• 1/2 C Light brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/4 C butter
• 1/4 C egg white
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 C rolled oats
• 1/2 C almond flour (Bob's Redmill is reasonably priced at Wal-mart)
• 1/2 C sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat together sugar, butter, egg whites, vanilla. Stir in oats and almonds. Drop 12 level tablespoons of batter on each baking sheet. With oiled spatula, flatten cookies into 2 1/2" disks. Bake 14 -16 minutes until golden. When cool, remove cookies from cookie sheet. Decorate if desired, but certainly not necessary. Yield: 24 cookies (if you can resist taste testing) 1 cookie = 7g Carbs, 1.3g Protein, 1g fiber.

Note: As a Type 1 Diabetic for 35 years, now Gluten Intolerant, I have also written this recipe with nutritional info and qualifiers to meet both needs.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 oz. baker's chocolate
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sour milk
  (To sour the milk, place 1 tbsp vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to make 1 cup liquid.)
• 3/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
  (To crush the candy canes place them in a Ziploc freezer bag, wrap it with a kitchen towel and smash with a mallet or hammer. Pieces should be no larger than 1/4 inch.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt chocolate and set aside to cool. Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Add melted chocolate to the creamed butter mixture. Stir salt, soda and flour together in a small bowl. Then stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Next, stir in crushed candy canes. Dough should be soft, not runny. If dough is too thin, add more flour. Chill in freezer for 1/2 hour. Drop, by rounded teaspoon, onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Since the candy canes are very sticky, remove the cookies while still warm with a metal spatula dipped in water OR bake cookies on parchment or waxed paper and slide onto cooling rack when done baking. Carefully remove cookies from cooling rack when completely cooled.

• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
  (NOT reduced fat), divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 package (11-1/2 oz.) milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup salted peanuts (NOT chopped)

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter; stir in brown sugar and corn syrup until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter and vanilla until blended. Add the oats; mix well. Press into a greased 13x9. baking pan. Bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the chips and remaining peanut butter; stir in peanuts. Spread over crust. Refrigerate until cool; cut into bars. YIELD: 6-1/2 dozen.

• 1 Cup butter
• 1 Cup cream cheese
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp. water, for glazing
  
  FOR THE FILLING:
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until soft. Sift the flour and mix to form a dough. Gather into a ball and divide into halves. Flatten each piece, wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 30 minutes. To make the filling, mix together the chopped walnuts or pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Preheat the oven to 375°. Roll out each half of dough thinly. Using a dinner plate as a guide, cut around the plate using a knife to create a circle. Brush the surface with the egg white glaze and sprinkle the dough evenly with half the filling. Cut the dough into quarters and each quarter into four sections to form 16 triangles. (Like a pizza) Starting from the base of the triangles, roll up to form spirals. (Like a croissant) Place on baking sheets (spray or grease if needed) and brush with the remaining glaze. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; gradually stir into creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate until firm. 2. Preheat oven to 375°. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be lightly browned.

• Mini pretzels
• Rolo's candies or Hershey kisses with caramel
• Pecan halves

Here's what you do: Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap Rolo's or Kisses. Place the same number of pretzels on cookie sheet as you have candy pieces. Put in oven for just over a minute for kisses and a little longer for Rolo's—you don't want them to melt completely. Take out of oven and gently press pecan half on top of candy. Let cool. Voila! That's it.

• 1 C hazelnuts
• 1 1/4 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 C powdered sugar
• 1 C butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. To remove skins from hazelnuts, spread in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until toasted and skins begin to flake off; cool slightly. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel; rub against towel to remove as much of the skins as possible. Place hazelnuts in food processor or blender. Process using pulsing action until nuts are ground but not pasty. Combine flour and salt in a small bowl. Beat powdered sugar and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat in ground hazelnuts at low speed until well blended. Place dough on a sheet of wax paper and using paper to hold dough, roll back and forth to form a log 12 inches long and approx. 2” wide. Wrap log in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours to up to 48 hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets 1 minute, then cool completely on racks. Microwave chocolate chips in a 2 C glass measuring cup on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until just melted, stirring after 1 minute. Dip cookies into chocolate, coating about 1/2 of each. Let excess drip back into cup. Place on wax paper and let stand at room temperature until set—about one hour.

• 3 Cups granola cereal (brand & flavor of choice)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 bag chocolate chips
• 3/4 cups chopped nuts
  (salted pecans & walnuts preferred)
• 3/4 cups shredded coconut
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk
• 1bag of mini baking M&M's
  (holiday M&Ms preferred)

Preheat oven to 325°. Melt butter and pour into 11x9 baking dish. Add granola and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle over top / chips, nuts, coconut, condensed milk and mini chips. Bake for 20 more minutes. Remove and let cool. Cut into squares and ENJOY!!!!

• 1 C nuts, ground
• 1 flour, sifted
• 1/2 C corn syrup
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the sifted flour and the ground nuts. Combine in a sauce pan the corn syrup, brown sugar and the butter. With constant stirring, bring the sauce pan to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually blend in the flour mixture; add the vanilla. On a greased cookie sheet, drop scant teaspoons of the mixture 3 inches apart. Wait 30 seconds and then roll each "drop" into a cylinder shape with a pancake turner. Bake the cylinders in a 350° oven for 8 minutes.

• 1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• Confectioners' sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Add lemon juice and peel. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Add almonds. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350°for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned (cookies will not brown on top). Remove immediately to wire racks; cool for 5 minutes, and roll in confectioners' sugar.

Crust:
• 2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. rice flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 C. cold butter, unsalted, cut in squares

Filling:
• 1 8 oz. can Solo almond paste
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C. flour
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Jelly layer:
• 1/2 C cold water, apple juice or apricot nectar
• 2 C water or apple juice
• 1/2 C. apricot preserves
• 2-3 1 oz. envelopes KNOX unflavored gelatin

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 15 1/2 X 10 1/2 inch jelly roll pan with foil, letting the foil extend 2 inches at ends. In a food processor, pulse flours, sugar and salt to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Press dough evenly over bottom and sides of pan. Prick intermittently with a fork. Refrigerate dough 15 minutes. Bake 10-15 minutes or until crust is browned at edges and golden in the center. Cool on rack while making filling. In food processor, process almond paste, egg, extract and flour until smooth. Spread over cooled crust and bake again for 10-15 minutes until filling is set and slightly puffy. Remove from oven and set out to cool. To make jelly, sprinkle gelatin over cold water or juice in a large bowl; let stand 1 minute. In a medium saucepan, heat water or juice and apricot preserves until just below boiling point. Stir in gelatin/water mixture until completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Refrigerate jelly about 1 hour, until just set; wobbly but not runny. Spread over crust and filling, place back in refrigerator 2 more hours until jelly is completely set. When jelly is set, make topping. In a double-boiler bowl set over simmering water, melt 6 oz. Hershey’s special dark chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. shortening. Let chocolate cool about 5 minutes and spread with spatula over crust, filling and jelly. Return to refrigerator and let chocolate set until firm, 1-2 hours. Remove pan from refrigerator. Gently remove cookies from pan by lifting foil. Peel foil back from sides of cookies and cut into squares. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

• 1/2 C butter
• 1 C 10x sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 C flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  
  Filling:
• 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
• 1 C 10x sugar
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C chopped walnuts
• 1/2 C coconut
  
  Drizzle:
• 1/2 C chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/2 C 10x sugar

In a bowl, mix butter, vanilla and sugar. In another bowl, mix flour and salt; gradually add to other mixture. Mix well. Roll into balls and press a thumbprint into each cookie. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Filling:
Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add Vanilla, nuts and coconut and drop onto baked cookies.

Drizzle:
Heat chocolate chips, butter and water. Turn off heat and add 10x sugar. Beat until smooth and drizzle over cookies.

• 1 C butter
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 2/3 C flour
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting: Mix 2 tbsp. butter, 1 1/4 C 10x sugar and 2-3 tbsp. rum until spreading consistency.

Mix flour, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl. Cream butter, sugar and egg in a mixing bowl. Add flour and blend until dough holds together. Roll into a long "snake" 1/2" in diameter on floured/sugared surface. Cut into 2 1/2 - 3" long logs. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool, frost. Score frosting with tines of a fork to resemble bark. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg. These keep very well.

• 6 cups crisp rice cereal
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped pecans or nuts of your choice
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Combine cereal, raisins and nuts in large bowl. Combine marshmallows and butter in medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat just until smooth, watching carefully as not to burn. Remove from heat. Stir in extracts. Add to cereal mixture and stir until well coated. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls with greased hands. Coat with confectioners sugar. Store in airtight container. Makes 6 dozen.

• 1 C smooth peanut butter
• 1 C confectioners sugar
• 1 C rice crisp cereal
• 1/2 C finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
• 4-1 ounce semisweet chocolate squares
• 2 tbsp. grated paraffin wax

Measure first 5 ingredients into a bowl. With your hands, mix together well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Chill for 2 to 3 hours. Melt chocolate squares and wax together. Dip balls to coat, drain and place on wax paper. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

• 1 Cup Unbleached Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Grated Orange Rind
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
• 3/4 Cup Chopped Pecans
• 1/4 to 1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar

Into Bowl #1, sift together the flour and salt. Add the grated orange rind to the flour and salt. In a separate bowl (Bowl #2), blend butter and sugar until a smooth consistency. Then blend in 1 unbeaten egg with the butter and sugar into Bowl #2. Add half of the ingredients of Bowl #1 to Bowl #2's ingredients, mixing well. Add orange juice and remaining mixture from bowl #1 into bowl #2. Now we're using only 1 bowl. Stir in pecans. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets, by rounded teaspoonfuls. Bake 9 to 12 minutes in 350° oven. After taking out of oven, roll in powdered sugar while still warm, not too hot so you don't burn yourself. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1-3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. poppyseed
• Black or red raspberry jam (seedless)

Glaze: Mix 1/2 C powdered sugar, 4-5 tsp. half-n-half or milk and 1/4 tsp. almond extract.

Beat butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla at medium speed until fluffy. Add flour and poppyseed. Beat on low until soft dough forms. On lightly floured board, roll dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut 2-1/2" circles. Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Spoon 1/4 tsp. of jam into center of each circle. Fold in half, pressing edges together with tines of fork. Bake 7-9 min. at 375¼ until edges are lightly browned. Cool. Drizzle glaze over cookies. Makes 3 dozen.

• 1 Cup Peanut Butter
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• Chocolate Chips (Optional) and/or Peanut Butter Cups/Hershey Kisses

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg and sugar. Mix together with electric mixer (or by hand to build muscle) until blended. Add peanut butter and mix until completely mixed together. If adding chocolate chips (recommended) mix in with a spoon. On a cookie sheet (we usually cover a cookie sheet with tin foil for easy clean up) place spoon sized amount on cookie sheet, keeping at least 2 inches in between for growing room. With fork, push down on top of cookie to create "peanut butter cookie" lines. Instead of chocolate chips, or in addition to (your choice) place a peanut butter cup or Hershey’s kiss on top of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies begin to turn brown and crack around the edges. Let cool, then enjoy! Note: Immediately out of the oven, the cookies are still squishy, but will quickly set and firm as they cool. Patience is required.

Cookie:
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon fresh grated orange peel (no white, just zest)
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar

Truffle Filling:
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 Tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Heat oven to 350°. Spray or lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg yolks, vanilla and orange peel, mixing until fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until mixed. Shape dough into 1 ¼ inch balls. Measure 2 Tablespoons sugar into a bowl. Dip top of each ball into sugar. On cookie sheets, place cookie ball approximately 2 inches apart. Make large indentation in center of each cookie with thumb. Bake 12-14 minutes or until set. If necessary, make another indentation in center of each cookie. Remove to cooling rack. Meanwhile, in small microwave bowl, microwave chocolate chips and 1 Tablespoon butter on HIGH 40 seconds; stir. Continue for 15 seconds and stirring until smooth. Stir in corn syrup. Spoon generous ½ teaspoon filling into indentation of each cookie. Enjoy!

• 8 ounces white chocolate baking squares
  with cocoa butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes

Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Chop 4 ounces of the white chocolate, set aside. In a small pan, cook and stir remaining white chocolate over low heat until melted. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on med for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in melted white chocolate. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in the chopped white chocolate and crushed candy canes. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 mins or until cookies are lightly browned around edges. Transfer to wire rack and cool. Makes about 50 cookies. To store: layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container, cover. Store at room temp for 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.