Pistachio or Chocolate Cream Cheese Dessert

1 stick butter
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large container Cool Whip
2 pkgs instant pudding
2 1/2 cups cold milk

Melt butter and place in 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with mixture of flour and powdered sugar.  Pat on bottom pan with a cold, wet hand.  Sprinkle with nuts.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Cool.  Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar till smooth.  Mix with half of Cool Whip.  Spread over crust.  Prepare pudding according to package directions BUT with the amount of milk on the recipe, NOT the package.  Spread over cream cheese layer.  Cover with rest of Cool Whip.  Top with chopped nuts.  Refrigerate.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

1/3 cup melted butter
1 pkg (20 oz) oreos
1 (16 oz) hot fudge
1/2 gallong vanilla ice cream
1 (8oz) cool whip
1 cup peanuts

Place melted butter in 9x13 pan.  Crush cookies (save 1 cup for topping).  Mix crumbs with the butter and press in bottom of pan.  Slice ice cream, layer over crumbs.  Pour fudge topping over ice cream.  Spread in even layer.  Sprinkle peanuts on top of fudge layer, then put cool whip on top of that.  Last, sprinkle with cookie crumbs.  Freeze. 

Snickers Cake

1 German chocolate cake mix
1 package Kraft caramels
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts
6 oz chocolate chips

Mix cake according to package directions.  Put half of batter into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake for 20 minutes at 325.  Melt caramels with milk and butter.  Pour over finished cake layer, then sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips.  Pour remaining batter over and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, then bake at 250 for 20 minutes. 

I did this with Pioneer Woman's Caramel sauce rather than Kraft Caramels.  And I used my recipe for Whipped Frosting .

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

1 stick butter
1 lb powdered sugar (4 cups)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
8-10 oz choc chips and 6 Tbsp butter (for top layer)

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips and butter.  Press into 13,9 inch pan.  Pack it very well.  Melt 8-10 oz chocolate chips and the butter.  Spread on top.  Refrigerate to harden.  Take them out to warm them for a few minutes before you cut them. 

Healthy Chocolate Muffins

(Not my recipe....recipe found HERE)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c oats

•  3 egg whites
•  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!
Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin

Chocolate Pecan Tart

I have never made a tart before, and have never had anything remotely close to this so I had no idea what to expect.  It did not disappoint!  It was a flaky crust, with the chocolate layer turning out perfectly chewy extremely chocolatey brownie, with a hint of pecan pie on top!  SO good!  The actual recipe calls for hazelnuts, I did pecans, so I'm sure you can do pretty much anything and have it turn out well.


Chocolate Hazelnut (or Pecan!) Tart

Pastry for one-crust 9 inch pan*
1/3 cup butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn syrup (I used light corn syrup)
1 cup hazelnuts (or pecans, or whatever), skinned and coarsley chopped
sweetened whipped cream**

Move oven rack to lowest position.  Heat oven to 475.  Make pastry as directed - roll into a 12 inch circle. Fold pastry into fourths; unfold and ease into springform pan, 9x3 inches, pressing firmly against bottom and side.  Prick bottom and side thoroughly with fork.  Bake 5 minutes; cool. 

Reduce oven temperature to 350.  Heat butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted; cool slightly.  Beat eggs, sugar, salt, corn syrup and chocolate mixture in medium bowl using hand beater.  Stir in hazelnuts.  Pour into pastry-lined pan. 

Bake 65-70 minutes or until set; cool 10 minutes.  Loosen tart from side of pan; remove side of pan.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream.  Refrigerate any remaining tart. 

*Standard Pastry Dough for 1 crust pie:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp shortening
2-3 Tbsps cold water

(Now, I doubled this because I hate rolling crust when it is too thin and ripping.  I would much rather have too much dough, roll it a little bigger so it's not too thick and then cut off the extra.)

In medium bowl, mix flour and salt.  Cut in shortening using pastry blender or 2 knives, until it resembles crumbs the size of peas.  Sprinkle with cold water and toss with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves the sides of the bowl. 

Gather pastry into a ball; shape into a flattened round on plastic wrap, wrap completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes, or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable.  Roll out between 2 sheets of wax paper. 



**Sweetened Whipped Cream:

Alright, this part is so easy.  For each cup of whipping cream (or heavy cream) that you use, add a few tablespoons of sugar.  Whip with a blender till thick and delicious!