Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Strawberry Glazed Cookie

Preparation Time - 40 minutes - makes 40 to 48 cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks salted butter, softened 
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 - 6-ounce package of semi sweet chocolate chips,  
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 
2 - 4 tablespoons milk 
1 tablespoon seedless strawberry preserves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 1 or more cookie sheets.
With a mixer using medium speed and a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and then add both sugars and mix until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. After all ingredients are well stirred, using a tablespoon, make approximately one inch round balls and drop onto the prepared cookie sheets. Keep the cookie balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and strawberry preserves. Stir until smooth. When the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over them.

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Portuguese Rice Pudding​

Delicious! 

This recipe comes from San Miguel Island in the Azores archipelago. My mom and aunts always made rice pudding for any holiday. We have slightly modified it. Once you have learned how to make this quite delicious dessert, you will no longer want the store bought. 
Serving size: 8-12
Preparation time: 60 to 75 minutes

Ingredients

1 and a half quarts (6 cups) of whole milk 
1 cup of uncooked rice (for a thicker rice pudding add another 1/4 cup of uncooked rice) 
1 cup of white sugar
2 eggs, beaten​

Any moisture or condensation on the strawberries will cause the melted chocolate not to stick to the strawberries. Line the baking sheets or cookie sheets with aluminum foil, waxed paper or parchment paper.  

In a small pot (one pint) add the chocolate chips and the canola oil. Use a low heat setting. Stir the chocolate chips until they thoroughly melt through. The mixture should be smooth and creamy. See slideshow picture detail on Home page. Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat.  

Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. With the remaining melted chocolate, add about one cup of salted or non-salted roasted peanuts into the pot and stir the peanuts around the chocolate until all the exposed peanuts are covered with chocolate. 

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Easy to Prepare Dessert Recipes

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Peanuts

Preparation time: about 1 hour

ENJOY!

Directions

In a large saucepan over high heat combine the sugar and milk and stir. When bubbles start to form at the edge of the pan, stir in the rice and reduce the heat to medium-low*. Approximate cooking time is 60 to 75 minutes. Stir often, until the rice is tender. DO NOT ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO BOIL. 

Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat and VIGOROUSLY stir in the beaten eggs, a little at a time. The eggs need to be well mixed into the rice mixture. Place the rice pudding in a clay or Pyrex eight inch or larger oval or round serving dish. Sprinkle cinnamon over the rice pudding for additional flavor and for decoration. Serve warm or chilled. 

*Some stoves have a higher heat release than others, therefore you may have to reduce the heat to low-medium about 20 minutes after the rice is introduced. 

Chicken, meats, seafood  

recipes

Preparation

​Heat the almonds in a skillet under high heat. Toast the almonds before the sugar and honey are added. For the sugar go start melting quickly, the almonds need be nice and hot; this takes about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sugar. Stir the sugar around the almonds until all the sugar melts. Now, drizzle the Honey over the almonds and stir. Keep stirring until all the honey and melted sugar completely coat all of the almonds. Remove the coated almonds from the skillet and place them on a cookie sheet and let them cool. Don't forget to spread the coated almonds evenly on the cookie sheet. Once the almonds have cooled down they should be stored in an air tight container so that they can remain fresh for servicing during the holidays.
Any remaining melted sugar and honey in the pan will harden. Here is the secret to cleaning a skillet that has been coated with melted sugar. In order to avoid the hard job of cleaning hardened sugar from a cold skillet, add about one cupful of hot water to the skillet. While the almonds are cooling down, the skillet can be easily cleaned.  

Ingredients

​​12 ounces of semi sweet or sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound of fresh strawberries

Bread Pudding

​Preparation Time - about 40 minute ​

Ingredients

2 cups of milk
About 3 cups (cut or pulled into small pieces) Old bread, air dried several days
½ cup of raisins
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Soak the break in the milk for about 15 minutes. Beat the eggs and all the ingredients together. Mix well. If the mixture is very liquidy, add a little additional bread. Butter a glass or metal 12 x 9 inch casserole pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Depending on your oven’s heat distribution, you may need to bake for an additional few minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream.

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Preparation

​​When purchasing the strawberries, look for firm, ripe, fruit without any blemishes, bruises or mold. Make sure that they have bright green stems and leaves. Do not choose strawberries that are not ripe. Once they are picked from the vine they will not ripen any further. The strawberries should be at room temperature before they are dipped in the melted chocolate. When you are ready to melt the chocolate chips, rinse the strawberries with lukewarm water and then dry them with a clean cloth or paper towel. 

Sugar-Honey Toasted Almonds

Ingredients

12 ounces of almonds
3 to 4 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 tablespoons of honey ​