Strawberry Bars

• Position rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375° F.
• Lightly grease an 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish and set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine ½ cup of the sugar with, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a small cup, lightly beat the egg. Add egg and vanilla to the flour mixture. Cut in one stick of butter with a pastry cutter or fork until dough resembles small crumbles.
• Pat a little more that half of the crumbled dough into the prepared baking dish and set the remaining dough aside.
• Mix the remaining ¼ cup of sugar with the cornstarch and toss with the sliced berries.
• Spread berries evenly over dough.
• Add brown sugar, cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons of butter, and oats to the remaining dough and combine. Crumble over the top of the strawberries.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before icing (optional).

Icing

• Mix sugar and extract in a small bowl adding water drop by drop as needed. Icing should be thin enough to drizzle with a spoon or pipe from a plastic bag.

• Using a hand mixer, in a medium-sized mixing bowl beat together the whipped topping, vanilla, meringue powder, and ¾ cup of powdered sugar for 3 – 5 minutes or until stiff peaks have formed.
• Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
• In another bowl mix together the softened cream cheese, peanut butter, milk, and 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth and silky (add more milk a teaspoon at a time if needed for mixing).
• Fold in one half of the whipped cream and mix until completely incorporated.
• Pour peanut butter filling in to pie crust and smooth out using a spatula.
• Pipe or spread the other half of the whipped topping evenly over the filling (I found piping with a star tip was easier that trying to spread the whipped cream).
• Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and peanuts over the top of the pie.

• In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla extract and beat in eggs one at a time until completely blended.
• Mix in the flour mixture in thirds until just incorporated, do not over work.
• Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if desired.
• For best results place dough in the fridge for 24 hours (of course you can always bake the cookies right away if you prefer not to wait).
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Using a small ice cream scoop, place the balls at least 2″ apart (do not overcrowd).
• Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until edges are golden. The centers should look a little under done.
• Cool cookies for two minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
• Allow baking sheets to cool between batches, or alternate baking sheets (placing dough on a hot sheet pan makes the dough melt and spread out more than desired) .

Brownies

• Heat oven to 350°F.    Coat 9” x 13” pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Prepare brownie mix according to the package directions using the oil, water, and 2 eggs.  Spread brownie batter evenly into prepared pan.

Cheesecake layer

• Beat cream cheese, butter, cornstarch, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl mix mixer on medium speed until fluffy.
• Add sweetened condensed milk, 1 egg, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.
• Pour evenly over the brownie batter.
• Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
• Bake
• 45 – 55 minutes or until top is lightly browned and filling is set in the center. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
• Place 2 – 3 tablespoon of chocolate chips or frosting in a resealable plastic bag. Microwave on high for 10 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted.
• Cut corner off bag and drizzle chocolate over brownies.

• Heat oven to the temperature indicated on the package of brownie mix.
• Prepare an 8″ x 8″ square pan with butter or cooking spray.
• Tip: Line the pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with butter or spray. I like this method for brownies and bars. After baking and cooling I remove the bars from the pan by lifting with the paper.
• Make the brownie batter following the instructions on the box.
• Pour half of the batter into the parchment lined pan.
• Arrange a layer of Kit Kat bars over the batter, then cover with the remaining batter.
• Bake the brownies according to the instructions on the box.
• Place on a wire rack to completely cool.
• If desired frost and decorate the top of the brownies.
• Allow the frosting to set up a bit, then lift them out of the pan and cut to serve.

• Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8" x 8" baking pan or an 8" round cake pan by spraying with non-stick spray, and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Slightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the sugar mixture. Add vanilla and stir just enough to combine.
• Blend in the flour a mixture, then add the coconut, nuts, pineapple, butterscotch and white chocolate. Do not over mix (overworking the batter will make the bars tough). Spread evenly into the pan (batter will be thick).
• Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until lightly golden (baking times will vary based you your oven and choice of pan). Do not over bake. Cool for thirty minutes before turning out on a wire rack to complete cool.
• When the blondie's are completely cool, cut into 1½" squares (remember they are rich).

Cake

• Heat oven to 325° F.  Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan, set aside
• In a large saucepan combine sugar, coffee, unsweetened chocolate, and butter. Heat while stirring over medium-low until the chocolate and butter are melted. Heat this mixture only long enough to completely melt the chocolate and butter. Do not boil, we are not melting sugar and making candy, the sauce should appear granular.
• Remove from heat and cool (since we are going to be adding egg to this mixture, it is extremely important to allow the sauce to cool down somewhat. Scrambled eggs would not be a good thing here).
• In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• Tip: When baking, mix your dry ingredients flour, baking powder, soda, salt, powdered spices together with a whisk in a separate bowl. This accomplishes two things, one it combines the ingredients without overworking the batter, and it sifts the flour.
• Stir yogurt, eggs, and vinegar into chocolate mixture in saucepan. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until combined (Vinegar is added to assist the leavening ingredients in this very heavy cake, but will add no taste. Do not be surprised to see the batter bubble, it is the vinegar doing its job).
• Fold in the white baking chips and pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Because this is such a dense cake be sure to test the cake in several places. I like to use a wooden skewer instead of a tooth pick to make sure the cake is done all the way through).
• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on rack

Chocolate Ganache

• Place the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
• In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat warm the cream until it is almost ready to boil. (Do not boil). Pour the hot cream into the bowl of chips and mix until all of the chocolate is melted and becomes smooth (the residual heat from the cream will melt the chocolate).
• Finish the ganache by stirring in the Kahlua.

Assemble

• Pour the ganache over the cooled cake while the chocolate is still warm. It will flow easily and become smooth. As the chocolate cools it will set up and will keep its shiny appearance.
• I finished this cake with some white, light, and milk chocolate that I drizzled over the cake after the ganache had set up. I tempered the chocolates one at a time and used a small plastic bag with the corner cut off to pipe on the finishing touches.

• Heat oven to 350° F and line a 13″ x 9″ pan with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs followed by vanilla and mix well. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and continue to beat until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Press the cookie dough evenly into the pan.
• Arrange the Oreos evenly on top of the cookie dough (One package is just enough to cover the whole thing).
• Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package and pour batter over the top of the Oreos. (Use a spatula to spread it evenly).
• Bake for 40-50 minutes on the center rack of your oven or until a nice crust has formed. The center of the brownies will look slightly under baked but will set up as they cool.

• Position oven rack in the lower part of your oven. Heat oven to 375° F.
• Place blueberries in a non-reactive mixing bowl and add lemon zest and lemon juice, toss to mix.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon and sprinkle over berries. Mix taking care not to crush the berries.
• Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust and dot with butter.
• Roll second pie crust and cut into 3/4″ strips. Weave the strips of pie crust over the top to create a lattice.
• Crimp and flute the edges. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.
• Place pie on a parchment lined sheet pan, just in case, (much easier than cleaning the oven) and bake for 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
• Allow pie to completely cool before cutting, the filling will be extremely hot and may take several hours to cool.
• Enjoy!