Ginger Lemon Cookies
(Holiday Edition 1996)

A cookie stamp is needed in order to prepare this recipe.

½ cup butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, lemon rind and lemon juice. Mix salt and ginger into flour. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, to egg mixture. Stir well until dough form a ball. Knead dough, then roll into 2-inch balls. Place on cookie sheet. Stamp, than bake at 350 ° F for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden in color.

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Chocolate Pots de Crème
(Valentine Edition 2000)

3 egg yolks
1 egg
1 cup Half & Half
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped
6 ovenproof ramekins or custard cups

Preheat oven to 325 ° F. Arrange ramekins in a large roasting pan and fill pan with water half way up the sides of the ramekins. Set aside.

In a bowl, gently whisk together egg yolks and whole egg. In a small saucepan, bring half & half to a near boil. Add chocolate, stir and remove from heat. Continue stirring until smooth and completely melted. Let cool. Pour cooled chocolate into eggs and mix with a spoon just to combine. Ladle into prepared cups and cover loosely with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes until sides are set (center will still be a bit loose). Remove ramekins from pan, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator. Chill for at least 2 hours.

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Crostata (Lattice-Top Pie)
(Fall Edition 1998)

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
2 egg yolks
8 tablespoons of your favorite jam
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
a dash of salt

Coat your pie plate with non-stick spray – set aside. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt. Add egg yolks, lemon rind and the softened butter. Mix all together with rapid movements to form an elastic, soft dough. Cover in plastic wrap and let dough rest in a cool place for one hour.

With a rolling pin, roll ¾ of dough out to ¼ inch. Lay in the bottom of pie plate. Add the jam, spreading evenly. Roll remaining dough out to ¼ inch, and cut into ½ inch wide strips. Place strips on top of jam, ½ inch apart horizontally, then repeat vertically to form a lattice design on the pie.

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Kourambiethes (Greek Wedding Cookies)
(Spring Edition 1998)

1 lb. sweet butter
1 egg yolk
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup orange juice
3¾ cups flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 lb. box powdered sugar

Blend egg yolk and ¼ cup powdered sugar and orange juice for 10-15 seconds. Melt butter, let it cool for a few minutes, then add it to the egg mixture. Mix well for another 10 seconds. Sift flour and corn starch, then add them to the mixture. Knead dough extensively (the longer, the better!). Roll out dough onto a baker's marble to about ½ inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out crescents from the dough. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 ° F for 25 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly. While still warm, dip cookies into powdered sugar until they are heavily coated, then place in individual paper muffin cups. Cool off completely before serving.

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Lemon Pudding Cake
(Spring Edition 2001)

1 box Lemon Cake (bake as directed)
1 large box of lemon Jell-o
2 cups boiling water

Let cake cool completely. With a fork, poke several holes throughout entire cake surface. Pour Jell-o into boiling water and stir until dissolved. Pour mixture slowly all over cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours.

To frost cake:
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup milk
¼ cup powder sugar
1 small package instant lemon pudding

In a medium bowl, combine all frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spread over cake. Keep cake refrigerated.

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Nutty Cranberry Chunkies
(Holiday Edition 2001)

1 pkg. (8 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 eggs
1 cup white chocolate chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped Macadamia nuts or slivered almonds
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 ° F. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave baking chocolate for 2 minutes. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Stir in sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and baking powder. Add white chocolate chunks, nuts and cranberries. Drop ¼ cupfuls of batter onto ungreased Silpat mat or cookie sheet, then bake cookies 14 minutes or until puffed and feel set to the touch. Cool a few minutes, remove from cookie sheet, then cool off completely on wire rack. Yields about 18 large cookies.

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Rainbow Holiday Fudge
(Winter Edition 1999)

2 cups semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 can condensed milk (do not use evaporated milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (or cashews)
½ cup caramel topping

Melt the morsels in a double boiler. Transfer melted chocolate to a bowl, then add all remaining ingredients. Fold well. Pour mixture into a brownie pan, cover with plastic wrap and let cool in the refrigerator overnight. Cut into little squares to serve.

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Sugar Cookies Delight
(Holiday Edition 2000)

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup milk

In a medium bowl mix 2 cups of the flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients until well blended. Gradually incorporate the remaining 2 cups of flour, until dough is firmer and easy to handle. Shape dough into a ball, chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use fun cookie cutters to cut out shapes, and bake greased cookie sheet until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet before removing.

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Raspberry Cream Cupcakes
Recipe Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
(Spring Edition 2007)

1 (18.25 oz.) box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe white cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
3 large egg whites
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons each almond & vanilla extracts
2 (6 oz. each) containers fresh raspberries
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional
for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 muffin tins with silicone muffin cups.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer beat cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond and vanilla extracts until the batter in well blended (about 3 min). Using about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the cupcakes are pale golden on top, about 15 min. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

With a fork, coarsely mash 1 ½ containers of raspberries. Beat cream and 1/3 cup powdered sugar until firm peaks form. Gently fold mashed raspberries into whipped cream. Remove the muffin cups (or paper) from the cupcakes and cut the tops off. Spoon the raspberry cream atop the cupcake bottoms, place the tops back on, dust with powdered sugar and serve with remaining berries.

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