~*Overwhelmingly Raspberry Brownies*~
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* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine


* 2 cups sugar


* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


* 4 eggs


* 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa


* 1 cup all-purpose flour


* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


* 1/4 teaspoon salt


* 1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Dark Chocolate Baking Pieces
Filled with Raspberry Creme, divided


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1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease 13x9x2-inch pan.



2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave at HIGH (100%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted.
Stir in sugar and vanilla.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition.
Add cocoa; beat until well blended.
Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well.
Set aside 1/4 cup baking pieces; stir remaining pieces into batter.
Spread batter in prepared pan.



3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.



4. Place remaining 1/4 cup baking pieces in small microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds; stir.
If necessary, microwave an additional 30 seconds at a time,
stirring after each heating, until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred.
Drizzle over brownie surface.
Refrigerate until drizzle sets up. Cut into bars.



Makes about 36 brownies
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Todays Cookie recipe was found at hersheys.com

~*Pat-A-Cake Oatmeal Cookies With Sprinkle Dip*~
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COOKIES

1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

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DIP

One 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/4 cup multicolored sprinkles


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1. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets.


2. For cookies, beat margarine and sugar in large bowl, until creamy. Add water and vanilla; beat well. Add combined oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; mix well.


3. Spoon half of dough onto 1 cookie sheet. With lightly floured hands, pat into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle (about 1/8-inch thick). Repeat with remaining dough and second cookie sheet.


4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown, rotating cookie sheets
after 5 minutes. Immediately cut each rectangle into 24 pieces.
Remove pieces to wire rack; cool completely.


5. For dip, combine ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Serve with cookies.
Store tightly covered in refrigerator.


Makes 4 DOZEN


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DROP COOKIES: For individual cookies, drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Use lightly floured hands to flatten about 1/8-inch thick. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on rack. ABOUT 3 DOZEN

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Todays cookie recipe was found @ Quakeroats.com

~* Gingerbread Snowflakes *~
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6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground ginger

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon finely ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 large eggs

1 cup unsulfured molasses

Royal Icing {See recipe at bottom of this post}

Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

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Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to G inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

5. Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #7). Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand 5 minutes; tap off excess sugar. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Store cookies between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

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*~ Royal Icing ~*
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2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing

Juice of 1 lemon

1. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar and lemon juice; beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar. The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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Todays Cookie recipe was found on MarthaStewart.com

~* Holiday Snowball Cookies*~
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1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Holiday Shapes & Morsels

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1 sprinkle powdered sugar



Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

BEAT butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour; stir in Shapes & Morsels and nuts. Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets.


BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. Remove from oven. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight containers.

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Makes 4 dozen cookies ~ Plenty to share!!

~*Holiday Snickerdoodles *~

Love cinnamon and sugar?
You'll want to try this easy version of a classic cinnamon and sugar cookie.
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1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Betty Crocker® red and green decorating icings


1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, flour and egg until soft dough forms.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheets. If desired, roll tops of warm cookies in additional sugar-cinnamon mixture. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired using icing.

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Thanks to Bettycrocker.com for todays Cookie recipe.

~* Peppermint Cookie Hearts *~


~Cookies~

1 {18oz} roll Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar cookies
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa


~Icing~

1 {16oz} can chocolate fudge frosting
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
8 hard round peppermint candies, crushed



Heat oven to 350°F. Break up cookie dough into large bowl. Add cocoa; beat with electric mixer until well blended.

On lightly floured surface, roll out half of dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness. With 2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Place 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling as needed.

Bake at 350°F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove cookies from cookie sheets; place on wire racks. Cool 5 minutes or until completely cooled.

In small bowl, combine frosting and peppermint extract; blend well. Spread about 2 teaspoons icing onto each cookie. Sprinkle each with about 1/4 teaspoon crushed candy.

Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Bars

• 1 10.5-ounce bag of miniature marshmallows
  
• 1/2 stick margarine
• 6 cups Rice Krispies
  
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. In large glass mixing bowl, place 1/2 stick of margarine and marshmallows. Microwave for 3 minutes. Stir well, then add peanut butter stirring constantly. Add rice krispies coating well. Pour mixture into greased pan. Let stnand for 10 minutes.
Cut into squares.

~*~Almond Snowballs~*~
Recipe courtesy Food Networks~ Rachael Ray

2 egg whites
Pinch coarse salt
1/3 cup sugar, eyeball it
1 1/2 cups, about 6 ounces, shredded coconut
1 teaspoon almond extract, eyeball it
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9 candied red cherries, halved
1/4 cup sliced almonds Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt to soft peaks, then add sugar and beat again until peaks are stiff. Beat in almond flavoring. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in half of the coconut. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and flour, stir, then fold in the remaining coconut.

Using a melon baller or other small scoop, or working with 2 spoons, form 9 "snowballs" a couple of inches apart on each of 2 cookie sheets. Bake snowballs 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and garnish each snowball with half a cherry and a couple of slivered almonds. Transfer to a rack or serving plate to cool.