I come from a family of great bakers. I also married into a family of great bakers. Here are some of our favorite family dessert recipes (baked and unbaked) that I hope you will enjoy!

Tiramisu

1 pound Mascarpone cheese (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods usually have this if you can’t get to an Italian specialty shop)
3 1/2 Tablespoons finely granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of cognac
2 Tablespoons of coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
1 cup heavy cream
1 package (24 count) Savoiardi (Ladyfingers)
2 cups cold brewed espresso (must be espresso, coffee is too weak)
1 cup excellent quality, finely ground, semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup espresso, ground to a fine powder

Mix Mascarpone, sugar, coffee liqueur, and cognac until smooth, in a large bowl.

In a clean, chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then fold whipped cream into the Mascarpone mixture.

Pour cold brewed espresso into shallow bowl and dip Ladyfingers into it until moistened. Arrange Ladyfingers in a single layer in an 8″ square or round pan. (They will be a little squished if in a round pan - no worries). I use a round glass casserole dish with a lid and it works perfectly.

Using half of the Mascarpone mixture, spread evenly over Ladyfingers. Then sprinkle half of the chocolate, and half the espresso powder over the top. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill at least one hour or overnight.

Lil’s Pecan Nut Crunch Cookies
(a.k.a. Potato Chip Cookies)

1 cup of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
2 cups of flour

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla and blend. Add potato chips and pecans, and mix. Add flour and mix again. Roll dough into small balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter. Press flat with bottom of a small juice glass dipped in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden tan.

Fran’s Cranberry Orange Biscotti

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tablespoons grated orange peel
1 Tablespoon orange extract
3 eggs
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or hazelnuts
2 cups dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons Triple Sec liqueur

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour Triple Sec over cranberries and set aside.
Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add peel, extract, and eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add flour with baking powder, and mix only until well incorporated. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Refrigerate for a few hours.

On a large, lightly greased cookie sheet, form 2 long logs out of the batter.
Bake for 20 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes. On cutting board with sharp knife, cut log diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Place on to the cookie sheet cut side up. Return to oven for 15 minues. Remove from the cookie sheet, and place on racks to cool.

Fran’s Chocolate Chip Biscotti

3 3/4 cups of flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
5 eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
(1) 6 ounce bag chocolate chips

Preheat ove to 350 degrees Faherenheit.
Cream butter, eggs and sugar, and add almond extract.
Add sifted dry ingredients, and then after that is nicely incorporated, add nuts and chips. Spoon dough onto cookie sheet, and with wet hands, make 2 long logs, 3 inches in diameter and the length of the cookie sheet.
Note: Dough is very sticky, and not the thicker consistency of regular toll house cookie dough.

Bake for 30 minutes, cool and then cut diagonally in 1/2 inch slices.
Lay flat on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit., or until slightly toasted.

These freeze and stay quite nice in a Ziploc Freezer Bag. Watch your teeth and chew from the back as these can get extremely hard when left out in the air, they get softer when put in plastic bags.

Poppa’s Chocolate Fudge

6 cups white sugar
(1) 12 ounce can evaporated milk
5 Tablespoons margarine
(2) 1 ounce squares baking chocolate
3 heaping Tablespoons marshmallow creme (FLUFF)
12 ounces chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

In large sauce pan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, margarine and baking chocolate, and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add marshmallow creme and chocolate chips and whisk until all is melted together. Add vanilla and mix well. Stir in walnuts. Pour into pans to let cool and set.