Daigaku Imo with Honey (Fried sweet potato with honey)

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
1 ½ tbsp honey
Oil, for frying
1 tsp of black sesame seeds

Preparation
potatoes with clean fresh water. Cut into small pieces with the maintenance of the skin. Clean up the pieces again and wipe the excess water. Slowly fry the potatoes in a saucepan over low heat until they become lightly browned. Mix the sweet potato fries with honey in a bowl. Sprinkle with black sesame in the potatoes and serve hot or cold.

Green Tea Chocolate Ball Recipe

Ingredients
2 tsp milk
½ lb white chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp milk
¼ cup heavy cream
Green tea powder for coating

Preparation
Put the finely chopped white chocolate in a medium bowl. Put 2 tablespoons tea green tea powder in small bowl. Heat the milk in a microwave oven and pour over the powdered green tea. Place cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Do not let the cream boil. Add in milk and green tea powder mixture. Pour over white chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Cool the chocolate mixture for about an hour at room temperature. Scoop the chocolate mixture into 1 ½ inch balls and place on aluminum foil. Keep them in the refrigerator for about an hour for cooling. Coat the balls of chocolate with green tea powder. Cool the chocolate balls of green tea, until they become firm.

Dora-yaki (red bean pancakes)

These small pancakes are very popular in Japan. They consist of all types of fillings. A filling made from the azuki beans is the most traditional.

Ingredients
2 cups white flour
1 egg white, beaten until fluffy
4 tsp sugar
Six-ounce can of azuki beans
1 cup water
Vegetable oil

Preparation
Make a mix flour and sugar in a bowl and add water to a paste. Then add the egg white. Add a little vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet heated pan. Drop 2 tablespoons batter onto the pan and let it spread by itself. Wait until small bubbles appear in the pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, flip and fry the uncooked side for about 30 seconds. Then remove it. Make pancakes all the dough. Azuki bean crush and mix with sugar to form a smooth thick paste. Spread this paste on the pancakes and place a filling another pancake on her. Dora-yaki is served at room temperature.

Okinawan Sweet Fritters

Ingredients
½ cup evaporated milk
1 large egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
6 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup sugar (optional)
1/3 cup chunky or smooth Japanese bean paste

Preparation
Mix egg and milk in small bowl. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and brown sugar in medium bowl. Add milk mixture and eggs to flour mixture and stir until it mixes well. Then add the bean paste. In a shallow pan, heat oil to 350 degrees F. Drop tablespoon of dough into hot oil. Fry the fritters for about 3-5 minutes, until they turn brown. Cut a donut and roll the hot fritters in sugar. You can also serve it plain.

Baguette – This is a variety of bread with a crispy crust. Baguettes form to be a major feature of French breakfast.

Blanquette de veau – This is a famous French veal dish. This contains veal meat combined with aromatic vegetables.

Chocolate Mousse – The chocolate mousse although commonly available all over the world is actually a famous French food item. This is a very delicious dessert made from egg and cream.

Madeleine- The madeleine is a traditional cake of France. These are very small shaped cakes which have a shell like appearance.

Éclair - The Éclair is a long and thin shaped delicious pastry with a cream filling and loads of icing.

Choucroute garnie – The chocolate garnie consists of sausages and salted meats often combined with potatoes.

Crêpe- This is a pancake that is made from wheat flour.

Bouillabaisse- The Bouillabaisse is a traditional fish stew that is prepared with different kinds of cooked fish. A variety of herbs and spices are used to add flavor to the same.

Gougère- This is a pastry that is made along with cheese. In the English language, these are known as cheese puffs.

Cassoulet- This famous French food originated in the southwest area of France. Its main ingredients are meat combined with pork skin and white beans.

Ratatouille- This is a traditional vegetable dish. The complete name remains to be ratatouille niçoise and it consists of stewed vegetables. Ratatouille is generally served as a side dish but it can be served as a complete dish in its own as well. This dish is generally prepared in the summer season with the help of fresh vegetables.

Quiche Lorraine- A quiche simply means a baked dish that consists of a combination of eggs and milk in a pastry crust. This kind of an egg pie is prepared with other ingredients as well.

Tarte flambée- This dish is a speciality of the Alsatian region in France. It is made of thin bread dough which is topped with onions, bacons and some amount of fresh cream.

You may have noticed that Chinese food does not include cheese. Many vegetables, seafood and lean poultry are the main ingredients used in Chinese cooking. Thus, it is actually a healthy diet. The vegetable oil used in Chinese cooking has enough unsaturated fat and a balance between the properties of cholesterol-raising saturated fat it contains. Although Chinese food is popular all over the world, you do not receive the authentic Chinese dishes everywhere. All you get are localized versions of these dishes can be high in calories, saturated fat and sodium in particular. So, Chinese food is considered more dangerous than a hamburger or pizza.

Tips for Eating Chinese Food

• The healthy steamed vegetables and lean meat may turn unhealthy when they sit in a warm pool of sticky sauce all day. You can ask the sauce to be placed on the side. There is no need of of dumping the sauce over your food. First, dip your chopsticks in sauce and then pick up the vegetables or meat. You will easily get the sauce’s flavor and at the same time, you will be able to avoid ingesting huge amounts of fat and sodium.
• If you request, then you can get reduced-sodium soy sauce in the restaurants too. Though it has the same flavor, there is notable difference in sodium content. Do you know that hoisin sauce has sky-high levels of sodium?The sauces which are high in sugar are sweet and sour sauce, duck sauce and plum sauce.
• You should watch the quantity of the Chinese food too. If you look at the food quantity, it can be very well judged that you will be able to eat half of the meal only. You can take away the remaining half home, for the next day!
• Blood pressure raising sodium and cholesterol raising saturated fat, are the hidden unhealthy ingredients present in the sauce. If you carefully order your food, you can get low salt, low sodium food.
• Soups are fine for weight loss but they may affect your blood pressure levels as hot and sour, egg drop, wanton soups, etc., are all low in fat but high in sodium.
• You may enjoy flavorings like rice-wine vinegar, wasabi and ginger.
• Small quantities of hot mustard are fine. You just have to be cautious as each packet has a substantial helping of sodium inside.
• You don’t need to eat the crispy chow noodles that often come free with your meal as they are very high in fat.
• Steamed dumplings are healthier than deep or pan fried dumplings.
• Spring rolls are healthier than egg rolls.
• Instead of pork, you can choose vegetable filling, so as to halve your saturated fat intake.
• Eating with chop sticks, prevents you from picking up too much of sauce.
• Avoid creamy dressings or crispy noodles in the salads.
• Avoid eating crab rangoons or barbecued spare ribs as starters.
• You can order plain steamed brown rice which is healthier.
• Chicken/shrimp/pork fried rice are worse in saturated fat, calories and sodium.
• Steamed vegetables without sauce would be a healthier option.

Flan

Flan is a caramel custard which is not only light on your stomach, but also delicious. This recipe would serve 12 people.

Ingredients
4 Cups milk
2 Strips lemon zest
1 Cinnamon stick
5 Eggs
2 Egg yolks
1 Cup granulate sugar
½ Cup sugar
You require custard molds – 12 nos

Method
Begin by preheating oven to 3000F. The next step is to prepare the caramelized sugar. Spread ½ cup sugar evenly in a heavy saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Leave slowly turn yellow and then a golden syrup, and finally into a brown caramel sauce. Now quickly pour the caramel into 12 molds with caramel and tilt the mold so that it can cover the sides and bottom evenly. To do this quickly because the change in temperature causes the caramel to solidify rapidly. Keep this aside.

Combine milk, lemon zest and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat until it begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool the milk. Beat the whole eggs, egg yolks and granulated sugar until they become frothy. Sieve the cooled milk through a fine sieve and mix with egg mixture. Mix well. Now, pour the custard into the molds.

Arrange the mussels cream on a baking tray and pour boiling water to a depth of about an inch to create a water bath. Bake for 1.5 hours or until custard is set. Remove the mussels from the cream in a water bath and let cool. Once cooled, cover and refrigerate the custard molds. Serve chilled.
Strawberry and Orange Sorbet with Cava

Ingredients
¼ Cup water
½ Cup sugar
10 Ounces of frozen strawberries, thawed
1 Cup orange juice
1 Cup cava (Spanish wine)
Few fresh strawberries

Method
Boil water and sugar, until sugar dissolves in it. Puree the thawed strawberries in a food processor. Mix this with the sugar syrup. Add orange and the wine to it. Stir well. Refrigerate the mixture, until chilled.

If you’re wondering how to make Italian rice balls, then the revenue described below will help you. The rice balls to serve delicious snacks, served with hot drinks like coffee and tea. It can also be enjoyed with dips, sauces and salsa. Savor the taste of Italian cuisine with rice balls served on your plate.

Recipe 1

Ingredients

• Uncooked brown rice, 1 1/3 cups
• Water, 3 ¾ cups
• Basil, chopped, ¼ cup
• Garlic, cloves, 2
• Mozzarella cheese, diced, 4 ounces
• Bread crumbs, dry, 1 cup
• Prosciutto, sliced, 4 ounces
• Vegetable oil, 3 cups
• Bay leaf, 1
• Egg whites, 5
• Salt, ¼ tsps
• Parmesan cheese, grated, 3 tsps

Preparation

• Cook rice in boiling water and add bay leaf, salt and garlic cloves to it. Simmer for half an hour and then strain. Separate the bay leaves and garlic.
• Prepare the cheese stuffing by blending mozzarella cheese with prosciutto and basil. Add 2 tsps of olive oil from top.
• Pour egg white on rice and mix it with Parmesan cheese. Mix it well and then add the cheese-basil mixture to rice.
• Add vegetable oil in a deep frying pan. Heat the oil. In the meantime, make the rice balls and the coating of it.
• Beat the remaining egg whites in a bowl. Make rice balls and dip in it. Coat the balls with the moistened bread crumbs.
• Fry the rice balls in hot oil till they turn golden brown. Keep the heat low for deep frying effect.
• Serve hot with cucumber onion salad, salsa or sauce.

Recipe 2

Ingredients

For the Filling

• Pecorino cheese, 100 g
• Bolognese sauce, 150 g
• Green peas, 50 g
• Parsley, chopped, 2 tsps
• Onion, finely chopped, 1
• Olive oil, 2 tsps
• Salt, 1 tsp
• Ground beef 100 g

For the Rice Balls

• Originario rice, 500 g
• Breadcrumbs, 150 g
• Frying oil, 3 cups
• Butter, 50 g
• Eggs, 4
• Pecorino cheese, 60 g

Salt, 1/4th tsp

Preparation

• Boil rice with salt in water for at least 15 minutes and then drain the water completely.
• Let the rice cool and then add pecorino cheese, butter and egg white to form a smooth composition. Leave it aside and start making the filling.
• Fry the slices of beef, green peas and onion along with bolognese sauce. Make a paste with olive oil, parsley and Pecorino cheese. Add salt to the filling.
• Now form round pocket like structures with a certain quantity of rice mix. Add the filling in the center and roll it to make balls.
• Coat the balls with egg white and bread crumbs and then deep fry in vegetable oil on a frying pan or skillet.
• Wrap the balls with paper towels to soak the oil. Serve hot with your favorite toppings and a glass of red wine.

Recipe 3

Ingredients

• Breadcrumbs, dried, 1½ cups
• Mozzarella cheese, ½ cup
• Ground black pepper, ¼ tsp
• Dried parsley, 1
• Dried basil, 1 tsp
• White rice, 1 cup
• Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup
• Eggs, 2
• Chicken broth, 2¼ cups
• Water, 2¼ cups
• Vegetable oil, 2 cups
• Olive oil, 2 cups

Salt, 1½ tsp

Preparation

• Whisk eggs in a container and add parsley, basil, pepper, salt and Parmesan cheese to it. Refrigerate the mixture while the rice is cooking.
• Add chicken broth in a cooker, add salt and cook the rice for 20 minutes. Drain the extra broth after rice gets boiled.
• Mix egg white with cooked rice and allow it to cool in a refrigerator for 10 minutes.
• Dampen the bread crumbs slightly. Make rice balls and insert a slice of mozzarella cheese in the center. Coat them with bread crumbs.
• Heat vegetable oil in a frying skillet and deep fry the balls till they turn dark brown.
• You can top with grated onion, coriander and dip in marinara sauce.

Tamagoyaki is a Japanese rolled omelette and mild taste. Here’s how to make this delicious omelet. A rectangular mold is best to be rolled omelet, but you can also use the normal non-stick pan.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons mirin (similar to sake, but contains less alcohol content)
• ½-1 teaspoon salt or as per taste
• 3 tablespoon dashi soup stock
• 1 teaspoon soy salt
• vegetable oil

Preparation

Take a large bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar, mirin, soy sauce, salt and dashi broth and stir until it mixes well. Heat a pan with some oil and pour some of the egg mixture into skillet. When it starts setting, roll and tilt to one side of the pan. Again pay part of the egg mixture into the remaining portion of the pan and let it spread through the first roll. When it is half cooked, roll it on the first. Continue until all egg mixture is used. After the omelet is cooked, take it from the pan and cut into pieces. If you use a normal frying pan, place the rolled omelet on a bamboo leaf and cut the ends coming out.

Calamari is squid and this is a popular dish in various Mediterranean cuisines. You can serve calamari as an appetizer with sauces for dipping. This fish belongs to the highest order of the mollusk family and is related to oysters and clams. Squid have a compact internal shell, rather than an external one. They are long and thin and have two fins.

Indeed, squid can eject black ink to help them escape from predators. This ink is used in recipes, to add color and flavor. Calamari is high in phosphorous and protein and also contains thiamine, riboflavin, and calcium. You can get it fresh or frozen. Deep fried calamari is great if you want a crispy exterior and a smooth inside, but there are various ways to cook this interesting ingredient. Most parts of squid are edible but you will typically find it sold fresh with the tube, flaps, and the tentacles prepared. If you do buy it whole, simply remove the head, gut (make sure you remove the quill – these are transparent cartilage inside), and remove the skin and flaps. You will be left with the tube which needs to be washed thoroughly. Cut the tentacles away from the head and wash them along with the flaps. Furthermore, this recipe below could be your good reference in cooking Italian squid recipe deliciously; the name of the food is Grilled Marinated Calamari.

Ingredients :

• 1 and 1/2 pounds – cleaned and prepared squid (tentacles, tube, and flaps)
• 1/2 cup – extra virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons – lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons – fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon – fresh basil, chopped
• 12 cloves – garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoon – pepper
• 1 tablespoon – salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons – red pepper flakes
• Lemon wedges

Preparation:

Cut the tubes of the squid so they open and lie flat and add them along with the tentacles and flaps to a Ziploc freezer bag along with the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, basil, garlic, pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes. Seal the bag, shake to coat well, and marinate for 24 hours.

Once the squid has marinated, set the grill to high heat. Grill the squid until they are just cooked through (opaque) turning once (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove from the grill and cut the squid if desired. Serve with lemon wedges as an appetizer.

Baked Salmon Recipe with Garlic Sauce

Definitely, nothing beats a great home-cooked meal, but finding the time to make a big family meal can be a chore in itself. But there’ so many benefits, from choosing the ingredients you prefer the most, how well you cook the meal and the seasonings you add, to the presentation of how you serve up. What’s most important for our recipes though, is that they are simple and can be prepared by anyone in the comfort of their own kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 slices of salmon

1 large potato

1 onion

1 tomato

1 green sweet pepper

1 tbsp. of dry white wine

Minced parsley

Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

This recipe will provide two servings. Start up by slicing the potato and cutting the onions and the sweet pepper into rings. Fry everything up separately (either one by one or in separate pans). You don’t need to brown off the potato too much for this meal. Prepare the salmon for cooking and season it with salt and pepper as you like.

Now crush and mince the garlic and mix with the tablespoon of white wine and chopped parsley. Then cut up the tomato into thin slices. Prepare your cooking dish by coating it with olive oil, and make a bed of the potato slices, then sprinkle pieces of onion on top, followed by the peppers, the tomatoes and finally the salmon fillets.

Heat around 200 degrees Celsius (430 degrees Fahrenheit). Then put the dish in the oven for 5 minutes, before pouting the white wine sauce over the bake, and cook for 5 more minutes. If the salmon is quite chunky then cook for a couple more minutes, but if you want you can slice the salmon thin and then you can reduce the cooking time. Salmon can even be cooked only a little if you like- this is your home-made recipe, so you can do as you like!

Other options are to fry up your vegetables including the potato in a deep fryer, even the tomato if that’s your preference. For the garlic you can fry a whole bulb, or the crushed segments until candied, with no need to peel them even. Another option is to peel it, mix the pulp with a couple of egg yolks and add a little oil slowly, to give a soft mayonnaise. Either option here will give a delicious garlic flavor to your sauce.

Undeniably, Italian cooking is incredibly popular, and it is definitely among the richest and most varied anywhere. The problem is finding an easy Italian recipe to make, which is especially important if you are just a beginner. There are a few really great Italian cooking recipes that are ideal to try out, even for someone who has never cooked Italian food before in their life.

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp is a very popular Italian food and shrimp scampi is definitely one of the most widely loved Italian cooking recipes. For this recipe you will need 1 ½ pounds large shrimp, 1/3 cup butter, 4 tablespoons minced garlic, 6 green onions, ¼ cup dry white wine, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare this dish you start off by rinsing the shrimp and setting it aside. Then you want to heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the garlic for a couple of minutes until softened and then add the shrimp, green onions, wine, and lemon juice. You want to cook the shrimp until they are pink and firm, which should take about one to two minutes on each side.

Keep in mind that the trick to this recipe is to not overcook the shrimp. You can add a lot of extra garlic but make sure not to overdo it because you do not want to overshadow the taste of the shrimp. The dish is often served over pasta but can also be served on its own with some crusty bread.

Spaghetti with Mussels

Another of the most popular Italian cooking recipes is spaghetti with mussels. Not only is this considered as being one of the most delicious Italian cooking recipes but one of the easiest to prepare as well.

For this recipe you will need 3 pounds fresh mussels, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, 2 whole cloves, ¼ cup dry white wine, 3 quarts water, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 pound spaghetti, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 cup stewed tomatoes, 1 tablespoon fresh basil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper.

To prepare, you begin by scrubbing the mussels under cold water, and removing the beards and draining. Then you want to add the mussels, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, and wine together in a large saucepan or kettle. Cover this mixture and bring to a boil, and then cook this over high heat until the mussels open. This typically takes about five minutes but times will vary depending on the cooking element. Finally you add the garlic and cook briefly, stirring often. Add the tomatoes, broth and spaghetti, and then add the mussels to this. Stir and heat for a moment and serve hot.

Have you ever wondered how many types of pizza recipes there are, well probably thousands of different combinations. There are different pizza sauces, different pizza crusts recipes as well as an array of toppings that one can choose from. When it comes to a pizza recipe one can literally make up any combination they choose to. Here are some of the more common types of pizza on offer such as:

• Deep dish pizza which has been around since the late 1900′s and comprises of a thick bread crust of around and inch deep or more.
• The brick oven pizza which is backed in a wood fired brick over gives a unique flavor to the pizza. These types of oven are used for Neapolitan, and measure around ten inches in diameter. The toppings need to light and thin as the pizza are only baked for a couple of minutes.
• The Greek type stylepizza recipe comprises of a base and tasty toppings which include ingredients such as onion, tomato, mushrooms, broccoli, mozzarella and manouri cheese, black olives, basil, bell peppers and olive oil.
• The Chicago style recipe is a deep dish pizza which is traditionally from Chicago. The pizza has a butter crust with tomato sauce and a generous helping of various cheeses. Many people also stuff the crusts with various toppings.
• A pizza which is well known for its thin base and broad slices is the New York style. These pizza dish are served with traditional pizza toppings which include mozzarella, tomato and a light sauce. The crust is made from a high gluten flour and people commonly fold the slices and eat them. This type of pizza is baked in a coal burning oven which is far cooler as opposed to a brick oven, although takes longer to bake.
• Then there is the traditional Sicilian which comprises of a thick crust and is known to be one of the most popular pizza. This originated from Palermo in Italy. The topping comprises of anchovies and Pecorino cheese.

In addition to the above pizza recipe there are also other varieties such as the French bread, grilled, Italian, stuffed crust, thick crust, pan, vegetarian and a white pizza. However, the south of Italy is well known for its pizza recipe; the Capricciosa being their favorite due to the ingredients complementing each other perfectly.

According to surveys the most favored toppings and pizza recipe are those of the four seasons and the Quattro Stagione. When making a pizza one will start off by making the base and then making up of various toppings. You can add chopped tomatoes of tomato sauce can be used. One can use any type of cheese as well as any type of vegetables, meat or fish.

It is obvious that homemade pizzas are far healthier as opposed to bought out pizzas. When making a pizza recipe at home one has complete control over the ingredients used. Pizza has not been added to the junk food list as a pizza has considerable nutritional value as opposed to other fast foods

Mexican food is not all spicy – that is a common misconception about the cuisine. There are non-spicy Mexican soup recipes, Mexican salad recipes, Mexican dip recipes and plenty more. However, Mexicans do like to use chili in their recipes and sometimes it is fun to make spicy Mexican recipes.

You can spice up pretty much any Mexican food recipe by adding some minced chili or chili powder. If you are making guacamole or salsa, you can decide how hot you want it. Guacamole is usually served alongside spicy food because it is cool, creamy and cools the mouth but fiery salsas can be really flavorful and the fieriness of the chili contrasts brilliantly with the sweet, cool tomatoes.

Authentic Mexican food recipes like Mexican stew and Mexican casserole can be made as spicy as you want. If you are feeding a family or mixed group, you might want to make your Mexican food mild and leave a bottle of hot sauce on the table. That way, people can adjust the spiciness of their own meal.

Sweet and Spicy Food

The Mexicans also love to combine sweetness with spice and snacks like caramelized jalapenos or chili flavored chocolate are not unusual in Mexico. The sweetness and spiciness complement one another in a way you would only understand if you have tried it. On the other hand, you can get a similar taste if you combine sweetness and spice in a savory Mexican food recipe. Corn is sweet, as are fresh tomatoes and these are also Mexican staples. Try adding chilies to a corn or tomato based dish and you will see how the flavors go together.

Mexican Style Spicy Bean Burgers

This is a very simple recipe for Mexican bean burgers. Beans are one of the primary Mexican staples and whether you are looking for a vegetarian Mexican recipe or just something a little bit different, this healthy, wholesome, and tasty bean burger recipe is guaranteed to satisfy your hunger.

This recipe makes four to eight bean burgers, depending how big you make them. If you want to make appetizer recipes for a Superbowl party or similar event, you can make mini bean burgers or, if you want to satisfy a raging hunger, make them big and juicy and serve them with lots of toppings!

What you will need:

• 16 oz can red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/8 cup chunky salsa

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Peel, steam and mash the carrot. Chop the onion and bell pepper. Combine everything to make balls and shape the balls into patties. Bake them for 20 minutes, and then serve on buns with salsa, lettuce, and tomato. Top each spicy bean burger with a slice of Mexican cheese if you like and serve right away.

The turtle shortbread cookie recipe is a kicked-up version of an old holiday favorite! Throw in little chocolate, caramel, and some pecans and you have a cookie that looks as good as it tastes!

Ingredients

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) salted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

24 caramel candies, unwrapped

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoons shortening

1 cup chopped pecans

72 pecan halves

Hardware

Large bowl

Small microwave safe bowl

1-quart saucepan

Cookie sheets

Waxed paper

Mixer

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2: In a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium high speed cream together the butter and almond extract.

Step 3: Stir in flour and salt. If dough is crumbly mix in an additional 1-2 tablespoons of softened butter.

Step 4: Place dough in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Divide dough into 12 equal parts. Roll each part into a 1/4-inch-thick circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Place wedges 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Step 6: Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling surface for 30 minutes.

Topping:

Step 1: In a 1-quart saucepan, heat caramels over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until melted. Keep caramels warm on low heat.

Step 2: In a small microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on high 1-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until melted and thin enough to drizzle.

Step 3: Dip 2 straight edges of each cookie into melted caramel, then into chopped pecans. Place cookies on waxed paper.

Step 4: On top of each cookie place a dot of chocolate in the center; place a pecan half on top of chocolate. Using the tines of a fork, drizzle the remaining chocolate over the top of each cookie.