Chocolate Pudding

brought by Heather Brown

recipe adapted from Cook's Country

Serves 4

1/4	cup packed light brown sugar
3	tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3	tablespoons cornstarch
1/4	teaspoon Salt
2 3/4	cups low fat milk (original recipe uses whole milk; it's super creamy)
1/4	cup heavy cream
1	cup milk chocolate chips
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine brown sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in large saucepan. Whisk milk and cream into sugar mixture until smooth. Add chocolate chips and bring to simmer, whisking occasionally, over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and large bubbles appear at surface, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in vanilla.

2. Transfer pudding to large bowl and place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding. Refrigerate until completely cool, at least 4 hours. (Pudding can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.) Serve.

Chill Faster, Eat Sooner To some pudding lovers (especially little ones), waiting 4 hours to eat pudding seems like a lifetime. To speed the chilling, transfer the pudding to a 13 by 9-inch baking dish in step 2 and place plastic wrap directly on its surface. Place in freezer until completely cool, at least 45 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Panera Bread Tomato Soup – copycat recipe

Adapted from recipe found at http://www.panerabread.com/recipes/recipe.php?category=4&id=48

brought by Mary Ann Bailey

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil

3 large onions, finely chopped

9 garlic cloves, minced

8 cups chicken broth

2 28-ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes, drained and crushed

1 6-ounce can tomato puree

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup grated asiago cheese

1  parmesan cheese rind (optional)

Toppings:

¼ c. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

¼ c. grated parmesan cheese

1 recipe asiago cheese croutons (below)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until very tender, about 25 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add chicken stock, crush tomatoes, cheeses, and cheese rind.  Simmer soup uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  For a smoother texture, puree in blender or food processor (carefully!) before serving.  Serve with basil leaves, parmesan cheese and asiago cheese croutons.

Asiago Cheese croutons

Adapted from the Test Kitchen’s Family Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup asiago cheese grated

4 cups bread cubes (1/2-inch cubes)

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to the center position in your oven and heat to 350 degrees.  Whisk the oil, garlic, salt and asiago cheese together in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss until thoroughly coated.  Spread the bread cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.  Allow the croutons to cool to room temperature before serving.

Super-Soft Sugar Cookies

brought by Jenn Iverson

1 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

When making this dough, you will think, “Are you kidding me?” because it will be so sticky it’s hard to imagine using cookie cutters on it.  I usually end up adding more flour, probably ½ cup.  Just add some until you think it’s at least manageable, but the less flour you add, the better they will taste.  Then chill the dough for at least an hour before rolling them out (this helps immensely).  Use plenty of flour when you roll them out.  I often dip the cookie cutters in flour.  Roll the dough ¼-inch thick and then cut with cookie cutters.  Bake at 350º for 8 minutes (trust me!) for large shapes or 6 or 7 minutes for tiny shapes).    

After cookies cool completely, store in an airtight container until ready to frost.  I usually bake them one day and frost them the next.  If you’re not going to frost them the same day or next day, freeze them until frosting day.  Then remove them from the freezer 4-5 hours before frosting. 

The following frosting recipe is usually the perfect amount for a generous spread of frosting on each cookie.  After frosting them, you can leave them out on cookie sheets for up to a day, as the frosting will keep them soft.  When the top of the frosting has hardened, you can layer them on top of each other and store them in an airtight container.  If I think they will last more than a day or two, I freeze them until the day I’m ready to serve them.  This keeps them soft.  Just remove the amount you’ll be needing and put them on a plate an hour or two before serving (or eat them frozen if you can’t wait!).  If cookies aren’t as soft as you want them to be, you can try putting a piece of bread in the container with them (not in the freezer).  This usually softens them up a bit. 

Note: For recipe club, I replaced the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt.  This made the cookies even softer than usual, but if I do this again, I will probably add a little extra salt to the dough, maybe ¼ - ½ teaspoon.

Frosting

¾ cup shortening

6 cups powdered sugar (heaping)

½ cup milk

1 ½ tsp. almond extract

food coloring

Knock Your Socks Off Bundt Cake

brought by Anne Leymaster

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 oil
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs

Blend ingredients in order. Spray pan. Bake in bundt pan 350º for 45 minutes (the cake will be gooey when you stick a toothpick in - take it out anyway)

Frosting

1/2 cup cream
1 cup chocolate chips

Boil cream, take pan off burner and add chocolate chips. Stir until melted and then pour the frosting over the cake.