Liz's Special Chocolate Chip Cookies

This would be my second chocolate chip cookie recipe I'm posting here, but this one is truly UH-mazing. And really, I'm just keeping it here because my handwriting is that bad, haha, and I can get to it even if I'm visiting family or something!

My friend Liz brought over a plate of cookies and they were totally incredible. It was really difficult saving the cookie for my husband to eat later, haha, and I messaged her asking for the recipe! My husband prefers to eat several cookies at once, not just one and he almost didn't eat it! But almost as soon as he took a bite, he asked me to get the recipe!
I got a copy of the recipe yesterday, and made them today! Yep, really!

The instructions were very specific, but I went ahead and followed them all.
and oh yes, they ARE that good.

DeeDee's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter-flavored crisco
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients well, then add:

1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi sweet chips

Mix well and shape into medium size balls. Put onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until slightly cracked on top, and a hint of golden brown.
Then bang pan onto stove or sink when cookies first come out- this flattens them perfectly.
Allow to cool before moving to cooling rack or paper towels.

Do not skip or substitute these things:
- Butter Flavored Crisco
- 2 inch size balls (or smaller)- flatten
- Take out of oven when they crack on top.
- Bang pan on stove top to flatten cookies.

*Now for my notes...when I flattened the cookie balls before baking, they got really spread out and not as "pretty". I left them as balls and just banged the pan to flatten them after they baked. I also mixed the dry ingredients and added them in together, and ended with the chips.

Makes about 65 medium sized cookies

* Dec 2019 Edit:
This time I bought some peppermint chunks for Christmas cookies. I added 1/4 cup cocoa powder right at the end, and then the peppermint chunks and it worked great and tasted amazing!

My Favorite Zupas Copycat!

I {heart} Zupas! If you don't know what that means, you can check it out HERE.
My very favorite is their Nuts About Berries Salad, with an Ultimate Grilled Cheese on the side, haha!
I can't recreate the salad dressing and I won't usually pay for the fresh berries either, so that one I really get there. the sandwich is another story...!
I found a link on Pinterest to make their mayo, and splurged on a jar of pesto and a block of Muenster cheese, and made myself this:

So, just in case I stop making this any time soon (HA!) and forget how, I'm recording the instructions here!

Combine 3 tbsp mayonnaise and 1 tbsp pesto. Spread onto insides of both slices of bread.
Thinly slice Muenster cheese to cover one of the insides of the sandwich.
Thinly slice a tomato, lay across one side cheese.
Top with thinly sliced cheddar.
Melt butter in frying pan...set sandwich in the butter, press down using a spatula, to get the cheese all over the tomato and sandwich.
Cut in half and ENJOY!!!

*I do NOT like real mayo. Ever. On anything. I always pick Miracle Whip, or nothing. But that would completely change the flavor soooo I actually DO use real mayo.
*I didn't have cheddar in the house, so I used American cheese instead. However, it is actually too cheesy for me, so I just use the one slice of Muenster.
and I'm eating this 3-4 times a week. Yuuuuummm!!!!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake!!!

(This post is a year old and finally moving out of the "draft" collection! I had to find it so that I can make it again! Trust me, you need this!) 

The first time I made this, it was for a small surprise baby-shower-dinner for a friend. I was in charge of bringing the dessert and I thought it was a perfect time to try this! I found the recipe on one of our favorite food sites, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. You can check out her post HERE.
I got it all made, had the gift ready to go, and needed to get the things over to the hostess without my friend seeing it. In my rush, this dreamy dessert flipped out of my hand in my parking lot, and turned into this:

Not. Even. Kidding.
Yes, I laughed.
Yes, I cried.
And my sweet husband stopped by Kneaders and picked up little desserts for us all instead!

A few weeks later I tried again! And then! We took it to Thanksgiving last year too!
I'm going to start copying the recipes to my blog in case they are deleted from the original sources, so here's my picture...

And here's the recipe, in case the link ever stops working:

APPLES:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Base:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cream Cheese Layer:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cups half-and-half or cream

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

For the base, in a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

For the cream cheese layer, while the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.

Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
For the caramel sauce, mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.