Caramel filled chocolate cookies

These cookies couldn't be any better. period.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa powder
52 chocolate covered caramels  (My favorite is rolos.  Nestles treasure and Caramelos are good too.  I plan to try the Hershey Kisses filled with caramel one day)

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 tabelspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Beat butter until creamy.
2. Gradually beat in white and brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, soda, salt, cocoa, and gradually add to butter and sugar mixture.
4. Cover chill dough for 1 hour.
5. Roll the dough into balls around each caramel piece.  ( make each dough piece into a bowl shape, place the candy into the bowl, then wrap the dough up around the candy and then mold the whole thing into a round ball)  I get about 52 cookies using a 1 tablespoon sized cookie scoop.
6. Combine the tablespoon of sugar and chopped nuts in a small bowl
7. Dip the top of the cookie dough ball into sugar and nuts.  (or just into sugar if you don't like nuts) 
8. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook at 375 for 8-9 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
9. enjoy warm and gooey or cool and chewy.

Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto

I look forward to this side dish every Easter.  I should make it more often, we all love it so much.  But some how it has become exclusively an Easter dinner tradition.

Ingredients:

Asparagus
Cream cheese (softened)
Prosciutto (thinly sliced)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Trim off end of Asparagus - Bend the asparagus (holding towards the end of the asparagus) until is breaks,   use the broken asparagus to know how much to cut off from the rest of the bunch.

Blanch Asparagus in boiling water for 1-3 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus.  Put Asparagus in ice water to immediately stop cooking.

To assemble:   Spread about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese onto 1 piece of prosciutto.
Wrap the prosciutto around a few asparagus (2-4, depending on the size of the asparagus).

Place bundles on a lightly oiled pan and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Danish Puff

This is a recipe that caught my eye years ago in an old Betty Crocker cookbook of my mothers that she gave me when I moved out of the house.  I found this recipe between the coffee cake and pancake recipes.  I don't know how it fits in there, but the recipe seemed so odd, I had to try it.  And I have been making it ever since.  It has a flaky crust with a custard-like topping.  It is such and easy and yummy pastry like dish.  I usually put the nuts on only one, and let the kids have the one with out nuts.  It serves 10-12.  And although it would be a great addition to a very unhealthy breakfast, it feels more like a dessert to me.  But there really isn't much sugar in it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs
 
 glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-2 tablespoons warm water, or until smooth and of spreading or drizzling consistency

chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Crust:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut 1/2 cup of softened butter into 1 cup flour.
3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water onto the flour and butter mixture and mix.
4. Round the mixture into a ball, and divide in half.
5. On a parchment lined baking sheet, pat each half into a strip, 12x3 inches.  Strips should be 3 inches apart.

Custard top:
1.Heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil.
3. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the almond extract and 1 cup of flour.
4. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute.
5. Beat in the eggs all at once until smooth and glossy. (I use a hand held mixer for this, for about 1 minute)

6. Spread half of the mixture evenly over each of the strips, extending the batter just barely  beyond the edge of the strips.
7. Bake about 60 minutes or until the topping is crisp and brown.
8. Cool.  (the topping will shrink and fall, forming a custardy top)

9.To make the glaze:  Mix glaze ingredients until it reaches desired consistency.
10. Frost or drizzle with the glaze and sprinkle generously with chopped nuts.


** for individual Danish Puffs, Pat the dough into 3 inch circles, using a rounded teaspoonful for each.  Spread a rounded tablespoon full of batter over each circle.  Bake for 30 minutes.  This makes 2 dozen.