Minny's Chocolate Pie

"After seeing the movie "The Help" I was excited at the concept that there could be a recipe out there for a chocolate pie you could bake. I found the recipe they used for the movie on Food and Wine.com it tasted like homemade pudding in a pie crust...YUM!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 packaged pie dough crust, such as Pillsbury
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream, for serving

    Preheat the oven to 350°. Ease the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges decoratively. Prick the crust lightly with a fork. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake for about 5 minutes longer, just until the crust is dry but not browned.
    Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.
    Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking. Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream.

Make Ahead The chocolate pie can be refrigerated overnight.


My Notes:

-When you pre-bake the pie crust you can put a piece of parchment over the crust and place another empty pie plate on top to hold it in place.... I did not have pie weights or dried beans

-I think the pie is much yummier slightly warmed.  I placed a cooled piece in the microwave for 20 seconds and it was perfect.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark

"I found this recipe on Pinterest.  The recipe came from Live Sigma Kappa and the original from  Big Red Kitchen.  This stuff is the bomb...but how could it not be?  I now have a gallon freezer bag of it in the freezer and it'll last me forever.  It also makes an awesome gift."

INGREDIENTS:

2-1/2 lbs chocolate candy coating (I used 4-12 oz bags of semi sweet chocolate chips)

1 (16.3 oz) jar creamy peanut butter (I used an 18 oz. jar of chunky PB...could not find smaller)

2 c Confectioners’ sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (oops...just realized I forgot this part)
1/2 t. salt (makes it taste more Reese's Peanut butter cup-ish, but not part of the original recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt half of the chocolate candy coating according to the package directions, (I used a double-boiler) then spread over parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. Spread to a large rectangle, but not too thin – approximately 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness. (I had about an inch left of pan around each side) Place in freezer to firm up.
In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, Confectioners’ sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Remove first chocolate layer from the freezer and spread the peanut butter mixture over the top. Return to the freezer and melt the remaining chocolate candy coating. Once that is melted, spread it over the top of the peanut butter layer and freeze until set.
Break up the bark into small pieces using a butcher knife. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve.

Tips:

-I did not think it was necessary to let the peanut butter layer firm up in the freezer, so while I was stirring that up, I put the second half of the chocolate on the stove to melt.  Also, the easiest thing to do is to spoon all of the peanut butter mixer on top of the firm chocolate and press it down with your hands....it's a lot faster than a knife....it doesn't stick because of the added butter.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

"I originally found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and it is to die for!"

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract (I just used regular vanilla, I wonder how different Mexican vanilla tastes??)
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with honey and almonds. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Jen's Reese's Pie

"I was craving a chocolate cream pie, and had never made one before.  I wanted to make one with peanut butter as well, and since I couldn't find a recipe I liked I just made it up."

INGREDIENTS:

1 pre-made chocolate graham cracker crust

6 oz (large) box jello instant chocolate pudding

3 cups milk (I used 2% to make it creamier)

4 oz light cream cheese

8 oz. container Cool Whip

1/2 cup peanut butter

1  T. powdered sugar

25 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups

DIRECTIONS:

Use blender to mix jello powder with milk and cream cheese.  Melt 15 Reese's cups in small bowl in the microwave.  I heated for 30 seconds at a time until I was able to stir together.  Spread  melted Reese's unto the graham crust.  Pour mixed pudding over melted chocolate.  In medium bowl use mixer to blend Cool Whip, peanut butter and powdered sugar.  Spread that gently over top of pudding layer.  In small zipper bag place 10 Reese's cups and crush with hammer or meat tenderizer (flat side).  Sprinkle crushed cups over top of pie.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serves 6-8

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 t. vanilla
3/4 t. corn syrup
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. flour
2 c. oats
1 bag chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter with sugars. Mix in eggs, vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda and peanut butter. Add flour, oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 14 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen

Carrot Cake

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I had never made home made carrot cake before and this was delicious. The original called for 1 cup pecans in the cake and 1 cup in the frosting, but I would recommend using 1/2 as much which is how I typed it below. I had so much I used it as a garnish on top. You can do that, or not even put any inside the frosting at all."


INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans

FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

For Cupcakes..recipe makes 2 dozen.  Bake for 27-30 minutes

Easy OREO Truffles

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com"

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Refrigerate mixture for two hours. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Freeze balls for 1/2 hr.
2. Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Lemon Layer Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Filling:
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten

Frosting:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons milk
yellow food coloring for color


DIRECTIONS:

Filling: (Make first because it needs refrigerated 3 hours)

In medium saucepan, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Mix in 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar, and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. In small bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the hot lemon mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan, beating the hot lemon mixture rapidly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until thick (not to boil).
Pour mixture into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:
In large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest until smooth. Beat in milk, and increase speed and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add food coloring if desired.


Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread with filling. Top with second layer, and spread sides and top with frosting. Refrigerate cake until serving time.

Notes:

Filling kind of squishes out when you frost it.

Can decorate with lemon slices and zest on top.

I used about 4 lemons total (make sure you get the zest off before cutting and juicing)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

"I've never made oatmeal raisin cookies before, and wanted to try. I found this on allrecipes.com, and they were awesome!"


INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container. Make sure you get some, because they don't last long!

Yield: 3 doz.

Peanut Butter Fudge Wreath

"I got this recipe a few years ago, and thought it was some of the best fudge ever! It's Rachel Ray's recipe."


Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, softened
One 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (save the can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
One 12-ounce can of peanuts (I like to use honey roasted)

Directions:

Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with softened butter. Pour the chocolate and peanut butter chips, condensed milk and vanilla into a medium saucepan. Put the pan on the stove and turn the heat to low.
Cover the empty condensed-milk can with plastic wrap and put it in the center of the round cake pan.
Stir the chips and milk until they melt together, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3/4's of the nuts. Scoop the fudge into the cake pan all around the plastic-covered can in the center to form a wreath or ring shape. Keep pushing the can back to the center if the fudge moves it.
Put the fudge in the fridge and chill until firm. Remove the can from the center, then loosen the sides and bottom of the fudge with a spatula. Cut the fudge into thin slices to serve.

Notes: I cut mine in slices...keeping the ring shape, and then put a small bowl in the center with the remaining 1/4 of the can of peanuts.

Lemon Pie Bars

"I was looking for a fruity, non-chocolate dessert and found this on allrecipes.com"


INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix 2 cups of flour and confectioner's sugar together. Cut in the butter. Mix well until the dough resembles pie dough consistency. Press the dough into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Beat together eggs, sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon juice and lemon rind for at least 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the baked crust.
Bake the bars another 20 minutes, or until the lemon topping has set. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar when cooled.

Notes:

It's best to mix the dough with your hands

Cranberry Orange Cookies

"I found this on allrecipes.com. I made them without the icing, but since they're a little tart I think I'll add the icing next time. I made changes as suggested by a review."


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest (I used McCormick's orange peel in a jar)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh cranberries, cut in half
1/2 almond slivers

Icing (optional)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and extract until well blended. Mix in orange zest and orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

Notes:

I used parchment paper on the cookie sheets, and mixed the dough by hand because it was very dry.
This only made about 3 1/2 dozen for me.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

"I was on an airplane and a lady across the aisle was reading a magazine with this recipe in it. I asked her what magazine it was and found the recipe online. It ended up being a Paula Dean recipe. Please read my notes at the bottom."


Ingredients:

2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 6-ounce package raspberry cream-filled dark chocolate baking pieces, such as Hershey's brand, or plain dark chocolate pieces
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon seedless raspberry preserves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 1 or more cookie sheets.

Using a mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and both sugars in a bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the baking pieces. Drop by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and raspberry preserves. Stir until smooth. When the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over them.

Yield: 4 dozen

Notes:

-This recipe makes very small cookies. I made my tiny and still only got 3 1/2 dozen. Next time I would double the recipe and the size of the cookies.

-The only chocolate I found with raspberry inside was Ghiradelli squares. The package was a little less than 6 ounces, but it worked out fine.

-The only brand of seedless red raspberry preserves I found was called Polander All Fruit, and it still wasn't preserves, it was spread. The color was too brownish for the icing compared to the pinkish icing in the photo for the original recipe, so I added a couple drops of red food coloring. I also had to add an additional tablespoon or two of milk to the icing

Cherry Pound Cake

"I wanted a Christmas dessert with fruit, and came across this on allrecipes.com"


INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups maraschino cherries, drained and dry and halved *reserve juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch tube (bundt) pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Dredge cherries in 1/4 cup flour, then fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

*you can make an icing with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1 c. powdered sugar and cherry juice. Mix cherry juice until icing reaches desired consistency; drizzle over cake when cooled

Note:

The icing kind of soaks into the cake

Scottish Shortbread

"This is super easy to make and tastes wonderful! I found this on allrecipe.com"


INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Blend all ingredients well. Dough will be stiff (best to mix with hands).
Press into a 9 x 9 inch buttered dish. Prick top with a fork.
Bake until pale golden brown on the top (approx. 30 minutes). Cool and cut into squares.

Sugar Cookie Cut-outs with Icing

"I found these two recipes on allrecipes.com. I wanted an icing recipe that hardened so the cookies could be stacked...different from the frosting in a can I usually use. The icing is pretty and glossy and makes store-bought looking cookies."


Cookies: (makes 5 dozen)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Notes:

-Use parchment paper on top of cookie sheets (can use again and again and it never sticks)

-make sure you flour top of dough you're rolling out and the rolling pin.

-mine only took 6 minutes and were the 1/4 in. thickness


ICING: (enough for the five dozen cookies)

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups confectioners' sugar
10 teaspoons milk
10 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring
sprinkles (optional)


DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Notes:

-I added more milk instead of corn syrup to get the consistency I wanted

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

"This was submitted to allrecipes.com by Eagle Brand Milk®. I made it last year as well, and it was fabulous"


INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Notes:
-Cover the edge of the crust with foil for the first 40 minutes of baking
-I used Marie Callender's® frozen pie crust last year, but this year I used Pilsbury® refrigerated pie crust. I would definitely go with frozen one next time, because it has a pretty edge and the refrigerated one doesn't give you enough slack to form one.

When I used the frozen crust it took an extra 14 minutes to bake.

Sarah's Applesauce

"I was looking for a good healthy apple recipe I could use after going apple picking, and I came across this one on allrecipes.com. I tripled the recipe but only doubled the sugar, and I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon for the triple recipe instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons. It took 50 minutes to simmer. Next time I think I might add some raisins and not mash the apples."

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher. *I used a food processor
   

Monkey Munch

"I saw this made on an episode of "John and Kate Plus Eight", and found the recipe on recipezaar.com. Another name for this is Puppy Chow."

Ingredients:

9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Put chex in a large bowl and put aside.
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a quart-sized microwavable bowl.
Stir the ingredients together.
Microwave the mixture uncovered for a minute on "high." Stir the mix again and continue to zap in thirty second intervals until it mixes smoothly.
Add the vanilla and stir.

Stir chocolate mixture into the cearal.
Put combination into a 2-gallon, Ziploc freezer bag.
Add powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake until distributed.
Spread Monkey Munch out on wax paper to cool and dry.
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for storage.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. This is someone else's grandma's recipe, not mine, but I'm sure my grandma also made a mean apple pie. This is the original, but please read my notes at the bottom."

INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

NOTES:

-As suggested by a review you can add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg to the syrup. You can also omit a tablespoon of water from the 1/4 cup and add one tablespoon vanilla.

-Eight apples were way to many to fit into my pie, so I think Seven would be better

-the butter and flour didn't turn into a paste for me even though I added an extra two tablespoons

-my pie overflowed and dripped at the bottom of the oven. It also took an extra ten minutes of baking time to get the apples soft enough.