Carrot Cake: 1- 1/2 cups vegetable oil 1- 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs, well beaten 3- 1/2 cups grated

carrots 1- 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups unbleached flour 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. soda 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 2 tsp. ground allspice 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans- optional (Not for me thanks- I love pecans in lots of things, but not in carrot cake!) Cream oil and sugar. Add eggs, pineapple, and carrots, and mix well. Mix dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture, a small amount at a time, beating well. When blended, add pecans (if you are adding them), and vanilla. Pour into a 10 X 14 inch greased and sugared pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour (35-40 minutes convection). Cool slightly before frosting. Frosting: 1/2 cup butter, very soft or melted 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 2- 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1 tsp. vanilla extract Optional: Add a couple of tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice- You may need a little more powdered sugar to compensate, but it gives the frosting a wonderful brightness. (Thanks Cherie for the great tip!) Combine all the ingredients and beat well. Spread evenly over cooled cake.

Seven-Layer Bars Yield: 18 bars Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients: 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter 9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed 1 cup finely chopped walnuts 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips cup white chocolate chips cup butterscotch chips 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk Directions: 1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with two overlapping pieces of foil or parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray. 2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown, about 4 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it - coconut can go from slightly browned to burnt in a matter of seconds.) Set aside. 3. Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan. 4. In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish. 5. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. 6. Remove the bars fromthe pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife or bench cutter, cut into 2 by 3-inch bars.

Million Dollar Bars 1 stick butter 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 cup shaved coconut 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts 1 can sweetened condensed milk Melt the butter and mix with the graham cracker crumbs. Pat half of the mixture into a 8x8 square baking dish that has been lined with foil and buttered. Mix the coconut, chocolate chips and the nuts and place on the crumb mixture. Top with the remaining crumbs and pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, lift out with foil and cut into squares.

Aunt Karen's Most Excellent Sugar Cookies Karen Morgans Most Excellent Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. lemon extract tsp. lemon peel 1 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder tsp. nutmeg 1 cup sour cream 2 tsp. baking soda 5- 5 1/2 cups flour Combine sour cream and baking soda and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon peel (finely grated.) Sift together salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and flour and add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture. Mix well after each addition. Chill. Roll out and cut. Bake at 375

degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Rocky Ledge Bars Martha Stewart Cookies book 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/2 cups packed dark-brown sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup miniature marshmallows 1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 cup butterscotch chips 1 cup caramel bits (found by the chocolate chips, or you could cut up caramels but - too much work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper so it overhangs. Spray parchment with cooking spray. Mix butter and brown sugar together and then mix in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, wisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and add half of the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, marshmallows, white chocolate chips and caramel bits. Spread in pan and top with remaining half of the chocolates, caramel and marshmallows. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Lift out of pan and cut into bars or triangles. This is simply delicious! No raisins, no pineapple, just yummy, moist carrot cake. I suggest making this the night before serving, it tastes better the next day. I also like to eat it chilled best. Carrot Cake

4 eggs 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 cups sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp cinammon 3 cups carrots, grated Frosting 1 stick butter 8 oz cream cheese 4 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup chopped pecans Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinammon. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir in carrots. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until done. Let cool before frosting. For frosting, mix soft butter, softened cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in pecans last. Frost cake when cool. Refrigerate cake. Extra-Creamy Cooked Cream Cheese Icing makes enough icing to sandwich and cover two 9-inch cake layers 16 ounces (2 bars) full-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature for at least 1 hour 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or simply use a large bowl and hand beaters). Whip the cream cheese on high speed for several minutes, until it is completely smooth and silky. Scrape the cream cheese out into a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a small saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium and slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. It will look lumpy at first but whisk vigorously to create a smooth paste. Continue whisking as the mixture comes up to a simmer. It will thicken rapidly and dramatically as it comes to a boil (see photo below). Simmer for 1 full minute, then turn off the heat. Scrape the flour and milk paste into the mixer bowl. (If you want to be 100% sure there are no small lumps, pour it through a mesh sieve.) Turn on the mixer or beaters and whip the flour-milk mixture for 10 minutes, or until it is lightened and no longer piping hot. It should be lukewarm or cooler. Slowly add the whipped, softened cream cheese, whipping constantly. Add the vanilla. Continue whipping until the the two are completely combined and smooth and silky. (See photo below.) It is best to let this icing firm up a bit more in the refrigerator but you can use it now to ice a completely cooled cake. If not using immediately, store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Whip again briefly on high speed before using. It is also best to refrigerate cakes that are iced with this frosting. It is best eaten within three days or so.

Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Serves 12-15, depending on the size of your slices 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 4 eggs, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup (6 ounces) canola oil 1 cup (8 ounces) granulated sugar

4 cups grated carrots (a little less than 2 pounds of whole carrots) 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below) Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, powder, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla. Set both aside. In a large bowl, beat together the oil and sugar in a mixer or by hand until they reach a uniform consistency. With the mixer on low, beat 1/3 of the flour. Next, add 1/3 of the eggs. Continue adding the flour and eggs in alternating additions. Stop mixing when the last of the flour is just barely incorporated. Fold the carrots into the batter with a spatula, working slowly and gently until the carrots are distributed and no more dry flour remains. Pour the batter into the baking dish and tap the dish a few times against the counter to work out the air bubbles. Bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating once during baking. The finished cake should be slightly puffed in the middle and browned on the edges. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting, about one hour, or wait to frost until the next day. Leftover cake can be kept, covered, at room temperature for several days. You can also wrap the unfrosted cake in aluminum foil and freeze it for up to 3 months. Cream Cheese Frosting Adapted from Faith Durand's recipe Makes enough to thickly cover a 9x13" cake 1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups confectioner's sugar pinch of salt Beat together the butter and cream cheese. Slowly beat in the vanilla, confectioner's sugar, and salt. Increase to high speed once the frosting starts to come together into lumps. Beat until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients: 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese (light works fine, although it will yield a slightly softer frosting) at almost room temperature 1/2cup salted butter at almost room temperature 2 cups sifted powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract Instructions: Whip together the cream cheese, butter, and extract until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fully incorporated. Refrigerate any leftovers (or anything youve frosted that doesnt get eaten immediately). Best Cream Cheese Frosting for Bakery-style Cupcakes (enough for about 12 regular sized cupcakes) recipe by Dorothy 8 oz. cream cheese, cold 4 Tbsp butter, softened 1 Tbsp sour cream 2 tsp meringue powder (optional) 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups powdered sugar In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Be careful to not over beat. Beat in the sour cream, hen tthe meringue powder (if using). Add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until combined and fluffy. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and enjoy! I would love to hear your frosting tips! Ingredients:

1 lb (two 8 ounce packages) neufchatel (or cream cheese, but neufchatel is WAY better) 4 Cups confectioner's sugar

1 Tsp cinnamon 2 Tsp vanilla 3 Tsp heavy cream 3 Tsp lemon juice

Directions: 1. Make sure the neufchatel is soft and pliable, but still slightly cool. Open the packages and drop all of the neufchatel into a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer and mix until creamy and smooth. 2. Add confectioner's sugar and mix again, until creamy and smooth, and then add in rest of ingredients, and be sure to sprinkle the cinnamon over mixture to make sure it all blends perfectly. 3. Mix well until you have a smooth, soft icing. Icing will be off-white in color, and you can always add a teeny bit of food coloring to add prettiness. Tip: Take two smaller bowls and put 3/4 cup of extra icing in both. Add orange food coloring to one and green to another, and mix well. Take two ziplock baggies and scoop the orange icing into one and green into the other. Push icing into the bottom corner of the ziplocks and cut a small hole in the colors...instant cake decorating tools! Draw carrots on the cake as desired! Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 4 eggs unbeaten 3 cups grated raw carrots 1/2 cup salad oil Directions: Put everything in a bowl at one time and mix until well blended. Pour batter in 3 greased and lined 8" layer cake pans. Cook at 350 degrees F for 30 min. Carrot Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour (220 gr) 2 tsp baking soda (5 gr)

2 tsp cinnamon (5 gr) 1/2 tsp salt (3 gr) 3 large eggs 2 cups granulated sugar (400 gr) 3/4 cup vegetable oil (180 ml) 3/4 cup buttermilk (180 ml) 2 tsp vanilla extract (10 ml) 1 can (8-1/4 oz) crushed pineapple, well drained (250 ml) 2 cups finely grated carrots {approx 3 or 4 medium carrots} (300 gr) 1 cup chopped walnuts (150 gr) 1 cup flaked coconut (180 gr)

Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C (325 F / 160 C if using dark-colored pans). Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch / 23 x 32 cm pan. If desired you can use two 9-inch / 23cm round pans instead, but youll need to cook cakes for a shorter period of time and may want to increase the amount of frosting. Place dry ingredients in a sealable plastic bowl, shake to combine (or you can sift together, but the bowl is just easier). In large bowl, preferably using a stand mixer, beat eggs until lemon-colored. Add sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla and beat to combine, then add the flour mixture and beat on low to combine. Finally add the pineapple, carrots, nuts and coconut. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until cake tests done when wooden pick is inserted in center. If coating with Buttermilk Glaze: while cake is still hot, poke holes in top with a fork or wooden pick and pour glaze over top. If frosting cake, cool cake first. If you desire an immediate diabetic coma you can, of course, use both glaze and frosting. Carrot Cake Recipe largely adapted from this recipe at Fine Coooking 3/4 Canola oil 4 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 2 1/2 cups (I did about 9 ounces) shredded carrots 2 1/2 cups brown sugar (packed) 1/4 cup pears, cooked and pureed (I used my canned pears) 1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup Sultana raisins

2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1-3/4 tsp. baking soda 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 3/4 tsp. ground ginger 3/4 tsp. table salt 2 cups flour Preheat oven to 350F. For my cake I use a 9 x 13 so that I could cut it into the shape of a cross. Spray with cooking spray. In a bowl combine the dry ingredients, salt, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and flour. In a larger bowl combine oil, pureed pears, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Add in carrots, stir. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. Test with toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Let rest for ten minutes on a cooling rack and then flip onto sheet. When cooled cut into desired shape. The Best Whip Creamiest Frosting And you can decorate with it. Very nice consistency. 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup butter 2 teaspoons vanilla (if you want a pristine white frosting, use white vanilla) 1/2 cup flour 1 cup milk In a bowl combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup flour, stir vigorously. Add the remaining 1/2 cup milk. This helps to avoid lumps. Place mixture in a double boiler and stir frequently. When thickened remove from heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl whip butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This will take close to ten minutes. You do not want graininess*. After four/milk mixture is cooled, whip into the butter mixture.

*Next time I will run my sugar through a blender to make it less course. Just don't use Confectioners sugar. Ingredients FOR THE CAKE: 2 cups Sugar 1 cup Vegetable Oil 4 whole Eggs 2 cups All-purpose Flour 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon 2 cups Grated Carrots _____ For Icing 1 stick Regular Butter, Softened 1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese 1 pound Powdered Sugar 2 teaspoons Vanilla 1 cup Pecans, Chopped Finely Preparation Instructions Cake: Preheat oven to 350F Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and combine. Then add carrots and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured (Bakers Joyed) pan (bundt, sheet cake, 9 x 13 pyrex) and bake at 350F until done, 25 (sheet cake) to 50 (Bundt pan) minutes, depending on the pan you use. Cool completely.