Add in food coloring and mix until well blended.

• 2 C sugar
• 1 C honey
• 1 C strong coffee
• 1 C canola oil
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 8-10 C flour (I usually use 9C)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp ground star anise
• 1 Tbsp soda
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 C finely chopped walnuts (I’ve used pecans when out of walnuts)
• Powdered sugar, vanilla, and water for glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, honey, coffee, and oil to a boil.  Boil together for 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  Add the eggs once cooled.  Meanwhile, combine the remaining dry ingredients.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring in enough flour so you can roll the dough into balls without it sticking to your hands.  Shape into walnut-size balls and bake until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  They don’t spread much so you can place a lot of cookies on each cookie sheet.  Remove cookies from pan and cool on a wire rack.  Use powdered sugar, vanilla, and water to make a very thin glaze.  Once completely cooled, drop each cookie in the glaze, tap off excess glaze, then place on a wire rack.  Eventually move to wax paper to dry; flip over so the bottoms dry as well.  Store cookies in an airtight container.

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) lemon cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
  FILLING:
• 1 can (16 ounces) lemon frosting
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
  
• 2 eggs

In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, butter and egg until crumbly. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.

In another bowl, beat frosting and cream cheese until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Add eggs to remaining mixture; beat on low speed just until combined. Spread over crust.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until filling is set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Spread reserved frosting mixture over top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 bar equals 370 calories, 21 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 70 mg cholesterol, 375 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 3 g protein.

My calorie calculations using reduced fat cream cheese:  16 servings 353 calories; 18 servings 305 calories; 24 servings 229 calories.  These bars are pretty rich; I cut into 24 servings and thought it was actually a decent serving size.

• 3/4 C shortening
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 C flour
• 2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 C bran

Cream together the first 4 ingredients until fluffy.  Sift in dry ingredients and stir well.  Form into small balls.  Roll in granulated sugar until the entire cookie is coated then place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes ( do not over-bake; they stay nice and soft if baked for 10 minutes or a little less).  Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.  Makes about 5 dozen.

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) devil’s food cake mix
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 36 Rolo candies

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, egg and oil. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Press a candy into each; reshape balls. (I rolled a ball of dough, flattened it, wrapped it around a Rolo, then re-rolled the ball).

Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until tops are cracked. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cookie equals 84 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 118 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein.

(Note: I made 36 cookies, but calculated them at 93 calories per cookie)