Baked Apple Chips

From: Here

Ingredients:
2 apples
cinnamon

Remove apple core. Thinly slice the entire apple. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place apple slices on it. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 275 degrees for two hours. At the end of one hour flip them over so they bake evenly.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Um, I was going to take a picture of the finished product but they didn't last long enough...  I love easy snack recipes like this! The only "con" is how long it takes to make these. But it's worth the wait. And the house smelled incredible! Highly recommend! I will be making these again!

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars

From: Here

Ingredients:
For the shortbread:
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups AP flour
For the caramel:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
For the chocolate topping:
1/2 tsp fleur de sel, optional
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

To make the shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and flour until crumbly. Press into a 9x9 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

To make the caramel:
Add the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk to a medium sauce pan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir vigorously for 3 minutes. Pour caramel over (warm or cool) shortbread.

For the topping:
Sprinkle the fleur de sel over caramel. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and return to oven for one minute. Spread the chocolate chips with a spatula. Cool completely and cut into squares. 

Verdict:
Neutral. My pictures don't look ANYTHING like hers. I'm not sure what went wrong with this recipe. It still tasted fine, but I'll be honest - after a couple of pieces I just ate the chocolate off the top. What!?!? The chocolate chips didn't melt like they were supposed to, the caramel soaked into the shortbread instead of making a layer, and the shortbread was thick and moist instead of crumbly. I won't be making this again but let me know if you have success with it!

Vanilla-Glazed Apple Cookies

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup finely diced peeled apple
1 cup raisins
Vanilla glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2-4 Tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Beat in egg and milk. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts, apples and raisins.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla, salt and enough milk to achieve drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm cookies.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I left out the walnuts because I didn't have them on hand, but these were delicious. My house smelled so good while these were cooking. Made me think of fall coming soon! I definitely recommend these, especially if you need something kind of last minute. Yum!

Pudding Cookies

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour
1-2 cups chocolate chips (or whatever add in you would like)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Stir together flour and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add in pudding package and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips or whatever add-in you choose. Roll into 1″ balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes.

 Don't worry if you get a little messy.

Verdict:
Well, these were easy and they turned out great, but I certainly couldn't tell a difference due to the pudding. I don't usually keep pudding on hand so I'll probably just stick to my other chocolate chip cookie recipes.

My favorite homemade cookie recipe

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

From: Here

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Verdict:
This recipe has all the things I love about a good recipe - it's cheap to make, it's easy to make, and it tastes delicious!!  I love chowders and this one was definitely a keeper. I will certainly be making this again. Yummy!!