Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

This has become one of my favorite cookies to make.  I found the recipe last year in Self magazine and have been making them ever since. This recipe calls for egg whites so you can either seperate them yourself or just buy the egg whites in the carton like egg beaters.

Ingredients:
• Parchment paper
• 2 1/2 cups walnut halves
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Instructions:
Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven. Heat oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place walnuts on a work surface and finely chop. Transfer to a separate large baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 9 minutes. Let cool. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir in walnuts. Add egg whites and vanilla; beat with a fork or electric mixer on medium until batter is just moistened. (Do not overbeat batter or it will stiffen.) Drop batter by the teaspoonful onto baking sheets in evenly spaced mounds. Bake cookies until tops are lightly cracked and glossy, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Sweet Potato Pie Bars

This recipe came about from Jason's love of Sweet Potato Pie. This issue is that we always go camping Thanksgiving weekend and bringing pie on our trip isn't feasible. So I started looking for bar recipes instead. Wait until you taste this yummy sweet potato pie disguised as an incredible bar cookie. The fabulous sweet potato pie filling with a cinnamon crumbly topping is amazing!!

Ingredients:

1 (18 1/4-oz.) yellow cake mix, divided
6 Tblspn margarine, melted and divided
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 (5-oz.) can evaporated milk
2 Tblspn light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Tblspn bourbon


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside 1 cup yellow cake mix. In a mixing bowl, blend together remaining cake mix, 4 tablespoons melted margarine, and egg; mix well. Pat mixture into the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. In a separate mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, sugar, egg whites, and evaporated milk until creamy. Pour filling over prepared crust. Mix reserved 1 cup cake mix, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, remaining 2 tablespoons melted margarine, brown sugar, and pecans and sprinkle over filling. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until filling is set.