Congo Bars ~ by Sarah

Aunt Janet made these for a family reunion last weekend and they were amazing!  Kind of like a chocolate chip cookie, but in a bar form.  She used chocolate chips and mint green chips, but I couldn't find any, so I used butterscotch with the chocolate.  Still delicious!

Ingredients:

2 3/4 c. flour

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2/3 c. butter-flavored Crisco, melted

2 1/3 c. brown sugar

3 eggs

1/2 bag chocolate chips

1/2 bag peanut butter, butterscotch, or mint chips

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.  Set aside.  In large bowl, cream melted Crisco and brown sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually mix in the dry ingredients and mix well.  Add in chips and stir gently.  Bake in a 9x13-inch pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

Tips: These will dry out quickly, so don't make them too far in advance and don't cut them until it's time to serve them.  Also, watch them carefully as they bake--you don't want them overdone!

Craig Olson's Peanut Butter Balls~by Kelsey

We were introduced to these by Craig Olson at our volunteer fire fighter bbq.  They are to DIE for, and we were lucky enough that he made us another batch at Christmas time AND included the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups peanut butter (crunchy is best)
1 lb powdered sugar
3 cups Rice Crispies
Mix well.  Using your hands, roll into balls about 1 inch across in size.
Dip them in the following after melting in a double boiler:
1/2 bar parafin
8 ox Hershey bar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

I have actually never made these myself, so I have no idea how difficult it is or how long it takes.  And, we forgot to take a picture before we ate them all.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chip Cookies ~ by Sarah

A friend of mine posted that on Facebook that she had made these.  I love pumpkin and I love chocolate, so I made them right away.  They are amazingly delicious!  Worth making any time of year!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chip
- 2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)
- 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 TB vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside. 2. Next beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until well creamed together. 3. Now add in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Beat until combine well. 4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. 5. Next, stir in your oats. Mix well. 6. Stir in both the white and dark chocolate chips. 7. Drop cookie dough by the rounded tablespoon on to the prepared baking. sheet. 8. Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. DO NOT OVERCOOK. They will seem a little soft, but will firm up as they cool. You want to keep the nice, soft texture!

Peanut butter-filled brownie cupcakes~by Kelsey

I recently found this recipe in the Country magazine.  And I immediately tried it out.  It was very easy and delicious.  I ended up with about 15 cupcakes, plus had enough filling left over to make a whole cupcake out of just the peanut butter filling!

Ingredients:
1 pkg fudge brownie mix (you will also need the ingredients listed on the back, usually just eggs and oil)
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I used regular size)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions, stir in chocolate chips.  For filling, in a small bowl, beat peanut butter, cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth.  Fill paper-lined muffin cups one third full with batter.  Drop filling by teaspoonfuls into the center of each cupcake.  Cover with remaining batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing.  Dust tops with confectioners sugar.  Store in refrigerator.

Fudge~by Kelsey

From allrecipes.com.  It works best to double the recipe and put it in a 9X13 pan.

Ingredients:
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Place the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in large microwave-safe bowl.  Zap in microwave on medium until chips are melted, about 3-5 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking.  Stir in nuts, if desired.  Pour into well-greased 8X8 glass baking dish.  Refrigerate until set.

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies~by Kelsey

Lydia found this recipe in Grace's Williams-Sonoma Cookbook for Kids.  I am a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until blended.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed until blended.  Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, placing 12 balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Dip fork in flour and press each cookie twice to make a criss-cross pattern.  Bake until golden, about 8-10 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the pans for five minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  Meanwhile, add the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl.  Add the shortening.  Microwave on high for one minute, stir, then microwave again for 30 seconds longer or until melted.  One at a time, dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator just until the cookies set, about five minutes.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.  Makes 24 cookies.

No-Bake Chocolate Truffle Pie ~ by Sarah

Molly made me this pie years ago and I insisted that she write the recipe down for me. I remembered it the other day and made it. It was delicious!

Ingredients:
3/4 c. (about 17) caramels
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. (one regular-sized bag) chocolate chips
1 c. whipping cream
3 T. butter
1 prepared chocolate crumb crust (Fred Meyer was out, so I had to improvise my own...it didn't work out so well.  I recommend that you try to buy one!)

Directions:
Melt caramels and milk together over low heat.  Pour in crust.  Melt other ingredients together.  Pour over caramel mixture.  Refrigerate until set (about 4 hours).  Serve with whipped topping.  (I bought extra whipping cream and whipped it up for the topping.  I didn't add sugar because this pie is rich, so the more bland whipping cream is a nice balance.

I forgot to take a picture and I remembered as I began eating the last slice the next day!

Chango Bars~by Grace

This recipe came from the 1st/2nd grade classroom at Centerville Elementary.  They read a book about a real Mexican-Jewish-American bakery, Los Bagels Bakery and Cafe, in Arcata, CA.  This recipe was in the book, and Grace brought it home to try out.  It was simple and good.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine (Grace used butter Crisco)
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mixed nuts (Grace left these out)


Melt butter and margarine.  While it is melting, cream brown sugar and eggs, then add melted butter and margarine.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and stir into sugar mixture.  Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour mixture into greased 9 X13 pan and bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.