Chocolate chess pie

I just had a huge plate of leftovers (including some extra side dishes we didn't even have on Thursday), the chocolate pies are ready and I can see a few Christmas lights on the porch peeking through the blinds. All in all, things are pretty good today. I remember my father arguing that chocolate chess pie wasn't a pretty pie and so we shouldn't take it to parties or holiday dinners. I'm not sure if he still feels that way, but as a kid it was always one of my favorite desserts my mother would make. It's also ridiculously easy to make, so long as you take care to add the egg slowly and not overcook it.

1 pie crust (regular - not deep dish) 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1 cup sugar 1 oz. package of liquid chocolate (Nestle sells it in a yellow box. The liquid is way better than block for this.) 2 eggs, unbeaten

Melt the stick of butter on low heat. Add the sugar and chocolate to make a fudge mixture. Slowly add the egg and continue stirring to keep the egg from cooking once it touches the hot chocolate. I generally add about half of the chocolate mix to the egg and then all of that back into the rest of the chocolate mix.

Be careful not to stir the mixture too much (which I always do) or it will try to fluff up. Pour the mix into the pie shell and cook at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Toasted Sesame Cookies

I got this recipe from Laura in her quest for cookie recipes containing one or fewer eggs. She uses egg replacer, but I used a genuine egg in my batch. The great thing about these cookies is they're not super sweet (and the sesame is a nice change from icing or chocolate chips). 2 2 1/8-ounce jars sesame seeds (1 cup) 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened 2 tablespoons of water (you'll probably use more like 4 or 6) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

If your seeds are not already roasted, heat them in a skillet until golden brown. Set aside.

Combine all ingredients but the sesame seeds. I mix everything but the flour together and then gradually add the flour to help it blend. Stir in 1/2 cup of sesame seeds, saving the other half for later.

Shape 2 teaspoonful dough pieces into 2-inch-long ovals. Roll ovals in remaining sesame seeds. Place ovals approximate 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. *

Bake cookies 20 minutes or until lightly browned (you can smell them getting done). Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies according to the recipe but mine were more like 2 dozen. According to the recipe each cookie has 85 calories, so you can do the match for your batch.

* The shaping of the cookies generally kicked my ass when I was making these. I tried chilling the dough to make it easier, and that seemed to help a bit. My first batch was too dry, though, so I added more water and that made the batter almost soupy. I was getting dough on my fingers, the bowl and everywhere except in 2-inch-long ovals on the cookie sheet. If I added enough flour so I could form them into cute mounds, the seeds wouldn't stick when I rolled them. So good luck with that. But I believe the extra water helps in the end with keeping them from being crumbly and dry after baking.

toasted sesame cookies

Sugared Pecans

This recipe came from my mother's Aunt Millie. My mother usually only makes these during the winter. We generally would make them and put them in coffee mugs to wrap up as gifts. It can be a bit tricky to get the stirring right and the spreading of the pecans without being tangled up in it like a glue trap. But the reward is worth the mess. Also, remember to not use a non-stick pot as you'll be doing some failry intense stirring and don't want to gouge it. 1 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup white KARO syrup 1/2 cup hot water 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 cups of pecan halves (cleaned well to remove bitter bits)

Boil sugar, syrup and water until it forms a soft ball. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Add in nuts and stir until nuts get "set" or it starts to thinken like candy. Pour and spread over waxed paper. Nuts will continue to "set" while drying. After completely dry, break apart and put into a jar away from moisture. Be sure to eat all the bits of sugar left over on the waxed paper.