Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

12 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Sift together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla extract and egg. Gradually add flour mixture until dough is uniform in color and no unmixed flour remains.

Shape in two 9" long logs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil. Make sure your wrapping is airtight. Freeze several hours or up to 6 weeks.

When ready to use, preheat your oven to 375F and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should feel a bit firm at the edges. Store in an airtight container when cool. Makes 4 dozen

Pizza Queen Marguerite

This recipe makes a fool-proof, mouthwatering pizza, and is a quick affair. Though it calls for bread flour, regular old flour seems to work just fine. Also, for an even better pizza, use a mix of Italian or "pizza" cheeses (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and asiago or such).

3 cups bread flour  

1/2 lb mozzarella cheese

1 pkt dry yeast (1 3/4 tsp)  

2 Tbs Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt  

1 14-oz can Italian tomatoes

1 Tbs sugar  

5 springs fresh oregano (or lots more)

1 cup 110-deg. water (35-50 secs in micro)

Lightly oil two large pizza pans. Put sugar in cup of heated water and add yeast. Wait until the yeast/water combo bubbles up. If it does not happen water was probably too hot or cold. 

Add yeast water to three cups of flour and one tsp salt. Knead until smooth. Place in greased bowl, cover and allow to rise about 45 min or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Roll out dough and press into pizza pans. Cover with shredded mozzarella and the oregano. Drain juice from tomato cans and discard; place sliced tomato pieces on top of cheese. Top with grated parmesan and lightly drizzle with olive oil if desired. Bake for ten minutes or until browned.

Lemon Squares

I found this recipe on the Web a couple of Christmases ago. Super-easy to make...one of the few recipes that needs no tweaking.

Makes about 12 

For the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter

For the filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

additional confectioners' sugar

Stir together flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in butter until mixture clings together. Pat into an ungreased 8-inch square pan; bake at 350 F. for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs in mixing bowl; add granulated sugar and lemon juice and beat until thick and smooth, 8-10 minutes. Stir together flour and baking powder; add to egg mixture, blending until all ingredients are moistened. Pour egg mixture gently over baked crust layer. Bake at 350 F. for 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly. Sift additional confectioners' sugar over top. Cool completely; cut into 1-1/2-inch squares.

Best chocolate chip cookies EVER

Although I call these chocolate chips cookies, there is a small amount of oatmeal in the recipe. I don't mention "oatmeal" in the title, because unless you told someone, no-one would be aware of it. But without it, you will not get the crispy/chewy combination that makes these cookies so AWESOME!

Preheat oven to 350˚.

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 stick of butter (do NOT substitute margarine or anything else low-fat)

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cup regular flour

1/3 cup oatmeal (I use McCann's Irish Oats)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Cream sugar, butter, egg and vanilla together. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and mix until smooth. Stir in the oatmeal, nuts and chocolate chips. (The cream of tartar gives these cookies a lovely crackled appearance.)

Since I like my cookies to look as good as they taste, I roll them into balls before placing on the cookie sheet. The cookies come out looking pretty close to perfectly round this way. (I tried using a cookie scoop, and it wasn't long before it broke....plus it was a hassle.)

(I only use Airbake cookie sheets, so I cannot attest to the quality of cookies baked on anything else.)

Bake for approximately 12 minutes.