Cream Cheese Squares

from Kraft

makes 24 servings (I halved everything)

• 2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, divided (I used reduced-fat)
• 2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (I used light cream cheese)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Unroll 1 of the cans of crescent dough. Press onto bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking pan to form crust, firmly pressing seams together to seal.

BEAT cream cheese, vanilla, egg and 1/2 cup of the sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread onto crust.

UNROLL remaining can of crescent dough onto large sheet of wax paper. Pat out dough to form 13x9-inch rectangle, pressing seams together to seal. Invert over cream cheese mixture to form top crust; discard wax paper.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until golden brown. Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; sprinkle over squares before cutting.

Calories 170

Total fat 11 g

Dietary fiber 0 g

My Review I have been on a lucky streak with my recipes lately. This was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made and also one of the most delicious. I ate it warm, I ate it cold -- yummy both ways! Simon was ecstatic about this dessert -- so extra boy-friendly. The only not-so-great part about it was that it was hard to stick to the portion size. I definitely ate a little too much of this.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

From some random message board

• 1 box spice cake mix (I used yellow)
• 1 small can pumpkin
• 1 C chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix and pumpkin until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 18 - 25 minutes. Makes 50 cookies.

My Review: These are my perfect cookie! They help beat my cravings for sweets but they're not good enough for me to devour the whole sheet. Plus, they're very low-cal, which is even better! Simon liked them a lot too - so boy-friendly.

Bourbon Balls

From Coastal Living, SEPTEMBER 2008

3 cups crushed vanilla wafers

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup bourbon

Powdered sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in corn syrup and bourbon. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: Makes 3 dozen

My Review: I cut this recipe in half -- no one needs three dozen bourbon balls. Yowza! These packed quite a punch! They're pretty boozy - way fun for New Year's Eve or a holiday party. You may not want to give them to your kids, though. They seem to mellow over time, so if you want milder bourbon balls, make them a few days ahead. I thought they were fun and Simon liked them a lot. They're super easy to make.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints

from For the Love of Cooking (click here to see the official recipe with pictures)

• 1 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 4 oz unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam -- I used low-sugar blackberry

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the peanut butter and butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugars then beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients then mix until combined.

Scoop level tablespoons of dough, and form into balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, and transfer to a silpat lined baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. (I don't know what silpat is - I just used a normal baking sheet!)

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cookies are puffy. Remove from oven, and make indentions in centers by pressing with the handle of a wooden spoon. Return to the oven for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.

Heat jam in a small saucepan, stirring, until loosened, about 30-45 seconds. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indention. Store cookies in a single layer.

My Review: These should be titled the best cookies on earth. They were so incredibly delicious. In fact, if you just want the perfect peanut butter cookie, just skip the jelly-adding part. They were soft and had a great peanut butter flavor. We couldn't stop eating them!

Amazing Baked Apples with Vanilla-Honey Yogurt

from Clean Eating magazine (Jan/Feb 2010)

Serves 4

• 1 medium lemon
• 4 large, firm apples, cored and hollowed (leaving bottoms intact)
• 2 T unsalted almond butter (or unsalted nut butter of your choice)
• 1 T unsweetened dried apricots, chopped
• 1 T dried, pitted prunes, chopped
• 1 T unsweetened raisins
• 2 T toasted shaved hazelnuts, divided (I used walnuts)
• 2 tsp raw organic honey (I used the squeezable bear honey)
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Vanilla-Honey Yogurt

• 1 C low-fat plain yogurt (I used fat-free Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used the fake stuff)
• 2 tsp raw organic honey (again - squeezable bear works just as well!)

Preheat oven to 375. Juice lemon, yielding about 2 T juice. Then split open lemon and rub inside flesh over inside of each apple. Drizzle about 1/8 tsp lemon juice inside cavity of each apple, reserving remaining juice. In bowl, combine almond butter, apricots, prunes, raisins, hazelnuts (reserving 1 tsp for garnish), honey and cinnamon. Stuff each cavity with filling, dividing evenly among 4 apples. Press stuffing down firmly and place apples cavity-side-up, in a shallow baking dish. Mix together remaining lemon juice and 1/4 C water and pour around apples. Place dish in oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until firm but tender.

Prepare Vanilla Honey Yogurt: Place yogurt in a strainer lined with paper towel and set strainer over a bowl. Let sit in fridge for no less than 1 hour or until thick. Pour off liquid, place thickened yogurt in bowl and stir in vanilla and honey. Spoon 1 T yogurt over each warm baked apple and sprinkle with remaining nuts.

My Review: It was tasty, but I completely screwed this recipe up. I only used two apples, but I kept the filling and yogurt amounts the same. I also mixed the lemon juice with the stuffing ingredients, by mistake. Since Greek yogurt is already pretty thick, I didn't mess with the whole strainer thing. And let me tell you, chopping up prunes is disgusting! But, when all is said and done, these apples were pretty delicious and very filling!

Apple Brownies

adapted from Vitamin G blog (Click here to see original recipe with photos)

Serves 12 @ 169 cal, 5.4 fat and 1.6 fiber

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 cup apples, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup craisins

Cream butter, applesauce and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and cinnamon; stir well. Stir in apples, nuts, and craisins. Bake in a greased and floured 9 x 9 pan at 350° F. for 35-40 minutes.

My Review: Yum - these were DELICIOUS, especially when warm!