Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies from Shelby A.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 small package vanilla pudding mix (dry)

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup Stevia granules (NOT splenda. Stevia is a natural sweetener made with the stevia plant, unlike splenda which is an artificial sweetener. Stevia can be found by the sugar and the splenda.)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Ghirardelli or Guitard chocolate chips (I like to mix semi-sweet and milk chocolate together)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together flour pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, stevia, eggs, and vanilla.  Gradually blend dry mixture into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Sometimes, I make variations of this recipe. You can substitute the vanilla pudding mix for chocolate pudding mix, for example, or even add a bit of cocoa. Then do white chocolate chips, peppermint chips, toffee or m&ms for Christmas time. The sky is the limit. You can also use sugar free pudding mix. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes or until lightly golden. These are really soft cookies that stay soft because of the pudding. If you like 'em crunchy, these won't "frost your cookie." If you don't like the sugar substitutes, the original version of my recipe was with sugar, so you can substitute stevia for 3/4 cup sugar and increase salt  to 1/2 tsp. Happy eating!

Pumpkin Roll by Kim H

Cake:
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Filling:
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For cake:
Preaheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15X10 inch jellyroll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton towel with powdered sugar. (Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel so when  you are rolling up the cake it will not stick.)

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, beat eggs at high speed for 1 minute, and then gradually add sugar. Beat in pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts (if desired).

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, lower heat to 350 degrees and begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately lossen sides and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. roll up cake and towel together, starting with long end. Let cool completely.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in small mixing bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Tip:  I cut it into 3 sections and wrap each section in foil pinching the sides together so they look like a big toostie roll. They freeze great for several months and cut really easily when frozen.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies from Naiyana H

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
optional: 1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 12 ounce bag dark chocolate chips
48 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped (one 10 ounce bag)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

To prevent cookies from flattening out, refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes.  Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until just set, but centers are still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack.  Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss.  Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Southern Pecan Butterballs from Hollis S.

2/3 cups nuts (pecan, walnuts, hazelnuts)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of the oven.

Toast nuts: Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly brown and fragrant. Cool. Once the nuts have cooled completely place them, along with 2 tablespoons of the flour from the recipe, into your food processor, fitted with a metal blade, and process until they are finely ground (but not a paste).

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the remaining flour and salt and beat until combined. Stir in the nuts. cover and refrigerate the dough for about one hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Form the chilled dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until th edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the 1 cup sifted powdered sugar in a bowl. Take the still hot cookies and roll them in the sugar, one at a time. Place on a wire rack to cool. Or you can simply place the powdered sugar in a strainer and sift the sugar over the tops of the cookies. Let cool completely before storing. Can be stored in an airtight container for several weeks. 

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Easiest Fudge Ever!!! from Tori M.

**It's recommended to use brand name ingredients with this recipe

2 3/4 milk chocolate chips (for this batch I used 2 cups semi-sweet chips and 3/4 cup Andes mints)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
(optional) add nuts

Line 8X8 pan with tin foil so that in foil hangs over the edges to give you handles to easily remove the fudge. Butter/spray tin foil. Set aside.

Over medium heat, warm cream till warm enough to melt chips. Add chips and stir until melted and smooth. Pour in pan. Refrigerate and serve when set!  Yum!!!

Caramel from Heather A.

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

Combine all ingredients and stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Once it is boiling you can stop stirring. Let it cook until it comes to a "firm ball stage" on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and add 1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk. Mix well.

This recipe is great for anything you need caramel for. I use it to make caramel popcorn, nut logs, turtles (candy) or even just to have plain caramel!

Saltine Bark from Cat W.

*Line jelly roll pan with tin foil (preferably cover all edges). Spray WELL with PAM or whatevers.

*Line the pan with saltine crackers to fill the entire bottom of the pan.

*In a saucepan, bring to boil: 

1 cup butta

1 cup brown sugar

Boil until it all comes together: cook 2-3 minutes

Pour over crackers and spread to coat

Bakes @ 350 for 7 minutes (make sure it's bubblin')

Take out, pour 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Let melt about 10 minutes, spread.

Sprinkle on chopped almonds.

Freeze one hour. Cut along lines then diagonals if desired.

Eat many.

Cake Mix Cookies by Laura R.

*Makes 24 large or 48 small cookies

1 chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 bag mint chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients well. Scoop, press down and bake at 275 for 10-13 minutes (5-6 minutes for the small cookies).