Chocolate Raspberry Bars

2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 t almond extract
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 pkg chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds

Frosting:
1 cup powder sugar
2 T Milk

Mix flour and sugar.  Cut in butter.  Stir in eggs and almond extract until moist.  Press in 9x13 pan.  Save about 1 cup for topping.  Spread with jam. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, almonds and left over dough.  Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees until golden.  Drizzle with frosting.

Bruce's Baked Apples

Ingredients
Mix/Stuffing:
1 apple (6 oz./Granny Smith Golden Delicious)
5 tbl. unsalted butter for mix
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 chopped pecans (toast/optional)
3 tbl. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. orange zest
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 apples (6 oz. each/Granny Smith Golden Delicious)
Sauce:
1 tbl. unsalted butter
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup maple syrup
Directions
1. One apple, peel, core and dice (cut into ¼ inch pieces)
2. Six apples , cut off small section of blossom end (dispose)
3. Cut ½ inch off top (“Apple Caps” - set aside and reserve)
4. Peel outer layer of apples
5. Core out apples with melon baller and leave ½ inch perimeter outer and bottom areas
6. Melt butter in skillet on medium heat and caramelize tops of apples (approx. 3 minutes)
7. Turn down heat to low and rotate apples, “pile” mix/stuffing in cored apples
8. Add apple cider and maple syrup to skillet for sauce
9. Cover apples with “Apple Caps”
10. Bake at 375 Degrees, rack on middle position, 35 to 40 minutes
11. Spoon with sauce every 10 minutes while baking
12. Test apple with a toothpick until tender
13. Drizzle sauce over apple before serving (if thick add more cider)
14. Remove “Apple Cap” and serve with Vanilla Ice Cream
See America’s Test Kitchen for demonstration:

Bruce's Gingerbread and Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stacker (GPCS)

Makes about 2 Dozen (Use 2 ¼ x 2 ¼” square or 2 ¼” diameter/round cookie cutter)
This dessert will bring all the pleasant flavors of fall together in a tasteful sandwich cookie. Try making these with a pumpkin or bell shape cookie cutter for a holiday style presentation. 

(Recipe Adapted by Bruce Maw)

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups all—purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 large egg
¼ cup unsulfured molasses
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling (See instructions below)
White Icing (See instructions below)
48 Pecan Pieces and 24 Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice and cloves: set aside.
2. In a bowl, beat butter, both sugars, and fresh ginger on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in egg and molasses to mixture. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, beating until well integrated.
3. Turn out the dough on to a clean surface, divide in half, shape into flattened disks; wrap each in plastic. Dough will be soft. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with racks in the upper and lower areas. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Remove dough from the refrigerator, and let stand until slightly softened. On a working surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out dough to about ¼ inches thick.
5. Working quickly, cut out with cookie cutters. (If the dough begins to soften too much, place in freezer for a few minutes.) Reroll scraps and cut out additional dough shapes. Repeat with remaining dough half. Using a spatula, transfer cutouts to prepared baking sheets; chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
6. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are crisp but not darkened, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Divide cookies evenly into bottoms and tops to create sandwiches.
7. Drop one tbsp or pipe pumpkin cream cheese filling onto bottoms and spread evenly. Set aside.
8. Spread icing over one half of top cookie. Decorate with two pecan pieces and one chocolate chip (optional). Place top cookies on bottom cookies to create a sandwich. Cookies should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Refrigerate filled cookies to store.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients:
8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
½ cup pureed pumpkin (canned optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
5 tbsp packed brown sugar
Directions:
Combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, and brown sugar until smooth.

White Icing
Ingredients:
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Whisk cream into sugar until smooth. Use immediately.

Chicken and Potato Bake

Ingredients:

Desired amount of chicken tenders or bone-in chicken pieces

1 1/2 lb. baking potatoes (about 3) cut into thin wedges

1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 F

Place chicken and potatoes in 9x13 baking dish

Top with dressing; sprinkle with cheese and seasoning. Cover.

Bake 1 hour or until chicken is done (165 F), uncovering after 30 min.

Recipe from Kraftrecipes.com

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury Pizza Dough (I used the thin crust)

1 cup BBQ Sauce

2 cups or so of left over chicken from BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2 cups shredded mozarella cheese

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 Tbsp Italian Dressing (I use Kraft Free Zesty Italian)

Directions:

Prepare pizza dough as directed on package

Saute peppers until tender

Spread BBQ Sauce within 1 inch of edge of dough

Layer with cheese, chicken, and peppers

Bake according to package directions or at 450 for 18-22 min. if you make your own dough

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) bag frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (16 oz.) bottle BBQ sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ)

1 cup water

2 dozen hamburger buns or French rolls

Directions:

In the morning, place chicken breasts in crock pot, frozen. Pour barbecue sauce and water over top and cook all day on low heat. Before serving, shred chicken with two forks to pull it apart and mix in sauce well. Spoon onto buns or rolls.

Italian Crockpot Chicken

James chowed this down tonight. That's always a good sign :)

Ingredients:

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese softened

1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Directions:

Combine soup, cream cheese and dressing mix. Pour over chicken in crock pot and cook all day on low heat. Serve over noodles or rice.