White Chocolate Key Lime Calypso Bars

Ingredients:

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 cup chopped pistachios

1 cup coconut

1.5 cup white vanilla baking chips

1/2 cup key lime juice, fresh lime juice, or frozen limeade concentrate

12 oz. can of condensed milk

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease or spray a 13x9 pan.

3. In a large bowl, break up cookie dough.

4. Stir or knead in nuts and coconut until well blended.

5. Press dough mixture evenly into bottom of pan to form crust.

6. Sprinkle one cup of the vanilla chips over dough; press lightly into dough.

7. Bake 14-16 minutes or until light brown.

8. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat condensed milk, lime juice, egg yolks and vegetable oil with spoon until well blended. Pour mixture evenly over crust.

9. Bake 20-25 minutes more, until filling is set.

Apple Pecan Cobbler

Ingredients

• 4 cups thinly sliced apples
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Arrange apple slices in an even layer in the baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup pecans. Sprinkle mixture over apples.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together egg, evaporated milk, and melted butter. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture all at once, and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over apples, and sprinkle top with 1/4 cup pecans.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 312 | Total Fat: 8.6g | Cholesterol: 47mg

Low-Fat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 boxes of cake mix (can be spice, yellow, white or butter pecan)
1 29 oz can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips/chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cake mixes and pumpkin until there are no lumps.
Fold in semisweet chocolate chips/chunks.
Drop by large spoonfuls onto sprayed cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cookies will be soft and moist!!

These are a great low fat and high fiber recipe perfect for fall and to satisfy your craving for sweets!!!"

Nanny's Pumpkin Cookies With Maple Penuche Frosting

Ingredients:

Servings: 5 dozen

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (I skipped these since my
daughter's allergic)

Penuche Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar


Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 In large bowl or mixer beat together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup butter until light and fluffy.
3 Add pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and blend well.
4 Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt mix well.
5 Stir in pecans.
6 Drop by rounded spoonfuls (an 80 scoop works great!) a couple of inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7 Bake at 350°F for 10-12 min or just until the edges only are light golden brown.
8 Immediately remove from cookie sheets and cool on rack.

Maple Penuche Frosting.

1 In a medium sauce pan combine 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 3 tbls butter and bring to a boil.
2 Add maple syrup and cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly!
3 Let cool 10 minutes.
4 Add cream; and beat until smooth.
5 Beat in powdered sugar gradually until desired consistency for frosting.
6 Frost cooled cookies and keep in single layer in an air tight container to keep moist and fresh--that is if they last that long!

The Dip

And here is the recipe for "the dip" as it is known in my family and circle of friends. It's a little change to regular ol' ranch dip for veggies/chips. And my mom uses it as salad dressing too. I'm sure there are a hundred different uses for it (and if you figure out something particularly tasty let me know) - but either way, it's pretty well loved. And I hope this turns out because I'm not a "measure everything out" kind of cook.

The Dip

2 packages of cream cheese - softened (can be reduced fat if you want)
1 lime
1/4 cup of minced cilantro (I go with a small handful)
1 & 1/2 teaspoons of ranch dip mix (I think it's the hidden valley dip)
2 - 3 chopped jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
Veggies/crackers/chips for dipping (carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, celery, etc.)

Cut the jalapenos into thirds and mince them in a food processor. Leave them a little big because next you're going to add the cilantro and mince it some more. Then cut the cream cheese into thirds and add it into the food processor and mix well. Once it's mixed, add the ranch dip, garlic powder and juice from one lime - mix well. Taste it - if it's really thick and you can hardly taste the lime you might want to add in some more lime juice. It should have just a hint of spice and a ranch/cilantro/lime flavor. Slice your veggies for dipping and you're done.

Tuscan Salad

Ingredients

• 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1 head Romaine lettuce, torn
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1/2 red onion, cut into slivers
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ounce shaved Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Directions

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until beans are slightly tender. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 3 minutes. Drain the green beans.

In a large bowl, combine the green beans with the lettuce, cannellini beans, olives, and red onion. Toss to combine. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Top with shaved Parmesan and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis

Marisa's Crack Salad Dressing

Laura C. has dubbed this recipe "Marisa's Crack Salad Dressing" since she's convinced that it is as addictive as crack (how she'd know about the addictive qualities of crack is somewhat of a mystery, though). LOL! Anyhow, here it is, so give it a go and try not to get tooooo addicted. ;)

Marisa says [Laura's comments are in brackets]:

Into the blender [I use my immersion blender] goes:
1 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil [why grapeseed oil? Because it doesn’t coagulate when it gets cold! It’s also a neutral-flavored oil with a high heat point. I love it!]
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar [I use Bragg’s - do use a high quality one, please!]
1 TB whole grain mustard or dijon type mustard
1-2 garlic cloves [I usually only use one]
1 TB maple syrup or honey
salt and pepper to taste

Optional additions:
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil

Blend and taste adjust if needed. Should have a creamy consistency and should thin out a bit over time. Pour in jar, store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Great with salads, sauteed greens, rice, cold pasta, and veggie sticks. This really cannot be messed up. I use what I have on hand. Sometimes honey, sometimes maple syrup; a shallot if I’m out of garlic, but ALWAYS apple cider vinegar.