Salted Peanut Crisps

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. soda
2 cups salted peanuts

Mix all ingredients together. Drop onto baking sheet by teaspoon and flatten with a lightly-floured glass. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Brownie Pudding

1 cup flour
2 t. baking powder
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
2 T cocoa powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 t. vanilla
2 T. melted butter
3/4 to 1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups hot water

Stir flour, baking powder, evaporated cane juice, 2 T. cocoa, and salt together. Add milk, vanilla, and butter; mix until smooth. Add nuts. Pour into greased 8x8x2" pan. Mix brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over entire batter. Bake at 350 degrees 40-45 minutes. Pudding will be cake-y with a liquid sauce. Serve warm with ice cream.

White Chocolate Fudge

8 oz softened cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
12 oz white baking chocolate
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Fold into cream cheese mixture with pecans. Spread in a greased 8" square pan. Chill. Cut into squares.

Rhubarb-Apple Crumble

1/4 c evaporated cane juice
1 T cornstarch
4 cups chopped rhubarb
3 apples--cored, peeled & chopped
1/3 c organic brown sugar
2 T softened butter
1/4 t cinnamon
1/3 c oatmeal
1/4 c flour (if whole wheat, use a pastry flour)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, combine evaporated cane juice and the cornstarch. Stir in rhubarb and apples. Pour mixture into a 11x7" glass baking dish.

In medium bowl, mix brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Stir in oatmeal and flour. Sprinkle mixture over the fruit.

Bake 45 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and browned. Serve warm. Milk, cream, or ice cream makes a great topping, if desired.

Rolo Candy Squares

Square pretzels

Rolo candies, unwrapped

1/2 pecan nuts (halves, not pieces or whole)

Lay square pretzels on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Top each with a Rolo candy.

Bake at 250 degrees for 4 minutes.

Immediately top with 1/2 pecan and gently push down, spreading Rolo over the pretzel. Refrigerate for one hour.

Yummy and easy!

Hamburger/Green Bean Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup chopped onions
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/8 t thyme
2 or 3 cans (16 oz) green beans, drained
1 can (10 1/2 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown ground beef and onions. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until well mixed. Pour into a 2 qt casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned.

Dirt Cake

1/4 cup softened butter
1 8-oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 cups milk
2 small pkgs (3 1/2 oz) instant vanilla pudding or one vanilla and one chocolate
12 oz Cool Whip
36 crushed Oreo cookies--or more, if desired
Gummy worms and frogs, as desired
Chocolate candy rocks, as desired

Cream butter, cream cheese & powdered sugar. In another bowl, mix milk & pudding, then stir in Cool Whip. Combine the two mixtures.

Put 1/3 of crushed cookies in the bottom of a plastic bin (about 9x9"), foil-lined clay pot, or plastic sand pail. Next layer 1/2 of the pudding mixture with gummy worms mixed in. Layer another 1/3 of cookies, rest of the pudding mixture, and top with last layer of cookie crumbs with gummy worms crawling out of the "dirt." Use plastic or silk flowers on top, with frogs underneath and rocks spread around.

Serve when chilled, using a shovel or garden trowel. Makes 10-12 servings.