When I was helping take care of Baby J this week, our daughter wanted to make cookies. She had this new recipe she wanted us to try. The neat thing about this recipe was that while we were making the cookies, we could safely eat the cookie dough. And it was sooo good. These cookies were delicious warm out of the oven and also the next day. Not many were left after that.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 cup butter (I want to try 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup applesauce and see how that works)

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 cup boiling water

• 2 cups quick oats

• 1/2 cups raisins (I may add more because we really like raisins)

• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat the first four ingredients until fluffy. Add the flour and salt. Mix well. Add the baking soda to the boiling water and add to mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoonful on to ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake! This should make around 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Here’s a recipe for some yummy, healthy granola “bars” (well…actually they’re round) that we really like. They have a good amount of protein, fiber from the oatmeal and Spelt Flour, and healthy raisins. The dark chocolate chips satisfy my sweet tooth!

* 2 cups oats

* 1/2 cup Spelt Flour & 1/2 cup flour (or 1 cup flour)

* 1 cup protein powder (I use chocolate whey powder with protein isolates)

* 2/3 cup brown sugar

* 1/2 to 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

* 1/2 cup raisins

* 1/4 cup canola oil

* 1 tsp cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp salt

* two 6 oz cartons of vanilla yogurt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix ingredients well. Spray cupcake pans with Crisco. (This recipe makes 24) Put a heaping tablespoon of batter in each cup and flatten out. Bake 12-15 minutes until edges are brown. Let cool.

Enjoy!

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All You need an angel food cake, a large container of Cool Whip, and a mix of berries (thoroughly washed and dried) and kiwi. Place the cake on your serving plate, ice it with Cool Whip and decorate with the fruit. One thing that I’ve started doing is cutting the cake into individual pieces and putting the pieces side by side and then icing with Cool Whip to make it look like a whole cake. This makes serving so much easier. Otherwise, it’s hard to cut the Angel Food Cake with all the Cool Whip and fruit on it.

Below is an example of a pre-cut cake that looks like one whole cake. Serving it was real easy. I usually decorate the sides of the cake also, but I didn’t on this particular cake because of the cake carrier I was using. I use Lite Cool Whip so this low-fat cake is light and refreshing.

Our daughter gave me this recipe, and I’ve made it several times and have had numerous requests for the recipe. It’s so easy to make. People are surprised when they find out just how easy it is. This is not a “healthy” recipe, but it’s a great time saver when you need a homemade dessert to have for company or to take to a luncheon. I did change a couple of the ingredients to reduced fat.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans crescent rolls (I use regular for the bottom crust and reduced fat for the top)

• 2 pkg of 8 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat)

• 1 stick butter ( I’m going to try it with less butter)

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Cinnamon

Unroll one can of crescent rolls and place in the bottom of a 9″x13″ ungreased baking dish. Pinch together the seams to mostly make a solid layer. In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese and 1 cup of the sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mixture needs to be well blended. Microwaving it for a few seconds at a time improves being able to pour it in the pan. Pour mixture and spread over crescent roll layer. Unroll other package of crescent roll and lay on top. Don’t worry about pinching the seams together. In a small microwavable dish, melt butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Pour over top and spread. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. (we use a lot) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until top and sides are golden brown. Let cool about 15 minutes before cutting into squares and removing from pan. I usually cut it into 24 squares. Enjoy!

For a pie, this is healthier with the raisins and pecans:

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon butter

• 3 teaspoons vinegar

• 1 cup pecans

• 1 cup raisins

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

Mix well and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Check out my post to read about Canton’s First Monday Trade Days.