Adult Dream Bars (Don't waste these on the kids)

6 oz semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate; chopped
6 oz white chocolate; chopped
6 oz Milk chocolate; chopped
12 tablespoon Butter
2 cups Cinnamon graham crackers; 16 double crackers
1 1/3 cup coconut
3 cups pecan halves
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350F . Cover a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.

Mix all chopped chocolate pieces together and set aside. Melt butter in
jelly roll pan in preheating oven for 5-10 minutes. Spread butter evenly
over pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the butter , mixing with a
spatula to moisten. Press the crumbs down firmly with your fingers.
Spread coconut evenly over the crumbs.

Reserving one scant cup pecan halves, chop the remainder and scatter over
the coconut. Scatter the mixed chocolate over the chopped pecans. Slowly
and evenly pour the milk over the entire pan. Arrange reserved pecan
halves over the top in long rows about one inch from edge. Bake for 10
minutes. Remove from oven and press pecan halves firmly into the bars.
Return to oven and bake 10 -15 more minutes until the bubbling milk is pale
golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Invert slab to peel off foil and then re
invert to cut into long rectangles.

Yield: 5 dozen

Candycane Chocolate

1 pound white chocolate; see note below
3/4 cup Crushed candycanes
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Note: You can use white chocolate, confectionary coating, or almond bark -
they all work.

Melt chocolate in microwave on medium for 2-4 mintues - stir until smooth.
Stir in candy canes and spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Melt
chocolate chips (about 30 seconds to one minute) and stir until smooth.
Drizzle melted chips over candy cane layer. Freeze five minutes or
refrigerate for 10 - until set. Break into bite sized pieces. Stores well
in freezer and is heavenly with coffee.

Yield: 1.5 pounds

Cran-Cherry Icebox Ribbons

3/4 cup craisins
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1 1/2 tablespoon Sugar
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 cup +2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Butter; softened
1 each egg
2 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Filling:
Process craisins, preserves, and 1 1/2 Tbl sugar in food processor until
coarsely pureed. Transfer to small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat
until it boils. Remove and let stand until cooled slightly. Add almond
extract. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Dough:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl beat
together sugar and butter until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and almond
extract and beat until well combined. Stir in flour mixture just until
blended. Let stand 10 minutes until firmed up slightly.

Line a small loaf pan with foil, letting foil overhang by several inches.
On top of the foil, line pan with 2 pieces of plastic wrap, one vertical,
one horizontal. Divide the dough into quarters. Pat each piece into a
rectangle shape on waxed paper. Put one piece of dough in bottom of pan.
Spread 1/3 of filling on dough. Repeat the layers ending with dough. Fold
plastic wrap over the dough and freeze at least 1 1/2 hours.

Baking:
Preheat oven to 350°F . Grease several cookie sheets.

Peel the plastic wrap from the loaf. Using a long sharp knife, trim off
the sides of the loaf to make an even rectangle. Wipe the knife between
cuts. Cut loaf cross wise into thirds. Place two thirds back in frig and
carefully slice the remaining third into even 1/4 thick slices. Wipe knife
between cuts. Place them on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake 9-14 minutes and immediately transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 dozen

Ok. Here's an INA GARTEN recipe. I've made it for two years now. Easy and delicious. Pretty enough to give away.

JAM THUMBPRINTS

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweeteed flaked coconut
raspberry and/or apricot jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the butter and sugar until just combined, then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls (if you have a scale, they should weigh 1-ounce). Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 tsp of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

Yield: 32 cookies.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I just gained the 10lbs I lost, just reading this post, I knew I was trying to avoid this post!!!