Lynsey's Red Velvet Cookies

‎1 box of white cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of oil, 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, 1 bottle of red food coloring. Mix and bake for 8 minutes at 375°

Sugar Cookies from All Recipes

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/soft-sugar-cookies-iv/Detail.aspx

Lynne's Sweet Potato Casserole

1 can sweet yams(40oz.) I buy the Tops brand

3 medium apples

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

butter pats for the top

I drain the juice from the potatoes and put it aside. Put the potatoes in a baking dish. Pare and toss the apples with the potatoes. In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg. Beat the egg and mix the ingredients at the same time. Spread over the potatoes. I toss it a little bit. Now pour some of the juice over the top to moisten some of the topping. Lastly place butter pats over the top. I use as little as possible, about 6 thin pats should do it. Bake at 375 for about 45 mins. If you're in a hurry you can microwave for about 15 mins. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't overflow.

Buttercream Frosting-From What's Cooking America -Best Yet

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
2 cups Crisco shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter flavoring (Wilton’s makes the best flavored version)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I use Wilton’s Clear Vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 pounds powdered (confectioners') cane sugar, divided*
1 tablespoon meringue powder (optional but the texture will be smoother)**
Water or milk as necessary (I usually add about 2 tablespoons but you may need more or less depending on the humidity in your neighborhood)

* 2 pounds unsifted powdered sugar = about 8 to 9 cups.

** You can purchase meringue powder at your local grocery store under the brand name of Just Whites.

In the electric mixer, combine butter, Crisco shortening, and salt together to incorporate, about 5 minutes on low.

Add butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix together well. Add about 1 pound (4 to 4 1/2 cups) powdered sugar and the meringue powder; mix until incorporated.

Add the remaining powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time, and mix until you get the consistency you want. You may not need to use all the powdered sugar.

Add a little water or milk, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary to thin the frosting. Blend well on low for several minutes.

Use immediately or cover and refrigerate. NOTE: Buttercream Icing will last for weeks as long as it is well sealed.

Makes about 3 1/2 pounds of Buttercream Icing.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from America's Test Kitchen

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Season 10: The Cookie Jar

Why this recipe works: Rich and buttery, with their soft cores and crispy edges, chocolate chip cookies are the American cookie-jar standard. Since Nestlé first began printing the recipe for Toll House cookies on the back of chocolate chip bags in 1939, generations of bakers have packed them into lunches and taken them to potlucks. But after a few samples, we wondered if this was really the best that a chocolate chip cookie could be. We wanted to refine this recipe to create a moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie with crisp edges and deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness—in short, a more sophisticated cookie than the standard bake sale offering.

Melting a generous amount of butter before combining it with other ingredients gave us the chewy texture we wanted. Since we were melting butter, we browned a portion of it to add nutty flavor. Using a bit more brown sugar than white sugar enhanced chewiness, while a combination of one egg and one egg yolk gave us supremely moist cookies. For the crisp edges and deep toffee flavor, we allowed the sugar to dissolve and rest in the melted butter. We baked the cookies until golden brown and just set, but still soft in the center. The resulting cookies were crisp and chewy and gooey with chocolate, and boasted a complex medley of sweet, buttery, caramel, and toffee flavors. (less)

Why this recipe works: Rich and buttery, with their soft cores and crispy edges, chocolate chip cookies are the American cookie-jar standard. Since Nestlé first began printing the recipe for To...(more)

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In Queue: Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

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We set out to perfect the back-of-the-bag classic with a cookie that was crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, and full of rich toffee flavor.

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Makes 16 cookies

Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips, see related tasting.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
• 2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
• 3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
• 4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)
• 5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Technique

Don't Bake in Batches

Baking two trays at a time may be convenient, but it leads to uneven cooking. The cookies on the top tray are often browner around the edges than those on the bottom, even when rotated halfway through cooking

Truffle Topped Brownies from Shortcut Cookie Book

1 -package brownie mix
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Spray the bottom only of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or foil line pan.

Combine the brownie mix, melted butter, water, and eggs in a medium mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until just blended and all dry ingredients are moistened. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 20=30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean.

During last 10 minutes of brownie baking, prepare topping. Melt chocolate chips with condensed milk in a heavy saucepan set over low heat, stirring until smooth. remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Remove brownies from oven and immediately spread with chocolate mixture. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Chill for 1 hour in refrigerator to set topping. Cut into bars. If desired, sift cocoa powder over squares. Store in refrigerator.

Double batch for thick brownies.

Pretzel Jello Dessert from Cooks.com

1 stick melted butter
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 large container Cool Whip
1 cup sugar
1 (6 oz) pkg strawberry jello
1 large pkg frozen strawberries

Mix melted butter, pretzels, and 1/2 cup sugar together and press into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 6 minutes at 350 degrees.

Dissolve jello in 2 cups boiling water and add frozen strawberries. Let gel.

Combine cream cheese, cool whip, and 1/2 cup sugar; put on top of crumbs. When jello is starting to set, pour over cheese layer and refrigerate until firm.