Taffy Apple Pizza

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg (18 oz) sugar cookie dough
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 med granny smith apples
1/4 cup caramel topping
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Flatten dough onto 14 in pizza pan.  Bake 16-18 minutes or until light golden brown.  Let cool.  (Underdone is better in this case, it gets hard to eat if the crust is crunchy.)
2.  Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Spread evenly over cookie dough. 
3.  Peel, core, and slice apples and place evenly over cream cheese mixture.  (I toss apples in lemon juice to prevent browning and often chop the apples instead of slicing them so it is easier to eat.)
4. Microwave caramel for 30-45 seconds.  Drizzle evenly over apples.  Sprinkle chopped nuts over caramel. 

This is delicious!  It is a pampered chef recipe and we love it, especially in the fall.  I make it every year for Josh's birthday, so I made it last week, and I already want to make it again.

Monster Cookies

(I ran out of wax paper, so I had to use foil instead!)

Fall means BAKING in our home!  These are one of my very favorite cookies.   I made them last night and had about five for breakfast this morning.  So much for losing that baby weight! 

Ingredients:

½ cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

8 oz M&M’s

6 oz chocolate chips

4 ½ cups oatmeal, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350^o F.  In a large (monster-sized) bowl, mix all ingredients in given order except M&M’s, chocolate chips, and oatmeal. 

 Add remaining ingredients and drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350^o for about 10 minutes.  

I usually follow recipes to a T, but I always add extra M&M’s and chocolate chips to these.  I usually take them out before they look all the way done and let them cool on the cookie sheet so that they don’t fall apart when I take them off.  They are perfect the morning after you make them! 

And a picture of my little man for good measure:

Enjoy!