Southern Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake Bars

Look out. This one calls for quite a few medium bowls!


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups finely chopped pecans, divided
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, divided
4 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Lightly grease foil.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Cut-in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 1 egg, beating until combined. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth; pour over prepared crust. Bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, and remaining 3 eggs. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups pecans; pour over cream cheese mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until center is set. Let cool in pan completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Fudge

This is my cousin, Jolee's, recipe. I think that it originated with our Grandpa. He made it every Christmas.....yum!

2 c. sugar
1 small can evaporated milk
1 stick butter
12 marshmallows
1 small (6 oz) pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 t. vanilla
1 cup nuts

Put together sugar, milk, butter, and marshmallows. Bring to a boil and boil for 9 minutes. Add chocolate chips, vanilla and nuts. Stir well. Pour into buttered 9x9" pan.

Crock-Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. ground mustard
1 T. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. liquid smoke
dash red chili pepper flakes
pinch salt and pepper
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of fat

1. Combine all ingredients except for onion and pork into crock pot. Whisk all ingredients until well blended.
2. Place pork and onions into mixture, coating both sides of meat.
3. Cook for 8-10 hours on low setting.
4. After meat is cooked, remove from slow cooker onto plate and break apart with fork. Discard any bones.
5. Place meat back into warm sauce to reheat.
6. Serve on hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls.

Shortcut: Use prepared barbecue sauce in place of the sauce in recipe (step 1). Mix 1-1/2 cups of sauce and 1/3 cup water in slow cooker. Add pork and heat for 8-10 hours on low.

Cindy McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

These cookies are delicious and the only recipe that I have ever made that made exactly the amount of cookies stated on the recipe.....5-1/2 dozen exactly---to the cookie!!

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
3 cups rolled oats
1-2/3 cups butterscotch chips

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. In a bedium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until belnded. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake

I made this for my birthday. It's not difficult, just time-consuming. Totally worth it.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup strong brewed coffee
3/4 c vegetable oil
2 large eggs
Dreamy Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Garnish: grated chocolate, chocolate curls

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 3 9-inch square or round cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add milk, coffee, oil, and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

2. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

3. Using a serrated knife, cut cake layers in half horizontally to make 6 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a cake plat; spread with one-fifth of Dreamy Chocolate Mousse. Repeat procedure with remaining cake layers and Mousse. Freeze cake for 1 hour. Spread chocolate Fudge Frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Garnish sides of cake with grated chocolate. Garnish top of cake with chocolate curls, if desired.

Dreamy Chocolate Mousse
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 T. cold water
1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups heavy whipping cream

1. In a small bowl, soften gelatin in 3 T. cold water. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add boiling water, stirring until gelatin dissolves; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cocoa powder.

3. In a medium bowl, beat cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar mixture, beating until stiff peaks form. Stir in gelatin mixture. Cover, and chill for 4 hours.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
10 T. butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cream. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add chocolate and butter, stirring until melted and smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in confectioners' sugar. Let mixture cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Recipe notes from me:
-The mousse could be made as a stand-alone dessert. Just put it into some pretty stemware and top with raspberries. It would be yummy.

-The Chocolate Fudge Frosting took a long time to reach a spreadable consistency. I put it into the refrigerator for about a half hour to speed up the process.

Mango Nut Bread

This one is for Alyssa who loves mangoes.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t. vanilla
2 cups chopped mangoes
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in mangoes, dates and nuts (batter will be stiff).

Spoon into two greased 8x4x2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Raspberry Lemon Loaf

Very moist and yummy.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup lemon yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 t. grated lemon peel
1 cup fresh raspberries

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, yogurt, oil, and lemon peel. Add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the raspberries.

Transfer to an 8- x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Brownies

that I saw on Paula Deen yesterday.....but, she doesn't have this exact recipe on FoodTV, so I thought that I would attempt to put it here.

1 box brownie mix (for 9x13 pan) plus
ingredients required by the mix
Hershey Chocolate Bars (enough to cover a 9x13 pan)

1. Follow instructions for brownie mix, but only pour 1/2 of batter into bottom of 9x13 pan. Spread to cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Place candy bars on top of batter, covering the entire surface.
3. Spread remaining batter over candy bars.
4. Bake as instructed for brownie mix, or until center is dry. Approx. 45 minutes.
5. Cool in pan on wire rack.
6. Slice and EAT!!!!