Ingredients

* Foolproof Pie Shell
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
* 2 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract * 1/2 cup flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 to 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

Prepare one Foolproof Pie Shell and, while it chills, heat the oven to 350º.

Cream the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Gradually beat in the sugars. Add the eggs individually, beating well each time. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the flour and salt until well blended. Blend in the milk (don’t worry if the filling looks a little lumpy at this point) and, finally, stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pour the filling into the chilled shell, smoothing it with a spoon. Bake the pie on the center oven rack for about 50 minutes, turning it 180 degrees halfway through. When done, the top will be dark golden brown, and the filling will be set except for the very center, which may jiggle slightly when you tap the pan.

Cool the pie on a wire rack. This pie is equally good served slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled (for 1 or 2 hours).

Ingredients:

FILLING
* 5 1/2 to 6 cups peeled 1/2-inch diced just-ripe pears (about 8 small pears)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
* Pinch of salt
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice

* 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

* 2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 9- or 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie crust or try this Flaky Piecrust
OATMEAL CRUMB TOPPING
* 2/3 cup flour
* 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400°. Place the diced pears in a large bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over them, and stir well. Add the remaining filling ingredients and toss gently, until the mixture is evenly combined.

Turn the filling into the chilled deep-dish pie crust and smooth the top of the fruit. Place the pie on the center oven rack, with a piece of aluminum foil under the dish to catch any drips, and bake for 45 minutes.

Now make the topping. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, and using your hands, rub the ingredients together until you have large crumbs. Refrigerate the topping until you are ready to use it.

After 45 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 375°. Remove the pie from the oven and carefully pour the crumbs in the center of the pie, then spread them evenly. Return the pie to the oven and bake it until the juices bubble thickly around the edge, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Ingredients

* PASTRY:
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup butter
* 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
* 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* FILLING:
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 2/3 cup chopped pecans
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/2 cup melted butter

* FROSTING:
* 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
* 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10×16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners’ sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

Ingredients:

2 (16.5-ounce) packages NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Bar Dough
1/2 cup pink, red and/or white frosting or decorator icing
21 NESTLÉ CRUNCH Hearts
Pink, red and/or white candy sprinkles or hearts
21 small cellophane treat bags with ribbon
or twist ties

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line 15 1/2 x 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan with foil.
2. Place two whole bars of dough in prepared pan. Allow to soften for 5 to 10 minutes. Using palms and fingertips, pat dough gently to fill the pan.
3. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Invert onto wire rack; peel away foil. Cut away edges of dough to form a 14 x 9-inch rectangle. Measure and cut this rectangle into twenty-one 2 x 3-inch individual rectangles.
4. Spread frosting over cookie cards; top with Nestlé Hearts and candies. Allow frosting to harden slightly (about 30 minutes) before putting into bags.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons chopped raisins
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
1 lemon rind, grated
1/2 pound cottage cheese

Directions:

Cream butter. Add egg yolks, salt, sugar, almonds, raisins, lemon rind, and flour. Combine with cheese which has been rubbed through a sieve. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into buttered pan. Bake in moderate oven (375 F.) until firm. Pearl Roper, Beaumont, Cal.

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup fruit preserves, any flavor

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and egg yolks. Mix in flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use your finger or an instrument of similar size to make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Directions

Dough:
Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 (1/4-ounce) packet fresh fast-acting yeast
* 1 1/2 cups warm water, between 100 and 115 degrees F, as measured with a candy thermometer (any hotter will kill the yeast – an organic leavener, too cool and the yeast won’t be activated)
* 3 cups all purpose flour, plus some extra for the dough board
* 2 tablespoons cornmeal, for the pizza stone

Topping:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3 to 4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced, and tossed with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent oxidation (good choices are Braeburn, Gala, Jonathan, Rome Beauty)
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 6 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
* 6 tablespoons hazelnut and chocolate paste (recommended: Nutella)
* 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
* 1/4 cup chocolate syrup

Dissolve salt, sugar, and yeast in the warm water and allow the yeast to proof. (“Proofing” the yeast is testing it for viability. It will develop a foam which looks like the head of a beer. If it doesn’t proof, the yeast is dead and should be discarded.) Proofing takes about 15 minutes.

Place flour in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, and through the feed tube with the food processor running, slowly pour the proofed yeast mixture, until the dough comes together and is a cohesive mass. Transfer the dough to a floured board, and knead for about 5 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and allow dough to rise, so that it roughly doubles in volume. (This will take about 30 minutes to an hour). The dough has risen enough if you make an indentation with your finger and it does not spring back.) Punch the dough down and allow it to rise again. (Allowing the dough to rise a second time gives it a finer texture.) Note: It will not rise as much the second time.

While the dough is proofing, begin to prepare the topping. Melt the butter over medium heat in a pan with a lid. Add apples and stir gently to coat with the warm butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the apples. Stir in the lemon juice. Cover and cook over low to medium heat for about 40 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and tender.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stretch the dough out into a 14-inch circle which is thicker around the perimeter. Transfer dough to a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Top evenly with the cooked apple slices. Since the caramel topping and hazelnut, chocolate sauce are thick and awkward to spread, distribute spoonfuls of them evenly over the surface of the apple slices and the heat from the oven will make them melt onto the surface. Sprinkle with mini-marshmallows and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is nicely browned.

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Difficult
Yield: 6 slices

Ingredients

* 2 Golden Delicious apples
* 2 to 3 tablespoons butter
* 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
* Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
* Creamy Custard Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and dry apples. Cut the apples in half and remove the core but leave any stems intact. Place apples in baking dish. Divide butter among each core cavity. Top each apple half with a tablespoon of sugar and dash with cinnamon.

Bake apples until the flesh is tender and they’re bubbly and perfect looking, about 30 minutes. Serve with Creamy Custard Sauce.

Creamy Custard Sauce:

1/2 pint light vanilla ice cream, melted (recommended: Ben and Jerry’s)

2 egg yolks

Heat the melted ice cream in a small saucepan over low heat until hot. Meanwhile, put the yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. While whisking, slowly drizzle about 1 or 2 tablespoons hot melted ice cream into the yolks until blended. While whisking constantly, slowly add the rest of the hot liquid to the yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to low heat.

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings