I'm sorry Jan!! LOl...ya'll have to forgive me, I've been spacey and drugged up for months, I lose track right in the middle of typing. I've woken to find open windows on my computer with notes I've been typing, and don't even remember talking to them *sigh* But......I'm going to put the recipe for Poinsettia Cookies here again....these are just delicious, everyone loves these, and they smell great. Oh, Jan....I use the cherries in the jar, too! They taste much better :D I just lay them on paper towels to drain, and I cut them with scissors, really easier that way. They look very elegant, and make great gifts. Poinsettia Cookies Ingredients 2 c Butter or margarine; 1 c Shredded coconut 2 Eggs 1 c Butterscotch chips 1 ts Vanilla extract Granulated sugar 3 c Flour 1/2 c Candied red cherries; cut in 1 ts Salt Cream confectioners sugar and butter; add eggs and extracts. Sift together flour and salt; stir into butter mixture. Stir in coconut and 3/4 C of the butterscotch chips. Chill dough until firm. Roll into 1" balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten cookie with the bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar. Place butterscotch chip in the center of cookie. Place cherry wedges in a circle to resemble a poinsettia. Bake at 375F for about 12 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. ************************************************ I also see I forgot to add the Divinity recipe! Here is the site I got the best recipe from. http://www.angelabetts.com/blog/2007/05/22/divinity-candy-recipe/ DIVINITY CANDY 3 cups sugar cup light corn syrup ½ cup water 2 egg whites 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla, whichever you prefer) 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans Place sugar, corn syrup, and water in heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat to hard ball stage (248° to 250°F). Remove from heat and let stand until temperature drops to 220°F, without stirring. Place egg whites in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and wire whip to mixer. Turn to Speed 8 and whip about 1 minute, or until soft peaks form. Gradually add syrup in a fine stream and whip about 2 ½ minutes longer. Turn to Speed 4. Add almond extract and whip 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture starts to become dry. Turn to Stir Speed and add walnuts, mixing just until blended. Drop mixture from measuring tablespoon onto waxed paper or greased baking sheet to form patties. Yield: 20 servings (2 pieces per serving) Per serving: About 192 cal, 2 g pro, 40 g carb, 4 g fat, 0 mg chol, 15 mg sod. ******************* The punch recipe sounds great, and I need a recipe! So funny because I just found another punch bowl! Not one for a birdbath either!

I saw Throwdown a couple nights ago & Bobby Flay made this Coconut Chocolate Bread Pudding. It looked delicious! Throwdown's Chocolate-Coconut Bread Pudding with Passion Fruit Sauce Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min Inactive Prep Time: 45 min Cook Time: 30 min Level: Intermediate Serves: 9 servings Ingredients Ganache: 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 1/4 cups heavy cream Bread Pudding: 17 ounces brioche (crust removed), cut into 1 1/2-inch dice 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3 cup heavy cream 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk 1 1/4 cups pure cane sugar 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Valhrona Manjari 64 percent), finely chopped 4 whole large eggs 2 large egg yolks Chocolate Ganache 1 cup desiccated coconut Passion Fruit Sauce: 3/4 cup passion fruit juice 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons white rum For the Anglaise: 1/2 vanilla bean 3/4 cup whole milk 1/2 cup coconut milk 4 large egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar For the Ganache: Directions In a small bowl place the chocolate. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat bring the cream to a simmer and then pour over the chocolate. Let the chocolate mixture sit for 30 seconds and then whisk until smooth, keep warm. For the Bread Pudding: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and add the diced brioche. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat. Bake in the oven and lightly golden brown. Removing and tossing several times. This should be repeated for about 12 minutes. Once the bread has evenly browned, remove and let cool slightly. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the cream, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped bittersweet chocolate and whisk until melted. Strain the mixture into a medium size bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the eggs and yolks and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture, whisking as you add. Place half of the brioche cubes in a single layer in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Pour 1/2 of the custard mixture over the bread and half of the ganache. Sprinkle with half of the coconut. Press down on the bread, allowing the liquid to soak in. Place the remaining bread cubes over the top, add the remaining custard and ganache and again, press down to completely submerge the bread. Top with the remaining coconut, cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes before baking. While the bread is sitting continue to check and press down on the bread so that it is completely submerged with the custard mixture. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Uncover the bread pudding, and place the baking dish in a larger roasting pan. Fill the outer roasting pan with warm water until it comes halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake until the sides are slightly puffy and the center is slightly set (but still jiggles a bit). For the Passion Fruit Sauce: Into a small saucepan cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out centers (including the seeds). Add the sugar, orange juice and rum and let cook over high heat until sugar has dissolved and sauce has thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and chill in the refrigerator. For the anglaise: Split vanilla bean. In a small heavy saucepan bring milks and vanilla bean half just to a boil and remove pan from heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into milk and reserve pod for another use. In a bowl whisk together yolks and sugar. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and transfer custard to saucepan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened slightly and an instant-read thermometer registers 170 degrees F. Pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water and cool, stirring occasionally, until cold. Sauce may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Remove the pan to a baking rack and let sit for 15 minutes. Spoon some of the coconut anglaise into a bowl and drizzle with the passion fruit sauce. Top with a large scoop of the bread pudding and serve. Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Fri Jan 16 2009 © 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved Advertisement will not be printed /tricia

Lori, I am just making coconut butter cookies, my recipe calls for 3/4 C sugar. If I have to reduce sugar what would be your or anyone else's suggestions in the reduction? Or would I not need to reduce the sugar amount? The recipe also says (toasted coconut) but I was thinking if I toast the coconut first and then bake the cookies, the coconut would just get darker. What are your thoughts on that? It's been awhile since I made these and can't remember if I toasted the coconut first or not. I would prefer to cut out that step since I have so much to do with other things. Ginger, Thanks for the link you provided, I have it bookmarked. If it really matters that the coconut be unsweetend then I will do as your link suggested. Thanks to both of you, anxiously awaiting your replies. Sapphires

Here's my Brownie Brittle story. I found it after Christmas at a Wal-mart near us. Thought it looked interesting, so I got a bag. Checked the price and it was 75% off and only 65 cents!!! I figure it must have been a Christmas item, but put in the regular cookie section. I opened it and couldn't put it down!! SO GOOD! Didn't think it would be so light and crunchy. Brittle sounds harder. Went back to Wal-mart and snatched up 4-5 more bags. Served it for Book Club and everyone liked it. I saw some at Costco, but did not think having a bag that big would be a good idea! Was afraid I'd eat all of that too! Went back to Wal-mart, but someone must have found the bargain because they were all gone :(